The Patriots make their second trip to London for a regular season game in four years Sunday when they meet the Rams at Wembley Stadium. St. Louis, which enters the game at 3-4, has proven to be a talented young team -- beating the Cardinals and Seahawks, two teams that have already defeated New England. Granted St. Louis won those games at home, but through the first seven games of the season, the Rams have proven to be competitive in the suddenly tough NFC West.

In this edition of “Scout’s Take,” one NFL scout who has broken down film and watched both the Patriots and the Rams provides us with a wealth of information heading into Sunday’s game for both teams. (Per usual, we have the scout’s statements in italics, with our notes underneath.)

“When you think about the Rams, what comes to mind is the fact that defensively, they’re much improved from last year, particularly when it comes to their ability to cover. Chris Long and James Laurinaitis are productive, three-down players against both the run and the pass. Plus, the emergence of Robert Quinn as an edge rusher has given them a different dimension. He can rush the passer and run -- he’s a big athlete who moves well.

“Their defensive weaknesses are at safety. They don’t have high-level players at those positions. Their outside linebackers are run-and-hit guys, borderline starters. Their strengths are at corner, Long, Laurinaitis and the emergence of Quinn as a pure pass rusher. Up front at defensive tackle, they’ve gotten bigger and stronger with Kendall Langford and the kid out of LSU, Michael Brockers. They both have size -- they’re big and strong. This offseason, what they did was went out and addressed two specific weaknesses -- corner and defensive tackle -- and made themselves much improved as a result.”

The Patriots should expect good pressure off the edge, with Quinn (seven sacks) at one defensive end spot and Long (four sacks) at the other. Laurinaitis holds everything together at middle linebacker, and Langford and Brockers have shown an ability to push the pocket. It should be a competitive matchup for New England’s offensive line, particularly tackles Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer. While the Rams were able to successfully upgrade at cornerback over the offseason with the additions of the always pesky Cortland Finnegan and rookie Janoris Jenkins, they remain questionable at safety. That, combined with the fact that their outside linebackers are “borderline” starters, should present some options in the passing game for the New England tight ends. 

“Offensively speaking, they don’t have a lot of weapons on the perimeter, especially after the loss of Danny Amendola. When it comes to Bradford and ball discrimination in terms of who he wants to throw to, he shows no discrimination. There’s no favorite receiver. Chris Givens, he has speed and vertical ability, but he’s not a great route-runner. You have to pay attention to him though because he’s a threat as a deep ball guy. Between Givens and Brian Quick, they have some futures players at that position. But they don’t have matchup players that will make you lose sleep at the tight end spot.”

The Rams have improved offensively, but without Amendola, they are without an above-average pass-catcher. The one name that sticks out in the group that could provide the New England secondary with problems is rookie receiver Chris Givens. While he’s not the most polished receiver, he has at least one reception of at least 50 yards in four straight games, and has 10 catches for 270 yards and a touchdown. Given the fact that the Patriots have now yielded 38 pass plays of 20 yards or more on the season, that should be a matchup St. Louis will look to exploit.

“Stephen Jackson is a guy you have to deal with. He’s strong, has good size and can get yards after contact. He’s complemented nicely by Daryl Richardson, a sixth or seventh round guy who beat out Pead for that backup running back spot. He’s fast and quick and explosive. A good space player who is a threat -- he won’t push the pile, but he’s a good change of pace when it comes to Jackson.”

As ragged as the Patriots have looked when it comes to defending the pass, they’ve done an excellent job at stopping the run. Sunday marked the fourth straight game in which New England has held an opponent under four yards per carry, and New England has held premiere backs like Chris Johnson (11 carries, four yards vs. Patriots), C.J. Spiller (8 carries, 33 yards), Fred Jackson (13 carries, 29 yards), Willis McGahee (14 carries, 51 yards) and Marshawn Lynch (15 carries, 41 yards) well under their season averages. We’ll see if Jackson (101 carries, 380 yards this year) can break the string.

“Sam Bradford has been semi-productive -- he has some pocket mobility, as well as above-average to good arm strength. He will take an occasional shot with the deep ball. He’s steadily improving as a player. He won’t be a pure scrambler, but can buy some time with his legs if he has to. He doesn’t have a bevy of weapons at his disposal -- the loss of Amendola really affected him. He struggles with pressure, if you get to him enough. But he’s steadily improving.

“The offensive line is a weakness. Rodger Saffold, arguably the best part of a weak offensive line, has been out with a neck injury. They replaced Quinn Ojinnaka with Chris Williams. They are playing with a lot of backups -- they lost Saffold and Scott Wells, their No. 1 and No. 2 offensive linemen, in the first week of the season. They picked up Wayne Hunter, and he’s playing significant snaps for them right now. That offensive line presents a winnable matchup for New England.”

One reason why Jackson may also struggle is the fact that the Rams offensive line is struggling. They have endured some serious injuries over the course of the season, and this certainly appears to be an area where the Patriots can win some of the individual battles. (Left tackle Joe Barksdale and left guard Shelley Smith made their first regular-season NFL starts last Sunday against Green Bay.) If they can slow Jackson and get consistent pressure on Bradford against an offensive line that is so bad it recently ditched New England backup Quinn Ojinnaka, then it should go a long way toward a win for the Patriots.

“Ultimately, there are three things for the Patriots to keep in mind: The Rams’ offensive line is a winnable matchup. Neutralize the rushing abilities of Chris Long and Robert Quinn -- the tackles have to protect the edge. And watch for the inside-outside ability of the two backs: with Jackson and Richardson, they have a nice complementary element.”