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Football Diner talks with
Rams’ MLB James Laurinaitis
by Michael E Lawrence
October 24th 2012
How much are you looking forward to the game on Sunday?
 JL: I’m looking forward to it a lot, I think it’ll be a great experience. There’s so much history at Wembley stadium and it’s just cool to be here in a totally different country.
You’re the home team, do you think you’ll feel that homefield advantage in Wembley?
JL: Yeah I think so, although I don’t really know what to expect as far as the crowd goes. I know Britain has this very big fan base. I think it’s going to be just a bunch of excited football fans, excited to see a football game here you know? I’m also not really sure how a team called the ‘Patriots’ will do over here, but we’ll see how all that works!
You’re facing the top ranked offense in the league with lots of playmakers – what do you focus on to stop them?
JL: Gosh – you try to take away Tom Brady’s primary targets, but the problem is he’s got so many targets it’s kind of like pick your poison. We have to find a way to get pressure on him and to confuse him, which is way easier said than done. You have to disrupt him. He’s not a mobile quarterback, so you have to be able to get him off his spot you know? He wants to be able to stand in the pocket and be comfortable, so you have to make him uncomfortable, get guys at his feet, get in his way so that he has to move around and he can’t just throw the easy throws. Like I say, a lot easier said than done.
What can you do to counter the Patriots quick strike no-huddle?
JL: When Tom does want to throw quick like that, our D-line has to get their hands up you know? When you realise: ‘OK, he’s throwing it faster than I can physically get there’, get your hands up and bat that ball down.
What about this young group of Patriot running backs including Ridley, Woodhead, Vereen and Bolden?
JL: Yep, they’re running the ball extremely well, as well as I’ve seen the Patriots run it in their esteemed history. Ridley’s running hard, he’s a patient runner, he has great vision, cuts back. They use Woodhead more or less as a scat guy now. When they get you in shotgun and they have you thinking pass, they hand it off to him. He’s so shifty, he does a good job of hiding behind his blockers and making up-the-field moves. Then Vereen, just an explosive running back. The rookie out of Mississippi State, Bolden, he’s more of a downhill-now guy. He’s physical. So they have a stable that each of them does things a little bit different.
So what’s the first priority, defensively?
JL: We just focus on: if you do let Tom Brady complete some balls early on first down so that you’re facing lots of second and shorts, sooner or later they take a shot – and you’re going to have a long day. You got to be able to not let them run the ball at all and hope to make them one dimensional which can still be a nightmare against them.
You’re a middle linebacker, the leader of this defense, but what’s the best part of playing this game for you?
 JL: To me it’s the overall team aspect of it, this is a pure team game. Now there are going to be superstars – quarterbacks are obviously the superstars because they’re recognisable, and it’s a very hard position. But Sam Bradford can’t do anything without this O-linemen, he doesn’t have enough time no matter how good he is. And if he doesn’t have guys on the outside that can catch it, he can’t make plays and so on. So it all works so much in sync, and when I was a kid I used to just love that. It was a game that I’d just play with my friends. I used to play ice hockey as well. If you had one great player on your team he used to be able to skate around everybody and he’d win or lose the game for you, you know? But with football it’s different.
It’s something you grew up wanting to do?
JL: Back in the States it’s obviously a popular game, so just like here as a kid you’re going want to be a soccer player for, say, Arsenal if you see that growing up and just seeing how exciting the games are on TV. I remember countless Thanksgivings just watching football with my family and of course you’re like: this is awesome, I want to do that some day. I’ve just been blessed to be able to be playing at this level, and it’s still a shock to me sometimes.
You’re living the dream
JL: Right. I’ve got a picture of me and Brian Urlacher shaking hands, and I remember watching Urlacher in high school. So there are still moments where it’s like: ‘Man, these are my colleagues now!’ So it’s a pretty cool deal.
And now you’ve got the chance to bring the game you love to an international audience?
JL: Yeah. It’s yet to be seen if it can work and go global. I think it’s smart that they’re going try and go to two games next year, I think that’ll be a good indicator of how popular it can be. Will it sell out twice? I wonder what their thoughts are on not just making it to London but maybe to Ireland one year And do you take it elsewhere in Europe too?
But you think expansion can work?
JL: You got to find a way to grow the game, but my question is can the NFL stand being second fiddle? Because it’ll never pass what we call soccer, it started here. So there’s a lot of questions, but I think it’s been a great idea and I’m really excited to get a gauge on the interest on Sunday and experience that crowd.
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