St Louis Rams Look to Contain Marcus Mariota

By Nic Moody | Aug 21, 2015

The St Louis Rams have returned back to St Louis to the comfort of their own beds and homes. They will get some much needed rest before taking on head coach Jeff Fisher’s former team, the Tennessee Titans, on Sunday.

The Titans are another young team, much like the Raiders, who the Rams played last week. They have a young starting offense, and a inconsistent defense trying to find chemistry before the season starts. (We know how you feel, Titans fans)

The biggest headline coming from the upcoming match-up would have to be how the Rams defense will handle the second overall pick. Marcus Mariota had a good first game, barring a couple of mistakes. Now he will be forced to go up against seven former first round picks on a very stacked Rams defense. Can the Rams contain Mariota given his dual threat capabilities?

It’s very important for them to do so, because they will face Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick two times each this season, and both of those quarterbacks are notorious for taking off and running. It’s a good thing that the Rams will get the opportunity to face a young, rookie quarterback that will mirror exactly what two division rivals will be doing. Better to practice now before the Rams face Wilson in week one.

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Mariota, a Heisman winner from Oregon, will look to keep improving. The Titans drafted him to be the franchise quarterback, and a test will be great against a Rams defense that will no doubt put pressure on him throughout the first few series’. Mariota has the opportunity to show how he handles pressure, as well as his ability to escape the pocket.

The Rams look to take the next step forward. They were able to put pressure on Oakland quarterback Derek Carr, but were unable to bring him down. The defense also allowed multiple passes without an incompletion from Carr, something I’m sure Fisher wants corrected. Janoris Jenkins for example, must do a better job of pressing his man, and not allowing so much cushion, allowing Carr to have an easy dump off target last week.

The Rams will also look to get the offense going. Nick Foles put up a solid performance against Oakland, but the Rams need him to get into the endzone. The Rams scored three points on the opening drive, then remained scoreless for the remainder of the game. If the Rams have any chance of breaking their losing streak, they need Foles to get the ball in the endzone.

The Rams receivers looked good last game, getting open on routes and making catches when the ball was thrown their way. Kenny Britt looked great, and so did Stedman Bailey. Tavon Austin looked good on a screen that he ran for a 35 yard gain, so expect him to see more looks.

The Rams take on Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

Next: Rams Joint Practice Day Two Thoughts and Recap

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