Davis ready for another shot at starting
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/davis-ready-for-another-shot-at-starting/article_f4b13d87-c7c3-50f8-9112-eeb5985ad76b.html
Quarterback Austin Davis made a guest appearance on the Jeff Fisher radio show Monday night at Buffalo Wild Wings, and nobody knew who he was.
Davis arrived about 45 minutes early with his wife, ordered some food and ate in anonymity.
“We laughed about it,” Davis said. “Sat there, had some wings, jumped up on stage and did the interview.”
OK, Davis was wearing a ballcap. (Yes, a baseball Cardinals cap.) But it wasn’t pulled down over his face, and he wasn’t wearing dark sunglasses.
And in the interest of full disclosure, Davis did say that one person in the restaurant recognized him.
“One man came over and introduced himself, and said, ‘Congratulations,’” Davis said. “But for the most part, we snuck right in. I’m OK with that.”
Things may never reach the stage of Warner-mania, when Kurt and wife Brenda once ate facing the wall in the back of a restaurant so they could eat in peace. Then again, if Davis keeps having performances like the one against Tampa Bay, it will become increasingly difficult to dine incognito.
After leading the Rams to a 19-17 victory over Tampa Bay in his first NFL start, Austin is in line for another starting assignment Sunday against visiting Dallas.
He got the vast majority of the reps during practice this week. Veteran Shaun Hill did a little bit on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday — the three full-scale practices of the week — but was listed as limited each day, and his official status is questionable for the Cowboys.
With Hill still recovering from the thigh injury he suffered against Minnesota in the Rams’ season opener, it doesn’t make much sense to hand him the football Sunday after barely practicing for two weeks.
“It’s better and better every day, absolutely,” Hill said when asked about the injury. “That’s about all I can say about it. It certainly is getting better every day.”
Fisher has done everything in his power to prevent this from becoming a quarterback controversy, and after all his years in the league he’s pretty good at it.
“Austin looked good,” Fisher said after Friday’s practice. “He got his reps and Shaun was limited, and we’re going to list him as questionable for the game. It’ll be a game-time decision.”
End sound bite.
But only the naive or ill-informed truly believe it will be anyone but Davis against the Cowboys. And despite Fisher’s efforts, Davis can turn this into a quarterback controversy with another strong outing.
Davis presented the game ball that was given to him by Fisher to his father after the Tampa Bay game. Since then he has been all about preparing for Dallas. Davis flashed his understated sense of humor during the week when asked what problems the Cowboys’ defense presented.
“Well, hopefully none,” he said, chuckling.
Then he proceeded to break down the Dallas “D” like a savvy veteran.
“They’re a similar defense to (Tampa),” Davis said. “But they’re probably gonna play a little more post safety.”
(As in playing just one safety deep instead of two.)
“They’re going to disguise coverages probably a hair better, rotate the safeties later,” Davis continued. “They have a real active group up front. Really good defensive line, a solid linebacking core. The corners — Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr — are really, really good players.
“They’re going to try and come up and press us and not allow our receivers to get off the line of scrimmage. I think that’ll be key, our ability to beat press, to beat man-to-man, and win down the field.”
As well as Davis played last week against Tampa, his favorite team growing up in Mississippi because he liked their uniforms, there remains plenty of room for improvement.
“Absolutely,” Davis said. “Yeah, we left some points on the field. We’re not going to be able to that this week. Dallas has a great offense. They’re going to score points and we’re going to have to match that.”
There were a few throws that were off the mark against Tampa Bay, and a few decisions that could’ve been better by Davis. But overall, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer gave Davis high marks for his work against the Buccaneers.
“I really wasn’t surprised,” Schottenheimer said. “Obviously, you get thrown into a game the week before (against Minnesota), you kind of go into a little bit of a panic mode. But having a week to prepare … I thought he did a really good job.”
“Love the way he made plays in the clutch. It wasn’t perfect but he moved the team. Got us in and out of the right plays and made some big-time throws down the clutch to help us win the game.”
Beyond the physical part, Schottenheimer also was impressed with the leadership skills displayed by Davis since getting pressed into action.
“I tell you what, his leadership ability, that’s not easy,” Schottenheimer said. “You come from being a third-string quarterback. You step in the huddle with some strong personalities _ and he’s handled it terrific. The guys respect him.”
With another full week of practice under his belt working with the starting offense, it’s conceivable Davis could be even better this week. One thing’s for certain: The Rams are hoping he’s more than a one-hit wonder.
“He’s got to put another good game together this week,” Schottenheimer said. “He’s not going to be satisfied, we’re not going to be satisfied, with just one good game.”
Which could make it tougher to eat chicken wings undetected.
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