St. Louis Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers: Breaking Down St. Louis' Game Plan

The St. Louis Rams (2-5) will hit the road to take on the San Francisco 49ers (4-3), and the Rams will need a creative game plan to come out on top. 

The rivalry has lost some of its luster thanks to St. Louis' ineptitude, but it's still one of the oldest and fiercest rivalries in the NFL. This is the first matchup between these two teams in San Francisco's new Levi's Stadium, so it's the exciting start of a new chapter. 

In order for St. Louis to get this new era off to a flying start, it will have to make some key adjustments and overcome some major hurdles—the first of which is moving on from an embarrassing 34-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8.

The Rams got off to a promising 7-0 start against the Chiefs on the very first drive. After that initial drive, Kansas City woke up and dominated St. Louis in all three phases. The Chiefs sacked Austin Davis seven times, rushed for 143 yards and even returned a kickoff for a touchdown to start the second half. 

Obviously, it's difficult for any team to overcome such a thorough beating, but it's something the Rams must do in order to have a remote chance at taking down the 49ers.

San Francisco has won three of its last four and appears to have things figured out. The 49ers walked away with a convincing 31-17 victory over the Rams in Week 6, despite playing in St. Louis at the Edward Jones Dome, so anything other than a 49ers victory this Sunday will come as a total surprise. 

Having said that, in a league where anything can happen, the Rams can pull out a win if certain objectives are met. This article will outline some of the key goals the Rams must accomplish this week in order to have a shot at victory. 

Compensate for Offensive Line Injuries with Short Passes

Opposing teams have neutralized St. Louis' talented pass rush for most of the season with short, quick passes. Why can't the Rams do the same to other teams?

Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com reports that left tackle Jake Long is done for the year and center Scott Wells and guard Rodger Saffold are also banged up, so the Rams have to try something to spare Davis from another afternoon of brutal punishment.  

"

Rams coach Jeff Fisher confirms season ending injuries to LT Jake Long (knee) and WR Brian Quick (shoulder). Both will undergo surgery.

— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) October 27, 2014"

While the lack of starting-caliber talent up front certainly made life miserable for Davis against the Chiefs, the Rams have a full week to game-plan this time around, which will help them figure out how to compensate for the offensive line injuries. 

The best way to accomplish that is by utilizing short passes and establishing rhythm on offense. Not only does this give the opposing defensive line less time to sniff out the quarterback, but it also results in a more uptempo approach that keeps the defense on its heels. 

By now, we're used to seeing Davis take quite a few shots downfield. But with the injury issues on the offensive line, that's no longer a luxury the Rams can afford. 

Get the ball out quick and move down the field in modest increments. 

Get Tre Mason More Touches

Ed Zurga/Associated Press

Rookie running back Tre Mason is averaging over five yards a carry this year, and there's simply no good explanation as to why he has yet to carry the ball over 20 times in a single game. 

Mason—St. Louis' rookie third-round pick—watched the first four games from the sidelines before finally seeing some action in Week 6 against San Francisco. Mason carried the ball just five times against the 49ers but managed an impressive 40 yards. He also added a 12-yard reception that set up a touchdown.

Mason carried the ball 18 times against the tough Seattle run defense the following week and turned those carries into 85 yards and a score. He had 32 yards on seven carries the following week against the Chiefs. 

Starter Zac Stacy has exceeded four yards per carry in just one game this season. He has not been moving the ball the way he did during the 2013 season, so it's time for the Rams to move on (for now) and make more of a commitment to Mason. 

The Rams need to make a conscious effort to get Mason at least 25 attempts against the 49ers. If St. Louis can get the run game going, it will make it far more difficult for San Francisco to focus in on Davis and the passing game. 

Use the Talent at Safety to Help Out the Struggling Linebackers

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

There's no nice way to put this—Alec Ogletree has been an absolute disaster this season. 

The supposedly talented and athletic Ogletree got juked by 34-year-old quarterback Tony Romo on a critical 3rd-and-long earlier this season, and Ogletree was simply helpless against the legs of Russell Wilson during St. Louis' win over Seattle. Throw in his two unnecessary roughness penalties against Kansas City, and it's understandable why people are getting fed up with his play. 

The Rams made the decision to trade fourth- and sixth-round draft picks to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week for safety Mark Barron, per Marc Sessler of NFL.com, and Ogletree's play may have influenced that move.  

"

TRADE ALERT! Mark Barron is heading to St. Louis (via @AlbertBreer): http://t.co/TjsD92TUTX pic.twitter.com/in9sqiVdRo

— NFL (@nfl) October 28, 2014"

Barron was selected No. 7 overall in the 2012 draft out of Alabama, and the 25-year-old safety has a reputation as a run-stopper. 

Teaming Barron up with T.J. McDonald gives St. Louis two powerful safeties capable of standing up to the run-heavy offenses of the NFC West. It's a move that could minimize the team's need to keep Ogletree on the field, which will allow the Rams to reduce his number of snaps. 

Assuming Barron is ready to suit up for the Rams this Sunday, the two St. Louis safeties will presumably play a big role in stopping Colin Kaepernick on the ground. 

Limit Penalties

There seems to be one statistic that has determined the outcome of Rams games more than any other stat—the number of penalties. 

The Rams currently have two wins this season. The team has committed eight or more penalties in five games this year, and it has committed five or fewer penalties in just two games. 

Guess which two games the Rams won? 

Sure, there are other negative factors contributing to the losses, but it's certainly not a freak coincidence that St. Louis' two wins happen to be its two least-penalized games of 2014. Penalties have killed this team, and that's something that can be easily fixed. 

The Rams have enough of an uphill battle this week against the 49ers; the last thing they need is to dig themselves into a deeper hole with needless penalties. 

If St. Louis can keep the penalty count under five, it will greatly improve the odds of successfully pulling off an upset in San Francisco.