it sucks starting the season 0-2 …..I hope I’m wrong, but for some reason, I don’t recall the RAMS have much luck playing in TB, nor in the state of Florida….

URL = http://espn.go.com/blog/tampa-bay-buccaneers/post/_/id/6069/rams-vs-buccaneers-preview

It’s tough to call the second game of the season a “must-win” situation. But that might not be far off what the St. Louis Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are facing this week.

Both teams are coming off embarrassing losses that could set the tone for disastrous seasons. But a victory in Week 2 could save a season — at least for the moment.

ESPN Rams reporter Nick Wagoner and Buccaneers reporter Pat Yasinskas take a look at this matchup:

Yasinskas: Nick, let’s cut right to the chase. Are the Rams as bad as they looked against the Vikings in the opener?

Wagoner: I don’t think the Rams are as bad as they were in Week 1, but I can understand why some might view it that way. That isn’t to say this team just had an off-day and is about to string 15 wins together. The issue in Week 1 boiled down to the Rams failing to do the things they believe they will do well this year. Namely, this is a team built to run the ball to set up play-action on offense and dominate defensively, but they didn’t control the line of scrimmage well enough on either side of the ball to do that. On paper, this looked like an offensive line that could be really good if everyone is healthy — but even healthy, it looked like an aging group unable to block basic four-man rushes.

Still, I expect the Rams to be more competitive this week, so long as they have veteran quarterback Shaun Hill back from a quad injury.

I suppose the best option now is to redirect back at you: The Bucs disappointed in Week 1 against a backup quarterback, and either way, they’re going to see another this week against the Rams. Are they as bad as they showed against the Panthers? How do they bounce back?

Rams at Buccaneers: Stats of the Week

7

——————————————————————————–

That’s the number of sacks, including three from defensive end Robert Quinn, the Rams had against the Bucs in the teams’ 2013 Week 16 meeting.

19.5

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That’s the number of career sacks for defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. Only in his fifth season, McCoy needs one more sack to move past Anthony McFarland (20.0) for fourth place in franchise history.
Yasinskas: The Bucs were horrible offensively for more than three quarters. Their defense, which is supposed to be a strong point, wasn’t much better against Carolina backup Derek Anderson. There weren’t a lot of good things to come out of the opener, and I’m not trying to make it out to be more than it was. But the Bucs did score 14 points in the fourth quarter, and they made it a game. It took a long time, but their offense finally showed some rhythm in the fourth and they had a chance to win at the end. Maybe this offense isn’t that good, or maybe it just took some time to get things going in the right direction.

I know hopes were high with Sam Bradford, and that all changed with his injury. How much of a difference will it make if Hill is able to play?

Wagoner: Let’s be honest here: It’s not like the Rams are choosing from a quarterback trio of Elway, Marino and Montana. But of the three they have on the roster, it’s pretty clear Hill gives them the best chance to win at this point. He’s a steady hand and actually got off to a pretty good start against the Vikings last week before a dropped screen pass and a bad throw that resulted in an interception just before the half. For what it’s worth, Jeff Fisher said Hill was trying to throw that ball away but couldn’t get it out of bounds because of the quad.

Either way, the Rams need Hill under center because the options behind him — Austin Davis and Case Keenum — simply aren’t going to get the job done. Of course, it won’t matter who is under center if the offensive line doesn’t perform better than it did the past week. That group has to give Hill time to throw and open some holes in the run game for this offense to have any chance of success against that Tampa defense.

Speaking of that defense, Lovie Smith once coordinated the group in St. Louis, and we all have a pretty good idea of what he likes to do. But now that he’s back with the Bucs as the head coach, what are some wrinkles he’s bringing to the table, and how good can that group be with guys such as Gerald McCoy and Lavonte David in the system?

Yasinskas: McCoy and David are two excellent cornerstones around which to build the defense. But as we found out against Carolina, the Bucs need more than that. The key to a Smith defense is getting pressure from the front four, and the Bucs didn’t do that against the Panthers. They came up with one sack (by McCoy) and got no pressure on the outside. Defensive ends Adrian Clayborn and Michael Johnson have talent, but they have to be more productive for Smith’s defense to really work. If the defense gets pressure, the turnovers will flow. If it doesn’t get pressure, the defense will be nothing more than ordinary. McCoy and David are the stars of the defense, but the Bucs need Clayborn and Johnson to really make things click.

NFL Nation: Week 2 Previews

Our NFL Nation reporters break down every game on the Week 2 schedule:

THURSDAY
• Pittsburgh at Baltimore

SUNDAY (EARLY)
• New England at Minnesota
• Miami at Buffalo
• Jacksonville at Washington
• Dallas at Tennessee
• Arizona at N.Y. Giants
• New Orleans at Cleveland
• Atlanta at Cincinnati
• Detroit at Carolina

SUNDAY (LATE)/MONDAY
• St. Louis at Tampa Bay
• Seattle at San Diego
• N.Y. Jets at Green Bay
• Houston at Oakland
• Kansas City at Denver
• Chicago at San Francisco
• Philadelphia at Indianapolis
Tampa Bay’s offensive line is a huge question, and the Bucs might be without injured guard Logan Mankins. Like any quarterback, Josh McCown is going to struggle if he’s pressured. Are the Rams capable of putting a lot of pressure on McCown? If so, that will stall Tampa Bay’s offense.

