Rams-Bucs: Four Things We Learned

The St. Louis Rams pulled out a win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leaving them with a chance to head to the bye week with a 2-1 record.

Let's look at the victory against the Buccaneers one more time to see what we learned from the game.

1. The Rams can win with an okay quarterback

Let's not kid ourselves. The Buccaneers are not the Denver Broncos or the Seattle Seahawks. There's a good chance that the Buccaneers will finish the season and earn a top-5 pick in the draft next year, so let's not act like the Rams beat a great squad last Sunday.

However, the Rams showed that they should be able to win games this season with an average quarterback that doesn't make many mistakes. Austin Davis played pretty well filling in for Shaun Hill as a starting quarterback completing 22-of-29 of his passes and throwing for 235 yards.

The Rams need a quarterback that doesn't make many mistakes to win games this season. As long as their defense plays well, the running game becomes respectable and receivers make plays, the Rams should be able to win more games.

2. Brian Quick has turned on a switch

Things are looking good for third-year receiver Brian Quick. He's now the leading receiver for the Rams. If he can be productive against the Dallas Cowboys this week, he will more than likely pass his career highs of 18 receptions; currently, he's at 14.

3. The Rams won't lead the league in sacks

Before the season started, the Rams defensive line was hailed as one of the best in the league. The front office embraced this and branded the #SackCity hashtag. How many sacks does the Rams defensive line have so far in two games?

Just one.

Now, that's not to say that the defensive line has played bad. They have played relatively well, but they just haven't been able to seal the deal. It will be interesting to see how many sacks the defensive line gets now that defensive end Chris Long is out for a few weeks. In theory, it's only so long before pass rushers like Robert Quinn and Aaron Donald get to the quarterback.

4.The secondary might be better than expected

The biggest weakness on the Rams team before the regular season began was the defensive back unit. The secondary as a unit was poor, and individually none of the starters played well. However, safety T.J. McDonald and cornerback Janoris Jenkins have played well so far this season.

McDonald has proven to be a hammer for the Rams providing big hits and making plays, like the blocks he had against the Buccaneers. Jenkins has also been impressive, playing good coverage on receivers and showing fearlessness in taking down running backs.

The Rams other starting safety, Rodney McLeod, hasn't been horrible with his first interception coming against the Buccaneers. The Rams 2014 NFL 5th round draft pick E.J. Gaines has been a solid player for the Rams. He has been picked on since he's a rookie but the youngster has effectifally held his own against receivers.

If the secondary continues to play better, than the Rams defense has a chance of being one of the best in the NFL.