St. Louis Rams Post-Game Roundtable: Preseason Game 1 vs. Saints

4. Zac Stacy didn’t get too many carries, but judging from his feet, vision, and power at the point of contact, he looked to be in mid-season form. Do you expect Stacy to get 250-plus carries and rush for 1,250-plus yards this upcoming season? What do you expect out of rookie Tre Mason, who only rushed for 51 yards on 15 carries against the Saints?

Aug 8, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Zac Stacy (30) rushes against the New Orleans Saints at Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Nathan K.: Not to jinx the situation, but with Stacy’s running style and history of injuries throughout college (and even last year with the Rams), it doesn’t seem like Jeff Fisher and Co. will allow Stacy to compile another 250+ carry season. Last year, Stacy essentially had no competition for starting reps after Week 5, and seems to get rushed back from injuries more quickly than he should have been. This year, with Benny Cunningham and Tre Mason in the bullpen, Stacy will likely get more rest on a week-to-week basis.

With that being said, someone has to pick up the slack, and that will likely end up falling on the shoulders of Tre Mason. The Auburn phenom looked spectacular in his time on the field Friday, albeit against lesser competition. Not only was he dynamic with the football in his hands, he was very active in pass protection, and laid a massive block that set up a long completion in the first half of the game. I could see the Rams giving Stacy about three-fifths of the workload, then splitting the rest between Mason and Cunningham, depending on the situation.

Blaine G.: The success of the Rams depends on running the football and it was nice to see that Stacy looked like he hadn’t missed a beat from the end of last season. Stacy had 250 carries last season, and I don’t see why they won’t use him just as much if not more this season. 1,000 yards would be a good milestone for the second year player, anything more would be a bonus.

Mason didn’t look too bad in his first preseason game, and I think eventually he and Stacy will make a good 1-2 punch in the backfield. I’m very interested to see how he performs the rest of the preseason.

Anthony K.: This one is easy–I absolutely expect Stacy to get 250-plus carries and end up with 1,250-yards. Stacy is a perfect fit for the type of running game Jeff Fisher has installed since taking over the Rams team. It doesn’t hurt that he’s strong, has good vision, runs north to south, doesn’t lose yards, he’s a good receiver out of the backfield, and he’s an adept blocker. Adding Tre Mason was simply just a matter of the Rams wanting to make a strong unit even stronger. Don’t forget how good Benny Cunningham was last season in limited action. I expect the Rams to get touches for both Mason and Cunningham to keep Stacy fresh all season.