Rams Britt and Laurinaitis miss practice Wednesday as team prepares for Arizona

The St. Louis Rams are going about business as usual heading into Week 4 against the division leading Arizona Cardinals. After a small slide in the rankings coming off a tough loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Rams need to improve their play on offense and stop relying on their defense to bail them out. Wednesday, quarterback Nick Foles spoke with the media and shouldered some of the blame for the less than spectacular play on offense saying, “I’m at the front of it. I have to play better.”

Foles opened the year with a 297-yard performance against Seattle. He threw for a touchdown, rushed for another and boasted a 66.7 completion percentage. Unfortunately it’s been all down hill from there. In the Rams two losses this year Foles has thrown for just 347 yards, one touchdown, one interception and has a QBR of just 36.9. Maybe most concerning though is his drop in average yards per play. Against the Seahawks Foles averaged 11 yards per play, against everyone else, just 5 yards per play.

Sep 27, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Nick Foles (5) passes to tight end Lance Kendricks (88) during the first half against the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The hope in St. Louis is that rookie running back Todd Gurley will provide some of that help on offense. Gurley made his much-anticipated debut last week against Pittsburgh to a less than stellar stat line. The young back gained only six yards on nine carries. When asked about the biggest difference between the NFL and college football, Gurley noted his inability to break tackles as surprising. Hopefully this will improve overtime.

Gurley also said he struggled to adjust to the Rams outside zone run concepts. At the University of Georgia Gurley did most of his damage between the tackles and by gaining yards after contact. Gurley didn’t seem phased by his slow start though.

"“I feel like I’ve still got the explosiveness. I definitely didn’t get to show it today (Sunday).” Gurley spoke about his first carries in the second quarter against the Steelers. “It’s just the first game. I’ve got to get in the groove of things. I knew I was going to be fine after that (getting hit), it definitely felt good just to be back out there on the field again.” (Kevin Patra, NFL.com)"

Look for Gurley’s workload to increase in Week 4 against the Cardinals. Gurley is still listed as the third string running back behind Tre Mason (1), and Benny Cunningham (2).

Notable players that missed practice on Wednesday include wide receiver Kenny Britt (shoulder), linebacker James Laurinaitis (rest), running back Chase Reynolds (knee), defensive end Eugene Sims (knee) and safety Maurice Alexander (groin).

Britt aggravated his shoulder last week against Pittsburgh and the team doesn’t believe the injury will be serious enough to keep him out against Arizona. Getting Britt, last year’s team leader in receiving yards, more involved in the offense will be another point of emphasis on Sunday. Britt is already averaging more yards per play than he earned 2014, his one touchdown is already one third of last year’s total and he has already produced eight first downs receiving.

Running back Chase Reynolds and defensive end Eugene Sims have not practiced since they both went down with knee injuries in Week 1.

Linebacker James Laurinaitis received another day of rest Wednesday and should be considered a go for Sunday. Safety Maurice Alexander is nursing a groin injury, but will also look to play on Sunday.