Preview: St. Louis Rams aiming for season-opening win against Minnesota Vikings
The wait for the start of the regular season is almost over with the St. Louis Rams set to open up the 2014 campaign against the Minnesota Vikings at the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday, September 7. Following the conclusion of the preseason, there are several questions surrounding the team entering the first game of the season. Here are three key questions the Rams must answer against the Vikings:
Will the defense stop Adrian Peterson?
It is no secret that the 29-year-old Adrian Peterson is the focal point of the Vikings offense. Peterson arguably remains the best running back and one of the top players in the league. The team focuses on a run-first offense, but with the addition of Norv Turner as the new offensive coordinator this offseason, the offense will be more diverse for veteran quarterback Matt Cassel.
However, despite the change of play-calling, St. Louis will keep a defensive strategy focused primarily on shutting down Peterson. In order to accomplish that feat, the Rams defense will often put eight men in the box to counter the expected heavy dosage of the six-time Pro Bowler in the run game.
Although Minnesota doesn’t pass often, it is still an area of concern for St. Louis due to the injury to starting cornerback Trumaine Johnson, who is expected to miss the next four to six weeks with an MCL sprain. Johnson’s inury forces the Rams to rely on rookies LaMarcus Joyner or E.J. Gaines to pick up the slack, or they will look to second-year cornerback Brandon McGee, who is currently dealing with an ankle injury.
Overall, the Rams will key Peterson above all else. This should be much more feasible task because of the addition of
first-round selection Aaron Donald to a rush defense that ranked ninth last season. If the Rams are able to dominate in the trenches and make Peterson a non-factor, their pass rush should help alleviate any potential problems that could arise in the secondary during passing plays.
Can Shaun Hill lead the offense?
When Sam Bradford went down with a season-ending ACL injury in the third week of the preseason, the immediate reaction to the news was that the Rams would struggle at the quarterback position. In Bradford’s place is Shaun Hill, who enters his 14th season with plenty of question marks surrounding him, especially since his last starting gig was in 2010 with the Detroit Lions.
Nonetheless, the 34-year-old will be taking over the reigns of a Rams offense that head coach Jeff Fisher has stated on multiple occasions will be run-oriented. The biggest question that will come into play for Hill will be how well he can build rapport with a receiving corps that is headed by Kenny Britt, Brian Quick and Tavon Austin.
Hill has only taken first-team repetitions for the past couple of weeks since Bradford went down, and it will be interesting to see how much familiarity he has with the receivers, running backs and tight ends. His chemistry with his teammates will be a crucial part of his success, because of all the little things that build from it. That includes timing and figuring out the tendencies of the players around him so he can put them in the best positions to succeed. Hill should face a light workload in the passing game against the Vikings. The primary focus of the offense will be to get the ground attack going with Stacy first and let everything else fall into place. Should the Rams struggle to rush the ball, then they will turn to Hill to pick up offense with his arm. It remains to be seen if Hill can truly lead this passing attack.
Will Zac Stacy lead the rushing attack?
Entering his second year in the league, Stacy has plenty on his plate in the offense as the team’s the starting running back. The question that arises from this is whether or not he can handle the responsibility that comes with the territory.
The 23-year-old Stacy showed that he could be a productive player by rushing for nearly 1,000 yards in 12 games last
season. St. Louis will need Stacy to build on his successful year if the Rams are going to put points up on the board on a consistent basis in 2014.
His first test will come against a favorable Vikings defense that had a middle-of-the-pack rush defense that ranked 16th overall in 2013, while allowing 110.4 yards per game. This certainly bodes well for Stacy, but his effectiveness will come down to execution up front with the offensive line. The Rams will head into the season with a healthy starting unit that includes oft-injured center Scott Wells, guards Roger Staffold and Davin Joseph, and tackles Joe Barksdale and Jake Long.
If the offensive line is able to take care of business, Stacy should start the regular season off on the right foot. The bottom line
here is that the run game is what the Rams will bank on this season, and it will largely decide the team’s offensive success in 2014.
Will the defense stop Adrian Peterson?
It is no secret that the 29-year-old Adrian Peterson is the focal point of the Vikings offense. Peterson arguably remains the best running back and one of the top players in the league. The team focuses on a run-first offense, but with the addition of Norv Turner as the new offensive coordinator this offseason, the offense will be more diverse for veteran quarterback Matt Cassel.
However, despite the change of play-calling, St. Louis will keep a defensive strategy focused primarily on shutting down Peterson. In order to accomplish that feat, the Rams defense will often put eight men in the box to counter the expected heavy dosage of the six-time Pro Bowler in the run game.
Although Minnesota doesn’t pass often, it is still an area of concern for St. Louis due to the injury to starting cornerback Trumaine Johnson, who is expected to miss the next four to six weeks with an MCL sprain. Johnson’s inury forces the Rams to rely on rookies LaMarcus Joyner or E.J. Gaines to pick up the slack, or they will look to second-year cornerback Brandon McGee, who is currently dealing with an ankle injury.
Overall, the Rams will key Peterson above all else. This should be much more feasible task because of the addition of
first-round selection Aaron Donald to a rush defense that ranked ninth last season. If the Rams are able to dominate in the trenches and make Peterson a non-factor, their pass rush should help alleviate any potential problems that could arise in the secondary during passing plays.
Can Shaun Hill lead the offense?
When Sam Bradford went down with a season-ending ACL injury in the third week of the preseason, the immediate reaction to the news was that the Rams would struggle at the quarterback position. In Bradford’s place is Shaun Hill, who enters his 14th season with plenty of question marks surrounding him, especially since his last starting gig was in 2010 with the Detroit Lions.
Nonetheless, the 34-year-old will be taking over the reigns of a Rams offense that head coach Jeff Fisher has stated on multiple occasions will be run-oriented. The biggest question that will come into play for Hill will be how well he can build rapport with a receiving corps that is headed by Kenny Britt, Brian Quick and Tavon Austin.
Hill has only taken first-team repetitions for the past couple of weeks since Bradford went down, and it will be interesting to see how much familiarity he has with the receivers, running backs and tight ends. His chemistry with his teammates will be a crucial part of his success, because of all the little things that build from it. That includes timing and figuring out the tendencies of the players around him so he can put them in the best positions to succeed. Hill should face a light workload in the passing game against the Vikings. The primary focus of the offense will be to get the ground attack going with Stacy first and let everything else fall into place. Should the Rams struggle to rush the ball, then they will turn to Hill to pick up offense with his arm. It remains to be seen if Hill can truly lead this passing attack.
Will Zac Stacy lead the rushing attack?
Entering his second year in the league, Stacy has plenty on his plate in the offense as the team’s the starting running back. The question that arises from this is whether or not he can handle the responsibility that comes with the territory.
The 23-year-old Stacy showed that he could be a productive player by rushing for nearly 1,000 yards in 12 games last
season. St. Louis will need Stacy to build on his successful year if the Rams are going to put points up on the board on a consistent basis in 2014.
His first test will come against a favorable Vikings defense that had a middle-of-the-pack rush defense that ranked 16th overall in 2013, while allowing 110.4 yards per game. This certainly bodes well for Stacy, but his effectiveness will come down to execution up front with the offensive line. The Rams will head into the season with a healthy starting unit that includes oft-injured center Scott Wells, guards Roger Staffold and Davin Joseph, and tackles Joe Barksdale and Jake Long.
If the offensive line is able to take care of business, Stacy should start the regular season off on the right foot. The bottom line
here is that the run game is what the Rams will bank on this season, and it will largely decide the team’s offensive success in 2014.