Following the high profile hiring of new Head Coach Jeff Fisher, the St Louis Rams have moved swiftly today to hire one of the best available Offensive Co-Ordinators in former Jets OC Brian Schottenheimer.
Things are now beginning to take shape in St Louis. In Fisher and Schottenheimer, the Rams have two coaches who have been prevalent in using an effective rushing attack coupled with a conservative passing attack.
It is interesting reading the media reports on the hiring of Jeff Fisher in particular and the thought that the Rams job was a good one because of the presence of franchise quarterback Sam Bradford. However, the largest part of the Rams offense over the past several years has been hard-nosed running back Steven Jackson who has shown great consistency in providing a stable rushing attack despite the multitude of injuries he has suffered in his career.
With this in mind, here is something to consider – could the Rams be interested in drafting Alabama running back Trent Richardson? After all, the constant struggles that Steven Jackson has had with health are bound to catch up with him eventually and in order to help Sam Bradford develop into the elite quarterback he is expected to be St Louis must have a stable running attack. As noted above, both Fisher and Schottenheimer like to use strong running play to open up the passing game so drafting Richardson (while it forces the Rams to pass up on both Matt Kalil and Justin Blackmon) does match up with the typical offensive strategy employed by the two coaches.
Whatever they decide to do, the Rams are poised to make the leap many predicted in 2011. The question now is whether or not the new coaching staff can achieve this.
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