St. Louis Rams Weekly Roundtable: Rams Crushed in Opener

5. Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham combined to rush for 64 yards on 16 carries–a solid 4.0 yards per carry average–and they also combined to catch 5 passes for 38 yards. Why weren’t they given more touches considering that the Rams were within 10 points of the Vikings up until about two minutes were remaining in the third quarter? Do you expect Jeff Fisher to re-establish the run in next Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers?

Sep 7, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Zac Stacy (30) runs the ball against the Minnesota Vikings during the second half at the Edward Jones Dome. The Minnesota Vikings defeat St. Louis Rams 34-6. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Blaine G.: I think that the Rams struggled to establish the run early and by the time they were finding success on the ground, it was too late. I do think that Fisher makes more of an effort to establish it early this week against Tampa Bay and expect Zac Stacy to have a bounce back game.

Nathan K.: Brian Schottenheimer. While it appeared that Jeff Fisher came out defending his offensive coordinator in one of the early week press conferences, there is no doubt Fisher will have ‘his way’ in Week 2. Regardless of who is the quarterback for the St. Louis Rams, there should never be a 7:4 pass-to-run ratio to start the game. Look for Stacy, Cunningham, and Tre Mason (who was inactive last week) to get 25+ carries combined on Sunday.

Anthony K.: I agree that the play-calling by Brian Schottenheimer probably had a lot to do with Stacy and Cunningham not getting more touches earlier in the game–and that’s a real shame, because both running backs run hard, aren’t prone to losing yardage because they have a north-to-south running style, and they’re both capable receivers out of the backfield. I also agree that you should absolutely expect to see the Rams establish their rushing attack early and often against the Buccaneers–a team that has an excellent secondary, but has a pedestrian run defense. You should also expect to see a lot of Brian Quick and Jared Cook–two big, strong, fast pass-catchers who can stretch the field and aren’t afraid to use the middle of the field, as well.