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Rams make sure not to forget injured Quick
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_8bdd8e46-a288-58e6-91a5-7c2f84053ad0.html
Jersey No. 83 looked a little lonely hanging in Brian Quick’s locker stall week after week, so in early December Kenny Britt decided to start wearing it in practice every day.
“It’s to let him know that we never forgot about him,” Britt said. “We know he wants to be out there on the field with us. Hopefully, he sees that and he feels like he’s still part of this receiver corps, still part of this offense. And knows that we’re gonna need him next year.”
The Rams could’ve used him this season, too, in the nine-plus games he missed following a season-ending shoulder injury early in Game 7 at Kansas City.
After two largely quiet seasons, when he combined for 29 catches for 458 yards and four touchdowns, Quick had things clicking in 2014. His 25 catches, 375 yards, and three TDs all were career highs — and he did that less than 6 ½ games.
Projected over 16 games, Quick was on pace for 64 catches, 973 yards, and eight TDs. But early in the second quarter of that Game 7 at KC, Quick was tackled from behind on a comeback route after a 10-yard pass reception.
Quick landed on his left shoulder. It wasn’t a particularly hard hit, but Quick was in sharp pain right away. Even so, he thought his shoulder had merely popped out.
“I just thought it as a regular pop-out,” Quick said last week, in his first interview since the injury. “And I’m thinking I’m going back in. I was telling (team medical officials), ‘Somebody pop it in. I’m going back in the game,’ The X-ray took forever, and then they’re telling me I’m not going to play the rest of the game.”
When he got an MRI exam the next day back in St. Louis, Quick found out he wasn’t going to play the rest of the season. The injury turned out to be more severe than anticipated.
“A lot more than expected,” Quick said. “I know that for a fact. My rotator cuff, and three ligaments torn within my rotator cuff. But I’m doing better now.”
Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery in Pensacola, Fla. Quick no longer has to wear a sling, but he said he still needed help to open his Christmas presents.
A little more than two months removed from the injury, Quick’s shoulder rehab is still at a relatively early stage.
“I’m doing range of motion right now, just trying to get that strength back,” Quick said. “I’m using a little weight right now, a three-pound weight just to try and get that strength back up. So we’re moving forward with everything.”
Quick isn’t sure when he’ll return. But shortly after the surgery, coach Jeff Fisher indicated that Quick might not return until training camp. Raw as can be when he came into the NFL as a second-round draft choice in 2012 out of Appalachian State, Quick seemingly could still use every practice rep he can get.
But if he has to sit out the entire offseason program, as well at the OTA practice sessions in June, Quick doesn’t think it will set him back.
“Most of it’s mental,” he said. “This game is mental. So as long as I stay focused mentally, I’ll be prepared. I do need to be out there with the pace (of the game and practice). But me having three years in, I have an advantage.”
Quick says he kept his head in the game during the season, be it at practice or games. Britt, the veteran of the wide receiver unit with six seasons in, hopes it says that way. Injured players can quickly be forgotten at a team’s facility, particularly those that are out for the season.
So the Rams’ pass-catchers organized some wide receiver dinners, just so Quick would know that he wasn’t forgotten.
“We just wanted to see him, get him out of the house,” Britt said. “I just hope he stays on top of everything.”
After catching only 11 passes as a rookie and 18 passes in 2013, the light switch finally came on for Quick this season as he gained a better understanding of the offense and how to run routes. He’s also learning how to use his big frame (6-3, 218) to his advantage when it comes to competing for those 50-50 balls.
Teamed with Britt (6-3, 223), Quick’s emergence gave the Rams a pair of big bodies at wide receiver that potentially could pose problems for opposing secondaries. Britt played a big role in helping the younger Quick work on his game and his approach to the game.
“He’s like family to me,” Quick said. “That’s like a brother from another mother to me. We’ve been so close. We’re beginning to develop that bond.”
For that bond to develop, the Rams need to re-sign Britt, who’s scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March. That would bolster what Quick describes as a young, developing receiver corps.
“They’re starting to blossom,” Quick said. “Our guys, they’re starting to show. When they throw the ball, we make plays. And everybody gets to see it. If we just continue to do what we’re supposed to do in the classroom and do the things we need to do on the field, we’ll become better.”
