Offense at the Quarter Pole

Practice Report 10/5: Offense at the Quarter Pole

Myles Simmons

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Practice-Report-105-Offense-at-the-Quarter-Pole-Donald-Remembers/27244413-7649-402d-b4da-8de2d4c55cf4

After the first quarter of the season, the Rams have amassed a 3-1 record — despite not playing their best football. While Los Angeles has done better offensively over the last two games, players and coaches both acknowledge there is plenty of room for improvement as the team heads into Week 5 against the Bills.

“We’ve done some good things. It’s like coach said the other day, there’s some good things, there’s some bad things, there’s some things we need to correct,” quarterback Case Keenum said after Wednesday’s practice. “What’s exciting is we’ve found ways to win, and we’ve still got room to grow offensively in a lot of areas — myself included.”

Keenum has completed 55.4 percent of his passes for 825 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions. Boras said he’s seen good things from the Houston product, and is looking for the quarterback to expand on those positive traits.

“He’s getting better,” offensive coordinator Rob Boras said. “He’s very cerebral, he’s getting us in the right plays, and he’s making plays. He’s making plays with his arm. He made some plays with his feet the other day as well. He’s extending plays for us. And I’ve talked about it many times, he’s a natural leader. And that’s one of the things [at] that position that is so critical to the whole offense’s success.”

It helps that Keenum has shown solid chemistry with wideouts Kenny Britt and Brian Quick. Britt has averaged just over 70 yards per game, with 18 receptions for 281 yards. The wideout has also dramatically improved his catch percentage (receptions over targets) from 50 percent in 2015 to 69.2 percent in 2016.

“I think both mentally and physically, it’s as good as I’ve seen Kenny,” Boras said. “His preparation out here, his focus — and it’s carried over. He’s playing extremely hard.

“He’s made plays for us in every game — and critical plays on third down, which has been our challenge as an offense to stay on the field,” Boras continued. “I think we’re all very pleased with where Kenny is and the arrow is pointing in the right direction.”

As for Quick, Keenum said Wednesday he’s been around to see a lot of what the wideout has had to overcome in the last three seasons. Because of that, it’s gratifying for the quarterback to be a part of Quick’s success.

“I remember Brian when I first came to the Rams — seeing Brian Quick and not really knowing about him until I saw him in person, and just to see the explosiveness that guy can make, and the big plays that guy can make,” Keenum said. “Then when he had got injured, obviously coming back, so I’ve seen kind of Brian in all ends of the spectrum. To see him getting back to a dominant level of football play has been really, really cool. I’m really excited to be the quarterback that’s throwing him the football.”

Plus, tight end Lance Kendricks has been a reliable target for Keenum, catching 11 passes for 128 yards.

“I just think Lance is one of those guys who’s going to continue to get better for us, and hopefully he’ll continue to make some plays down the field,” Boras said.

There is, however, still the issue of the Rams run game — which for a variety of reasons has not been as effective as the club would like.

“We’re taking a look at everything right now,” Boras said. “Obviously, we’re determined to get it right and get better.”

There are ways for Los Angeles to mitigate the issues, one of which is making plays on the outside with the its receivers. And running back Todd Gurley can also be one of those players who gets involved in the passing game, as he displayed in Arizona last week.

“Since he’s been here, we’ve always said that Todd has unbelievable ball skills,” Boras said. “Like any young player, he’s getting better, because it’s not something he was asked to do a whole lot at Georgia. But he has natural athletic ability, natural skills. And, obviously, any time we can get him in space, he can make things happen. So it’s obviously something we want to continue to build on.”

If the Rams can keep improving and get more consistency out of their offense, the club will have a good opportunity to stack more wins on its strong start to the season.