St. Louis Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Rams Week 2 Game Preview
The St. Louis Rams (0-1) will hit the road for the first time this season to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1).
The game will kick off at 4:05 p.m. ET and will air on Fox for local broadcasting, as well as channel 714 for DirecTV.
Both teams were horribly anemic in their home openers—the Rams fell on the road to the Minnesota Vikings, 34-6, while the Bucs suffered a 20-14 loss to the visiting Carolina Panthers.
Tampa Bay was fortunate enough to face Carolina backup quarterback Derek Anderson instead of Cam Newton, and the Buccaneers were still overwhelmed. The Rams were even worse, as they failed to punch in a single touchdown the entire game.
Both the Rams and Bucs absolutely need a Week 2 win, or else they'll be fighting a steep uphill battle for the remainder of the season. St. Louis in particular will struggle with an 0-2 start, as the Rams play in the unforgiving NFC West, where there's little room for error.
With both teams desperate for a victory, it'll be interesting to see how these two teams respond this Sunday.
This article will preview the upcoming game and provide up-to-date headlines, analysis and predictions.
Week 1 Recap
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The initial headlines out of St. Louis' training camp generated nothing but pure optimism and hope. The team was set to enter Year 3 of Jeff Fisher's tenure—the make-or-break year for many NFL head coaches—and there was no reason to believe the team was not on track for a productive and exciting season.
That hope turned sour when starting quarterback Sam Bradford suffered a season-ending injury in the team's third preseason game. Whatever optimism remained following Bradford's injury now has dissolved completely thanks to St. Louis' miserable effort against the Vikings.
The Rams prepared to enter halftime Week 1 facing a manageable 6-0 deficit, and that's when hell broke loose. During St. Louis' final two-minute drive in the first half, quarterback Shaun Hill injured his quad. The injury seemed to hindered his throwing mechanics, as Hill coughed up an interception on an underthrown ball meant to go out of bounds.
The pick gave the Vikings incredible field position and a golden opportunity to add more points before the half. The Vikings were able capitalize when Matt Cassel hit Greg Jennings for an eight-yard touchdown. That made it a 13-0 game at intermission.
Instead of entering the second half fired up and ready to go, the Rams seemed to enter the third quarter with zero energy and enthusiasm, which was painfully apparent when Patterson ripped off a 67-yard rushing touchdown—breaking tackles from six different Rams defenders in the process.
Tight end Kyle Rudolph added a seven-yard touchdown grab in the final quarter, and Rams third-string quarterback Austin Davis threw a pick-six shortly after.
St. Louis' 34-6 loss to the Vikings made it clear that the Rams were either drastically unprepared or that they were simply overrated to begin with. Although, the Rams were so overwhelmed, it's hard to believe that the loss simply stemmed from a lack of preparation.
The St. Louis offensive line features three former Pro Bowlers—Jake Long, Scott Wells, Davin Joseph—yet the group was dreadful. The running lanes were nonexistent, and the Minnesota pass rush devastated the passing game.
On defense, the line failed to record a single sack against a Vikings offensive line that surrendered 44 sacks just last season—not exactly the performance you'd expect from a unit that nicknamed itself "Sack City" earlier in the offseason. (What kind of unit gives itself a nickname before it has accomplished a single achievement worth mentioning?)
The entire Rams team was fundamentally unsound and just lacked the discipline you'd expect to see from a Jeff Fisher-coached team. The tackling was sloppy and ineffective, and the team racked up 13 penalties for 121 yards.
Out of all the Week 1 games across the NFL, you will not find a single team that mustered a performance more pathetic that what the Rams displayed against the Vikings. If this game is even a semi-accurate image of what this Rams team is capable of, St. Louis fans are in for a long season.
News and Notes
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Things Continue to Look Grim with Chris Long's Injury
Rams defensive end and team captain Chris Long left the Vikings game with an apparent ankle injury. The injury requires surgery, and he'll be sidelined for eight to 10 weeks, according to NBC Sports.
Long's production on the field is not a terrible loss, as William Hayes and Eugene Sims are capable backups who could probably start for many teams with a 4-3 defense. However, Long's fiery spirit and intense leadership on the field will be difficult to replicate.
Long's pass-rush skills are impressive enough to keep opposing offensive lines from double-teaming Robert Quinn. Long's presence is a big reason why Quinn set a franchise-record 19 sacks last season.
The Rams have plenty of pass-rushers and will still get after the quarterback, but Long is the second-best defensive lineman on the team, so it's no minor loss either.
A Surprise Appearance from Wide Receiver Stedman Bailey?
Second-year pro Stedman Bailey was one of the more productive Rams receivers throughout training camp and the preseason. He was expected to take the next step this season and contribute, but a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy has interfered with those plans.
However, the Rams could catch an extremely lucky break over the next the few days.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the NFL and the player's association could finalize a new drug policy before the weekend. If that happens, all suspensions will be overturned.
Bailey has been working with the offense throughout camp, so he's in shape and completely up to speed. If his suspension is overturned, he'll be able to play this Sunday.