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_8bdd8e46-a288-58e6-91a5-7c2f84053ad0.html
Jersey No. 83 looked a little lonely hanging in Brian Quick’s locker stall week after week, so in early December Kenny Britt decided to start wearing it in practice every day.
“It’s to let him know that we never forgot about him,” Britt said. “We know he wants to be out there on the field with us. Hopefully, he sees that and he feels like he’s still part of this receiver corps, still part of this offense. And knows that we’re gonna need him next year.”
The Rams could’ve used him this season, too, in the nine-plus games he missed following a season-ending shoulder injury early in Game 7 at Kansas City.
After two largely quiet seasons, when he combined for 29 catches for 458 yards and four touchdowns, Quick had things clicking in 2014. His 25 catches, 375 yards, and three TDs all were career highs — and he did that less than 6 ½ games.
Projected over 16 games, Quick was on pace for 64 catches, 973 yards, and eight TDs. But early in the second quarter of that Game 7 at KC, Quick was tackled from behind on a comeback route after a 10-yard pass reception.
Quick landed on his left shoulder. It wasn’t a particularly hard hit, but Quick was in sharp pain right away. Even so, he thought his shoulder had merely popped out.
“I just thought it as a regular pop-out,” Quick said last week, in his first interview since the injury. “And I’m thinking I’m going back in. I was telling (team medical officials), ‘Somebody pop it in. I’m going back in the game,’ The X-ray took forever, and then they’re telling me I’m not going to play the rest of the game.”
When he got an MRI exam the next day back in St. Louis, Quick found out he wasn’t going to play the rest of the season. The injury turned out to be more severe than anticipated.
“A lot more than expected,” Quick said. “I know that for a fact. My rotator cuff, and three ligaments torn within my rotator cuff. But I’m doing better now.”
Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery in Pensacola, Fla. Quick no longer has to wear a sling, but he said he still needed help to open his Christmas presents.
A little more than two months removed from the injury, Quick’s shoulder rehab is still at a relatively early stage.
“I’m doing range of motion right now, just trying to get that strength back,” Quick said. “I’m using a little weight right now, a three-pound weight just to try and get that strength back up. So we’re moving forward with everything.”
Quick isn’t sure when he’ll return. But shortly after the surgery, coach Jeff Fisher indicated that Quick might not return until training camp. Raw as can be when he came into the NFL as a second-round draft choice in 2012 out of Appalachian State, Quick seemingly could still use every practice rep he can get.
But if he has to sit out the entire offseason program, as well at the OTA practice sessions in June, Quick doesn’t think it will set him back.
“Most of it’s mental,” he said. “This game is mental. So as long as I stay focused mentally, I’ll be prepared. I do need to be out there with the pace (of the game and practice). But me having three years in, I have an advantage.”
Quick says he kept his head in the game during the season, be it at practice or games. Britt, the veteran of the wide receiver unit with six seasons in, hopes it says that way. Injured players can quickly be forgotten at a team’s facility, particularly those that are out for the season.
So the Rams’ pass-catchers organized some wide receiver dinners, just so Quick would know that he wasn’t forgotten.
“We just wanted to see him, get him out of the house,” Britt said. “I just hope he stays on top of everything.”
After catching only 11 passes as a rookie and 18 passes in 2013, the light switch finally came on for Quick this season as he gained a better understanding of the offense and how to run routes. He’s also learning how to use his big frame (6-3, 218) to his advantage when it comes to competing for those 50-50 balls.
Teamed with Britt (6-3, 223), Quick’s emergence gave the Rams a pair of big bodies at wide receiver that potentially could pose problems for opposing secondaries. Britt played a big role in helping the younger Quick work on his game and his approach to the game.
“He’s like family to me,” Quick said. “That’s like a brother from another mother to me. We’ve been so close. We’re beginning to develop that bond.”
For that bond to develop, the Rams need to re-sign Britt, who’s scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March. That would bolster what Quick describes as a young, developing receiver corps.
“They’re starting to blossom,” Quick said. “Our guys, they’re starting to show. When they throw the ball, we make plays. And everybody gets to see it. If we just continue to do what we’re supposed to do in the classroom and do the things we need to do on the field, we’ll become better.”
