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Gordon: Quick typifies the Rams in many ways
By Jeff Gordon
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_76efdbf0-438e-5504-9273-24e9a6210a42.html
Wide receiver Brian Quick personifies today’s Rams. He arrived as a high draft pick amid fanfare, then took his own sweet time developing.
Just as his career took off he suffered a horrible injury, forcing him to start over. He remains a promising but an unfinished project, overdue for completion.
That pretty much sums up the whole team.
As the Rams try to finally break out in the fourth year of Jeff Fisher’s regime, Quick will be one of the X-factor players. If he can realize his considerable potential, he could help lead this team to the high side of .500.
If he falters, his failure could undermine the long-suffering passing game and keep the Rams’ offense one-dimensional and pedestrian.
Quick is a huge passing target, built to run post patterns and red zone fade routes. He can tower over defensive backs and outrun linebackers. He can streak down the sidelines and barge right into traffic.
He can do all of those things. But he hasn’t always done them at this level, so he fits right in with the rest of this bunch.
Tight end Jared Cook is still striving to reach his full potential. So is cornerback Janoris Jenkins. So is outside linebacker Alec Ogletree. So is quarterback Nick Foles. These are your Rams, many impressive athletes but not so many great players — yet.
The Rams selected Quick 33rd overall in 2012. General manager Les Snead and Co. saw special long-range potential in him, despite his lack of big-time college experience. The pick seemed like a reach at the time and it looks more so today.
Quick frustrated the masses with his slow NFL adaptation, as did running back Isaiah Pead and, to a lesser extent, receiver Tavon Austin and offensive tackle Greg Robinson.
His rookie season was a wash. He couldn’t run crisp, pro-caliber pass routes. He didn’t use his size to consistently beat press coverage. He dropped passes. He didn’t go full-tilt on every play, so he failed to crack the regular receiving rotation.
Rams coaches praised his work ethic in practice and cited his solid downfield blocking on running plays. But the Rams needed him to become a playmaker, not a role player.
Reliable downfield blockers can be found on the waiver wire. The first pick of the second round should yield much more.
Look at some of the receivers selected after Quick in the 2012 draft: T.Y. Hilton (214 career receptions, 3,289 yards, 19 touchdowns), Alshon Jeffery (198 catches, 2,921 yards, 20 TDs), and Reuben Randle (131 catches, 1,847 yards, 12 TDs).
It’s not hard to find outstanding receivers in the draft, although the Rams have managed to prove otherwise since taking Torry Holt back in 1999. Donnie Avery, Mardy Gilyard, Austin Pettis, Greg Salas, Chris Givens ... many have tried, many have failed to become passing game producers here.
Quick finally found his stride last summer, thanks to the constant prodding of veteran receiver Kenny Britt. Day after day after day in camp, Britt showed him how big receivers should operate. Day after day after day he urged Quick to follow his lead.
It worked. Quick opened the season by catching 14 passes in his first two games. He got loose for a 51-yard touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys and two TD catches at Philadelphia. Suddenly defenses were having to game plan against him.
But just as he was emerging as an impact receiver, one play knocked his career off course. After making a catch against the Kansas City Chiefs, Quick landed hard as cornerback Jamell Fleming wrestled him to the ground.
The impact tore his arm out of the shoulder joint, causing massive damage. Like so many Rams before him, Quick fell onto the long road to rehabilitation.
He did his work diligently, maintaining a positive frame of mind. “You just focus on getting back,” he said. “You have to take it day by day. You don’t want to rush it. You want to take your time and do everything right, make sure I did everything that I needed to be able to come out here.”
He is back on the practice field, running passing drills with the other receivers in training camp. But his recovery still has a ways to go.
“He’s not there yet and you can tell we are keeping him off the ground,” Fisher said after training camp opened. “But he’s running and he’s still got a little bit of motion and flexibility to work on and some strength, but by all means we expect him to be back. So it’s a pretty impressive offseason of rehab that he committed to and that he got from our medical staff.”
Right now Quick is trying to get his legs and his mind up back up to game speed again.
“Just getting out here is different,” he said. “It’s a different kind of shape. Coming out here, running with the guys, playing really fast. I didn’t really miss a step. But like I said, it’s just different.”
Quick will enter this season with everything to prove, just like the team itself. The Rams have shown some potential in Fisher’s three seasons, but they have not sustained success in the challenging NFC West.
They show flashes of greatness, then lapse back into mediocrity. They beat a good team, then they turn around and beat themselves, often handily.
Perhaps this is the year the Rams will finally post a winning record. With the San Francisco 49ers in rebuilding mode after jettisoning know-it-all Jim Harbaugh as coach, the retooled Rams may finally have their opening.
“For us, not just myself, as team, I feel like this is a breakout season,” Quick said. “We’re going to put the work in. I’m going to do my job, do my part, and we’re going to make sure we do what it takes.”
Finally, after three seasons of fits and starts, Quick could become the player the Rams envisioned.
Finally, after their exasperating 7-8-1, 7-9 and 6-10 campaigns under Fisher, the Rams could arrive.