Rams Quarterback Situation Still up in the Air
Shaun Hill left the game against Minnesota with a quad injury and missed the entire second half, but it's still unclear if he'll return for Week 2.
According to ESPN, Hill missed Wednesday's practice, and the team is evaluating his injury on a day-to-day basis.
Other than the interception he surrendered before halftime (which was a result of his injury, making it forgivable to a degree), Hill was fairly reliable. He was 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) with 81 passing yards, and the offense was much better at moving the ball when he was in the game.
If Hill is not ready to go, the team will rely on third-year pro Austin Davis. Davis got his first taste of NFL action last Sunday, and he was unsurprisingly a bit erratic. He completed 69.6 percent of his passes for 192 yards, but he also sabotaged St. Louis' most promising drive of the entire game with an 81-yard pick six.
Whoever starts at quarterback, don't expect him to carry the team with a bit aerial attack. The ground game will lead the St. Louis offense this Sunday and for the entire 2014 season.
Injury Report
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The following injury report is from NFL.com, and a more detailed report of the injuries will be released closer to game day.
St. Louis Rams Injuries:
QB Shaun Hill (Ankle): Did not participate
CB Trumaine Johnson (Knee): Did not participate
OL Barrett Jones (Back): Did not participate
DE Chris Long (Ankle): Did not participate
CB Lamarcus Joyner (Undisclosed): Did not participate
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X-Factors and Matchups to Watch
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Secondary vs. Tampa Bay Receivers
The most frightening thing about the Tampa Bay offense is the size of the receivers. The Buccaneers have four receivers who stand 6'5" or taller (Vincent Jackson, Mike Evans, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Luke Stocker) and they could create mismatches in coverage.
Jackson is a well-known deep-ball threat, and Seferian-Jenkins and Stocker will provide physicality and red-zone production out of the tight end position.
The solution calls for St. Louis' defensive backs to man up and play physically in coverage. Although, the Rams pass rush will also play a factor, which leads to the next point...
Will the St. Louis Pass Rush Make a Difference?
The St. Louis defensive line—a unit that nicknamed itself "Sack City" during the offseason—got off to a poor start in Week 1 and recorded zero sacks. In fact, St. Louis' pass rush was hardly even noticeable in that game.
Considering the pass rush is, by far, the Rams' No. 1 overall strength this season, it's clear that the team is depending on the defensive line to get it done.
If the front four cannot disrupt the opposing offense's game plan, then the rest of the defense will suffer as a result. The Rams defense was built as a unit that centers around the defensive line and the pass rush. If the front four is not pressuring the quarterback, then the rest falls out of place and the entire unit fails.
If the Rams can rattle Tampa Bay quarterback Josh McCown consistently and force some crucial mistakes, it will put a victory within reach.
Can the Running Game Take Off?
For a team that supposedly features a run-first offense, the Rams sure were terrible at running the football last week.
The Rams rushed for only 73 yards on 20 carries (3.6 yards per attempt) and failed to find the end zone. The longest run of the game went for seven yards, which is nothing short of humiliating.
If the Rams were planning to compensate for Sam Bradford's absence by asking the run game to carry the offense, as they did last year, they'll need to try a different approach; there's no way the type of production we witnessed in Week 1 will suffice.
In order to exit Tampa with a win, the Rams need to reignite the running game and keep the chains moving.
Prediction
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Picking winners in NFL football is always tough, but the outcome of this game in particular is extremely difficult to predict.
Both teams are desperate for a Week 2 victory, and both teams have veteran head coaches capable of preparing their teams and getting their players refocused following a tough loss. The Rams probably have the more talented roster, but the Buccaneers aren't too far behind and boast home-field advantage.
There's a good argument for either team, but I'll predict that the Rams escape with a narrow win.
Tampa Bay has giant receivers fueling the offense, and that's probably its primary advantage on that side of the ball. However, the Rams were able to prevent big passing plays against Minnesota and allowed just one completion of 20 or more yards.
If St. Louis can keep the deep ball in check once again, it will neutralize the most dangerous aspect of Tampa's offense. Not to mention, Rams cornerback E.J. Gaines held Bucs receiver Mike Evans to just eight yards the last time they met in college last November.
The Rams defense will not be limited to zero sacks for two weeks in a row, so expect McCown to take heavy pressure. This will result in mistakes and possibly some backbreaking turnovers for the Buccaneers.
Of course, the Rams' biggest concern is on offense. The unit was brutal against Minnesota, but it's unlikely an NFL offense will go a second week without finding the end zone. If that happens, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer should be fired on the spot.
Expect the St. Louis run game to improve this week and resemble the hard-nosed rushing attack we saw in 2013. The Rams have two capable backs in Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham, and it's only a matter of time before these two players produce.
Fisher is typically skilled at helping his players move on and forget tough losses. He'll have the Rams ready to play, and they'll put on a better performance than what we saw last week.
Whether it's enough to exit with a win? We'll see.
Prediction: St. Louis Rams 20, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17
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