Week Two: Five Rams Players to Watch

Short term memory.

Those three words are some of the most uttered words out of an athlete's/coach's mouth. After week one's debacle versus the Minnesota Vikings, the St. Louis Rams are hoping they have short term memories and move on to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Rams'  offensive and defensive competency – along with how they overcome injuries – will dictate whether they win or lose.

Some of that competency on both sides of the ball will begin with some of these players:

5 Players to Watch

William Hayes

With word of Chris Long being out for 8-10 weeks after undergoing ankle surgery, William Hayes will have to play at a high level to efficiently fill in. It will not be a daunting for Hayes. William is a bit of a super-sub, racking up seven sacks in 2012 and five more last year. Now that he will be playing starter minutes, expected his production to increase.

Something else to keep an eye now is the defensive line rotation. Will the Rams playing a more traditional 4-3 line, with two ends and two tackles? Or will we be seeing some hybrid fronts, as 3k hints at here.

Shaun Hill

Shaun Hill had a pretty decent start to his 2014 season, before all hell broke lose. Then unbeknownst to many (all of us), Hill was benched for the second half in favor of Austin Davis – apparently becuase of a thigh injury(?).

Hill will first of all have to play, seeing how he did not participate in Wednesday's practice. Since coach Jeff Fisher has him as day to day, let's assume he does. Hill will have to recreate that rhythm he had, that connection he had with Brian Quick, that led the Rams' into field goal range on their first drive (before Greg Zuerlein missed the 50-yard FG).

That is what is being asked of Shaun, be a game manager. You don't have to win, but do not fuck it up.

Janoris Jenkins

Janoris Jenkins had himself a good Week One performance. According to Pro Football Focus, Jenkins scored an overall grade of 1.4 and a 1.1 grade on pass coverage. That is encouraging to see, especially since Jenkins had a disappointing sophomore year.

Janoris will need to play as good, or even better, this week. The Buc's have two big receivers in the veteran Vincent Jackson and rookie Mike Evans. He will definitely give up the height advantage to both, but that does not mean anything in particular. Jenkins can still be sticky and make them work for their catches.

Zac Stacy

Zac Stacy needed to have a good day rushing to win against the Vikings last week. He did not, so it was no surprise the Rams could not muster anything else on offense.

Zac will need to have a great day on the ground again for the Rams to get a victory this week at Tampa. The Rams will be leaning heavily on the run. They will be leaning on the run every week. With the Buc's tough front seven, Zac and Benny Cunningham will need to run with determination to make it past the line of scrimmage. The offensive line also has to do a better job of opening holes for Stacy. He can't run if the lanes do not exist.

Brian Quick

It has long been said Brian Quick will break loose in his third year. Nobody, however, thought his arrival would be during the first week of the season. Quick had seven catches for 99 yards versus the Vikings. Tampa Bay allowed Carolina's rookie receiver Kelvin Benjamin some big plays – six catches, 92 yards, 1TD. It is not inconceivable to think Quickie can have that same sort of impact.

If this is Quick's season to show off his talent, he will have to be consistent week in and week out. Having good games for two games in a row will start the trend.

Y'all have any more players to run with? Sound off on the comments section!