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http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_160fa248-0cdb-5f4d-8dbd-7e493133b74d.html
By Jim Thomas
For someone who caught 210 passes in college, including 114 last season alone, you wouldn’t think a single reception would be much cause for excitement.
Welcome to Stedman Bailey’s world.
“Oh man, it was very exciting for me,” said Bailey, the rookie from West Virginia. “It was only a 12-yard gain, but it was important to get my first catch in the NFL. I just look forward to more things like that coming.”
Bailey’s reception, which came early in the second quarter last Sunday against Tennessee, was nine weeks in the making. Did he save the football?
“No, I feel like I’ll save my first NFL touchdown,” he said.
Through his first eight games with the Rams, or before the Tennessee game, Bailey was in for only four plays on offense —all in Week 2, in Atlanta.
The only time he was targeted came on a fake punt the following Sunday in Dallas. But the pass from punter Johnny Hekker, who was under pressure from DeMarcus Ware, was off target and fell incomplete.
Bailey has been playing special teams all along, something star receivers at BCS schools don’t do in college unless returning kicks.
“I’ve always been a wide receiver, catching the ball is what I do,” Bailey said. “But I’m willing to do whatever to help the team win. If it’s going down and tackling guys or helping on the play, I don’t think that’s too hard to do.
“Whatever they need or ask me to do, I’m definitely going to go out and give it 100 percent. That’s just the kind of player that I am.”
But when you’re drafted in the third round, as was the case with Bailey, the expectation is that you have starting-caliber talent. In a sense, that made it even more unusual that Bailey couldn’t get on the field. The party line at Rams Park was that it was difficult to play more than four wideouts. (And Bailey was the fifth guy.)
Bailey kept his mouth shut, his head high, and kept working. Even so, the more the season progressed, the tougher it became for Bailey.
“Yeah, I can’t even lie,” he said. “It has been (tough), but I tried to remain positive every day just knowing that the opportunity would come. It was very hard. I looked at a bunch of other rookie guys around the league that I came out with that are doing some pretty good things.”
On game days, while the Rams’ offense was on the field, Bailey has taken mental notes on what the team’s receivers were doing.
He watched the other team’s receivers as well, “just trying to figure out how to be a pro when my time comes,” he said.
That time has come.
He was in for 12 plays against Tennessee, and coach Jeff Fisher indicated Monday that Bailey’s role would grow, starting with Sunday’s noon kickoff (St. Louis time) against Indianapolis in Lucas Oil Stadium.
So why has it taken half the season for that to happen?
There are a couple of ways to look at it.
For one, Bailey improved on the practice field each week. But it could also be a sign that the Rams still are looking for answers at wide receiver, a unit that has underachieved this season.
For what it’s worth, Fisher and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer say the latter isn’t the case.
“No, we drafted ‘Sted’ to be a part of this team and contribute, and so now he’s going to get a chance to contribute more,” Fisher said.
“I think it just shows that we’ve got a lot of talented guys we want to try to use and mix and match,” Schottenheimer said. “We’ve got draft picks that we feel good about. You roll a lot of guys through. The fresher we are, the better we’re going to be.”
Schottenheimer said staying fresh is especially important Sunday against a Colts secondary that plays a physical, press coverage style.
But there are only so many reps to go around at wide receiver in any game. If Bailey gets more reps against the Colts, that means somebody’s going to get less.
When the Rams went heavy on two and three tight end sets starting with Game 5 (Jacksonville), something had to give at wide receiver. The big loser there in terms of playing time was Bailey’s West Virginia teammate — Tavon Austin.
In the first four games, when the Rams’ used a lot of three wide receiver sets, Austin averaged 47 offensive plays a game — ranging from a low of 58 percent to a high of 75 percent of the team’s offensive snaps in any one game.
In the five games since the Rams went run-oriented with the extra tight end sets, Austin has averaged only 22 offensive snaps a game — from a low of just seven percent (against Houston) to a high of 52 percent (against Carolina).
Whose playing time will be affected by Bailey getting involved? It could be Austin Pettis, whose production has tailed off since a good start to the season. Perhaps Brian Quick, who has shown improvement this season but remains inconsistent.
That obviously isn’t Bailey’s problem.
“I said from Day 1 that I thought Stedman Bailey in the third (round) was a steal,” quarterback Kellen Clemens said. “He’s a very talented young kid. He’s got a lot of upside. He’s got a bigger catching radius than people think based upon his size (5-10, 194).
“And he’s got what you would typically call a high football IQ. He understands coverages. He understands how to get open. So, I’m excited for his opportunity.”
