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Rams RB Tre Mason on his NFL debut, and his plan to achieve legendary status on the field. Steve Savard interviews the Rams rookie RB. (5:05)
Watch Mason's Interview
Watch Mason's Interview
Tre Mason: “If Emmitt Smith was a great, Why can’t I be?”
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Tre Mason adds to Rams' running back committee
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/12736/tre-mason-adds-to-rams-running-back-committee
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- By his count, it had been 10 months since St. Louis Rams running back Tre Mason had played in a regular-season football game.
So when the opportunity finally presented itself on Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers, Mason made the most of his limited chances.
"It was great to be out there the other night, get my feet wet and get back to playing football," Mason said. "It was pretty frustrating, but I do what I’m told. I just had to wait it out. It was waiting, and then it was time. It was time, my name was called, and I had to show what I could do."
With special teamer/running back Chase Reynolds out because of a hip ailment, Mason found himself on the active game day roster for the first time in his young career. The Rams didn't have grand plans for him, but they wanted to work him in the mix with fellow backs Zac Stacy, Benny Cunningham and receiver Tavon Austin.
Mason played nine snaps but got to touch the ball on six of them and made something positive happen on nearly all of those half-dozen touches. He finished with five carries for 40 yards and added another catch for 12 more yards. His 24-yard run early in the game was the Rams' first rush of 20 more yards on the season and might have gone longer had Mason not run into receiver Brian Quick.
“I liked the way he handled his first opportunity and made some explosive plays," coach Jeff Fisher said.
Of course, Mason didn't make it through without at least one noticeable hiccup. As you'd expect from a player who hadn't played much in the first four games largely because he wasn't up to speed in pass protection, Mason missed on one of his chances in pass protection.
But Mason says he's progressed quite a bit in that area from the time he left Auburn, where he was rarely asked to pickup blitzes.
"I came a long way," Mason said. "Most of the time you probably weren’t asked to do much in college and stuff like that so it will probably be something they have to key on when they get here but definitely attack it.
"I’m getting a hold of things and knowing my targets and where to be. It’s getting a lot easier. The game is slowing down, and I’m ready to roll."
That part of the game will be important for Mason moving forward. Earning the trust of the coaching staff for something like pass protection goes a long way in determining how many snaps a running back will get on game day. Even more important, if a team knows a back is not capable of holding up in pass protection, it can telegraph what the offense is trying to do.
“It’s critical, obviously, got to be able [to be] in there in both situations," offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. "We certainly have that ability with Tre. We trust him. Again, he’s really gotten better. If you can only do one thing then certainly it’s a big tell for the defense. He’s a guy that wasn’t asked to do that a whole lot at Auburn, but he’s picked it up in a hurry working with [running backs] Coach [Ben] Sirmans. Again, it’s easier in a classroom then when you’ve got people moving around, that’s the hard part.”
But even with a miscue or two in pass protection, there's no denying that Mason was the most effective of the Rams' running backs against the Niners. Adding Mason to the mix, the Rams have now offered at least a handful of carries to Stacy, Cunningham, Austin, Trey Watts and Mason. That approach hasn't been an overwhelming success for a run game that ranks 18th in yards per game (106) and 19th in yards per rush (4.14).
Stacy's 19 carries against Tampa Bay in Week 2 are the most by a Rams runner this year, and aside from that, no back has had more than a dozen opportunities in a game. Earlier this week, Fisher said he was OK with continuing the running-back-by-committee approach. Schottenheimer echoed those sentiments with a caveat.
“Well, early in the game we try to get guys multiple touches," Schottenheimer said. "That’s part of the deal. Then we try go with the hot hand late in the game. Most places that I’ve been that have really good running games, they had the people to spread the ball around. Different backs bring different types of plays. We try to get them all touches early. Then whoever has the hot hand will certainly get the balls late in the game.”
That seems reasonable, but so far there hasn't appeared to be any rhyme or reason to how the backs are deployed. Beyond that, who is to say that a back who has the "hot hand" early in the game will still have it later on if he's missed a few series in the meantime?
For the Rams to become the consistent running team they claimed they want to be, they're going to first have to figure out how to share the carries.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/12736/tre-mason-adds-to-rams-running-back-committee
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- By his count, it had been 10 months since St. Louis Rams running back Tre Mason had played in a regular-season football game.
So when the opportunity finally presented itself on Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers, Mason made the most of his limited chances.
"It was great to be out there the other night, get my feet wet and get back to playing football," Mason said. "It was pretty frustrating, but I do what I’m told. I just had to wait it out. It was waiting, and then it was time. It was time, my name was called, and I had to show what I could do."
With special teamer/running back Chase Reynolds out because of a hip ailment, Mason found himself on the active game day roster for the first time in his young career. The Rams didn't have grand plans for him, but they wanted to work him in the mix with fellow backs Zac Stacy, Benny Cunningham and receiver Tavon Austin.
