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Daryl Richardson became a forgotten man in the Rams’ backfield in 2013, and it wasn’t just the emergence of Zac Stacy that pushed him into the background.
A significant turf toe injury in the season opener knocked Richardson’s second NFL season off track, and he never got back on course. Because of the injury, he couldn’t push off the front of the foot. It not only affected his acceleration — probably the best facet of his game — it made planting and cutting difficult.
Such injuries can linger forever, and such was the case with Richardson. Even though he didn’t play in the final eight games, he kept practicing for most of that time. Now that the offseason is here, the Rams want Richardson to stay off the foot and let it heal. There is no surgery planned, according to a source close to Richardson.
As the next to last player selected in the 2012 draft, the Abilene Christian product had a surprisingly effective rookie season for the Rams, rushing for 475 yards and averaging 4.8 yards a carry. With Steven Jackson off to Atlanta, Richardson was named the 2013 opening day starter by coach Jeff Fisher during training camp.
But then came the turf toe injury in the opener against Arizona. Richardson tried to keep playing on it, starting three of the first four games before giving way to Stacy. Other assorted ailments complicated his efforts to get back on the field, and he ended up with disappointing 2013 totals of 214 yards rushing and just 3.1 yards a carry.
After Richardson posted four carries of 20-plus yards as a rookie, including a 53-yarder in Game 2 against Washington, his longest run of 2013 went for a modest 14 yards in the first Seattle game.
As he tries to finally put the turf toe issue behind him, the challenge for Richardson becomes trying to work his way back into the picture at running back. Can he get there?
“Oh yeah, I think definitely,” general manager Les Snead said. “We’ve all seen what he can do. Some injuries derailed him a little bit. ... What you like about the whole thing is as you bring in more players, as we all grow here, there’s more competition.
“We’re all better when we have competition. Daryl’s the type of person, I do know this, when he was inactive he didn’t like that. You do like the fact that he didn’t like that. He’s always said, ‘Hey, I want to start covering kicks and doing things like that.’ He’s trying to find his way back on the 46-man (game-day roster).”
Over the second half of the season, Stacy became firmly entrenched not only as the starter but as someone who got a heavy workload every Sunday. Benny Cunningham became the No. 2 running back, with Isaiah Pead getting in a play here and there mainly as a third-down back.
Stacy and Cunningham are similar in stature and running style, although Cunningham is a little faster. But both are at their best running between the tackles. Richardson and Pead, on the other hand, are speedier runners better suited to bouncing plays outside or attacking the perimeter.
That’s where Richardson could find a niche as a change-of-pace back. To seriously compete for playing time in such a role, he still must improve on his pass catching and pass protection. Then it might become a case of either Richardson or Pead dressing as the No. 3 back on game day and also contributing on special teams.
That’s assuming Pead is back. Despite two highly disappointing seasons, it doesn’t appear the Rams have given up on Pead, a second-round pick — No. 50 overall — out of Cincinnati in 2012. After sitting out the 2013 season opener for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, Pead played in just 10 games and took part in only 90 plays from scrimmage.
Pead got back on the field over the second half of the season, when he started playing special teams, and had some success covering kicks. One of the faster Rams, Pead had only 18 touches from scrimmage (seven carries, 11 catches) this season, which isn’t much production for a second-round pick.
Even if all four running backs return, it’s Stacy’s backfield entering 2014. A lot can change before opening day, but the competition for Richardson, Cunningham, and Pead figures to be for No. 2.
Schottenheimer Apparently Staying
Barring an unforeseen development, Brian Schottenheimer will be back for his third season as Rams offensive coordinator.
Schottenheimer interviewed for the Vanderbilt University head-coaching job on Wednesday, but the Commodores announced early Friday evening that they had hired Stanford defensive coordinator Derek Mason to the post.
Almost from the day that James Franklin left Vanderbilt to become the new head coach at Penn State University, Mason was regarded as the front-runner for the job.
The return of Schottenheimer brings much-needed continuity to a young Rams offense that made strides in 2013 but still needs to pick up the scoring pace to succeed in the rugged NFC West. The Rams scored their most points overall since 2006 this past season but scored only 79 points, or 13.2 points a game, in six contests against the NFC West.
