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Davis again fighting for his spot on Rams roster
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_2d8b901c-77b0-5794-863c-7e4b301ec41f.html
Quarterback Austin Davis is embarking on his fourth NFL training camp, all as a Ram. With veteran backups Kellen Clemens and Shaun Hill come and gone, and former No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford shipped to Philadelphia in March, that makes Davis — believe it or not — the most tenured quarterback on the roster in terms of Rams service.
“It’s nice to be the one constant, I guess,” Davis said, smiling.
During OTAs in June, Davis was startled to hear new offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti refer to him as the “veteran” in the QB room.
“I was just kind of blown away,” Davis said. “I guess that’s how fast it happens. You just keep building one year on top of the other, and next thing you know you’re considered a veteran. I guess that’s how it works.”
Something like that. Third-round draft pick Sean Mannion of Oregon State is a 23-year-old rookie. Nick Foles, 26, has 24 NFL starts and 893 career passes but is new to the Rams this season via the Bradford trade.
Case Keenum, 27, knows his way around Rams Park after spending most of last season here, either on the active roster or the practice squad. But he’s yet to throw a pass as a Ram in a regular-season game or even a preseason contest.
Which brings us back to Davis, the not-quite-grizzled vet.
“It is a different feel, but every year’s different and we all have a role to play,” Davis said. “I’m trying to do my best to figure out what that role’s gonna be for me and how I can help the team.”
First things first. Above all else, Davis needs to make the team. It seems all but a certainty the Rams will keep three quarterbacks this season. Foles obviously is the starter. As a third-round draft pick, rookie Mannion just may be the Rams’ QB of the future, so he’s unlikely to be going anywhere when the final roster cuts come in early September.
That leaves Davis and Keenum competing for the No. 2 spot behind Foles.
“I feel like every year there are four good quarterbacks here, especially this year,” Davis said. “I think we’re probably as deep as we’ve ever been — we’ve got four good ones. So keep competing, keep playing. Make everyone better. And let things happen the way they will.”
Following injuries to Bradford (preseason) and Hill (Week 1), Davis played impressive ball at times last season. The Southern Mississippi product threw for 300-plus yards in back-to-back weeks against Dallas and Philadelphia. He was under center for victories at Tampa Bay, at home against Seattle and at San Francisco.
But he also struggled in several games, had trouble with turnovers and decision-making at times, and was replaced by Hill over the final seven contests of 2014.
After not playing a regular-season down in either 2012 or ’13 for the Rams, Davis put 10 games on his résumé last season, including eight starts, completing 63.4 percent of his 284 passes for 2,101 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His passer rating was a respectable 85.1.
How much did he gain from last season?
“The biggest thing was getting out on the field and realizing that I could do it,” said Davis, who broke many of Brett Favre’s college records at Southern Miss. “Now that I’ve done that, I’m very excited to continue to get better, and to figure out how I can be more successful each week.
“I think that’s the challenge. It’s not just going out and doing it for one week, it’s going out and doing it week after week. That’s what I learned last year. How do you keep your body fresh? How do you keep your mind fresh? I think experience is huge in this game, so last year was a big step for me.”
It remains to be seen whether Davis gets a chance to take another big step this season. During the organized team activities (OTAs) that were open to the media in June, Keenum got most of the practice reps with the second-team offense, not Davis.
That’s been the case so far in training camp as well. With the first unit, newcomer Foles is getting lots of work — more than an established starter normally gets with the 1s.
“There’s not a lot of reps out there,” Davis said. “I’ll be really honest, it’s hard. Because a lot of things you know on paper you don’t get to experience on the field and with live bullets. But I feel the more reps I get, the better I get, and more confident I get. I’m ready to do the best I can to take this as far as I can take it.”
Under the new collective bargaining agreement of 2011, practice time has been limited overall both in the spring and during training camp. That’s left fewer slices of the pie for Davis, and really all of the backups.
“I think ‘Cig’ really upped the 1s’ reps to get Nick more comfortable with what we’re doing,” Davis said, referencing new offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti. “And that obviously reduces the 2s and the 3s.”
It also makes the preseason games all the more important, although it’s very possible Foles will get more work than usual in exhibition play as well.
“But we’re going to allow ’em all to play, allow them to compete and see what happens,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “Case has won games. Austin’s won games. They both have a good feel for what they’re doing.
“They’ve got a tall, slender rookie that’s breathing down their necks right now (Mannion). So it should be a good battle.”
