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Hill wants to close out season on a high note
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_2917b766-30fb-5d2c-9052-462f57926018.html
The 16 games Shaun Hill hoped to play after Sam Bradford’s season-ending knee injury turned out to be half that.
You know the story. Hill suffered a thigh injury in the season opener — basically a two- or three-week injury. But third-stringer Austin Davis was playing lights out for a while, and Hill didn’t get back in the starting lineup until eight games later after Davis faded.
As it is, Hill makes his eighth start of the season in Sunday’s season finale at Seattle.
And for someone who didn’t throw a regular-season pass until his sixth year in the league (2007), and then threw only 16 times in three seasons backing up Matthew Stafford in Detroit (2011-13), any playing time is a blessing.
“Obviously, that’s why you play the game — to be on the field and playing,” Hill said. “It has been a lot of fun for me to have that opportunity. Just kind of a different side of (the game) that I haven’t had since 2010. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Entering the Seattle game, Hill has completed 119 of 192 passes for 1,414 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions. His 62.0 percent completion rate this season is exactly the same as his career percentage. His 87.4 passer rating is just a little higher than his career rating (86.1).
That would qualify as performing as advertised. In fact, in a group that’s included Kyle Boller, Chris Chandler, Kellen Clemens, A.J. Feeley, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Gus Frerotte, Jamie Martin and Keith Null, Hill has played better than any backup quarterback in St. Louis since Marc Bulger in 2002.
“He’s played well,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “He’s won some big games for us, put us in position to win one out on the West Coast (at San Diego). He’s got a lot of help in the victories. I don’t think he got the help that he needed (against Arizona). Overall, he’s managing the game well and has a good feel for what he’s doing.”
Hill had some rough moments in that wrenching 27-24 loss to the Chargers on Nov. 23, not the least of which was an interception thrown from the San Diego 4 with one minute to play. But there have not been wild fluctuations in his play from week to week.
“I’ve been pleased with his consistency,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. “The guys gets what we’re trying to get done. He gets the formula of, ‘hey, runs and completions.’ The big thing for us when you look at Shaun is trying to get the ball spread to different people through the progressions.
“He’s not going to hold the ball very long. He’s played well for us. Biggest thing for us, for him, is to take care of the football, get completions, move the chains. I think he’s done well with the opportunities, other than a few plays here and there.”
In terms of getting the ball out quick, Hill has been sacked once out of every 14.7 dropbacks. In comparison, Davis has been sacked once every 10.8 dropbacks.
Although no one would call Hill a mad bomber when it comes to throwing the deep ball, he’s shown an ability to get it downfield. He hasn’t thrown enough passes to qualify for the league’s QB rankings, but only 12 of the 32 quarterbacks who are ranked have a higher yards per attempt average than Hill’s 7.4.
With the Rams about to began the process of re-assembling their quarterback puzzle for 2015 and beyond, all of that and more will factor into the decision on whether to re-sign Hill. He signed a one-year, $1.75 million contract late last March, so he will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Does Hill, who turns 35 in two weeks, want to continue in St. Louis next season?
“Yeah,” he said. “We’ll see what happens. A lot of things can happen in the offseason. My mind hasn’t shifted to that yet. We’ll approach that when it comes up after Sunday.”
Fisher took the same approach recently in saying that such personnel decisions would be pondered after the 2014 campaign concludes. In other words, he really didn’t want to talk about it while the team was still playing games. But Fisher did add, “No reason why we wouldn’t have interest in both Shaun and Austin. They’ve worked hard.”
Of course, even in the case of a backup quarterback, interest is a two-way street. The Rams learned that lesson last season, when they were interested in re-signing Clemens but he got a better deal including more guaranteed money from San Diego.
So it’s always possible there could be outside interest in Hill, in what is always a quarterback-needy league.
“I have enjoyed it here,” Hill said. “I like St. Louis. I’m not exactly a local, but pretty close. Just a couple hours away is where I live (in the Lake of the Ozarks area). So that part of it has been very nice.
“My hometown (Parsons, Kan.) is five hours away, so people have been able to come out and see more games. I’m talking family. ... That part’s been great. And the organization’s been wonderful, too.”In the game of pro football, final impressions at the end of one season can be lingering. So the last thing Hill needs is a clunker of a performance against Seattle’s top-rated defense.
“They’re really good. This just in — right?” Hill joked. “They’re the No. 1 defense in the league and there’s plenty of evidence as to why. Then obviously, playing at their place is a hostile environment. They play very, very well there on defense, so we’ll have our hands full for sure.”
