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Could Tre Mason's time be coming after St. Louis Rams' bye?
By Mark Inabinett
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/09/could_tre_masons_time_be_comin.html
The St. Louis Rams penciled in Greg Robinson as their starting left guard when they selected Auburn's left offensive tackle with the second pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. That hasn't worked out yet. Robinson has played 10 snaps with the St. Louis offense in three games.
St. Louis selected another Auburn star with even a higher profile in the third round. Running back Tre Mason finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy balloting, set an Auburn single-season record with 1,816 rushing yards and averaged 26.3 yards per kickoff return last year. He hasn't played a down for the Rams this season, listed among St. Louis' seven game-day inactive players for all three contests.
"It's a little frustrating, sure, but God has a plan," Mason told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "He has the story written already, so I'm just going to continue to do whatever the coaches ask me to do. All I can do is make sure that I'm working hard and giving it everything I have every day in practice."
Second-year running back Zac Stacy out of Vanderbilt remains the Rams' primary running back. The former Bibb County High School star has 181 yards on 46 carries this season. Second-year running back Benny Cunningham out of Middle Tennessee has been his backup with 65 yards on 20 carries. Even Trey Watts, an undrafted rookie out of Tulsa, has been playing ahead of Mason with five carries for 26 yards.
The reported knock against Mason has been his neophyte form in pass protection for a team that already has lost its starting quarterback to a season-ending injury. Mason led the Rams during the preseason with 124 rushing yards. But it took him 43 carries to get it, an average of 2.9 yards per attempt. He also had kickoff returns of 23 and 25 yards in the preseason.
During press conferences this week, St. Louis coach Jeff Fisher brought up Mason twice, perhaps signaling he'll get his chance when the Rams come back from Sunday's open date. St. Louis' next game comes against the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 5.
On Monday while explaining that one of the Rams' priorities for the bye week would be getting more practice reps for young players, Fisher said: "Got to get Tre Mason involved, not only more in the offense, but also more on special teams."
On Wednesday, when asked if Mason might be active for the Philadelphia game, Fisher answered: "We're working him in. He's doing a nice job on special teams right now, and so he's got a pretty good feel for what we're doing. There's always that chance, yes."
Mason said he was working to be ready whenever his time to play comes.
"This is a process," Mason said, "and every time you move from one level of football to the next, there's a period of adjustment. You can't pout or get down on yourself. You just have to fight through those feelings by working every day to make sure that when your name is called, you're ready to make the most of the opportunity. ...
"The only other time I experienced anything like this was my freshman year at Auburn. I didn't play much early, but I started coming on week by week and eventually worked my way into the offensive game plan. God willing, I can do the same thing here."
By Mark Inabinett
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/09/could_tre_masons_time_be_comin.html
The St. Louis Rams penciled in Greg Robinson as their starting left guard when they selected Auburn's left offensive tackle with the second pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. That hasn't worked out yet. Robinson has played 10 snaps with the St. Louis offense in three games.
St. Louis selected another Auburn star with even a higher profile in the third round. Running back Tre Mason finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy balloting, set an Auburn single-season record with 1,816 rushing yards and averaged 26.3 yards per kickoff return last year. He hasn't played a down for the Rams this season, listed among St. Louis' seven game-day inactive players for all three contests.
"It's a little frustrating, sure, but God has a plan," Mason told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "He has the story written already, so I'm just going to continue to do whatever the coaches ask me to do. All I can do is make sure that I'm working hard and giving it everything I have every day in practice."
Second-year running back Zac Stacy out of Vanderbilt remains the Rams' primary running back. The former Bibb County High School star has 181 yards on 46 carries this season. Second-year running back Benny Cunningham out of Middle Tennessee has been his backup with 65 yards on 20 carries. Even Trey Watts, an undrafted rookie out of Tulsa, has been playing ahead of Mason with five carries for 26 yards.
The reported knock against Mason has been his neophyte form in pass protection for a team that already has lost its starting quarterback to a season-ending injury. Mason led the Rams during the preseason with 124 rushing yards. But it took him 43 carries to get it, an average of 2.9 yards per attempt. He also had kickoff returns of 23 and 25 yards in the preseason.
During press conferences this week, St. Louis coach Jeff Fisher brought up Mason twice, perhaps signaling he'll get his chance when the Rams come back from Sunday's open date. St. Louis' next game comes against the Philadelphia Eagles on Oct. 5.
On Monday while explaining that one of the Rams' priorities for the bye week would be getting more practice reps for young players, Fisher said: "Got to get Tre Mason involved, not only more in the offense, but also more on special teams."
On Wednesday, when asked if Mason might be active for the Philadelphia game, Fisher answered: "We're working him in. He's doing a nice job on special teams right now, and so he's got a pretty good feel for what we're doing. There's always that chance, yes."
Mason said he was working to be ready whenever his time to play comes.
"This is a process," Mason said, "and every time you move from one level of football to the next, there's a period of adjustment. You can't pout or get down on yourself. You just have to fight through those feelings by working every day to make sure that when your name is called, you're ready to make the most of the opportunity. ...
"The only other time I experienced anything like this was my freshman year at Auburn. I didn't play much early, but I started coming on week by week and eventually worked my way into the offensive game plan. God willing, I can do the same thing here."