Nov. 25, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA: St. Louis Rams quarterback (8) Sam Bradford against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

In the early portion of the season, this young Rams team often pondered over how to win games late. It was as if the Rams were in a boxing match exchanging blows toe-to-toe, only to absorb a nasty right hook that ultimately led the judge to select the opponent in a unanimous decision.

Well, as of late, St. Louis has found themselves with a 3-1 record in nail-bitters.

But you’re walking on thin ice playing that way in the NFL.

Slow starts have plagued the Rams in their last four games dating back to the second game against Arizona. The stagnant approach of the offense finally caught up to the Rams as they quickly fell into 30-7 hole against Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings.

In these last four games, St. Louis has been outscored 60 to 21 in the first half, while exceeding in the second half, outscoring their opponents 63 to 18. Yardage wise, the Rams have been outgained 732 to 515 in the first half while racking 862 yards to their opponents 585 yards in the second half.

And to mention the Rams have committed four turnovers in the first half compared to zero on the second half.

This Jeckell and Hyde attitude of the Rams has to stop, but how?

It easy to say that the Rams should pick up the pace and become more uptempo with Bradford, but then cries of running the ball with Steven Jackson and Daryl Richardson would spread like wildfires. Bradford’s three touchdowns and a career high of 377 yards pass were misleading to say the least.

After jumping out to a comfortable 30-7 lead, the Vikings were able to pound away with Peterson and play zone a little bit more. Minnesota still dialed up a few blitzes as the Rams made a futile comeback attempt.

Is it the play calling?

Most teams in the NFL have a 10 to 15 play script consisting of plays the teams like to run and successful plays on third downs. Speaking of third downs, in the Rams last four tightrope games, they are 16 percent on third-down in the first half compared to 37.5 percent in the second half.

Brian Schottenheimer and the offensive staff needs find more creative ways to move the ball in the air, as well as the ground. Ideally, Chris Givens should benefit from a healthy Danny Amendola as he handles all the short work opening up the deep airways. With only two games remaining, St. Louis needs to deploy second round wide receiver Brian Quick after his spectacular catch in the endzone.

Igniting the offense early is essential for the Rams in their final two games as they look to finish the season on a high note.   Both Tampa Bay and Seattle will feature power running games with Doug Martin and Marshawn Lynch respectively. The Rams may use the same tactic of playing ball-control offense to keep the two backs from gathering steam, but look how that game plan worked against Peterson.

Luckily, Martin and Lynch are no Peterson.

Feb 26, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Oregon Ducks running back Lamichael James does running drills during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

The running backs are up here at the Combine Report, and I have to say that I was impressed with this group. With top back Trent Richardson not working out, I still saw some nice talent from those who were on the field. I don’t know how many top guys there are in this group, but there are some very solid players that can be had in the middle rounds. The Rams are going to need to get in the market for a back at some point, so I was very focused on this group during workouts.

Guys Who Impressed Me: LaMichael James, Chris Rainey, David Wilson, Doug Martin, Chris Polk.

There are some interesting guys in this group. James is a guy I have seen a ton of in college while he was at Oregon, and I thought he looked outstanding. He’s small and fast, and he’s going to be a Darren Sproles-type player in the NFL. The Rams could certainly use his game-breaking skills, and he will likely be available late second or early third. Rainey is another fast player who has a ton a highlight-reel tape from his time at Florida. Wilson, Martin and Polk all looked like they could be every-down backs at the next level, and Wilson was probably the most impressive back overall at the workouts. Polk is a guy I liked a lot heading into this thing, and he didn’t do anything to change my mind. Lamar Miller from Miami ran a 4.40 40 which was the fastest time in the group as well.

Guys Who Disappointed Me: Davin Meggett, Darrell Scott, Marc Tyler

Meggett ran a pretty solid 40, but I thought he really struggled with some of the workouts. I thought he might be a sleeper, but I don’t think he helped his cause. Scott and Tyler did not look good catching the ball at all, and I didn’t see a great burst out of him. Scott is a big back who also struggled catching the ball, but he is probably just going to be a power running if he gets to the league. Some of these route-running drills aren’t really fair to the big guys, but it doesn’t change the fact that they are the workouts and Scott and Tyler struggled.