Josh McDaniels Offense Not Living Up to the Hype for St. Louis Rams

There is a lot of head scratching going on in and around Rams Park.

Coming off a 7-9 season that saw them miss the playoffs by just one game, the St. Louis Rams entered the 2011 campaign as the odds-on favorites to win the NFC West.

With a new offensive coordinator and five new starters via free agency, the additions were expected to improve a team many viewed as on the rise.

Four weeks in, things aren’t looking good.

Not only are the Rams 0-4, they rank near the bottom in nearly every statistical team category: 32nd in rush defense, 30th in rushing yards per attempt, 26th in total defense, 30th in scoring defense, 27th in total offense, 32nd in yards per play and passing yards per attempt, 31st in sacks allowed, 31st in third-down efficiency and 31st in scoring offense.

The Rams finished last season with a defense that ranked 19th overall and an offense that was 26th, but they seemed to have regressed in coach Steve Spagnuolo’s third year and nobody can figure out why.

“You can’t go searching for things that aren’t there and you can’t knee-jerk react to things that you find,” Spagnuolo said, “because in lot of instances, it just comes back to fundamentals. I know it’s not the glorious answer you want, but a lot of times, that’s what it comes down to.”

While the defense has taken an inexplicable step back, what’s more puzzling is Josh McDaniels’ stagnant offense.

“Everybody can do a better job, starting with me,” said McDaniels, who serves as both the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. “I’ve got to put together a great plan for our guys. We’re still getting better…We haven’t gotten to the point where we’ve mastered everything that we need to do well to win. That’s why we’ve got to continue to work hard.

“When we do it right, we usually get the results we’re looking for. The biggest thing for us is we’ve got to do things right consistently. We’ve got to coach it well and do it all the time. When we do that, we’ll get good results.”

McDaniels, the NFL’s 35-year-old “Boy Wonder” offensive guru, was supposed to take second-year quarterback Sam Bradford to the next level following Bradford’s record-setting rookie season that ended with the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner being named the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year.

It hasn’t worked so far.

Through four games, Bradford has completed 49.7 percent of his passes for 849 yards with just three touchdown passes and one interception. The offense has only conjured four total touchdowns but has surrendered three fumbles returned for touchdowns. Part of the problem has been a plethora of pre-snap penalties.

“We’ve got to focus and concentrate,” McDaniels said of the offensive woes. “Guys being more comfortable in their assignments and doing their job without having to think so much will allow them to make sure we don’t make mistakes. They’ve certainly killed us in a few situations and we’ve got to quit that.”

Part of the reason for Bradford’s low completion percentage is the fact that he’s consistently had a pass rush in his face. Bradford has absorbed a league-high 18 sacks and 61 quarterback hits.

“The bottom line is we’re going to have to stand and throw it, whether it be five times or 25 times,” McDaniels said. “We can do it. We’ve shown we have the ability to do that. Whether it be a technique thing or a fundamental thing or a different protection or different scheme, we’ve got to eliminate the amount of times that we’re putting pressure on the quarterback. That’s a team thing and starts with our coaches.”

Harvey Dahl, the tenacious right guard the team signed from Atlanta, was supposed to upgrade an offensive line that performed fairly well in 2010. Instead, the line has regressed—namely third-year right tackle Jason Smith and second-year left tackle Rodger Saffold.

The offensive line isn’t the only group that’s struggling. New starting linebackers Brady Poppinga and Ben Leber have struggled against the run and Leber said he’s still trying to get acclimated to the defense.

“It’s been a big adjustment,” Leber said. “I’m not going to say it’s been the easiest thing to learn, but I think I’ve made a lot of positive strides.”

Leber added that he better understands his role but still has a lot upon which to improve. He said he needs to realize where his help is and the “nuances of the defense,” which will help him “be better aligned to go and make plays.”

The wide receivers have also struggled to make plays because of a plethora of drops. While the Rams did not bring back Laurent Robinson, who had a 100-yard day for Dallas in Week 4, they drafted two receivers and signed Mike Sims-Walker from Jacksonville. None of the three has produced much. Sims-Walker has been the biggest culprit of drops along with rookie tight end Lance Kendricks, and a season-ending injury to Danny Amendola hasn’t helped.

Injuries—especially in the secondary—have been huge. Gone for the season are starting cornerbacks Ron Bartell (neck) and Bradley Fletcher (knee) and No. 3 corner Jerome Murphy, who broke his ankle during training camp.

The Rams used now-released Mardy Gilyard as the primary punt returner during the preseason, a move that backfired when Amendola went down because the Rams kept nobody else with return experience. Rookie Greg Salas muffed a punt against the Giants on Monday Night Football and Austin Pettis nearly got himself killed against Washington because he seemingly did not know what a fair catch was.

A quadriceps injury to Pro Bowl running back Steven Jackson in the season opener has also limited what the offense has been able to do, but the bye week should allow the Rams to get him healthy.

“This is where your mental toughness and the longevity of the season comes in,” McDaniels said. “You know you’ve got chances and we know we’ve got 12 more games. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us and we can get better.

“The focus has always got to be on playing our best in November and December and, if we can get to that point where we’re doing that, then you never know. We’ve got to continue to push and fight and I know we’ve got a great group of people here.”

Ron Clements covers the St. Louis Rams for CBSSports.com.