Rams quarterback Sam Bradford, who's recovering from ACL surgery, likes what he saw from the offense over the second half of the season. "The way that we were able to establish the run and get the running game going on offense, and then set up some of the play-action stuff," Bradford told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I felt like our younger guys really came along, especially towards the end.
"You look at what Sted (Stedman Bailey) was able to do. You know, his role increased as the season went along. I think Tavon (Austin) became more comfortable, obviously before his injury. And Zac (Stacy) played tremendous, not only running the football but being able to come in and handle all the protections and being able to hold up on third down. That's not easy. That's tough on a young guy.
"So I definitely think that this football team made some strides and got better as the year went along."
Bradford said there's no reason the Rams, who finished 7-9, can't make the playoffs in 2014.
"I think we're close," he said. "Like I said earlier, I think it's a matter of us being more consistent and playing to our fullest potential each week, and not having those drops where we don't perform that way some weeks. But you look at some of our wins this year, some of the teams that we beat. Beat New Orleans who was a playoff team. Beat Indy who was a playoff team.
"So it's not far off. I think everyone saw that we have the talent to compete and to play with anyone. It's just a matter of us just finishing a few more games."