Daryl Richardson became a forgotten man in the Rams’ backfield in 2013, and it wasn’t just the emergence of Zac Stacy that pushed him into the background.
A significant turf toe injury in the season opener knocked Richardson’s second NFL season off track, and he never got back on course. Because of the injury, he couldn’t push off the front of the foot. It not only affected his acceleration — probably the best facet of his game — it made planting and cutting difficult.
Such injuries can linger forever, and such was the case with Richardson. Even though he didn’t play in the final eight games, he kept practicing for most of that time. Now that the offseason is here, the Rams want Richardson to stay off the foot and let it heal. There is no surgery planned, according to a source close to Richardson.
As the next to last player selected in the 2012 draft, the Abilene Christian product had a surprisingly effective rookie season for the Rams, rushing for 475 yards and averaging 4.8 yards a carry. With Steven Jackson off to Atlanta, Richardson was named the 2013 opening day starter by coach Jeff Fisher during training camp.
But then came the turf toe injury in the opener against Arizona. Richardson tried to keep playing on it, starting three of the first four games before giving way to Stacy. Other assorted ailments complicated his efforts to get back on the field, and he ended up with disappointing 2013 totals of 214 yards rushing and just 3.1 yards a carry.
After Richardson posted four carries of 20-plus yards as a rookie, including a 53-yarder in Game 2 against Washington, his longest run of 2013 went for a modest 14 yards in the first Seattle game.
As he tries to finally put the turf toe issue behind him, the challenge for Richardson becomes trying to work his way back into the picture at running back. Can he get there?
“Oh yeah, I think definitely,” general manager Les Snead said. “We’ve all seen what he can do. Some injuries derailed him a little bit. ... What you like about the whole thing is as you bring in more players, as we all grow here, there’s more competition.
“We’re all better when we have competition. Daryl’s the type of person, I do know this, when he was inactive he didn’t like that. You do like the fact that he didn’t like that. He’s always said, ‘Hey, I want to start covering kicks and doing things like that.’ He’s trying to find his way back on the 46-man (game-day roster).”
Over the second half of the season, Stacy became firmly entrenched not only as the starter but as someone who got a heavy workload every Sunday. Benny Cunningham became the No. 2 running back, with Isaiah Pead getting in a play here and there mainly as a third-down back.
Stacy and Cunningham are similar in stature and running style, although Cunningham is a little faster. But both are at their best running between the tackles. Richardson and Pead, on the other hand, are speedier runners better suited to bouncing plays outside or attacking the perimeter.
That’s where Richardson could find a niche as a change-of-pace back. To seriously compete for playing time in such a role, he still must improve on his pass catching and pass protection. Then it might become a case of either Richardson or Pead dressing as the No. 3 back on game day and also contributing on special teams.
That’s assuming Pead is back. Despite two highly disappointing seasons, it doesn’t appear the Rams have given up on Pead, a second-round pick — No. 50 overall — out of Cincinnati in 2012. After sitting out the 2013 season opener for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, Pead played in just 10 games and took part in only 90 plays from scrimmage.
Pead got back on the field over the second half of the season, when he started playing special teams, and had some success covering kicks. One of the faster Rams, Pead had only 18 touches from scrimmage (seven carries, 11 catches) this season, which isn’t much production for a second-round pick.
Even if all four running backs return, it’s Stacy’s backfield entering 2014. A lot can change before opening day, but the competition for Richardson, Cunningham, and Pead figures to be for No. 2.
Schottenheimer Apparently Staying
Barring an unforeseen development, Brian Schottenheimer will be back for his third season as Rams offensive coordinator.
Schottenheimer interviewed for the Vanderbilt University head-coaching job on Wednesday, but the Commodores announced early Friday evening that they had hired Stanford defensive coordinator Derek Mason to the post.
Almost from the day that James Franklin left Vanderbilt to become the new head coach at Penn State University, Mason was regarded as the front-runner for the job.
The return of Schottenheimer brings much-needed continuity to a young Rams offense that made strides in 2013 but still needs to pick up the scoring pace to succeed in the rugged NFC West. The Rams scored their most points overall since 2006 this past season but scored only 79 points, or 13.2 points a game, in six contests against the NFC West.