Wagoner: The strength of the Rams’ defense is certainly found in the front four and the pass rush in general. Of course, that wasn’t all that evident this past week against Minnesota. The Vikings only allowed one sack, and that came because of a botched snap. But Minnesota had a good game plan and made it a point to get the ball out quickly, which negated the Rams’ pass rush. In fact, Vikings quarterback Matt Cassel averaged the fewest air yards per attempt of any quarterback in Week 1.

The Bucs know exactly what the Rams’ pass rush can do after Robert Quinn gave them all kinds of headaches in the past year’s meeting. But the Rams have to be better in coverage on underneath stuff if they want their pass rush to take off as it should.

McCown had some success throwing against the Rams last year when he was with the Bears, and the Bucs have a couple big, physical receivers on the outside. If things are going how the Bucs want, what type of challenges do they present to the Rams’ defense?

Yasinskas: Let’s assume for a second the offensive line plays a decent game. If that’s the case, McCown will have time to throw, and he has some nice targets to work with. Vincent Jackson, Mike Evans and Austin Seferian-Jenkins are all at least 6-foot-5. That creates all sorts of matchup problems for a secondary. Evans and Seferian-Jenkins are only rookies, but they can be impact players. Jackson is a proven receiver who probably doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.

But like I said, the offensive line will be the key. If McCown has time to throw, he can be an efficient quarterback. If he doesn’t have time, he’ll show why he’s been a backup most of his career.

considering the circumstances at the time………RAMS did the right in not drafting a QB in the high rounds.

I wish they got Mark Sanchez instead of Hill though, because of Shotty’s familiarity in NY and Shawn Hill never really stood out with me during his time in SF.

I will also add, I hope they somehow make Bradford affordable for next year going forward… if not, I envision Dallas signing Bradford and he’ll be their next Roger Staubach… 5 years out of the Navy… only instead of the Navy, he’s 5 years out of STL

I still think Bradford is special QB…

Eli will cost too much and he and his family are picky about the teams they play for…………Keep Sam he’ll be hungry to play and fresh from the lack of NFL pounding from the past 2 years.

Tavon….the Pope’s hooker….too funny

how can anyone be surprised based on the events of the game?

1) your 2nd string QB and defense kept the game close for 2 quarters… the pick before half wasn’t Shotty’s fault, very dumb pass by a journeyman back up… it happens.
2) your 3rd string QB came in and played like a 3rd stringer.
3) what do you want Schotty to call with a 3rd string QB trying to play catch up with the youngest team in the league? Is it Shotty’s fault that his 3rd string QB threw a pick 6 when they drove downfield to close the gap?

It’s gonna be like last season….a QB with not much starting experience will gain experience and gel mid to late season with some competitive games.

same here…I hope he’s MVP for L.A. next year.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 7 months ago by joemad.

I think my picks are in…..

2014
1:00 pm Chicago Bears Chicago Bears 17 – Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills 10
1:00 pm Atlanta Falcons 20 – New Orleans Saints 23
1:00 pm St. Louis Rams St. Louis Rams 24 – Minnesota Vikings 13
1:00 pm Pittsburgh Steelers 12 – Cleveland Browns 6
1:00 pm Philadelphia Eagles 20 – Jacksonville Jaguars 10
1:00 pm New York Jets 24 – Oakland Raiders 17
1:00 pm Baltimore Ravens 22 – Cincinnati Bengals 21
1:00 pm Houston Texans 13 – Washington Redskins 10
1:00 pm Kansas City Chiefs 17 – Tennessee Titans 14
1:00 pm Miami Dolphins 17 – New England Patriots 24
4:25 pm Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17 – Carolina Panthers 14
4:25 pm Dallas Cowboys 24 – San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers 28
8:30 pm Denver Broncos 42 – Indianapolis Colts 35
Sep 08, 2014
7:10 pm Detroit Lions 27 – New York Giants 21
10:20 pm Arizona Cardinals Arizona Cardinals 23 – San Diego Chargers 20

I want to see more of Gilbert at QB today, big kid, same size as Bradford.

BTW, … his dad was a decent QB at Cal….. they beat Elway in that crazy kick off return Stanford band play……..

the differences are:

1) Dolphins were reigning 1971 AFC Champions when Earl Morral took over the team from Greise in 1972
2) Earl Morrall was Super Bowl III QB that was groomed by Johnny U.

The RAMS are reigning division cellar dwellers and Shawn Hill was not groomed by anyone close to Johnny U.

Chris Long is cool…..

what a stupid report about shower habits…

@caplannfl: Shaun Hill is the only QB remaining on the #Rams roster who has started a game (26 in career).

When will NFL Network show the Rams Browns replay?

Rams led the league in dropped passes 2013. Tavon had the most drops on the team.

He better learn how to catch