St. Louis Rams quarterback Shaun Hill. Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
EARTH CITY, Mo. — As the St. Louis Rams now prepare themselves for the season opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 7, there is a decidedly different perspective on what the team can accomplish.
Even before quarterback Sam Bradford suffered a torn ACL in the third preseason game against the Cleveland Browns, the difficult division and a challenging schedule had many wondering just how good this team can be.
Now, with Shaun Hill taking over for Bradford, there are even more questions for a team in which its bread and butter is supposed to be its running game and defense.
As for the team moving on from the shock of losing Bradford, head coach Jeff Fisher said, “I’ll use this analogy: you lose a tough regular-season game, you put it in perspective. You almost have a 24-hour rule; you come back and get ready for next week. That’s how players are and that’s what their mindset is today. They are ready to go, they are ready to do everything they possibly can to help Shaun be successful.”
After the 14-13 loss to Miami in the preseason finale, in which Hill did not play, he was looking forward to the game against the Vikings.
He said, “Now you put more emphasis on game planning and things like that so we’re going to have to hone in on the Vikings as soon as possible.”
As for helping Hill be successful, the biggest component in that will be protecting him. The play that put Bradford out for the season might have been a freakish occurrence, but it wouldn’t have happened had left tackle Jake Long kept pass rusher Armonty Bryant away.
Long had a rocky first game coming back from his own torn ACL, didn’t play in the preseason finale, and will now be responsible for helping keep Hill healthy. Long hasn’t been able to finish any of his last three seasons, so it’s not unreasonable to wonder whether he can stay on the field. That’s obviously the case with guard Rodger Saffold, who suffered a minor ankle injury against the Browns, and that followed two weeks of inactivity because of a stinger. He also didn’t play against the Dolphins.
Saffold has often been unavailable over the last three seasons because of injuries and his offseason free-agent signing by Oakland was canceled when the Raiders said he failed his physical because of a shoulder problem.
Meanwhile, second overall pick Greg Robinson, who didn’t start against Cleveland, has jockeyed back and forth all summer between left guard and left tackle and he didn’t sound like a beacon of confidence this week when he told espn.com he doesn’t have a “steady position,” and added, “They (coaches) said I’ve been making too many mistakes and the real bullets are about to start flying. What I think about that is it’s not how you start, it’s about how you finish. You never know what happens, and when my opportunity presents itself I pray that I’m going to be ready.”
Count Hill among those praying, too.
Robinson played left tackle against Miami, so it’s reasonable to figure he won’t start against the Vikings. A healthy Saffold will likely be the left guard with Davin Joseph at right guard.
Next up after Hill is untested Austin Davis, so the line’s performance will clearly be most important if the Rams are to run the ball the way they expect and keep Hill upright.
On the other side of the ball, the word “great” is often used to describe the Rams’ defense. It might be on the defensive line, and the linebackers are a strong unit, but the secondary is young and inexperienced. All of the defensive backs on the roster have combined for 71 NFL starts, and starting cornerback Trumaine Johnson will begin the season sidelined by a sprained MCL.
That’s a four-to-six-week injury. Four weeks from Aug. 23 is Sept. 20, which is the Week 3 Dallas game. It would seem unlikely he would be ready to play then, but with the bye the following week, there’s a good chance Johnson will be back on the field on Oct. 5 at Philadelphia after missing just three games. Still, the Rams will have to put together a representative pass defense without one of their starters when the season opens.
Brandon McGee appears to be the obvious choice, but he didn’t play in the final three preseason games. He had experience from scrimmage in one regular-season game in 2013 and it wasn’t pretty. Rookie Lamarcus Joyner will likely be the nickel back, and if McGee isn’t ready, rookie E.J. Gaines might get a shot.
The Rams’ pass defense, even with the pass rush provided by the front four, gave up 4,200 total passing yards, a 68.1 completion percentage and 94.7 passer rating last season. Those numbers have to be better for the defense to be as good as many think it will be.