Mason played nine snaps but got to touch the ball on six of them and made something positive happen on nearly all of those half-dozen touches. He finished with five carries for 40 yards and added another catch for 12 more yards. His 24-yard run early in the game was the Rams' first rush of 20 more yards on the season and might have gone longer had Mason not run into receiver Brian Quick.
“I liked the way he handled his first opportunity and made some explosive plays," coach Jeff Fisher said.
Of course, Mason didn't make it through without at least one noticeable hiccup. As you'd expect from a player who hadn't played much in the first four games largely because he wasn't up to speed in pass protection, Mason missed on one of his chances in pass protection.
But Mason says he's progressed quite a bit in that area from the time he left Auburn, where he was rarely asked to pickup blitzes.
"I came a long way," Mason said. "Most of the time you probably weren’t asked to do much in college and stuff like that so it will probably be something they have to key on when they get here but definitely attack it.
"I’m getting a hold of things and knowing my targets and where to be. It’s getting a lot easier. The game is slowing down, and I’m ready to roll."
That part of the game will be important for Mason moving forward. Earning the trust of the coaching staff for something like pass protection goes a long way in determining how many snaps a running back will get on game day. Even more important, if a team knows a back is not capable of holding up in pass protection, it can telegraph what the offense is trying to do.
“It’s critical, obviously, got to be able [to be] in there in both situations," offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. "We certainly have that ability with Tre. We trust him. Again, he’s really gotten better. If you can only do one thing then certainly it’s a big tell for the defense. He’s a guy that wasn’t asked to do that a whole lot at Auburn, but he’s picked it up in a hurry working with [running backs] Coach [Ben] Sirmans. Again, it’s easier in a classroom then when you’ve got people moving around, that’s the hard part.”
But even with a miscue or two in pass protection, there's no denying that Mason was the most effective of the Rams' running backs against the Niners. Adding Mason to the mix, the Rams have now offered at least a handful of carries to Stacy, Cunningham, Austin, Trey Watts and Mason. That approach hasn't been an overwhelming success for a run game that ranks 18th in yards per game (106) and 19th in yards per rush (4.14).
Stacy's 19 carries against Tampa Bay in Week 2 are the most by a Rams runner this year, and aside from that, no back has had more than a dozen opportunities in a game. Earlier this week, Fisher said he was OK with continuing the running-back-by-committee approach. Schottenheimer echoed those sentiments with a caveat.
“Well, early in the game we try to get guys multiple touches," Schottenheimer said. "That’s part of the deal. Then we try go with the hot hand late in the game. Most places that I’ve been that have really good running games, they had the people to spread the ball around. Different backs bring different types of plays. We try to get them all touches early. Then whoever has the hot hand will certainly get the balls late in the game.”
That seems reasonable, but so far there hasn't appeared to be any rhyme or reason to how the backs are deployed. Beyond that, who is to say that a back who has the "hot hand" early in the game will still have it later on if he's missed a few series in the meantime?
For the Rams to become the consistent running team they claimed they want to be, they're going to first have to figure out how to share the carries.
BuffaloRam
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I'd be happy with Terrel Davis-like greatness
I'd be happy with Marshall faulk like greatness...
Wow. Ambitious, and humble. That is a hell of a combination to become one of the greatest. The limited plays Mason did were plausible, I would love to see more of Tre. Keep the spirit up.
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Jumava1968
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That would not surprise me one bit,he runs hard and with authority
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Yes. Emmitt Smith is one of the greatest HBs to ever play the game and was great before they assembled the dream team of OLs.
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I feel for Stacy, but have to agree. Zac just takes too much punishment with his running style and has trouble staying healthy. But he's a fine first RB off the bench, that's playoff-level depth right there.
Mason adds the burst that none of the others have. This offense needs big plays badly. Writing is on the wall there, no doubt.
Amitar
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Tre looked like a different back in the game then what we saw in preseason. Not only do I agree that he is going to be our starter but I think he is going to be very good.
and Yes Stacy needs to be coming off the bench or he is not going to last very long, unfortunately.
Tron
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I love stay but agree with you guys. I will just be happy if we eventually have a main back who 20+ carries a game and can get into a groove and use the others in certain situations.
Running back by committee is fine on paper, and works ok during games, but I prefer a main back with good backups.
Running back by committee is fine on paper, and works ok during games, but I prefer a main back with good backups.
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I think Tre is going to be a nice player. I love his running style.
My big concern is ball security. He seemed to hold it a little loose, IMO last game. That needs to be watched.
Get it high and tight, Tre.
My big concern is ball security. He seemed to hold it a little loose, IMO last game. That needs to be watched.
Get it high and tight, Tre.
Thordaddy
Binding you with ancient logic
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Actually first he must learn to pass block,or he will not see the field enough to be that good.
paceram
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Love the guy's attitude! Personally, I want a guy that has the confidence that he can be great like Emmitt Smith, Adrian Peterson, etc! I think the Rams are in great shape at RB with Mason, Stacy & Cunningham!
lockdnram21
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Stacy should be second After Benny. Our most talented players need to be on the field and Benny is more talented