5 Things to Watch: Rams-Raiders
By Nate Latsch
http://www.scout.com/nfl/rams/story/1574445-5-things-to-watch-rams-raiders
The St. Louis Rams will open the preseason schedule on Friday night on the road against the Oakland Raiders. Here are five things to watch as the Rams play at Oakland on Friday night…
NEW-LOOK OFFENSE
The Rams’ starting offense will look a lot different when they take the field this season compared to the unit that opened the regular season a year ago.
St. Louis will have four new starters along the offensive line — three new starters from how they ended last season — and obviously a new quarterback after the offseason trade of Sam Bradford for Nick Foles.
The Rams starters likely won’t see much time against the Raiders, but should provide a sneak peak, albeit a brief one, early in the first quarter.
ROOKIE OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
The Rams used five draft picks on offensive linemen this offseason and two of those, second-rounder Rob Havenstein and third-rounder Jamon Brown, figure to be in the starting lineup at right tackle and right guard, respectively.
Fourth-round pick Andrew Donnal has bounced around between a couple different positions so far in training camp, but he should get plenty of reps with the second-team unit. Isaiah Battle, the team’s fifth-round supplemental draft pick, could see some time with the reserves at left tackle.
CENTER ROTATION
The Rams haven’t given any indication which of the three players competing for the starting center spot will start on Friday.
Tim Barnes, Barrett Jones and Demetrius Rhaney have rotated with the No. 1 group throughout OTAs and training camp and all three are expected to see time against the Raiders.
How those players fare in the preseason games will likely be a significant factor for when Fisher and his coaching staff decide on the starter going into the regular season.
BACKUP QUARTERBACKS
The starting quarterback job belongs to Foles, who recently was rewarded with a two-year contract extension, but the backup spot remains a position of intrigue.
Austin Davis was the backup a year ago behind Shaun Hill after Bradford got hurt, but the Rams traded a seventh-round draft pick to the Houston Texans to reacquire Case Keenum to compete for that spot. Both should see plenty of time on Friday, as should rookie third-round pick Sean Mannion.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Rams have several undrafted rookies in camp who have shown flashes of potential — wide receiver Bradley Marquez and cornerback Imoan Claiborne come to mind first — but none of the youngsters stood out during the team’s first special teams practice.
The coaching staff has stressed the importance of special teams when it comes to having a chance to make the 53-man roster, which won’t be easy anyway with as many returning players as the Rams have this season. So this is the first chance during the preseason schedule for the young, unproven guys to show what they can do on special teams.