- Joined
- Jul 31, 2010
- Messages
- 8,874
Rams could hop aboard QB carousel in '16
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_335b41bc-43d0-5022-9baf-2caa4c947964.html
In a few months this may be Los Angeles’ problem. But as the 2015 Rams season winds down — or should we say, unravels — it’s looking more and more like quarterback will be a top offseason priority.
Beginning with Sunday’s game against Arizona, that gives Nick Foles and Case Keenum five games to make an impression.
The person with the most to gain seemingly would be Keenum, whose contract expires after this season. It’s obvious that coach Jeff Fisher likes Keenum, or why trade for him last March — and as things turned out, basically hand him the No. 2 job over Austin Davis right then and there?
Fisher made it clear two weeks ago when benching Foles after the Chicago game that Keenum would not have a short leash. In re-iterating Monday that a healthy Keenum would be his starter this week against Arizona, it’s clear that Fisher wants to get more of a look.
“He’s really disappointed that he didn’t get to play last week,” Fisher said. “I don’t buy into the philosophy where someone’s going to lose their job because they got hurt.
“Unfortunately, Case had the set of circumstances at the end of the Baltimore game that prevented him from playing last week. Hopefully, he’s going to be back this week and he’ll play. I’m going to give Case a fair shot.”
After a players’ day off Tuesday, Fisher expects Keenum to be back on the practice field in some capacity Wednesday as he attempts to clear the NFL concussion protocol.
And what of Foles? He had a chance against Cincinnati to remind everyone why the Rams traded for him last March, starting in place of the concussed Keenum. Instead, he threw three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown and another that killed a potential Rams scoring drive.
In matter-of-fact fashion, Fisher broke down the three INTs, mistakes you just can’t have under any circumstances, much less with an offense struggling mightily to score points.
“First (interception) was a little late,” Fisher said. “Reggie (Nelson) did a great job ... read his eyes and just took off and pushed, and the ball was deflected.”
The Rams had a first down at the Cincinnati 23 with 44 seconds left in the first half when Foles threw that interception to Nelson on a ball tipped by fellow Bengals safety George Iloka. The pass was intended for tight end Jared Cook over the middle.
Foles’ second interception, made by veteran cornerback Leon Hall, was returned 19 yards for a victory-sealing touchdown with 5½ minutes to play in the third quarter. The ball was intended for Bradley Marquez, but as Fisher said, never should have been thrown.
“He was trying to make a play,” Fisher said. “He was scrambling around. He should not have thrown that ball. Throw the ball in the ground. Get what you can, get down, and punt the ball away.”
With the game’s outcome well-decided, Foles’ third interception took place in Cincinnati territory early in the fourth quarter on a play in which wide receiver Kenny Britt got open on a double-move.
“(Foles) was a little bit late,” Fisher said. “It sailed inside, and the safety made a great play on the ball.”
That gave Foles nine interceptions on the season, compared with only seven touchdowns.
“He’s a confident player,” Fisher insisted. “He’s confident. Those things are not unsettling to him. He comes back.”
But if Keenum returns and plays well, Foles might not see the field again this season. If that’s the case, the Rams must decide if Foles is salvageable for 2016. If the team decides to part ways with him, it would be costly.
A $6 million roster bonus payable on the third day of the 2016 league year (in March) became guaranteed when Foles was on the roster this past Aug. 15. In addition, there is $2 million of unamortized signing bonus money that would count against the 2016 cap if Foles were released. Counter-balancing that would be a relatively modest $1.75 million in base salary saved if he were released.
Last but not least is rookie Sean Mannion, the third-round draft pick out of Oregon State. He is just starting out on what was a four-year, $3.25 million contract coming out of college. So he’s going nowhere.
Based on the subpar play of Foles and Keenum so far, the outcry has risen among Rams fans and many media observers to play Mannion. Fisher tried to explain Monday why that’s probably not the best idea at this point.
“He’s been in the meetings with the quarterbacks every day since the draft,” Fisher said. “He got reps during camp. He got to play in preseason games. (But) once you get in the regular season your (No.) 1 and (No.) 2’s are getting the reps. It’s hard to get your (No.) 3 reps.”
The starting quarterback gets almost all of the practice repetitions with the first-team offense. The top backup gets most of the reps running the scout team offense against the Rams’ first-team defense. That leaves only a few crumbs for the third-stringer.
Long story short, Mannion isn’t ready to make a legitimate run at the starting job — at least not yet. But the Rams wouldn’t have drafted him in the third round if they didn’t think he had starter’s potential.
“That’s correct, yeah,” Fisher said. “Not many teams have drafted a quarterback in the third round and started him as rookie, either. It takes time.”
If the Rams chose not to re-sign Keenum and decided to bite the salary cap bullet on Foles, Mannion could be competing against some fresh faces in training camp.
In the draft, Michigan State’s Connor Cook, Memphis’ Paxton Lynch and California’s Jared Goff probably are the top three quarterback prospects at this point. That’s assuming Lynch and Goff, both juniors, turn pro.
