Bye Week Review: Offense

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With the bye week coinciding with the middle of the season for the Rams, it's an opportune time to step back and evaluate the performance of the first eight weeks.

Running Back:
2009 total rush yards 929 (10th)   25.5 attempts per game (22nd)  4.6 average run (13)
2008 total rush yards 1649 (25th) 26.1 attempts per game (22nd)  4.0 average run (T-21)

No question, easiest place to begin as Steven Jackson has put the Rams on his shoulders the last couple of weeks--earning the hard yards and breaking through tackles even with eight in the box every game.

784 yards (t-2nd in NFL) on 165 carries for a 4.8 average. The only thing lacking has been touchdowns, which has been a problem for the entire offense.

After a preseason ankle injury, Mike Karney has both wheels back underneath him--and it's not coincidence that Jackson's numbers have gone up since then.

Offensive Line:
2009 sacks allowed 16 (T-15th)
2008 sacks allowed 45 (6th)

Perhaps the deepest area of this Rams team--as evidenced by the team not missing a beat with both Jacob Bell and Richie Incognito out of the lineup against Detroit.  Adam Goldberg, Mark Setterstrom, and John Greco are all more than capable of stepping in to more than one position and not allowing a drop off in performance.

Jason Brown has lived up to the expectation of his free agent signing, both in his play and leadership. The fifteen first downs the Rams have run up the middle leads the team and is ninth best in the NFL.

The Rams are also third in the league when it comes to rushing on 2nd down--picking up an average of  yards per play.

Pass protection has been more middle of the pack, as the Rams have allowed 16 sacks (11th most in NFL) and 39 quarterback hits (8th most).

Jason Smith earned high marks for his work at right tackle against Detroit and now that he's again healthy, should make it difficult to be removed from the starting lineup.

Tight End:

Three of the eight Rams touchdowns this season have come on a reception by a tight end, not a surprise as the position was expected to be heavily featured in the new offensive scheme. What is surprising, is Daniel Fells has all three of the TD grabs, instead of Randy McMichael. Drops have hampered #84, who needs a big 2nd half of the season.

Billy Bajema has been more than advertised, showing good hands in addition to his blocking ability.

Wide Reciever:

Injuries have taken their toll on this position as it seems that every week a new player has been suited up for at least one of the receiver slots.

Donnie Avery has had issues staying on the field and with making catches when he is out there. Like McMichael, drops have been too many.

Keenan Burton has shown an ability to get yards after his grabs, but after that there really hasn't been much. Danny Amendola has shown some flash and the book is out on Brandon Gibson.

The Ruvell Martin signing has yet to pay any dividends and the Tim Carter experiment clearly did not work.

Laurent Robinson had 13 catches before he was injured. Burton now leads the team with only 25 receptions--five games later.

Quarterback:
2009 yards per game 171.5 (24th)   pass attempts per game 32.1 (24th)
2008 yards per game 184.2 (26th)   pass attempts per game 32.5 (15th)

Marc Bulger shouldn't be the scapegoat, but he's not absolved of the struggles of the offense to score.

As noted above, the revolving door at receiver and various drops or wrong routes have hurt the offense--and Bulger's accuracy rating.

However, there have been times when Bulger has had a touch of happy feet and rushed a pass or made an errant throw. And he still has a tendency to lock in on a receiver.

Despite the criticism for his recent slide in Detroit, Bulger has shown toughness--staying on the field when being hurt in Washington being just one example.

Offensive Cooridnator:
2009 points per game 9.6 (32)
2008 points per game 14.5 (T-30)

Too early to tell, as we've yet to really see enough to fairly evaluate Pat Shurmur.

There were times when the Rams got away from the run--but that looks to be a thing of the past. On the whole, Steven Jackson is on pace for over 320 carries and 1500 yards.

The Rams must now take advantage of that success on the ground and exploit the passing opportunities that should be open.

Bottom line:

The Rams have shown the ability to move the football, but have to better job of those drives resulting in points. Simply put, execute. Too many penalities and drops. Maybe that "perfect" game isn't needed--but there is still a slim margin for error.

While he is willing, Steven Jackson can't be expected to carry the team every game. Donnie Avery and Randy McMichael need to rebound with big second halves of the season.

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