National Football League

Mason is the latest (and smallest) hope to spark a Rams run game

Published Nov. 6, 2014 5:46 p.m. ET

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ST. LOUIS -- Despite an increased workload for a promising rookie, the Rams still don't appear to have found an answer to their running woes.

Coach Jeff Fisher insists St. Louis will stick with its running back-by-committee approach, which seems destined to yield unprecedented results. In 15 of his 20 years of coaching, Fisher's teams featured a 1,000-yard back, and no one has led a Fisher-coached team in rushing with fewer than 850 yards since Lorenzo White ran for 757 yards in Fisher's debut season.

Even that number looks to be almost out of reach for this season's Rams tailbacks, who are led by Zac Stacy's 257 yards. But Stacy, who finished his rookie season a year ago as the Rams' starter, didn't even see the field in last week's 13-10 win at San Francisco, the second time in three weeks Stacy got no touches.

"Zac has handled things professionally," Fisher says. "Unfortunately, he didn't get to play. He will get to play. He will get his reps. We've not lost faith or confidence in him, but it's hard to spread the ball around."

But the Rams have had no trouble giving the ball to rookie Tre Mason, who has gotten nearly three times as many carries as Stacy and Benny Cunningham combined over the past three weeks. Mason finally made his first start at San Francisco, and he has led St. Louis in rushing in all four games since he was activated for the first time against the 49ers at the Edward Jones Dome on Oct. 13.

Mason offers some obvious advantages, most notably superior speed and explosiveness that have allowed him to break all three of the Rams' runs over 20 yards this season. He also seems to have extra confidence rushing behind left tackle Greg Robinson, his former Auburn teammate who also barely played in September before moving into a starting role.

"Of course, I feel comfortable running behind my man," Mason says. "There's certain times where he goes on his little anger spurts and clears out a whole lane for me, so I'm happy to run behind Greg."

Fisher says Mason missed a few holes last Sunday, but overall he ran hard and gave the Rams the best chance to be successful. It's clear the coaches are beginning to put more trust in Mason, who also said he's focused more on ball security since a fumble late in the team's 28-26 win over Seattle.

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Even early struggles with pass protection seem to be mostly behind him, and Fisher likes how Mason got out into his routes even though he has just three catches for five yards this season. The 5-foot-8, 207-pound back appears to be holding his own, and he's conscious of the need to prove himself with plays such as his key blitz pickup that allowed quarterback Austin Davis to convert a third-and-1 play at San Francisco.

"I've got a lot of people doubting me because of my size," Mason says. "They say I can't block or I'm not a good short-yardage back, but that's what kind of gives me fuel to the fire."

Nevertheless, he knows there's still a lot of work to do to solidify his spot as the starting tailback, if it's even his right now. Mason gained only 65 yards on 19 carries a week ago, lifting his total to 222 yards in four games.

A respectable average of 4.5 yards per carry puts him well ahead of Cunningham and Stacy (each at 3.9), and it's the most compelling reason for St. Louis to stick with Mason going forward. Fisher's teams must have a strong rushing attack to be successful, and inconsistency has them ranked 22nd in the league with barely 100 yards per game.

"The focus this week is on -- I think -- being able to run," says tight end Jared Cook, the team's leading active receiver heading into Sunday's game against Arizona. "We can't let them detour us off our game plan, which is what they're good at."

The Cardinals rank third in the NFL with just 79.6 rush yards allowed per game, and last week they became the first team to hold Dallas' DeMarco Murray under 100 yards all season. St. Louis right tackle Rodger Saffold says the offensive linemen will have to make sure they are aware of blitzes and try to take advantage of gaps the defense might leave open.

If that happens, Mason would certainly be the right player to hit the hole and possibly turn it into a big gain. His stock is clearly on the rise, and becoming the first Ram to post a 100-yard rushing game this season -- and the first runner, period, to do it against Arizona -- would be the perfect way to lay claim to the top spot in the backfield.

You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.

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