As for free agency? Well, there’s this guy named Bradford whose contract is scheduled to expire after this season in Philadelphia.
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_335b41bc-43d0-5022-9baf-2caa4c947964.html
In a few months this may be Los Angeles’ problem. But as the 2015 Rams season winds down — or should we say, unravels — it’s looking more and more like quarterback will be a top offseason priority.
Beginning with Sunday’s game against Arizona, that gives Nick Foles and Case Keenum five games to make an impression.
The person with the most to gain seemingly would be Keenum, whose contract expires after this season. It’s obvious that coach Jeff Fisher likes Keenum, or why trade for him last March — and as things turned out, basically hand him the No. 2 job over Austin Davis right then and there?
Fisher made it clear two weeks ago when benching Foles after the Chicago game that Keenum would not have a short leash. In re-iterating Monday that a healthy Keenum would be his starter this week against Arizona, it’s clear that Fisher wants to get more of a look.
“He’s really disappointed that he didn’t get to play last week,” Fisher said. “I don’t buy into the philosophy where someone’s going to lose their job because they got hurt.
“Unfortunately, Case had the set of circumstances at the end of the Baltimore game that prevented him from playing last week. Hopefully, he’s going to be back this week and he’ll play. I’m going to give Case a fair shot.”
After a players’ day off Tuesday, Fisher expects Keenum to be back on the practice field in some capacity Wednesday as he attempts to clear the NFL concussion protocol.
And what of Foles? He had a chance against Cincinnati to remind everyone why the Rams traded for him last March, starting in place of the concussed Keenum. Instead, he threw three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown and another that killed a potential Rams scoring drive.
In matter-of-fact fashion, Fisher broke down the three INTs, mistakes you just can’t have under any circumstances, much less with an offense struggling mightily to score points.
“First (interception) was a little late,” Fisher said. “Reggie (Nelson) did a great job ... read his eyes and just took off and pushed, and the ball was deflected.”
The Rams had a first down at the Cincinnati 23 with 44 seconds left in the first half when Foles threw that interception to Nelson on a ball tipped by fellow Bengals safety George Iloka. The pass was intended for tight end Jared Cook over the middle.
Foles’ second interception, made by veteran cornerback Leon Hall, was returned 19 yards for a victory-sealing touchdown with 5½ minutes to play in the third quarter. The ball was intended for Bradley Marquez, but as Fisher said, never should have been thrown.
“He was trying to make a play,” Fisher said. “He was scrambling around. He should not have thrown that ball. Throw the ball in the ground. Get what you can, get down, and punt the ball away.”
With the game’s outcome well-decided, Foles’ third interception took place in Cincinnati territory early in the fourth quarter on a play in which wide receiver Kenny Britt got open on a double-move.
“(Foles) was a little bit late,” Fisher said. “It sailed inside, and the safety made a great play on the ball.”
That gave Foles nine interceptions on the season, compared with only seven touchdowns.
“He’s a confident player,” Fisher insisted. “He’s confident. Those things are not unsettling to him. He comes back.”
But if Keenum returns and plays well, Foles might not see the field again this season. If that’s the case, the Rams must decide if Foles is salvageable for 2016. If the team decides to part ways with him, it would be costly.
A $6 million roster bonus payable on the third day of the 2016 league year (in March) became guaranteed when Foles was on the roster this past Aug. 15. In addition, there is $2 million of unamortized signing bonus money that would count against the 2016 cap if Foles were released. Counter-balancing that would be a relatively modest $1.75 million in base salary saved if he were released.
Last but not least is rookie Sean Mannion, the third-round draft pick out of Oregon State. He is just starting out on what was a four-year, $3.25 million contract coming out of college. So he’s going nowhere.
Based on the subpar play of Foles and Keenum so far, the outcry has risen among Rams fans and many media observers to play Mannion. Fisher tried to explain Monday why that’s probably not the best idea at this point.
“He’s been in the meetings with the quarterbacks every day since the draft,” Fisher said. “He got reps during camp. He got to play in preseason games. (But) once you get in the regular season your (No.) 1 and (No.) 2’s are getting the reps. It’s hard to get your (No.) 3 reps.”
The starting quarterback gets almost all of the practice repetitions with the first-team offense. The top backup gets most of the reps running the scout team offense against the Rams’ first-team defense. That leaves only a few crumbs for the third-stringer.
Long story short, Mannion isn’t ready to make a legitimate run at the starting job — at least not yet. But the Rams wouldn’t have drafted him in the third round if they didn’t think he had starter’s potential.
“That’s correct, yeah,” Fisher said. “Not many teams have drafted a quarterback in the third round and started him as rookie, either. It takes time.”
If the Rams chose not to re-sign Keenum and decided to bite the salary cap bullet on Foles, Mannion could be competing against some fresh faces in training camp.
In the draft, Michigan State’s Connor Cook, Memphis’ Paxton Lynch and California’s Jared Goff probably are the top three quarterback prospects at this point. That’s assuming Lynch and Goff, both juniors, turn pro.
As for free agency? Well, there’s this guy named Bradford whose contract is scheduled to expire after this season in Philadelphia.
