Rookies Alexander, Mason Await Their Turn/Wagoner

Rookies Alexander, Mason await their turn
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/11485/rookies-alexander-mason-await-their-turn

EARTH CITY, Mo. — Much was made last week of the fact that No. 2 overall pick Greg Robinson would not be starting his first NFL game against the Minnesota Vikings. But Robinson ended up playing nine snaps in relief of Rodger Saffold and chipping in on special teams.

That’s more than can be said for the Rams’ third- and fourth-round picks, however. Third-round running back Tre Mason and fourth-round safety Maurice Alexander were pre-game inactives on Sunday in no small part because coach Jeff Fisher believed he needed others for special teams.

In Mason’s case, he’s simply too far behind the top two running backs, Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham, to help the offense at this early stage of his career. Chase Reynolds is technically a running back as well, but really on the roster exclusively for special teams.

That left Fisher with a decision between Mason and undrafted rookie Trey Watts. Fisher chose Watts.

“It was special teams,” Fisher said. “Trey Watts was doing more. Not that Tre can’t, but Trey Watts was doing more on special teams standpoint, from a backup stand point, kickoff coverage, kickoff return, personal protector and those things. You can’t keep them all up. Tre was a little surprised, doesn’t like it and was the first one upstairs in the special teams’ coaches office this morning.”

That Mason was not active should be no surprise given the above factors but it’s still fair to be disappointed that the Rams’ third-round choice wasn’t even available for the season opener. For comparison’s sake, last year’s third-round choice, T.J. McDonald, started at safety and played 71 defensive snaps in the season opener. Fellow third-round pick Stedman Bailey didn’t contribute on offense but played three snaps on special teams.

As for Alexander, it was a mild surprise that he wasn’t active solely based on the fact that he plays a position where he figured to contribute on coverage units. But Fisher said the Rams opted to keep undrafted rookie cornerback Marcus Roberson active for his special teams acumen and Alexander isn’t yet ready to help on defense.

Last year’s fourth-round pick, offensive lineman Barrett Jones, was inactive in his first NFL game and was again Sunday because of a back injury.

“We kept four safeties and I’ve got five corners up,” Fisher said. “He’s doing a nice job, but I would trust the other two to play defense prior to him right now.”

Theoretically, it’s a sign of progress for the Rams that they aren’t so heavily dependent on rookies to play right away. But based on the small one-game snapshot of the season opener, the Rams could use any help the rookies could provide.