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Quarterback solutions hard to find for Rams
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/15570/quarterback-solutions-hard-to-find-for-rams
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- In assessing the St. Louis Rams, it's been written or said that they are "only" a quarterback away from taking the next step out of the depths of mediocrity and becoming a legitimate playoff contender.
If only it were that easy. Heading into this offseason, the Rams join a group that includes about half the league riddled with uncertainty at the game's most important position. It's a quarterback-starved league and there simply doesn't appear to be much on the menu for the Rams or any of the other needy teams to come up with a solution.
Which is why the Rams' newest answer appears to be the same as the old one: Bring quarterback Sam Bradford back (at a reduced price, they're hoping) and add another quarterback who can push him for the starting job. But the reality is that finding someone who will legitimately be able to push Bradford isn't going to be easy, especially in the draft.
In a more realistic and, perhaps, ideal world, the Rams will be able to have a healthy Bradford for the short term while slowly bringing along a young quarterback who could develop as the long-term solution. If Bradford could play well and stay healthy, all the better, but the Rams can't count on that any more than they can count on a young quarterback emerging as a legitimate threat to the starting job.
"The best thing for those guys is if you could ever get in the old days and those guys sit a year," general manager Les Snead said. "When you throw them out there too early and it goes awry you've got to overcome the pressure and the mistakes.
"(You've got to) give them a little bit of a break, don't crucify them. Go back to Troy Aikman, the guy goes 0-16, 1-15 or whatever it was. Nowadays it would be, you need to draft another qb. Let's be honest, playing quarterback in the NFL is a very hard job. The margin for error is so small. The first time here is 'I've got to throw it there?' In this league you're not going undefeated, so how do those guys handle not having success consistently?"
The Rams' pursuit of a quarterback comes with plenty of complications. There simply aren't any appealing starting options that will be available on the free-agent market, though it's possible there could be someone worth taking a flier on. Drafting at No. 10, the Rams likely won't have access to one of the top two prospects in Oregon's Marcus Mariota or Florida State's Jameis Winston, though stranger things have happened.
In Winston's case, there's the slight chance that some off-the-field concerns would make him less appealing to the Rams even if he did fall, though Snead and Jeff Fisher haven't shied away from taking players with some red flags. Even at a position like quarterback, Snead says the evaluation of off-the-field issues doesn't change.
"There's not a cookie-cutter formula, it's a case-by-case basis," Snead said. "You've got to know the human being. As this kid develops and matures, is he going to be able to not repeat the same issues? It's always case by case. Wherever you get drafted, you have some semblance of physical talent, and usually it's the intangibles if you play and produce above your draft status. Intangibles are huge."
For as important as intangibles are, so too are patience and scheme. As the Rams consider offensive coordinator options, their plans at quarterback should be taken into account. From there, it's likely that any young signal-caller brought on board will need time to adjust.
"No. 1, especially with guys in that spread offense, is that's just a different game," Snead said. "If they're trying to hurry up to get the defense tired, everything's based on speed. As an example, nobody's moving protections to where the pressure's coming because there's always a quick outlet. There's usually one read. You come here and it's a little more complicated. Not that they can't do it, they just need some reps doing it, so it's a little harder to throw that guy into the fire in the NFL. It's just a different game."
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/15570/quarterback-solutions-hard-to-find-for-rams
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- In assessing the St. Louis Rams, it's been written or said that they are "only" a quarterback away from taking the next step out of the depths of mediocrity and becoming a legitimate playoff contender.
If only it were that easy. Heading into this offseason, the Rams join a group that includes about half the league riddled with uncertainty at the game's most important position. It's a quarterback-starved league and there simply doesn't appear to be much on the menu for the Rams or any of the other needy teams to come up with a solution.
Which is why the Rams' newest answer appears to be the same as the old one: Bring quarterback Sam Bradford back (at a reduced price, they're hoping) and add another quarterback who can push him for the starting job. But the reality is that finding someone who will legitimately be able to push Bradford isn't going to be easy, especially in the draft.
In a more realistic and, perhaps, ideal world, the Rams will be able to have a healthy Bradford for the short term while slowly bringing along a young quarterback who could develop as the long-term solution. If Bradford could play well and stay healthy, all the better, but the Rams can't count on that any more than they can count on a young quarterback emerging as a legitimate threat to the starting job.
"The best thing for those guys is if you could ever get in the old days and those guys sit a year," general manager Les Snead said. "When you throw them out there too early and it goes awry you've got to overcome the pressure and the mistakes.
"(You've got to) give them a little bit of a break, don't crucify them. Go back to Troy Aikman, the guy goes 0-16, 1-15 or whatever it was. Nowadays it would be, you need to draft another qb. Let's be honest, playing quarterback in the NFL is a very hard job. The margin for error is so small. The first time here is 'I've got to throw it there?' In this league you're not going undefeated, so how do those guys handle not having success consistently?"
The Rams' pursuit of a quarterback comes with plenty of complications. There simply aren't any appealing starting options that will be available on the free-agent market, though it's possible there could be someone worth taking a flier on. Drafting at No. 10, the Rams likely won't have access to one of the top two prospects in Oregon's Marcus Mariota or Florida State's Jameis Winston, though stranger things have happened.
In Winston's case, there's the slight chance that some off-the-field concerns would make him less appealing to the Rams even if he did fall, though Snead and Jeff Fisher haven't shied away from taking players with some red flags. Even at a position like quarterback, Snead says the evaluation of off-the-field issues doesn't change.
"There's not a cookie-cutter formula, it's a case-by-case basis," Snead said. "You've got to know the human being. As this kid develops and matures, is he going to be able to not repeat the same issues? It's always case by case. Wherever you get drafted, you have some semblance of physical talent, and usually it's the intangibles if you play and produce above your draft status. Intangibles are huge."
For as important as intangibles are, so too are patience and scheme. As the Rams consider offensive coordinator options, their plans at quarterback should be taken into account. From there, it's likely that any young signal-caller brought on board will need time to adjust.
"No. 1, especially with guys in that spread offense, is that's just a different game," Snead said. "If they're trying to hurry up to get the defense tired, everything's based on speed. As an example, nobody's moving protections to where the pressure's coming because there's always a quick outlet. There's usually one read. You come here and it's a little more complicated. Not that they can't do it, they just need some reps doing it, so it's a little harder to throw that guy into the fire in the NFL. It's just a different game."