By Jeff Gordon
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_76efdbf0-438e-5504-9273-24e9a6210a42.html
Wide receiver Brian Quick personifies today’s Rams. He arrived as a high draft pick amid fanfare, then took his own sweet time developing.
Just as his career took off he suffered a horrible injury, forcing him to start over. He remains a promising but an unfinished project, overdue for completion.
That pretty much sums up the whole team.
As the Rams try to finally break out in the fourth year of Jeff Fisher’s regime, Quick will be one of the X-factor players. If he can realize his considerable potential, he could help lead this team to the high side of .500.
If he falters, his failure could undermine the long-suffering passing game and keep the Rams’ offense one-dimensional and pedestrian.
Quick is a huge passing target, built to run post patterns and red zone fade routes. He can tower over defensive backs and outrun linebackers. He can streak down the sidelines and barge right into traffic.
He can do all of those things. But he hasn’t always done them at this level, so he fits right in with the rest of this bunch.
Tight end Jared Cook is still striving to reach his full potential. So is cornerback Janoris Jenkins. So is outside linebacker Alec Ogletree. So is quarterback Nick Foles. These are your Rams, many impressive athletes but not so many great players — yet.
The Rams selected Quick 33rd overall in 2012. General manager Les Snead and Co. saw special long-range potential in him, despite his lack of big-time college experience. The pick seemed like a reach at the time and it looks more so today.
Quick frustrated the masses with his slow NFL adaptation, as did running back Isaiah Pead and, to a lesser extent, receiver Tavon Austin and offensive tackle Greg Robinson.
His rookie season was a wash. He couldn’t run crisp, pro-caliber pass routes. He didn’t use his size to consistently beat press coverage. He dropped passes. He didn’t go full-tilt on every play, so he failed to crack the regular receiving rotation.
Rams coaches praised his work ethic in practice and cited his solid downfield blocking on running plays. But the Rams needed him to become a playmaker, not a role player.
Reliable downfield blockers can be found on the waiver wire. The first pick of the second round should yield much more.
Look at some of the receivers selected after Quick in the 2012 draft: T.Y. Hilton (214 career receptions, 3,289 yards, 19 touchdowns), Alshon Jeffery (198 catches, 2,921 yards, 20 TDs), and Reuben Randle (131 catches, 1,847 yards, 12 TDs).
It’s not hard to find outstanding receivers in the draft, although the Rams have managed to prove otherwise since taking Torry Holt back in 1999. Donnie Avery, Mardy Gilyard, Austin Pettis, Greg Salas, Chris Givens ... many have tried, many have failed to become passing game producers here.
Quick finally found his stride last summer, thanks to the constant prodding of veteran receiver Kenny Britt. Day after day after day in camp, Britt showed him how big receivers should operate. Day after day after day he urged Quick to follow his lead.
It worked. Quick opened the season by catching 14 passes in his first two games. He got loose for a 51-yard touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys and two TD catches at Philadelphia. Suddenly defenses were having to game plan against him.
But just as he was emerging as an impact receiver, one play knocked his career off course. After making a catch against the Kansas City Chiefs, Quick landed hard as cornerback Jamell Fleming wrestled him to the ground.
The impact tore his arm out of the shoulder joint, causing massive damage. Like so many Rams before him, Quick fell onto the long road to rehabilitation.
He did his work diligently, maintaining a positive frame of mind. “You just focus on getting back,” he said. “You have to take it day by day. You don’t want to rush it. You want to take your time and do everything right, make sure I did everything that I needed to be able to come out here.”
He is back on the practice field, running passing drills with the other receivers in training camp. But his recovery still has a ways to go.
“He’s not there yet and you can tell we are keeping him off the ground,” Fisher said after training camp opened. “But he’s running and he’s still got a little bit of motion and flexibility to work on and some strength, but by all means we expect him to be back. So it’s a pretty impressive offseason of rehab that he committed to and that he got from our medical staff.”
Right now Quick is trying to get his legs and his mind up back up to game speed again.
“Just getting out here is different,” he said. “It’s a different kind of shape. Coming out here, running with the guys, playing really fast. I didn’t really miss a step. But like I said, it’s just different.”
Quick will enter this season with everything to prove, just like the team itself. The Rams have shown some potential in Fisher’s three seasons, but they have not sustained success in the challenging NFC West.
They show flashes of greatness, then lapse back into mediocrity. They beat a good team, then they turn around and beat themselves, often handily.
Perhaps this is the year the Rams will finally post a winning record. With the San Francisco 49ers in rebuilding mode after jettisoning know-it-all Jim Harbaugh as coach, the retooled Rams may finally have their opening.
“For us, not just myself, as team, I feel like this is a breakout season,” Quick said. “We’re going to put the work in. I’m going to do my job, do my part, and we’re going to make sure we do what it takes.”
Finally, after three seasons of fits and starts, Quick could become the player the Rams envisioned.
Finally, after their exasperating 7-8-1, 7-9 and 6-10 campaigns under Fisher, the Rams could arrive.
