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http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_64f94883-e462-5a9b-b81e-3923954866f7.html
After being drubbed 35-11 by the San Francisco 49ers on a nationally televised game on Sept. 26, the Rams were 1-3 and looking for answers.
They decided to get back to the basics, to re-emphasize the run game and return to the power football that head coach Jeff Fisher is known for.
“We’re a different team,” said Fisher, whose Rams take on his former NFL team, the Tennessee Titans, Sunday at noon at the Edward Jones Dome. “We were pretty much forced into that, I think because of some situations that happened, but I kind of like where we’re at.”
The Rams finished October with two wins and two losses, but they deserved a better fate in Monday night’s 14-9 loss to visiting Seattle. While the overall play has improved, probably the key to the team’s recent surge has been the hard-nosed running of rookie Zac Stacy.
Stacy, a 5-foot-8, 214-pounder, was third in the NFL and second among rookies with 344 rushing yards in October. Against Seattle, the league’s No. 2-ranked defense, he set personal bests with 26 carries and 134 rushing yards.
Since the Rams arrived in St. Louis in 1995, just six rookie backs have surpassed the 100-yard mark, and only Steven Jackson — with 148 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2004 — has had a bigger rushing game than Stacy.
“It’s a nice milestone, but we lost. Really, the only stat I’m worried about is wins and losses,” said Stacy, 22. “It all starts up front; the guys on the o-line are doing a great job. Even though we lost, we did some good things against Seattle, one of the top teams in the league. Hopefully that gives us something to build on.”
Stacy, who suffered an ankle injury in Monday’s loss, did not practice Wednesday but expects to be ready for Sunday.
“If Zac can’t go, it means there’s something really wrong with him,” running backs coach Ben Sirmans said. “Even as a rookie, he’s learned that playing running back in the NFL means playing through pain. He’s just a tough young man.”
And that’s something his teammates have come to appreciate.
“Zac’s going a great job seeing the holes, making the cuts and then getting yards after contact,” quarterback Kellen Clemens said.
“The rookie Zac, I think he’s continuing to put the team on his shoulders,” tackle Rodger Saffold said. “He’s going to keep on running and keep on running hard. The yards he’s getting after contact is ridiculous.”
Guard Chris Williams agrees: “He’s doing a great job of eliminating those negative runs. Even when there’s nothing there, he’s getting two or three yards, running through tackles and playing tough. But I’m not surprised — he’s a Vandy guy.”
So is Williams.
At Vanderbilt, Stacy set career marks for rushing yards (3,143) and touchdowns (30) and became just the eighth back in SEC history to post consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
The Rams traded up to select Stacy in the fifth round (160th overall) last April. Despite being slowed by minor injuries in camp, he was the team’s second-leading rusher in the preseason.
But second-year backs Daryl Richardson and Isaiah Pead were the team’s primary running threats when the Rams opened the season.
Richardson ran for 63 yards in a season-opening win over Arizona, and Stacy picked up four yards on his lone carry. Stacy was inactive in losses in Atlanta and Dallas. Against the Cowboys, Pead ran for 20 yards and caught a team-high seven passes.
Against San Francisco, Stacy was on the field for just one play.
“Sometimes you wish you would’ve figured out what you had a little earlier,” Sirmans said. “Based off Zac’s success at Vanderbilt in the top conference in college football, we knew he had talent. But he was a little banged up in camp, and we had Daryl and Isaiah getting the bulk of the reps. They were the guys we’d seen, guys who had actually played in the NFL.
“It can be really difficult to get a true indication of what you have in a player until you see him in live situations.”
But the team-oriented Stacy remained patient.
“That’s the business part of the game,” he said. “We have good backs on this team, and we all prepare the same. I just kept working in practice, and now that I’ve been given an opportunity, I’m just trying to do all I can to make the most of it.”
Stacy ran for 78 yards and averaged 5.6 per carry in a win over Jacksonville and followed up with 79 rushing yards in a road win over the Texans in Houston. In a frustrating loss to the Carolina Panthers, he was held to 53 rushing yards but managed to score his first NFL touchdown on a 4-yard pass from Sam Bradford.
In just four starts, Stacy has rushed for 348 yards and averaged 4.6 per carry. He is second in the league among rookie runners (behind Green Bay’s Eddie Lacy) and is 12th overall in NFC rushing.
“I think we’ve found an awfully good tailback in Zac Stacy, and the line’s doing a heck of a job,” Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. “We started talking about balance and getting back to the running game, and it’s working for us. We’re awfully proud of where we’re at with the run game.
“I think we knew we were getting a good football player, but what (Stacy) has done the last couple of weeks is very impressive.”
Sirmans noted that Stacy’s powerful running style can be contagious.
“When you get that downhill guy who’s taking shots and still gaining yards, it pumps up those big guys on the offensive line and makes them work even harder to open holes and create running room,” the coach said. “As a player, you see a guy like Zac battling the way he does and it gets everyone around him fired up.
“But what I really like about Zac is his approach to the game. He’s very mature and responsible, and by working on the mental aspects of the game, I think he can be an even better player for us down the line.”
