Patriots vs. Rams: 3 Players to Watch Out for on St. Louis

Many casual fans might look at Sunday's game against the St. Louis Rams as a guaranteed victory for the New England Patriots—but you couldn't be more wrong.

I've got news for you: The Rams are a very good football team and most of that has to do with head coach Jeff Fisher; he has completely changed the culture in St. Louis and they're a defensive force to be reckoned with.

With that being said, let's take a look at three Rams that the Patriots have to watch out for Sunday night in London.

1. Cortland Finnegan

With little to no surprise, cornerback Cortland Finnegan will be lining up across Wes Welker Sunday at Wembley Stadium and he'll definitely present a major head coach for not only Welker, but quarterback Tom Brady and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

Through seven games this season, Finnegan has picked off three passes for 68 yards and even returned one for a touchdown as well as defending seven passes.

Finnegan is arguably one of the top tier cornerbacks in the NFL today and he'll definitely be baiting Brady into throwing it Welker's way so he can capitalize on a possible mistake.

There's no question Finnegan is an impact player—in fact, just his presence on the field adds a .96 percent chance in the Rams' favor to win this week.

2. Steven Jackson

He might be having somewhat of a down year, but there's no debating that Steven Jackson can still run the ball effectively when he gets going.

Jackson is averaging 54.3 yards per game this season while running for a total of 380 yards on 101 carries as well as scoring one touchdown and catching 10 balls for 76 yards.

Jackson hasn't really had a breakout game thus far in 2012, and the Patriots will most definitely be hoping that his breakout performance doesn't happen Sunday night in London.

3. Robert Quinn

Forget Chris Long—don't get me wrong, he's someone that could cause a lot of issues against New England's offensive line—but Robert Quinn is the guy that the Patriots need to look out for.

The second-year pro out of North Carolina is having a stellar season thus far as he's racked up a whopping seven sacks while recording 16 total tackles, deflecting two passes and forcing one fumble.

Quinn is without a doubt one of the major reasons why St. Louis has the ninth best defense in the NFL entering Week 8.