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If you want to know why Rams end Robert Quinn is being mentioned as a serious candidate for NFL Defensive Player of the Year, watch this clip from last Sunday’s contest against the Saints. You won’t see many individual efforts better than this one.
The Saints, down 24-3 at that point, were trying to get back into the game with a third-and-17 play at the St. Louis 37-yard line. Quinn rushed quarterback Drew Brees from his right end position and was immediately chipped by tight end Jimmy Graham. Then left tackle Charles Brown and left guard Ben Grubbs teamed to knock Quinn to the ground. They probably thought the play was over, but Quinn crawled for about 2 yards, got up and strip-sacked Brees, all in just 2.71 seconds. Quinn capped it off by recovering the fumble.
“Once I got chipped and I fell and was crawling, I saw Drew Brees stepping up because Chris Long was forcing him to step up that way. He had a great rush also,” Quinn said, recalling the play before practice Thursday. “As he was stepping up, I was just trying to get a little bit closer. I was able to dive at the ball, get it out and create a huge turnover for our team.”
Quinn did it all in this game for the Saints. He had a solo sack to thwart a third-and-1 play, drew a holding penalty, hurried Brees nine times and his quarterback hit on the first series forced an interception, which the Rams turned into a lead they would not relinquish. The 7.75 Pressure Points Quinn accumulated against the Saints was the second-highest total for any player this season, and earned him his second edge rusher of the week award. Quinn set the mark with 9.5 in Week 12 against the Bears.
It’s been this way all season for the 14th overall pick in the 2011 draft. Quinn ranks second in the NFL with 15 sacks (Colts’ Robert Mathis leads with 16.5) and leads with eight forced fumbles. Quinn needs two more sacks to tie the franchise record of 17 set by Kevin Carter in 1999. Quinn leads all players with 55 Pressure Points on the season (Gerald McCoy is a distant second with 47.50) and is third in Pressure Points Rate behind Elvis Dumervil and Aldon Smith when snaps are factored.
Those are some of the reasons Quinn is a contender for the DPOY award, which has never been won by a Ram.
“I don’t know of any other defensive player that’s playing as consistently as well as he is,” coach Jeff Fisher said this week. “There’s a lot of good defensive players in the league, but I definitely believe he should be considered for that. Ask Drew Brees.”
Quinn, who was forced to sit out his final collegiate season at North Carolina after taking improper benefits, has made steady progress since entering the league, with five sacks as a rookie and 10.5 in ’12.
“I’m kind of back in my groove,” Quinn said. “My rookie year I didn’t play that much and I was kind of out of it. My second year I played a lot more and started to get back in the groove. This year, just kind of started where I left off. But I have a great group of defensive players that have helped me out, so a bunch of credit goes to them as well.”
Quinn said he’s trying not to think much about a possible DPOY award.
“It’s always a great honor, just to be considered in that conversation because there’s so many great defensive players out there,” Quinn said. “It’d be an even bigger honor if I win it, and also for the Rams. You usually don’t get those things without a great team around you but a lot of credit goes out to my teammates and the man upstairs. I’ve been blessed beyond measure.”
http://mmqb.si.com/2013/12/19/robert-quinn-pressure-points/print/
The Saints, down 24-3 at that point, were trying to get back into the game with a third-and-17 play at the St. Louis 37-yard line. Quinn rushed quarterback Drew Brees from his right end position and was immediately chipped by tight end Jimmy Graham. Then left tackle Charles Brown and left guard Ben Grubbs teamed to knock Quinn to the ground. They probably thought the play was over, but Quinn crawled for about 2 yards, got up and strip-sacked Brees, all in just 2.71 seconds. Quinn capped it off by recovering the fumble.
“Once I got chipped and I fell and was crawling, I saw Drew Brees stepping up because Chris Long was forcing him to step up that way. He had a great rush also,” Quinn said, recalling the play before practice Thursday. “As he was stepping up, I was just trying to get a little bit closer. I was able to dive at the ball, get it out and create a huge turnover for our team.”
Quinn did it all in this game for the Saints. He had a solo sack to thwart a third-and-1 play, drew a holding penalty, hurried Brees nine times and his quarterback hit on the first series forced an interception, which the Rams turned into a lead they would not relinquish. The 7.75 Pressure Points Quinn accumulated against the Saints was the second-highest total for any player this season, and earned him his second edge rusher of the week award. Quinn set the mark with 9.5 in Week 12 against the Bears.
It’s been this way all season for the 14th overall pick in the 2011 draft. Quinn ranks second in the NFL with 15 sacks (Colts’ Robert Mathis leads with 16.5) and leads with eight forced fumbles. Quinn needs two more sacks to tie the franchise record of 17 set by Kevin Carter in 1999. Quinn leads all players with 55 Pressure Points on the season (Gerald McCoy is a distant second with 47.50) and is third in Pressure Points Rate behind Elvis Dumervil and Aldon Smith when snaps are factored.
Those are some of the reasons Quinn is a contender for the DPOY award, which has never been won by a Ram.
“I don’t know of any other defensive player that’s playing as consistently as well as he is,” coach Jeff Fisher said this week. “There’s a lot of good defensive players in the league, but I definitely believe he should be considered for that. Ask Drew Brees.”
Quinn, who was forced to sit out his final collegiate season at North Carolina after taking improper benefits, has made steady progress since entering the league, with five sacks as a rookie and 10.5 in ’12.
“I’m kind of back in my groove,” Quinn said. “My rookie year I didn’t play that much and I was kind of out of it. My second year I played a lot more and started to get back in the groove. This year, just kind of started where I left off. But I have a great group of defensive players that have helped me out, so a bunch of credit goes to them as well.”
Quinn said he’s trying not to think much about a possible DPOY award.
“It’s always a great honor, just to be considered in that conversation because there’s so many great defensive players out there,” Quinn said. “It’d be an even bigger honor if I win it, and also for the Rams. You usually don’t get those things without a great team around you but a lot of credit goes out to my teammates and the man upstairs. I’ve been blessed beyond measure.”
http://mmqb.si.com/2013/12/19/robert-quinn-pressure-points/print/