After being drubbed 35-11 by the San Francisco 49ers on a nationally televised game on Sept. 26, the Rams were 1-3 and looking for answers.
They decided to get back to the basics, to re-emphasize the run game and return to the power football that head coach Jeff Fisher is known for.
“We’re a different team,” said Fisher, whose Rams take on his former NFL team, the Tennessee Titans, Sunday at noon at the Edward Jones Dome. “We were pretty much forced into that, I think because of some situations that happened, but I kind of like where we’re at.”
The Rams finished October with two wins and two losses, but they deserved a better fate in Monday night’s 14-9 loss to visiting Seattle. While the overall play has improved, probably the key to the team’s recent surge has been the hard-nosed running of rookie Zac Stacy.
Stacy, a 5-foot-8, 214-pounder, was third in the NFL and second among rookies with 344 rushing yards in October. Against Seattle, the league’s No. 2-ranked defense, he set personal bests with 26 carries and 134 rushing yards.
Since the Rams arrived in St. Louis in 1995, just six rookie backs have surpassed the 100-yard mark, and only Steven Jackson — with 148 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2004 — has had a bigger rushing game than Stacy.
“It’s a nice milestone, but we lost. Really, the only stat I’m worried about is wins and losses,” said Stacy, 22. “It all starts up front; the guys on the o-line are doing a great job. Even though we lost, we did some good things against Seattle, one of the top teams in the league. Hopefully that gives us something to build on.”
Stacy, who suffered an ankle injury in Monday’s loss, did not practice Wednesday but expects to be ready for Sunday.
“If Zac can’t go, it means there’s something really wrong with him,” running backs coach Ben Sirmans said. “Even as a rookie, he’s learned that playing running back in the NFL means playing through pain. He’s just a tough young man.”
And that’s something his teammates have come to appreciate.
“Zac’s going a great job seeing the holes, making the cuts and then getting yards after contact,” quarterback Kellen Clemens said.
“The rookie Zac, I think he’s continuing to put the team on his shoulders,” tackle Rodger Saffold said. “He’s going to keep on running and keep on running hard. The yards he’s getting after contact is ridiculous.”
Guard Chris Williams agrees: “He’s doing a great job of eliminating those negative runs. Even when there’s nothing there, he’s getting two or three yards, running through tackles and playing tough. But I’m not surprised — he’s a Vandy guy.”
So is Williams.
At Vanderbilt, Stacy set career marks for rushing yards (3,143) and touchdowns (30) and became just the eighth back in SEC history to post consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
The Rams traded up to select Stacy in the fifth round (160th overall) last April. Despite being slowed by minor injuries in camp, he was the team’s second-leading rusher in the preseason.
But second-year backs Daryl Richardson and Isaiah Pead were the team’s primary running threats when the Rams opened the season.
Richardson ran for 63 yards in a season-opening win over Arizona, and Stacy picked up four yards on his lone carry. Stacy was inactive in losses in Atlanta and Dallas. Against the Cowboys, Pead ran for 20 yards and caught a team-high seven passes.
Against San Francisco, Stacy was on the field for just one play.
“Sometimes you wish you would’ve figured out what you had a little earlier,” Sirmans said. “Based off Zac’s success at Vanderbilt in the top conference in college football, we knew he had talent. But he was a little banged up in camp, and we had Daryl and Isaiah getting the bulk of the reps. They were the guys we’d seen, guys who had actually played in the NFL.
“It can be really difficult to get a true indication of what you have in a player until you see him in live situations.”
But the team-oriented Stacy remained patient.
“That’s the business part of the game,” he said. “We have good backs on this team, and we all prepare the same. I just kept working in practice, and now that I’ve been given an opportunity, I’m just trying to do all I can to make the most of it.”
Stacy ran for 78 yards and averaged 5.6 per carry in a win over Jacksonville and followed up with 79 rushing yards in a road win over the Texans in Houston. In a frustrating loss to the Carolina Panthers, he was held to 53 rushing yards but managed to score his first NFL touchdown on a 4-yard pass from Sam Bradford.
In just four starts, Stacy has rushed for 348 yards and averaged 4.6 per carry. He is second in the league among rookie runners (behind Green Bay’s Eddie Lacy) and is 12th overall in NFC rushing.
“I think we’ve found an awfully good tailback in Zac Stacy, and the line’s doing a heck of a job,” Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. “We started talking about balance and getting back to the running game, and it’s working for us. We’re awfully proud of where we’re at with the run game.
“I think we knew we were getting a good football player, but what (Stacy) has done the last couple of weeks is very impressive.”
Sirmans noted that Stacy’s powerful running style can be contagious.
“When you get that downhill guy who’s taking shots and still gaining yards, it pumps up those big guys on the offensive line and makes them work even harder to open holes and create running room,” the coach said. “As a player, you see a guy like Zac battling the way he does and it gets everyone around him fired up.
“But what I really like about Zac is his approach to the game. He’s very mature and responsible, and by working on the mental aspects of the game, I think he can be an even better player for us down the line.”
