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Gordon: Several Rams could follow Quinn's lead
• By Jeff Gordon
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_f43a56d9-c274-50c5-9c17-4baf12b0711a.html
New Rams receiver Kenny Britt was noticeable at practice Tuesday night. He flew around the field making plays.
Receiver Brian Quick made some notable catches as well.
This prompted Post-Dispatch reporter Jim Thomas to ask coach Jeff Fisher if perhaps Britt was having a positive impact on Quick, who is in Year 3 of his painstaking NFL adjustment.
"Brian, early on in his career, if he wasn't sure, he wasn't quite full speed," Fisher observed. "Brian is learning to just go. Good things happen when you run hard."
That is one of the overriding themes of this Rams training camp. It's time for these players to go hard and reach full speed.
This franchise possesses some explosive raw talent. But aside from defensive end Robert Quinn, the better athletes have yet to perform full tilt for the Rams.
Perhaps Quick could become one of those breakout players. Stranger things (Danny Amendola!) have happened.
But in this corner of cyberspace, we hold out more hope for these four potential stars:
TAVON AUSTIN
The Indianapolis Colts know what a full-tilt Austin can do. He caught two touchdown passes totaling 138 yards against them. He also broke a 98-yard punt return for a TD.
Austin has the wheels to break plays in the kicking game, the passing game and the ground game. But he must hang onto the ball, get some penalty-free blocks from teammates and stay healthy.
He had problems in all three areas last season.
Experts like to blame offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer for failing to exploit Austin's explosiveness, but the rookie dropped six passes during the first five weeks.
Sam Bradford's knee injury contributed to Austin's first-year disappointment, since the four games where he caught five or more passes came before Kellen Clemens took over at quarterback.
Penalties negated several big Austin plays, particularly on the not-so-special teams. Then came his season-ending ankle injury he suffered on a 56-yard end-around play.
So a lot went wrong last season. If a lot goes right this season, Austin could double last season's totals of 40 catches, 418 receiving yards, 151 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
ALEC OGLETREE
He made lots of highlight reel plays as a rookie, forcing six fumbles while leading the Rams in tackles. But he also missed 19 tackles last season and overran additional plays with his overeager pursuit.
New defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will find some new ways to make Ogletree a disruptive force on the field. In his aggressive scheme, defenders attack from all angles while striving to force turnovers and make tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
Once Ogletree bears down and learns to read the play better, he could become a Pro Bowl-caliber outside linebacker.
JARED COOK
He, too, was highly visible in Tuesday's practice. How can you miss a huge passing target who runs with such ease?
Like Austin, he had one huge performance (seven catches for 141 yards and two touchdowns) that he failed to measure up to all season. Like Austin, he dropped a lot of passes -- logging a 13.56 percent drop rate that was the worst among regular tight ends.
Like Austin, his production suffered as the Rams shifted to run-based offense after Clemens replaced the injured Bradford. On the bright side, his run blocking did improve somewhat by season's end.
Now the Rams are expecting a much bigger payoff on his $35.1 million contract. Cook as the ability to stretch the field with his speed and dominate in the short passing game with his size.
He can outrun linebackers and tower over defensive backs. He can move out from tight end and become a slot receiver.
Although Cook set single-season team records for tight ends in total receiving yards and plays of 25 yards or more, he can do so much more.
JANORIS JENKINS
Despite giving opponents lots of big coverage cushions, the Rams secondary got beat deep a lot last season. Jenkins became a frequent victim, allowing seven touchdown passes.
He allowed at lease one reception for 30 yards or more in six games last season. Quarterbacks had a 115.3 passer rating against him. He earned the second-most penalties of any cornerback.
Golden Taint taunted him after a long TD catch and Steve Smith lambasted him after lighting him up on the field.
Oh, and Jenkins didn't make the big plays he made as a rookie -- so his big mistakes were magnified.
So now Jenkins will try again under Williams, who figures to ask more from his cornerbacks in his blitz-heavy scheme. Jenkins has the tools and confidence to be a top cornerback, but he has a LOT of growing to do.
But can he convert potential into production? Like the others, he could break out this season and help elevate this long-suffering team to the high side of .500.