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_2917b766-30fb-5d2c-9052-462f57926018.html
The 16 games Shaun Hill hoped to play after Sam Bradford’s season-ending knee injury turned out to be half that.
You know the story. Hill suffered a thigh injury in the season opener — basically a two- or three-week injury. But third-stringer Austin Davis was playing lights out for a while, and Hill didn’t get back in the starting lineup until eight games later after Davis faded.
As it is, Hill makes his eighth start of the season in Sunday’s season finale at Seattle.
And for someone who didn’t throw a regular-season pass until his sixth year in the league (2007), and then threw only 16 times in three seasons backing up Matthew Stafford in Detroit (2011-13), any playing time is a blessing.
“Obviously, that’s why you play the game — to be on the field and playing,” Hill said. “It has been a lot of fun for me to have that opportunity. Just kind of a different side of (the game) that I haven’t had since 2010. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Entering the Seattle game, Hill has completed 119 of 192 passes for 1,414 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions. His 62.0 percent completion rate this season is exactly the same as his career percentage. His 87.4 passer rating is just a little higher than his career rating (86.1).
That would qualify as performing as advertised. In fact, in a group that’s included Kyle Boller, Chris Chandler, Kellen Clemens, A.J. Feeley, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Gus Frerotte, Jamie Martin and Keith Null, Hill has played better than any backup quarterback in St. Louis since Marc Bulger in 2002.
“He’s played well,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “He’s won some big games for us, put us in position to win one out on the West Coast (at San Diego). He’s got a lot of help in the victories. I don’t think he got the help that he needed (against Arizona). Overall, he’s managing the game well and has a good feel for what he’s doing.”
Hill had some rough moments in that wrenching 27-24 loss to the Chargers on Nov. 23, not the least of which was an interception thrown from the San Diego 4 with one minute to play. But there have not been wild fluctuations in his play from week to week.
“I’ve been pleased with his consistency,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer said. “The guys gets what we’re trying to get done. He gets the formula of, ‘hey, runs and completions.’ The big thing for us when you look at Shaun is trying to get the ball spread to different people through the progressions.
“He’s not going to hold the ball very long. He’s played well for us. Biggest thing for us, for him, is to take care of the football, get completions, move the chains. I think he’s done well with the opportunities, other than a few plays here and there.”
In terms of getting the ball out quick, Hill has been sacked once out of every 14.7 dropbacks. In comparison, Davis has been sacked once every 10.8 dropbacks.
Although no one would call Hill a mad bomber when it comes to throwing the deep ball, he’s shown an ability to get it downfield. He hasn’t thrown enough passes to qualify for the league’s QB rankings, but only 12 of the 32 quarterbacks who are ranked have a higher yards per attempt average than Hill’s 7.4.
With the Rams about to began the process of re-assembling their quarterback puzzle for 2015 and beyond, all of that and more will factor into the decision on whether to re-sign Hill. He signed a one-year, $1.75 million contract late last March, so he will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
Does Hill, who turns 35 in two weeks, want to continue in St. Louis next season?
“Yeah,” he said. “We’ll see what happens. A lot of things can happen in the offseason. My mind hasn’t shifted to that yet. We’ll approach that when it comes up after Sunday.”
Fisher took the same approach recently in saying that such personnel decisions would be pondered after the 2014 campaign concludes. In other words, he really didn’t want to talk about it while the team was still playing games. But Fisher did add, “No reason why we wouldn’t have interest in both Shaun and Austin. They’ve worked hard.”
Of course, even in the case of a backup quarterback, interest is a two-way street. The Rams learned that lesson last season, when they were interested in re-signing Clemens but he got a better deal including more guaranteed money from San Diego.
So it’s always possible there could be outside interest in Hill, in what is always a quarterback-needy league.
“I have enjoyed it here,” Hill said. “I like St. Louis. I’m not exactly a local, but pretty close. Just a couple hours away is where I live (in the Lake of the Ozarks area). So that part of it has been very nice.
“My hometown (Parsons, Kan.) is five hours away, so people have been able to come out and see more games. I’m talking family. ... That part’s been great. And the organization’s been wonderful, too.”In the game of pro football, final impressions at the end of one season can be lingering. So the last thing Hill needs is a clunker of a performance against Seattle’s top-rated defense.
“They’re really good. This just in — right?” Hill joked. “They’re the No. 1 defense in the league and there’s plenty of evidence as to why. Then obviously, playing at their place is a hostile environment. They play very, very well there on defense, so we’ll have our hands full for sure.”