So is Bailey.
By Jim Thomas
For someone who caught 210 passes in college, including 114 last season alone, you wouldn’t think a single reception would be much cause for excitement.
Welcome to Stedman Bailey’s world.
“Oh man, it was very exciting for me,” said Bailey, the rookie from West Virginia. “It was only a 12-yard gain, but it was important to get my first catch in the NFL. I just look forward to more things like that coming.”
Bailey’s reception, which came early in the second quarter last Sunday against Tennessee, was nine weeks in the making. Did he save the football?
“No, I feel like I’ll save my first NFL touchdown,” he said.
Through his first eight games with the Rams, or before the Tennessee game, Bailey was in for only four plays on offense —all in Week 2, in Atlanta.
The only time he was targeted came on a fake punt the following Sunday in Dallas. But the pass from punter Johnny Hekker, who was under pressure from DeMarcus Ware, was off target and fell incomplete.
Bailey has been playing special teams all along, something star receivers at BCS schools don’t do in college unless returning kicks.
“I’ve always been a wide receiver, catching the ball is what I do,” Bailey said. “But I’m willing to do whatever to help the team win. If it’s going down and tackling guys or helping on the play, I don’t think that’s too hard to do.
“Whatever they need or ask me to do, I’m definitely going to go out and give it 100 percent. That’s just the kind of player that I am.”
But when you’re drafted in the third round, as was the case with Bailey, the expectation is that you have starting-caliber talent. In a sense, that made it even more unusual that Bailey couldn’t get on the field. The party line at Rams Park was that it was difficult to play more than four wideouts. (And Bailey was the fifth guy.)
Bailey kept his mouth shut, his head high, and kept working. Even so, the more the season progressed, the tougher it became for Bailey.
“Yeah, I can’t even lie,” he said. “It has been (tough), but I tried to remain positive every day just knowing that the opportunity would come. It was very hard. I looked at a bunch of other rookie guys around the league that I came out with that are doing some pretty good things.”
On game days, while the Rams’ offense was on the field, Bailey has taken mental notes on what the team’s receivers were doing.
He watched the other team’s receivers as well, “just trying to figure out how to be a pro when my time comes,” he said.
That time has come.
He was in for 12 plays against Tennessee, and coach Jeff Fisher indicated Monday that Bailey’s role would grow, starting with Sunday’s noon kickoff (St. Louis time) against Indianapolis in Lucas Oil Stadium.
So why has it taken half the season for that to happen?
There are a couple of ways to look at it.
For one, Bailey improved on the practice field each week. But it could also be a sign that the Rams still are looking for answers at wide receiver, a unit that has underachieved this season.
For what it’s worth, Fisher and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer say the latter isn’t the case.
“No, we drafted ‘Sted’ to be a part of this team and contribute, and so now he’s going to get a chance to contribute more,” Fisher said.
“I think it just shows that we’ve got a lot of talented guys we want to try to use and mix and match,” Schottenheimer said. “We’ve got draft picks that we feel good about. You roll a lot of guys through. The fresher we are, the better we’re going to be.”
Schottenheimer said staying fresh is especially important Sunday against a Colts secondary that plays a physical, press coverage style.
But there are only so many reps to go around at wide receiver in any game. If Bailey gets more reps against the Colts, that means somebody’s going to get less.
When the Rams went heavy on two and three tight end sets starting with Game 5 (Jacksonville), something had to give at wide receiver. The big loser there in terms of playing time was Bailey’s West Virginia teammate — Tavon Austin.
In the first four games, when the Rams’ used a lot of three wide receiver sets, Austin averaged 47 offensive plays a game — ranging from a low of 58 percent to a high of 75 percent of the team’s offensive snaps in any one game.
In the five games since the Rams went run-oriented with the extra tight end sets, Austin has averaged only 22 offensive snaps a game — from a low of just seven percent (against Houston) to a high of 52 percent (against Carolina).
Whose playing time will be affected by Bailey getting involved? It could be Austin Pettis, whose production has tailed off since a good start to the season. Perhaps Brian Quick, who has shown improvement this season but remains inconsistent.
That obviously isn’t Bailey’s problem.
“I said from Day 1 that I thought Stedman Bailey in the third (round) was a steal,” quarterback Kellen Clemens said. “He’s a very talented young kid. He’s got a lot of upside. He’s got a bigger catching radius than people think based upon his size (5-10, 194).
“And he’s got what you would typically call a high football IQ. He understands coverages. He understands how to get open. So, I’m excited for his opportunity.”
So is Bailey.
