Zac Stacy was picked in the 5th round for the Rams. The running back out of Vanderbilt lead the SEC in rushing yards his senior season.He also averaged 5.four yards a carry in college. Yet he was still only picked in the 5th round. 159 players were picked before him. Really. Unbelievable if you only look at his stats, but many scouts believed that Zac was too small of a back, coming in at a mere 5’8. The Rams waiting to take Zac in the 5th round was a seemingly safe pick to make at that time. The team was looking to recover from the loss of Steven Jackson to free agency and already had one plan, Daryl Richardson, in place. Why would they not take Zac at that moment?
Zac started the season slowly in one of the first few weeks. It looked as if Zac was going to be put on the Rams back burner. Sitting on the bench to waste. Then along came Richardson’s foot injury. It happened it week 3, but going into week four he showed better and better signs of health. Richardson was back on track for a start until something came over head coach Jeff Fisher. Fisher for some reason decided to start Zac over Richardson, and the rest will be history. The game that week was against a Jacksonville Jaguars team who many consider to be the worst team in the league, so why would we make a big deal out of the Rams winning that one? Why would me make a big deal out of Zac getting 78 yards on 1four carries? Because in that game you could feel the Rams change. You could tell that Zac with different that the rest. This kid was going to get the job done and he was going to change the Rams offense entirely.
The week five produced similar results for Zac and the Rams. Zac was a bit less efficient though, only getting 79 yards and taking four more carries to get it. At the end of the day the Rams got the W with Zac efforts. The team felt much more balance, Sam Bradford slinging it and the 5’8 Zac powering his way towards yards. Coming into this week Zac had 2.8 yards after contact, a very good amount. That stat is even after the Rams played the great Seahawk’s defense, a defense that had only allowed one one hundred rusher until Zac came along. That other rusher being Arian Foster, great company for Zac to be in. Another great company for Zac to be in goes back to his yards after contact. He has even more yards after contact than the Seahawk’s great “beast mode” running back, Marshawn Lynch. That is an impress feat.
Today we saw another great job by Zac Stacy. He gained 127 yards on 27 carries and scored two touchdowns. These were the first rushing touchdowns of Rams season. It was easy to tell that he is now the center point of the Rams offense. Bradford has gone down. Kellen Clemens is…well… just that. Kellen Clemens. A career backup quarterback who has shown next to nothing for the Rams. Zac Stacy is the future of the season for the St. Louis Rams and the future, even though they have lost three straight, is bright. This is the year to establish Zac and his abilities will only grow stronger with his experience. We can only imagine how this team will look once the coaches and players of this team can get on the same page. Once Bradford is healthy. Once Zac has his proven success.
