After stellar rookie season, Stacy leads a balanced backfield

After stellar rookie season, Stacy leads a balanced backfield
• By Joe Lyons

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/after-stellar-rookie-season-stacy-leads-a-balanced-backfield/article_2a279c0f-64ac-54ab-990d-b5c57add6aff.html

Rams running back Zac Stacy doesn’t mind a little friendly competition. In fact, he encourages it.

“Football is a business built on competition,’’ Stacy said following a recent practice at Rams Park. “You’re constantly working to be better than the guy lined up across from you. It’s about being consistent and productive and about making the most of your opportunities.

“The competition in training camp has been the best I’ve seen since I started playing football. We have some great backs here, and we’re all working and pushing each other to get better. Every day, we’re challenging one another. And in the long run that’s something that will help this football team.’’

Although running backs coach Ben Sirmans said that final depth chart is still to be determined, he said that he wouldn’t be surprised if Stacy took the first snaps when the Rams open the season Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings at the Edward Jones Dome.

Then again, Stacy has earned it.

A fifth-round draft choice from Vanderbilt, the 5-foot-9, 224-pound Stacy patiently waited for his chance a year ago as the team opened the season with Daryl Richardson starting as part of a spread attack. But the spread was scrapped after a humbling 35-11 Thursday loss to visiting San Francisco, and when the team returned to action 10 days later, Stacy was in the backfield.

“It was definitely frustrating from the standpoint of knowing you can play at this level and wanting to prove it,’’ he recalled. “But you wait your turn and you keep working to get better. When the opportunity came, I took advantage of it.’’

Sirmans added: “Zac was a little nicked up in camp and we had some other guys doing well. But when Daryl hurt his toe, we decided it was time to give Zac a shot, to let him rock and roll.’’

Stacy, who had just one 4-yard carry through the first four games of the season, became the workhorse in the Rams’ ground game, finishing with 250 carries for 973 yards while catching 26 passes for 141 yards. He also had a team-leading eight touchdowns.

When asked about falling short of 1,000 yards, Stacy quickly dismisses it.

“Honestly, I’ve never been a guy who gets too caught up in numbers. The only number I care about is wins and losses,’’ the 23-year-old said. “I’m a big preparation guy; I take pride in Wednesday through Saturday, preparing and doing everything I need to do physically and mentally. That way, when Sunday rolls around, I can play fast and play smart. If I can do that, everything else will take care of itself.’’

Stacy’s production in the preseason was unspectacular — he ran 15 times for 39 yards and had a 10-yard pass reception — but it is not something he is worried about. He knows, and the Rams know, what he can do.

So instead of overworking Stacy, the Rams spread the preseason carries, giving plenty of work to third-round draft pick Tre Mason (43 carries, 124 yards), rookie free agent Trey Watts (25 carries, 106 yards, TD), second-year back Benny Cunningham (15 carries, 80 yards) and core special teams player Chase Reynolds (10 carries, 65 yards), who picked up 38 of those yards on a fake punt.

Consider, too, that the Rams’ starting offensive line was together for just a handful of preseason plays.

“We have guys who can complement Zac. And push him,” said Sirmans, who is in his third season with the club. “It’s as talented and competitive a bunch as I’ve coached, and each guy seems to bring a little something different to the table. So depending on the situation, any one of these guys could be called on.

“In this business, the bottom line is production. I don’t care if you’re getting 25 carries or five; when you get your chance, you have to make the most of it.’’

Cunningham, an undrafted free agent from Middle Tennessee, joined the Rams after seeing his college career cut short by a knee injury. Back at 100 percent, he is ready to take that next step.

“I just feel so much more comfortable now,’’ he said. “Last year, with the injury and all, I was stressing every day. But having a full year with the playbook, I’m a lot more confident on the field. And I don’t think I’ve ever felt better physically.

“If you’re not going to be the No. 1, you find some other way to get on the field — for me, it’s special teams. You keep working hard and you stay ready because you never know when your chance will come.’’

And that’s the attitude that “veterans’’ Stacy and Cunningham have tried to instill in rookies Mason and Watts.

Mason, a Heisman Trophy candidate last year, showcased his skill and durability as a junior last fall, rushing for 1,816 yards to break Bo Jackson’s single-season Auburn rushing record and scoring 25 touchdowns. He has struggled a bit in pass protection — something that is not uncommon for rookie backs — but will definitely add a different look to the Rams’ backfield.

“At this point, I’m just trying to work hard every day to become a better football player,’’ he said. “Whatever the coaches ask me to do, I’m trying to do the very best I can.’’

Watts is taking the same approach. At Tulsa, he did a little of everything, and he hopes to fill a similar role here.

“I think I can provide some different things,” he said. “We’re working every day to help and push each other because you’re only as good as your weakest link.’’

Reynolds’ focus will be on special teams; he didn’t have a single carry from scrimmage last season.