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For the past few years, the St. Louis Rams have had a poor offense. This season has been more of the same. Currently, the Rams offense is near the bottom of every statistical category on offense. Well, they are in the top 15 as far as rush offense goes, but that's mostly based off of Todd Gurley's past two games; where he rushed for more than 125 yards in both.
The Rams have multiple players on offense who have not played well thus far in 2015. Here are five key players who need to step their game up:
RB Tre Mason
When the Rams drafted Todd Gurley in the first round, it seemed like Mason would still be a big part of the offense. The former third round pick ran for more than 700 yards in his rookie season. It makes sense for a running team to rely on a solid running back, especially when your starting running back has just recovered from ACL surgery.
Honestly, I believe Mason will start to see more carries. After being drafted, head coach Jeff Fisher noted that Mason was drafted to be more a change of pace type back. If Mason is going to get more playing time he will have to learn to catch the ball out of the backfield more consistently and become a more effective pass blocker, as well. Also, Mason is either not 100% or the Rams do not like the way he reads in the zone blocking system so far. The Rams do not want the wheels to fall off Gurley this early in his career, so I’ll be surprised if Mason doesn’t start to see more snaps on offense.
LT Greg Robinson
When Robinson was drafted by the Rams with the 2014 2nd overall selection in the NFL Draft, he was described as an athletic player with upside who was extremely raw...and so far that is exactly the type of player the Rams have received. Point blank, he has basically played around the same this season as he did in his rookie season, which was below average then and is below average now.
Robinson still has the potential that made him such an attractive pick for the Rams. That said, the team's offensive line has been horrid and Robinson's play has not inspired much faith. He has blocked okay in the running game, but it's the pass game where he is at his weakest. He does not have to come out and play like Orlando Pace, but he could at least play decently.
WRs Brian Quick and Stedman Bailey
Quick and Bailey both appear to, minimally, be solid possession type receivers. Neither have done much this season. In Baileys’ defense, he did have one play late against the Packers which could have been a big garbage time touchdown. Quick, who is recovering from a shoulder injury, has only played in two games but he looks like just another guy at this point.
We have talked about Quick and Bailey having potential for years now. The thing is, if the Rams are going have a solid offense, one of these two players needs to become a solid contributor.
TE Jared Cook
There is no denying that Cook has been a disappointment. Hell, things have gotten so bad with Cook that when he was rumored to be on the trade block, the only reason people were shocked was as a result of wondering why another team would want him on their roster.
The reason Cook is such a negative among Rams' fans is the fact that he drops a ton of passes and doesn't always seem to give a full effort. Honestly, the Rams go to him a lot and a good chunk of the time he finds a way to get open. But the key drops begin to kill his value. What makes the situation worse is that Cook is not a blocker. He’s literally a receiver playing tight end, and when the ball is in the air, all you can do is hope he’ll hold onto it.