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_2d8b901c-77b0-5794-863c-7e4b301ec41f.html
Quarterback Austin Davis is embarking on his fourth NFL training camp, all as a Ram. With veteran backups Kellen Clemens and Shaun Hill come and gone, and former No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford shipped to Philadelphia in March, that makes Davis — believe it or not — the most tenured quarterback on the roster in terms of Rams service.
“It’s nice to be the one constant, I guess,” Davis said, smiling.
During OTAs in June, Davis was startled to hear new offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti refer to him as the “veteran” in the QB room.
“I was just kind of blown away,” Davis said. “I guess that’s how fast it happens. You just keep building one year on top of the other, and next thing you know you’re considered a veteran. I guess that’s how it works.”
Something like that. Third-round draft pick Sean Mannion of Oregon State is a 23-year-old rookie. Nick Foles, 26, has 24 NFL starts and 893 career passes but is new to the Rams this season via the Bradford trade.
Case Keenum, 27, knows his way around Rams Park after spending most of last season here, either on the active roster or the practice squad. But he’s yet to throw a pass as a Ram in a regular-season game or even a preseason contest.
Which brings us back to Davis, the not-quite-grizzled vet.
“It is a different feel, but every year’s different and we all have a role to play,” Davis said. “I’m trying to do my best to figure out what that role’s gonna be for me and how I can help the team.”
First things first. Above all else, Davis needs to make the team. It seems all but a certainty the Rams will keep three quarterbacks this season. Foles obviously is the starter. As a third-round draft pick, rookie Mannion just may be the Rams’ QB of the future, so he’s unlikely to be going anywhere when the final roster cuts come in early September.
That leaves Davis and Keenum competing for the No. 2 spot behind Foles.
“I feel like every year there are four good quarterbacks here, especially this year,” Davis said. “I think we’re probably as deep as we’ve ever been — we’ve got four good ones. So keep competing, keep playing. Make everyone better. And let things happen the way they will.”
Following injuries to Bradford (preseason) and Hill (Week 1), Davis played impressive ball at times last season. The Southern Mississippi product threw for 300-plus yards in back-to-back weeks against Dallas and Philadelphia. He was under center for victories at Tampa Bay, at home against Seattle and at San Francisco.
But he also struggled in several games, had trouble with turnovers and decision-making at times, and was replaced by Hill over the final seven contests of 2014.
After not playing a regular-season down in either 2012 or ’13 for the Rams, Davis put 10 games on his résumé last season, including eight starts, completing 63.4 percent of his 284 passes for 2,101 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His passer rating was a respectable 85.1.
How much did he gain from last season?
“The biggest thing was getting out on the field and realizing that I could do it,” said Davis, who broke many of Brett Favre’s college records at Southern Miss. “Now that I’ve done that, I’m very excited to continue to get better, and to figure out how I can be more successful each week.
“I think that’s the challenge. It’s not just going out and doing it for one week, it’s going out and doing it week after week. That’s what I learned last year. How do you keep your body fresh? How do you keep your mind fresh? I think experience is huge in this game, so last year was a big step for me.”
It remains to be seen whether Davis gets a chance to take another big step this season. During the organized team activities (OTAs) that were open to the media in June, Keenum got most of the practice reps with the second-team offense, not Davis.
That’s been the case so far in training camp as well. With the first unit, newcomer Foles is getting lots of work — more than an established starter normally gets with the 1s.
“There’s not a lot of reps out there,” Davis said. “I’ll be really honest, it’s hard. Because a lot of things you know on paper you don’t get to experience on the field and with live bullets. But I feel the more reps I get, the better I get, and more confident I get. I’m ready to do the best I can to take this as far as I can take it.”
Under the new collective bargaining agreement of 2011, practice time has been limited overall both in the spring and during training camp. That’s left fewer slices of the pie for Davis, and really all of the backups.
“I think ‘Cig’ really upped the 1s’ reps to get Nick more comfortable with what we’re doing,” Davis said, referencing new offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti. “And that obviously reduces the 2s and the 3s.”
It also makes the preseason games all the more important, although it’s very possible Foles will get more work than usual in exhibition play as well.
“But we’re going to allow ’em all to play, allow them to compete and see what happens,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “Case has won games. Austin’s won games. They both have a good feel for what they’re doing.
“They’ve got a tall, slender rookie that’s breathing down their necks right now (Mannion). So it should be a good battle.”
