- Joined
- Jul 31, 2010
- Messages
- 8,874
Rams center Scott Wells playing through pain ... but why?
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/14888/scott-wells-playing-through-pain-but-why
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Like many members of the St. Louis Rams, Sunday's 37-27 loss to the New York Giants was a rough day at the office for center Scott Wells.
Wells and his fellow offensive linemen struggled in pass protection and Wells had the additional problem of a couple of costly high snaps that helped kill a pair of Rams' drives.
On the first one, Wells' high snap to quarterback Shaun Hill threw off the timing of a red zone play that ended in an incompletion. Hill still had receiver Stedman Bailey open on the play just before the end of the first half but missed him. It's possible with a better snap, he might have been able to better set his feet and fire a strike.
In the fourth quarter, the Rams had just gotten the ball back with about two minutes to go following a spectacular blocked field goal by linebacker Daren Bates. On the very next play, Wells' high snap when over Hill's head and Giants end Kerry Wynn recovered at the Rams' 12. Any hope of a miracle was gone.
After the game, Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Wells would need to get the snap issue fixed but also acknowledged Wells is playing through some elbow issues.
"He's been fighting through it," Fisher said.
Wells is a proud veteran and it doesn't surprise me that he's playing through pain at this point in the season. He's to be commended for his toughness but sometimes decisions such as these shouldn't fall to the player.
Let's be real about this. Wells is almost 34, has struggled for most of the season and only has a year remaining on his contract. There's no guarantee he'll even return in 2015.
With all of that in mind, why would it be necessary for Wells to play through an injury that has clearly hampered his ability to do something as fundamental as snapping the ball?
In this space last week, I advocated giving a shot to some younger offensive linemen, particularly one of the centers be it Tim Barnes or Barrett Jones. That was without the knowledge that Wells is working through elbow troubles. Now that we know that, it makes even less sense to keep Barnes and Jones on the bench while asking Wells to tough it out.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/14888/scott-wells-playing-through-pain-but-why
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Like many members of the St. Louis Rams, Sunday's 37-27 loss to the New York Giants was a rough day at the office for center Scott Wells.
Wells and his fellow offensive linemen struggled in pass protection and Wells had the additional problem of a couple of costly high snaps that helped kill a pair of Rams' drives.
On the first one, Wells' high snap to quarterback Shaun Hill threw off the timing of a red zone play that ended in an incompletion. Hill still had receiver Stedman Bailey open on the play just before the end of the first half but missed him. It's possible with a better snap, he might have been able to better set his feet and fire a strike.
In the fourth quarter, the Rams had just gotten the ball back with about two minutes to go following a spectacular blocked field goal by linebacker Daren Bates. On the very next play, Wells' high snap when over Hill's head and Giants end Kerry Wynn recovered at the Rams' 12. Any hope of a miracle was gone.
After the game, Rams coach Jeff Fisher said Wells would need to get the snap issue fixed but also acknowledged Wells is playing through some elbow issues.
"He's been fighting through it," Fisher said.
Wells is a proud veteran and it doesn't surprise me that he's playing through pain at this point in the season. He's to be commended for his toughness but sometimes decisions such as these shouldn't fall to the player.
Let's be real about this. Wells is almost 34, has struggled for most of the season and only has a year remaining on his contract. There's no guarantee he'll even return in 2015.
With all of that in mind, why would it be necessary for Wells to play through an injury that has clearly hampered his ability to do something as fundamental as snapping the ball?
In this space last week, I advocated giving a shot to some younger offensive linemen, particularly one of the centers be it Tim Barnes or Barrett Jones. That was without the knowledge that Wells is working through elbow troubles. Now that we know that, it makes even less sense to keep Barnes and Jones on the bench while asking Wells to tough it out.
