2014 St Louis Rams: What I Didn’t Like

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

It has taken me a while to fully settle on the main things that I did not like about the St Louis Rams’ 2014 season. This is because, sadly, and as you would expect from a team that went 6-10, it is a long list, and cutting this to a manageable length was not a simple task. This latest version of the Rams was a frustrating one: a team that was capable of exciting highs, and of cringe-worthy lows. While the signs of progress were clearly visible, the inconsistencies on both sides of the ball regularly betrayed this young squad, with all-too-familiar results.

What I Didn’t Like…

The Offense  To be perfectly fair, the Rams offense was capable of putting up good numbers. On seven occasions, for example, the team scored a minimum of 24 points (occasionally assisted by defensive and special teams contributions), but the ranked among the bottom of the League in overall offensive production. The offense failed to reach double-digit scores in four games, reflecting the inconsistency of this unit. This was particularly frustrating when the defense was playing well towards the end of the season (e.g. against Arizona and Seattle), but the offense was unable to capitalize. To add to the frustration, the Rams clearly have players capable of putting up big numbers, but these were often lost in a jumble of unimaginative play-calling and shoddy execution. Of course, the messy situation at quarterback did not help, with Sam Bradford’s injury forcing the offense into the hands of a young, jumpy Austin Davis and the veteran journeyman Shaun Hill. With players like Tavon Austin, Jared Cook, Brian Quick and Tre Mason, the Rams should not be struggling to find the end-zone, but all too often they would find themselves in repetitive patterns of three-and-outs, or promising drives that petered out. True, there were instances when the offense put up a good fight – most notably against Dallas and San Diego – but there comes a time in a franchise’s history when putting up a fight is simply not good enough. For St Louis, the time should be now.

The offensive line   The blame for an ineffective offense can usually be placed on the shoulders of the quarterback, or the offensive co-ordinator, and, in the Rams’ case, this would be fair. But, as is also commonly the case, the offensive line did not help matters. A season-ending injury to Jake Long seemed to send the line into disarray at a crucial time, and the unit did not seem to recover despite occasional glimpses of strength. Greg Robinson was inconsistent, but center Scott Wells and guard Davin Joseph – both manning the interior of the line – were woeful. Given the significant investment made on the O-line in recent years, more was expected from these players. The occasionally patchy pass protection, and the erratic run-blocking – as well as the perennial penalties – led to this firepower failing to live up to expectations, and, for the umpteenth year running, Rams fans find themselves looking at the offensive line as an offseason priority.

Lack of fundamentals         It is natural that a young, brash team is going to make mistakes, but the 2014 St Louis Rams were regularly guilty of the same mental errors that have plagued the team for years: dumb penalties, poor tackling, breakdowns in coverage, etc. In the past, these could be dismissed as the work of the same-old-Rams, but now, with the team seemingly on the verge of becoming serious challengers, the Rams simply cannot afford these mistakes, particularly in the strong NFC West. These slip-ups literally cost St Louis a number of wins, and, in order for the team to progress, it needs to tone down the swagger and focus on getting the fundamentals right. Effective blocking, successful tackling and tight discipline are the hallmarks of the NFL’s strongest teams, and the Rams will never be considered one of these until they adopt these practices more regularly.