High-energy Britt has helped liven Rams receiver corps/PD

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RamBill

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High-energy Britt has helped liven Rams receiver corps
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_243e152c-4b85-508a-bd46-1761117c33d7.html

Kenny Britt is a walking, talking cup of espresso. With emphasis on the talking. From the moment the wide receivers show up in the morning to lift weights, Britt is a high-energy wake-up call at Rams Park — smiling, taunting, teasing, joking.

Fellow wide receiver Brian Quick chuckles at the thought.

“I wouldn’t call it trash-talking,” Quick said. “He’s having fun. A lot of guys, they don’t take it personally. We’re being competitive, and that’s what comes with it when you come out here and play this game.”

Does he ever shut up? Veteran wide receivers coach Ray Sherman didn’t think twice before answering:

“No. He’s always talking,” Sherman said, shaking his head. “He keeps things going. Even in the meetings. It’s just fun to have him in there. He’s just always upbeat. Always. And I love that because he brings that energy into the room.”

That energy has livened the wide receiver room. Even some who are normally pretty quiet, such as Austin Pettis.

Pettis is “very smart, but he may not say too much,” Sherman said. “Now, he’s yah, yah, yah. He’s yacking.”

It’s reached the point in the few short months Britt has been around, that when things are quiet and Britt’s around, the wide receivers are puzzled.

“When we don’t hear him, you know something’s wrong,” Quick said. “Or something’s up. So we get him fired up.”

Those quiet moments have been few and far between. Who would’ve thought when the Rams signed him to a modest one-year contract April 5, that he would turn into the sparkplug of the wideouts?

“Kenny’s always had that type of personality,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “He loves the game. He’s not afraid to voice his opinion, and he’s pulling the young guys along with him. He practices one speed, and that’s full. That’s a good example.”

Kenny Britt, leader? Yes, this is the same Kenny Britt who had a long list of off-field issues dating back to his days with Fisher as a Tennessee Titan. The same Kenny Britt who created a stir when a sex tape popped up on his Instagram account and became public knowledge on the third day of the draft.

(Fortunately for Britt, Michael Sam was drafted that same day, taking over the NFL news cycle.)

Britt calls his apparent maturation process a coming of age.

“Remember, I came in (the NFL) at 20 years old as a young guy,” he said. “Each year, you learn a little bit more about yourself, and how you work and how you play.”

And suddenly, he steps into the wide receiver room for the first time as a Ram, and he’s the veteran of the group.

“People are looking at me as one of the old guys on the team,” said Britt, a month shy of his 26th birthday. “You’ve definitely got to change some things in your life.”

Who knows if this new, improved Britt will have staying power? But Sherman, who has coached the likes of Terrell Owens, Donald Driver and Robert Ferguson as a receivers coach —not to mention Cris Carter and Randy Moss as Minnesota’s offensive coordinator in ’99— is delighted with what he’s seen from Britt so far.

Dating back to the early ’90s when Sherman and Fisher were on George Seifert’s staff in San Francisco, Sherman says he learned not to prejudge a player based on what happened with a previous team.

“In spite of what has happened there, they come in with a clean slate,” Sherman said. “So I’m gonna judge them on what they’re doing here. I can’t worry about what happened there —that’s dead and gone.

“And I tell you what, (Britt) has been a joy to have. He’s a smart kid. He’s very conscientious. He wants to do the right thing. He studies. He prepares. And he’s like that when he’s in the classroom, and on the field. I mean I love what he brings to the table.”

Another byproduct of Britt’s presence has been the relationship he’s struck with Quick. Let’s not call it a bromance just yet, but ...

“They kind of hit it off when Kenny first got here,” Sherman said. “They spend time together. They work together. They taunt. It’s just nice to see.

“And Kenny, he’s an imposing player. Physical. Strong. Fast. And Brian is sorta like that. Same kind of guy. Similar bodies. Similar style.”

Britt is 6-3, 223; Quick is 6-3, 218. One of the things Britt does best, and that Quick still needs to work on, is coming down with the contested ball, the so-called 50-50 ball in traffic.

It’s something Sherman has stressed to the receivers in the meeting room and also on the practice field. Going up and getting the ball at its highest point; grabbing it before your feet hit the ground.

Simply watching Britt go up and get the football in practice has helped. Quick concedes that he tries to mimic some of Britt’s work.

“So I do it exactly how he does it,” Quick said. “I learn from him all the time. He’s a veteran. He’s been there before; he’s been in certain situations I haven’t been in. So he tells me, I listen, and then I watch him. And that’s a good thing.”

Britt has enjoyed the process of taking Quick under his wing and says he’s actually learned some stuff from Quick, too.

“It’s actually wonderful,” Britt said. “Me just being a big guy and being a physical guy. And being in the league for so long, I’ve learned a lot from a lot of guys ... on my route running and using my body down the field.”

The Rams are hoping some of that rubs off, not just on Quick but on the entire receiver corps.
 

So Ram

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Could not be happier with the Kenny Britt signing,except for the years on the deal.
I think Jeff Fisher out thought himself.The sex tape thing does make me wonder though.That could have been a disaster.
That changed the Rams draft board from having to change back.
I know Britt has been huge for B.Quick.Just like Sted has been for T.Austin.Sneads rep could be looking bad if it wasn't for Britt & Sted.
Bailey of all players is the one who has the 4 game suspension.He led by example last year by helping out players(Pead & T.A),and earning his way from special teams.
Just hope Kenny keeps humble & does not run by Stan on the sideline going,I need to get paid like SqaQ Daddy did to Jerry Buss.
 

