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Rams' Davis gets offense moving
• By Joe Lyons
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_7243eade-18c1-5dcd-bcc9-5e2987ac1f5e.html
For backup quarterback Austin Davis, the Rams’ 26-24 preseason loss to the New Orleans Saints on Friday at the Edward Jones Dome was bittersweet.
“Some good, some bad, but that’s just the way it goes,’’ he said. “It didn’t feel like a preseason game to me, I’ll put it that way. Any time you get a chance to play at this level, you compete like it’s the Super Bowl. Would’ve loved to get us into the end zone one more time, but it just didn’t work out.
“Just a really odd position we put (kicker Greg Zuerlein) in there at the end, but you know, it’s probably good it came up like that because now that we’ve been through a situation like that ... it’s something we’ve experienced and can hopefully learn from.’’
After driving the Rams to the Saints’ 31, Davis faced a third-and-10 in the waning seconds when he mishandled a snap and then tried to spike the ball.
He was called for intentional grounding and the Rams were assessed a 10-yard penalty.
“When you fumble the snap, you can’t spike it,’’ he explained. “In that situation, I just need to hold on to the ball and try to save us a couple of yards and save us some time.’’
Zuerlein’s 59-yarder as time expired ended up a bit left of the mark. With 5:02 to play, Zuerlein mishit a 46-yarder, also hooking that one to the left.
“Greg’s going to make those kicks most of the time. There’s no doubt in my mind about that,’’ Davis said.
Davis completed 10 of 16 passes for 134 yards and hooked up with rookie Austin Franklin for a 15-yard touchdown pass that made it 26-24 with 11:07 to play. But the second-year pro from Southern Miss had nothing but positives to say about his supporting cast.
“I thought the guys handled the two-minute situation really well,’’ he said. “That’s really tough on a bunch of guys who haven’t been out there before, haven’t gotten a ton of reps together in practice, but I thought they handled it extremely well.
“I really commend those guys, knowing what to do and getting to the right spots.’’
Davis was especially impressed with free agent rookie tight end Alex Bayer, who led the Rams with five catches for 71 yards, including a 42-yarder down the middle that helped set up that last-second field goal attempt.
“He was awesome,’’ Davis said. “When he caught that one down the middle, I thought he was taking it all the way.’’
Receiver Emory Blake also came up with a couple of key catches down the stretch. He had three catches for 41 yards.
“Guys were getting open and we were completing the ball,’’ Davis said. “And the run game, we were doing a nice job. Just kind of got things clicking. It’s a big momentum thing. Once things started rolling, guys started making plays — that’s just the way offensive football goes.’’
Davis was cut just before the start of the 2013 season and re-signed after Sam Bradford went down with a season-ending knee surgery. He’s one of four quarterbacks on the roster along with Bradford, veteran Shaun Hill and sixth-round draft pick Garrett Gilbert.
“I wouldn’t say being on an NFL team is a tough position,’’ Davis, 25, said. “It’s a blessing and a privilege to be here and just to get a chance to play in a preseason game is an honor. You just take the reps you’re given and try to have fun with it.
“That’s the biggest thing for me, just trying to have fun playing the game I love.’’
Davis was not the only Rams quarterback to enjoy success on Friday as Bradford sat this one out. Hill, in his 13th NFL season, started and completed five of seven passes for 84 yards and threw touchdown passes to tight end Cory Harkey (16 yards) and Stedman Bailey (24 yards). Gilbert, a rookie from SMU, completed six of 11 passes for 53 yards.
• By Joe Lyons
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_7243eade-18c1-5dcd-bcc9-5e2987ac1f5e.html
For backup quarterback Austin Davis, the Rams’ 26-24 preseason loss to the New Orleans Saints on Friday at the Edward Jones Dome was bittersweet.
“Some good, some bad, but that’s just the way it goes,’’ he said. “It didn’t feel like a preseason game to me, I’ll put it that way. Any time you get a chance to play at this level, you compete like it’s the Super Bowl. Would’ve loved to get us into the end zone one more time, but it just didn’t work out.
“Just a really odd position we put (kicker Greg Zuerlein) in there at the end, but you know, it’s probably good it came up like that because now that we’ve been through a situation like that ... it’s something we’ve experienced and can hopefully learn from.’’
After driving the Rams to the Saints’ 31, Davis faced a third-and-10 in the waning seconds when he mishandled a snap and then tried to spike the ball.
He was called for intentional grounding and the Rams were assessed a 10-yard penalty.
“When you fumble the snap, you can’t spike it,’’ he explained. “In that situation, I just need to hold on to the ball and try to save us a couple of yards and save us some time.’’
Zuerlein’s 59-yarder as time expired ended up a bit left of the mark. With 5:02 to play, Zuerlein mishit a 46-yarder, also hooking that one to the left.
“Greg’s going to make those kicks most of the time. There’s no doubt in my mind about that,’’ Davis said.
Davis completed 10 of 16 passes for 134 yards and hooked up with rookie Austin Franklin for a 15-yard touchdown pass that made it 26-24 with 11:07 to play. But the second-year pro from Southern Miss had nothing but positives to say about his supporting cast.
“I thought the guys handled the two-minute situation really well,’’ he said. “That’s really tough on a bunch of guys who haven’t been out there before, haven’t gotten a ton of reps together in practice, but I thought they handled it extremely well.
“I really commend those guys, knowing what to do and getting to the right spots.’’
Davis was especially impressed with free agent rookie tight end Alex Bayer, who led the Rams with five catches for 71 yards, including a 42-yarder down the middle that helped set up that last-second field goal attempt.
“He was awesome,’’ Davis said. “When he caught that one down the middle, I thought he was taking it all the way.’’
Receiver Emory Blake also came up with a couple of key catches down the stretch. He had three catches for 41 yards.
“Guys were getting open and we were completing the ball,’’ Davis said. “And the run game, we were doing a nice job. Just kind of got things clicking. It’s a big momentum thing. Once things started rolling, guys started making plays — that’s just the way offensive football goes.’’
Davis was cut just before the start of the 2013 season and re-signed after Sam Bradford went down with a season-ending knee surgery. He’s one of four quarterbacks on the roster along with Bradford, veteran Shaun Hill and sixth-round draft pick Garrett Gilbert.
“I wouldn’t say being on an NFL team is a tough position,’’ Davis, 25, said. “It’s a blessing and a privilege to be here and just to get a chance to play in a preseason game is an honor. You just take the reps you’re given and try to have fun with it.
“That’s the biggest thing for me, just trying to have fun playing the game I love.’’
Davis was not the only Rams quarterback to enjoy success on Friday as Bradford sat this one out. Hill, in his 13th NFL season, started and completed five of seven passes for 84 yards and threw touchdown passes to tight end Cory Harkey (16 yards) and Stedman Bailey (24 yards). Gilbert, a rookie from SMU, completed six of 11 passes for 53 yards.