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Rams' QB plan should've been last year's
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/15395/rams-qb-plan-shouldve-been-done-last-year
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- In terms of record, the St. Louis Rams took a step back in 2014 as they finished 6-10 on the year. That was one win short of the seven-victory seasons they had put together in the first two years under coach Jeff Fisher.
And while 6-10 or 7-9 is never good enough, there is a way that it could be viewed as a good thing under the right circumstances. Like, say, if you were a young team with a rookie quarterback who improved every week and offered hope for the future at the game's most important position.
For example, fans of the Minnesota Vikings probably weren't happy with their 7-9 finish in 2014 but they also probably feel good about having Teddy Bridgewater coming back next year with a season of experience under his belt.
Here in St. Louis, there are no such feelings about the quarterback position. Instead, there are just questions. Many, many questions about how it's all going to play out after a season in which veteran Shaun Hill and Austin Davis split the starts and proved that neither is the long or short term answer as the starter.
One of those questions is why the Rams didn't put themselves in position to begin developing a young quarterback last year when they still had extra draft picks from the Washington trade and Sam Bradford was working his way back from a season-ending ACL injury?
Rams general manager Les Snead said he has no regrets about not drafting a quarterback (the since-released Garrett Gilbert) until the sixth round.
"I never do hindsight," Snead said. "My son does a great job of hindsight, he goes out on the list and finds the next guy and it's always 'you should have taken him.' you go back and analyze the foresight because you've always got to predict the future. Last year you knew there were going to be some quarterbacks going early and we decided, you know what, the best thing for the St. Louis Rams instead of taking a QB in the first round is add another player. Aaron Donald helped the defense, all of that."
While Donald certainly has been a boon for the Rams after they used the 13th overall pick on him, I don't think it's really hindsight to wonder why the Rams didn't address the position earlier than the sixth round. In fact, most indications from the organization before the draft were that they would take a quarterback in the first three or four rounds.
Not taking a quarterback in the first round of a draft light on top quarterback prospects can be forgiven but what about what happened after that? Jimmy Garoppolo was on the board when the Rams picked in Round 2, every quarterback except Garoppolo, Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel, Bridgewater and Derek Carr was available when they picked in Round 3 and again in Round 4.
"We said, 'Ok, starting where we picked in next rounds, if there's a quarterback there that we really really were jacked about, let's do it,'" Snead said. "Some of the guys, let's [draft] him, they kind of went right before. So then take a position player. You knew then you were taking a guy to develop."
But a guy to develop might not have been such a bad thing, especially considering that now the Rams plan for 2015 is to bring Bradford back and bring in a quarterback from outside, likely one that will need plenty of work as well. That's especially true given that the Rams don't pick until No. 10 overall in this year's draft.
It's extremely unlikely that any of the quarterbacks drafted anywhere in the 2014 draft would have improved the Rams' 6-10 record much but there might have been one that made that 6-10 look a little more promising heading into 2015.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/15395/rams-qb-plan-shouldve-been-done-last-year
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- In terms of record, the St. Louis Rams took a step back in 2014 as they finished 6-10 on the year. That was one win short of the seven-victory seasons they had put together in the first two years under coach Jeff Fisher.
And while 6-10 or 7-9 is never good enough, there is a way that it could be viewed as a good thing under the right circumstances. Like, say, if you were a young team with a rookie quarterback who improved every week and offered hope for the future at the game's most important position.
For example, fans of the Minnesota Vikings probably weren't happy with their 7-9 finish in 2014 but they also probably feel good about having Teddy Bridgewater coming back next year with a season of experience under his belt.
Here in St. Louis, there are no such feelings about the quarterback position. Instead, there are just questions. Many, many questions about how it's all going to play out after a season in which veteran Shaun Hill and Austin Davis split the starts and proved that neither is the long or short term answer as the starter.
One of those questions is why the Rams didn't put themselves in position to begin developing a young quarterback last year when they still had extra draft picks from the Washington trade and Sam Bradford was working his way back from a season-ending ACL injury?
Rams general manager Les Snead said he has no regrets about not drafting a quarterback (the since-released Garrett Gilbert) until the sixth round.
"I never do hindsight," Snead said. "My son does a great job of hindsight, he goes out on the list and finds the next guy and it's always 'you should have taken him.' you go back and analyze the foresight because you've always got to predict the future. Last year you knew there were going to be some quarterbacks going early and we decided, you know what, the best thing for the St. Louis Rams instead of taking a QB in the first round is add another player. Aaron Donald helped the defense, all of that."
While Donald certainly has been a boon for the Rams after they used the 13th overall pick on him, I don't think it's really hindsight to wonder why the Rams didn't address the position earlier than the sixth round. In fact, most indications from the organization before the draft were that they would take a quarterback in the first three or four rounds.
Not taking a quarterback in the first round of a draft light on top quarterback prospects can be forgiven but what about what happened after that? Jimmy Garoppolo was on the board when the Rams picked in Round 2, every quarterback except Garoppolo, Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel, Bridgewater and Derek Carr was available when they picked in Round 3 and again in Round 4.
"We said, 'Ok, starting where we picked in next rounds, if there's a quarterback there that we really really were jacked about, let's do it,'" Snead said. "Some of the guys, let's [draft] him, they kind of went right before. So then take a position player. You knew then you were taking a guy to develop."
But a guy to develop might not have been such a bad thing, especially considering that now the Rams plan for 2015 is to bring Bradford back and bring in a quarterback from outside, likely one that will need plenty of work as well. That's especially true given that the Rams don't pick until No. 10 overall in this year's draft.
It's extremely unlikely that any of the quarterbacks drafted anywhere in the 2014 draft would have improved the Rams' 6-10 record much but there might have been one that made that 6-10 look a little more promising heading into 2015.