CGI_Ram

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Let's see what happens when adversity hits. Is Kenny tough enough to fight through that?

All the good players in this league fight through tough times; drops, bad games, injuries, etc.
 

Faceplant

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Lets see the results on Sundays. Like what I have heard so far, but I think we have all been burned by optimistic camp reports before. Would be nice to see him and BQ get some touches in these remaining PS games....
 

tahoe

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I was very skeptical of the Britt signing but so far he has been a huge positive and hopefully will continue to be for years to come. Hes been great for Quick, accelerating his learning curve.
 

RhodyRams

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I like the swagger Britt is bringing to the WR corps. It is about time the young kids had a veteran to guide them on the right path.
 

RamBill

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Britt Trying to Make Most of His Time With the Rams
By Nate Latsch / KMOX.com

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2014/08/13/latsch-britt-trying-to-make-most-of-his-time-with-the-rams/

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) — Kenny Britt is embracing his fresh start here with the Rams. The former Tennessee Titans wide receiver is also enjoying his new role as a veteran leader of the Rams’ young receiving corps.

“I was coming in as a new guy and they knew the offense better than I know but they are also young,” Britt said of his fellow wide receivers. “I knew how to run routes better than they did and, seeing coverages out there, how you would run certain routes on different coverages. So I had to take leadership in the room as being a guy that’s six years in and Coach (Jeff Fisher) had that expectation of me.”

The 25-year-old is entering his sixth season in the NFL after being a first-round pick out of Rutgers by the Titans back in 2009.

The Rams have 10 other wide receivers on their 90-man training camp roster. Only Austin Pettis, 26, is older than Britt, but Pettis has just three NFL seasons and 42 career games on his resume compared to five seasons and 57 games for Britt.

“Hopefully I’ve had a lot of impact on the guys,” Britt said, “especially in the morning when guys are sluggish and we have to lift weights and we start that and then hopefully we get amped up and ready to go by the time we hit the field.”

Even though the New Jersey native has emerged as a leader in St. Louis, he has said repeatedly during OTAs and throughout training camp that he is still learning and is trying to absorb as much as he can from his new teammates.

“To tell you the truth, I’m still growing as a person as as a player and I’m still learning,” Britt said following practice on Monday. “I’m still learning from these guys and they are showing me a lot and the offensive coordinator is showing me a lot and the wide receivers coach is showing me a lot. It’s like I’m a rookie all over again.”

That’s exactly what he was looking for when he signed with the Rams.

Britt needed a fresh start after five somewhat tumultuous seasons in Tennessee, including a 2013 campaign where he played in 12 games (three starts) but had just 11 catches for 96 yards and no touchdowns.

He put up solid numbers in his first two seasons, combining for 84 catches for 1,476 and 12 touchdowns while playing for Fisher. But then he suffered a knee injury and became known more for off-the-field issues than on-the-field production, culminating with his career-low numbers in his final season with the Titans.

“He’s a very emotional kid,” Fisher said during OTAs. “He’s an emotional receiver. He looks the part and he can make the plays. I was really happy to see him come on. He kept himself in really good shape during the free agency period. He came in, has done a great job inside. He’s had no setbacks, feels great physically. He could potentially return to where he was a very productive receiver.”

So far Britt has been everything the Rams could have asked for and then some, considering his impact as a vocal and experienced leader for the rest of the wide receiver corps.

But until Britt is able to turn his strong training camp into production during the regular season — for a team that desperately needs a few wide receivers to emerge as legitimate playmakers — the questions about whether he can still contribute in the NFL are going to be there.

Britt has a one-year deal with St. Louis, where he’ll play for the same coach (Fisher) that saw him perform at his best during his first two seasons.

If he doesn’t work out here, it may be his last real shot in the NFL.

“He needed a fresh start,” Fisher said during OTAs. “I know him well. He’ll be successful here.”
 

RamBill

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The Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas and CineSport’s Brian Clark discuss Kenny Britt’s impact on the Rams’ offense, and what Jeff Fisher wants to see in Saturday’s game with the Packers. (3:18)

Watch Jim Thomas Talk Britt's Impact
 

snackdaddy

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I've read hundred of fluff pieces during this time of year. How many have turned out to be just that? Britt could be the best receiver acquisition we've had in years or he could be just another guy. We have a few weeks before we find out.
 

Athos

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I was very skeptical of the Britt signing but so far he has been a huge positive and hopefully will continue to be for years to come. Hes been great for Quick, accelerating his learning curve.

This. I didn't like it at first and thought Britt a lost cause. But he seems to be really enjoying pushing the other WRs on the team to improve and taken special attention to having Quick's mind catch up with his natural strength and athleticism. That may be the biggest boon whether Britt does anything or not. If Quick emerges, I'll count that as a win regardless of what Kenny does.
 

FRO

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I really hope Britt puts himself in a position to get a large contract after this season. From all accounts, the guys watching OTAs and camp, to the guys on the team, Britt is legit. I really hope he realizes his potential. He has the ability to be Dez Bryant good, he just never put it together. I can't wait to watch him play.
 

PhxRam

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I really hope Britt puts himself in a position to get a large contract after this season. From all accounts, the guys watching OTAs and camp, to the guys on the team, Britt is legit. I really hope he realizes his potential. He has the ability to be Dez Bryant good, he just never put it together. I can't wait to watch him play.

I just worry he is one year contract motivated
 

DaveFan'51

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I like the idea that Bradford will be in for at least a quarter, we'll get a chance to see what he can do with Britt Quick and the rest of the receivers!:D