St. Louis Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Breaking Down St. Louis' Game Plan

The St. Louis Rams (0-1) will travel south to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1) for their first road trip of the 2014 regular season. The game will kick off at 4:05 p.m. ET. 

Both teams were dreadful in Week 1, but it was the Rams who really stood out in a bad way. St. Louis landed on the wrong end of a 34-6 beating at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings. The performance was so inept that ESPN dropped the Rams eight spots and ranked them dead last in the latest power rankings. 

The Rams have no choice but to bring their best game to Tampa Bay. It's unbelievable to even ponder this so early in the season, but if the Rams fall 0-2 against two very beatable opponents, they will already be in a hole too deep to escape.

With the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks up next, in that order, there are few other opportunities to right the ship. It absolutely has to happen in Week 2. Another demoralizing loss will basically mark the end of the season. 

In order for St. Louis to secure a victory in Tampa Bay, here are a few key things that must happen: 

Offense

Establish the Run Game

The Carolina Panthers did not utilize a relentless rushing attack in their Week 1 win over the Bucs, but the Panthers were still able to maintain a healthy run game. 

DeAngelo Williams ran for 72 yards and averaged over five yards a carry, while backup runners Jonathan Stewart and Mike Tolbert added another 31 yards on the ground.

Carolina's ground performance is certainly not worthy of intense praise, but it was just enough to keep the Tampa defense honest. And that's all the Rams will need to muster as well. 

St. Louis backs Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham do not need to provide the flash, but they must silently serve as the backbone to the offense. If the Rams offense can face 2nd-and-5 situations all day, it'll make life much easier for Austin Davis or Shaun Hill. 

Not only will a healthy run game put the offense in more manageable situations, but it'll ensure that the Buccaneers keep the box loaded with at least seven defenders. This will open things up for the St. Louis passing game. 

Of course, much of the ground production will depend on the blocking up front by the line, which was anything but effective in Week 1. That brings us to the next point...

Get Greg Robinson On the Field

Tim Umphrey/Associated Press

Last week, the Rams benched No. 2 overall draft pick Greg Robinson in favor of veteran Davin Joseph. The decision was a complete disaster. 

Joseph's run blocking was questionable, but he was a total nightmare in pass protection. He was consistently manhandled by Minnesota's front four.

Pass protection is supposedly Joseph's strength over Robinson—who is inexperienced in that area due to his run-first days at Auburn—but that notion seems laughable at this point. Even if Robinson's pass blocking needs work, there's no possible way it can get any worse than what we saw from Joseph against the Vikings. 

With that being the case, why isn't the No. 2 overall prospect in the game gaining valuable experience? Robinson may not be an improvement as a pass protector, but he'll certainly add a much-needed upgrade to the run blocking. 

Even if the Rams are determined to keep Joseph in the lineup, why not find another way to utilize Robinson's elite road-paving skills? He certainly has the pure athleticism to enter the game as a run-blocking fullback or tight end. The New York Jets constructed a similar package with defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson last season and experienced some success with it. 

The bottom line is that the blocking can't get any more pathetic than what we witnessed last week. As such, why not give an elite rookie prospect some much-needed reps, so hopefully he can be a difference maker by the second half of the season? 

Find the Hot Hands

The Buccaneers had few positives from last week's loss to Carolina, but cornerback Alterraun Verner's coverage was one of them. He performed like a legitimate shutdown corner throughout the game. 

Verner will be able to take one Rams receiver out of the equation on every play. Considering Rams receiver Brian Quick has been lighting it up lately, he'll likely have the misfortune of facing Verner for most of the game. 

The rest of the Tampa Bay secondary, however, was quite mediocre in Week 1. This will provide the other Rams receivers with a great opportunity to contribute. 

Tight End Jared Cook and slot receiver Tavon Austin are two prime suspects for a big game. Kenny Britt might even step into the light and remind us that he's still on the team. 

Either way, one of the receivers will have to step up and make a difference. Whoever starts at quarterback Sunday, he'll have to locate the receiver who just happens to be clicking that day and get the ball to him. 

Verner can't cover everyone, so get the ball to a different receiver—someone who's in a playmaking mood. 

Defense

Contain the Towers

The Rams had some pathetic moments in coverage last week, but the secondary did limit big plays. A single 22-yard reception was Minnesota's only catch for 20 or more yards. (To put that into context, the stale St. Louis offense had five during that game.)

Tampa Bay receiver Vincent Jackson is known for his impressive downfield catches. If the St. Louis defense can limit those plays once again, it will take the Buccaneers' most dangerous offensive weapon out of the picture. 

Although, it's not only the downfield shots that the Rams will watch for. Tampa Bay has four receivers that stand 6'5" or taller (Jackson, Mike Evans, Luke Stocker, Austin Seferian-Jenkins), and the pure physicality from that group will present a challenge on short routes and red-zone situations. 

Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins had a promising showing against Minnesota. He will be trusted with the responsibility of covering Jackson. If last week is any indication, he should be up for the challenge. 

As for Mike Evans...he shouldn't be an issue. Just eight short months ago, Evans' Texas A&M Aggies met cornerback E.J. Gaines and the Missouri Tigers for the college football regular-season finale. Missouri escaped with a win, and Gaines limited the usually dangerous Evans to eight total yards. 

As luck would have it, that very same Gaines will be suiting up for the Rams this Sunday and lining up across from Evans. Unless things have changed drastically over the last eight months, there's no reason to believe the outcome will be much different. 

If Jenkins and Gaines can lock down their guys and the entire Rams secondary can prevent the giant Tampa Bay receivers from making back-breaking plays, it will make a win that much easier. 

Stuff the Run

Tampa Bay's putrid efforts on the ground last week were shocking, even against Carolina's stingy run defense. 

The Buccaneers running backs combined for just 75 rushing yards. Take away Jorvorskie Lane's 54-yard run, and the group finished with just 21 yards on 13 carries. 

The return of Doug Martin, who looked the part of a Pro Bowl back throughout his 1,454-yard rookie campaign, was supposed to reignite Tampa's run game. Instead, Martin finished with just nine yards on the ground against the Panthers. 

The pathetic performance on the ground really put the pressure on Josh McCown. It allowed the Panthers to drop extra men into coverage and get after McCown with the front four, which is why he coughed up two picks and was sacked three times. 

St. Louis certainly hasn't been as dominate at stopping the run as Carolina, but the Rams have the talent up front to create similar results. 

Also, Tampa Bay doesn't have a gadget-like ball-carrier such as Cordarrelle Patterson, who torched the Rams for 103 rushing yards on three carries last week. With the Buccaneers, it's a more straight-forward rushing attack, which should simplify things for the St. Louis defense. 

If the Rams can stuff the run like Carolina did in Week 1, it will put Tampa Bay in a terrible position. 

Create Turnovers

This is always an obvious point to make when discussing what a team must do to secure a win, but the Rams need to come up with takeaways. 

Last week, the Rams failed to create a single turnover, while the Vikings had two interceptions. And like always, the team that led in takeaways came away with a victory. 

This is the last point addressed in this article, but it should the first thing on St. Louis' mind entering the game this Sunday. There's a strong possibility a third-string quarterback will be leading the Rams offense, which means scoring opportunities will already be limited. A few timely picks resulting in points or good field position will tip the scales in St. Louis' favor. 

If the Rams can win the turnover ratio, they'll likely exit Florida with a victory. 

Steven Gerwel is the longest-tenured Rams Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and serves as the Rams' game-day correspondent. You can find more of Gerwel's work by visiting his writer profile or by following him on Twitter.