Rams-Bucs: Room to Run

Below is a table illustrating the effectiveness of the run game broken down by what position the play was run on. These are Zac Stacy's and Benny Cunningham's numbers.  I did not include any "end-around" runs by the wide-receivers, because those plays are typically stretch plays which involve the running back in blocking.

It's pretty easy to see that Scott Well's center position was the hot spot in the running game on Sunday.  Running up the gut 10 times averaged out to 4.8 yards per carry (YPC).  Sliding over to Rodger Saffold's left guard spot the Rams averaged 5 YPC.  The Rams barely ran to the left, Jake Long's neighborhood, but still managed to garner 5.3 YPC. Although there was a fumble (not related to blocking deficiency). The right guard position manned by Davin Joseph came away with just 2.5 YPC, while the right tackle position anchored by Joe Barksdale had a horrible day with just 2 plays on his side for -2 yards.

The sweet spot for run plays against the Bucs was definitely between the tackles, where Stacy has excelled since taking over as the starting back.  Stacy and Cunningham are hitting a combined 5.03 YPC from center to the left side of the line.

While there may be some pass protection issues, the running game was a strength of the line on Sunday.  86 yards on the ground won't win your team a Super Bowl, but the numbers show the offensive line and the Ram running backs are improving in the run game.

With the near perfect balance of passing and running play calls, it won't be long before the Rams are marking off a steady 100 yards per game from the running back position.  Add in a few of those wide-receiver end-arounds, and boy, the Rams are cooking with gas baby!