Would Nathaniel Hackett be a good fit for St Louis Rams offense?

Earlier this week NBC reported that Buffalo Bills offensive co-ordinator Nathaniel Hackett will interview with the vacant position with the St Louis Rams. The Californian native is two years into his second spell at Ralph Wilson Stadium, having previously worked on the offensive coaching staff under then Head Coach, Dick Jauron.

With the Rams having missed out (if that is the correct term) on names such as Greg Roman, Kyle Shanahan and Marc Trestman, the list of potential candidates seems to be shrinking rapidly. With Hackett at the helm, Buffalo’s offense finished 26^th in the league in 2014, down from 19^th in 2013.

In his previous spell, the Bills ranked 25^th in 2008, falling to 29^th in 2009. Hardly inspiring stuff. There are, however, a couple of similarities between the situation Hackett leaves in Buffalo and the position in St Louis – which may point to him being a good fit.

Firstly, Buffalo ran a run-heavy offense with a rotation of backs. In 2014 CJ Spiller, Fred Jackson and Bobbie Dixon ran for a combined 1257 yards and 4 touchdowns. This contrasts nicely with St Louis’ trio of Tre Mason, Benny Cunningham and Zac Stacy who together rushed for 1304 yards and 7 touchdowns.

This despite every one of Buffalo’s offensive linemen grading poorly in run blocking according to Pro Football Focus – ranging from LT Cordy Glenn at -2.1 to RT Seantrel Henderson the third lowest tackle in the league at -19.4.

Even with the recent the woes on the St Louis line, with every chance of new blood coming in the draft, Joe Barksdale being retained and Greg Robinson developing, it is hoped the Rams will fare much better up front in 2015.

Combine this with the fact that age is very much on the side of St Louis backs (Mason with one year in the league, Cunningham and Stacy with two each – Buffalo’s Fred Jackson is now 33), an offensive co-ordinator inclined to base his scheming around the running game with multiple backs sharing the carries stands to do well.

Secondly, there is the presence of a highly-drafted and hugely talented receiver on the roster, working best out of the slot and on inside-out routes, with scorching speed with the potential for huge yardage after the catch. For Buffalo’s Sammy Watkins, read Rams’ Tavon Austin.

To illustrate the point, watch this touchdown by Watkins against the Miami Dolphins. The play is ideally designed around his strengths, with Watkins running a quick route cutting across the field assisted with a crucial block by the tight end Scott Chandler (84), then letting the receiver use his pace to avoid the defensive backs after making the catch and get the ball into the corner of the end zone.

Compare that play to Austin’s 81-yarder against the Indianapolis Colts from last season. Again, it involves the receiver coming flat across the field behind the defensive line, making the catch before turning up a gear and letting his legs do the rest.

The problem is that plays like this were the exception rather than the rule under Brian Schottenheimer. In 2014 Austin was only targeted 44 times on a total of 515 passing plays (8.5%) that the Rams ran, accumulating a mere 242 yards with no touchdowns. Hardly the best use for a number 8 overall draft selection.

This is in stark contrast to Watkins, who was aimed at 128 of 579 passing plays, a far healthier 22%, resulting in 6 receiving touchdowns and falling just 18 short of the 1000-yard mark. In other words, Hackett knew what he had in Watkins and did his best to make use of the talent available – something Schottenheimer spectacularly failed to do with Austin.

If Hackett were to take over the reigns in St Louis, there is some hope based on Watkins’ numbers last year that he would look to get far more from Austin.

There are a few other factors that could be examined in more depth. The comparison between Sam Bradford and EJ Manuel is one, with concerns over injuries and fundamental questions about ability and whether they should ever have been drafted as high as they were.

The fact that both teams have extremely strong defences to support the efforts on offense is another. When the news broke about Hackett getting an interview, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who saw a chorus of negative Tweets and Facebook comments from fans. All I’ll say is this – while a young co-ordinator with an offense towards the bottom of the rankings might not, on the face of it, be the answers to the Rams prayers there are a few reasons why it might make sense.

Lest we forget, the Bills finished with a winning record last year (which the Rams have failed to do since 2003) despite playing the Broncos, Packers and the Patriots twice. And hey – would he really be any worse than Schottenheimer?