Latsch: 5 Things To Watch Following Rams’ Bye --Latsch

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LATSCH: 5 Things To Watch Following Rams’ Bye
By Nate Latsch

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2014/10/01/latsch-5-things-to-watch-following-rams-bye/

ST. LOUIS — The Rams are back to work after getting a few days off for their bye week and they have a big challenge in front of them on Sunday in Philadelphia against an Eagles team that is 3-1.

Here are five things I’ll be watching for as the Rams (1-2) tackle the rest of their regular season schedule:

• Quarterback situation

Ah, yes. Of course. Could we really start anywhere else?

Austin Davis has played well in relief of Shaun Hill, posting a 72.3 completion percentage with three touchdowns, three interceptions and a QB rating of 93.1.

But coach Jeff Fisher has said that the veteran Hill will be the starter when he’s healthy enough to be and that could be the case this Sunday in Philadelphia, considering Hill has been healthy enough to active the past two weeks.

This will be what everyone is talking about this week but I don’t think Fisher will tip his hand until Sunday because he doesn’t have to.

For the record, Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis said at his press conference Tuesday that they were preparing for both quarterbacks.

“Yes but luckily they are identical players,” Davis told reporters. “One’s a little younger. One’s a little older. One’s got more experience. One’s got less. But when you look at their skill sets, they are very similar quarterback skill sets.”

• Zac Stacy

The second-year running back had his best game of the season against the Cowboys, rushing 12 times for 67 yards (5.6 yards per carry) and catching five passes for another 54 yards.

Stacy had more touches a week earlier in Tampa — he carried the ball 19 times for 71 yards and a touchdown but did not have a catch — but the Dallas game gave us a glimpse of the breakout player we saw a year ago as a rookie fifth-rounder out of Vanderbilt.

Stacy averaged 3.9 yards per carry over 11 attempts in the season opener against the Vikings and then 3.7 yards per carry against the Bucs, so his increased productivity in that department against Dallas was a welcomed sight.

The Rams need to get Stacy and the running game going and they’ve taken good steps forward in both of those areas the past two games.

• Aaron Donald’s snap counts

The rookie defensive tackle out of Pittsburgh has flashed the ability that earned him just about every national college football defensive award possible a year ago, but we’d like to see him even more.

Working in a rotation at defensive tackle, Donald played 31 snaps against the Vikings, the same amount as Kendall Langford and one less than Michael Brockers. Against the Bucs, Donald played 25 snaps and recorded his first sack, while Langford played 35 and Brockers 33. In the last game, against the Cowboys, Donald played 27 while Brockers played 31 and Langford played 30.

In the long run, rotating those three players — Alex Carrington has also rotated in with that group, but not with the same frequency — should help each of them remain fresher throughout the season.

But it would be great to see what the first-rounder Donald, who grades out as the Rams’ most effective defender according to Pro Football Focus, could accomplish with more playing time.

• Greg Robinson’s playing time

On the flip side is the Rams’ other first-round pick, No. 2 overall, who has played just 10 snaps on offense in the first three games — and nine of those came in the season opener when Rodger Saffold left with an injury.

I understand what the Rams are doing here. They want to go with veterans along the offensive line and bring the 6-foot-5, 332-pounder along slowly as he transitions from playing left tackle in Auburn’s run-heavy offensive attack to playing left guard in a more complex NFL scheme.

But it’s still disappointing to see a guy who looks like he can help in the run game — that was his calling card coming into the NFL, after all — not get a chance to show if he can do that at this level.

Robinson is still young and has the athletic ability to develop into one of the better offensive linemen in the league, so we’ll have to wait to see how this goes the rest of the season. It’s unlikely that Jake Long, Saffold, Davin Joseph and Joe Barksdale can all go the rest of the season without missing some snaps due to injury, which would open the door for Robinson at some point.

• Trumaine Johnson’s return

The third-year cornerback is slowly working his way back from the knee injury that sidelined him during the preseason and forced rookie sixth-rounder E.J. Gaines into the starting lineup.

Gaines has held his own at that spot but the Rams defense should benefit from getting the bigger (6-2, 208) and more experienced Johnson in there, which could even push Gaines inside in a position to compete for snaps with second-rounder Lamarcus Joyner in nickel packages.

The Rams obviously will continue to miss defensive end Chris Long, but Johnson could be a key piece of this St. Louis defense that no one is talking about right now.