EARTH CITY, Mo. -- St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher has been alternately predictable and unpredictable when it comes to preseason playing time for his starters.

Fisher has made a habit of gradually building the starters' reps from game to game in his three years with the Rams. But he's also taken a different approach to the later games on the exhibition slate, sometimes using the fourth game as the dress rehearsal and sometimes using the fourth game as most teams do with starters sitting out (as he did in 2014).

Entering Sunday's second preseason game against the Tennessee Titans, Fisher sounds like a coach in the gradual build mode.

“We’re going to increase everybody’s reps depending on the series and things like that," Fisher said. “The one thing that we did get which is really important for us, where we are now, is we got great reps against Dallas [earlier this week]. So as I said, we almost got an extra preseason game. We’ll increase reps, but some guys may play less. We’ll give Nick [Foles] a chance to play a little bit.”

In the preseason opener against the Oakland Raiders, Rams starters played two series on each side of the ball before calling it a night. The total work amounted to almost the entire first quarter before turning to the backups.

But, as Fisher indicated, there's always wiggle room for things to change. If, for example, Foles is able to lead a long scoring drive or two, he might not play into the second quarter. Early success often translates to an earlier finish to the night. And the Rams don't seem intent on letting their defensive starters play too much, believing that the group is all but ready and knowing that cornerback E.J. Gaines has already been lost for the season because of injury.

As for what Fisher would like to see from his team this week, he points to many of the things that most would point to when it comes to the Rams in the preseason. Which is to say he's looking for improvement in the areas that continue to plague them in the exhibition season.

“Well, we want to keep the penalties down," Fisher said. "I’d like to see the run game continue to improve. It’s the same thing with the defense, defense against the run. When you tackle and just do those things, it’s a progression. Progression, it’s about improvement so that’s what we’re looking for.”