Rams vs. Giants Week 2: 4 Things the Rams Have to Change

The Rams have a tough front seven on defense and a bright young quarterback to carry them through the NFC West. That won't cut it if they want to make a playoff berth this season.

Eight wins looks to be the likely target for a NFC championship, but the Rams are going to have to win some tough games outside their division to get there.

That won't happen unless the Rams do something to fix their most drastic problems. The Giants didn't play well, and still walked away with a victory that was easily within the Rams' grasp.

Red Zone Offense

The Rams moved the ball well between the 20's, even though their receivers often failed to create good separation.

When they got in the red zone, their offense suffered immensely without Steven Jackson. Carnell Williams wasn't able to push through any of the Giants' defenders, and the Ram's walked away with field goals instead of touchdowns. 

A really bad looking red-zone offense could be a lot better as soon as Jackson returns, but if he doesn't, then it will be hard for the Rams to put up anything more than three points on the board at a time. The Rams better find a way to get the ball to playmaker and mismatch machine Lance Kendricks.

Cornerback

To put it simply: The loss of Ron Bartell could kill the Rams.

Even though the Rams held the Giants' offense to under 200 passing yards, their cornerbacks struggled on a regular basis. Bradley Fletcher was beat, and often. The bright spot in the secondary is Quintin Mikell, who hawked an interception that Eli Manning let hang in the air.

The Rams were lucky that Hakeem Knicks was hobbled by a knee injury, and that Mario Manningham didn't come back out in the second half. They could have been killed through the air. A strong front seven will only take them so far, and if they can't keep the pressure on constantly, the back end is going to get burned.

Carnell Williams

Cadillac might have lost the Rams the game tonight.

Bradford threw a backwards pass to Williams—when the game was still very much in hand—and he failed to catch it. Not only did he fail to catch it, he hit it backwards and acted as if the play had merely stopped, allowing the Giants to pick it up and run it back for a touchdown.

Steven Jackson wouldn't have let that happen, and the fact that Williams simply stood around completely unaware of what he had done, cost the Rams a drive and put seven points on the board for the Giants.

He was extremely unproductive all night, rushing the ball 13 times for 36 yards and catching three passes for four yards. While he was able to take advantage of a Eagles' defense that is very susceptible to the run, he doesn't look to have much upside. I wouldn't be surprised if he's cut by tomorrow.

Find Sam Bradford a Target

Bradford threw a career-high 331 receiving yards, but completed only 22 of 46 passes.

The Rams thought that if they drafted enough mediocre wide receivers and picked some up in free agency that one of them would pan out. So far that hasn't worked out.

Greg Salas was probably the worst of the night. He fumbled a punt return that the Giants recovered, costing the Rams big time. On top of that, he dropped a pass that killed another drive later in the game.

Mike Sims-Walker has caught six passes on 11 targets for 92 yards, but failed to create separation on a regular basis against a Giants defense that is fielding it's fifth and sixth cornerbacks. That won't cut it for the season, and unless he picks up his game, Bradford is going to have a hard time.

Denario Alexander was the one bright spot, catching three balls for 122 yards and a touchdown. He's a speedster, and a talented one. If he can put it together, things will get better—very quickly. The Rams better hope he does, because they need a receiver to come out and make plays for them.