CoachO & others on the Rams receivers

from off the net

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CoachO

Bailey is on the field a whole more than people seem to think he is. But he hasn’t been targeted much. No argument his hands are the most consistent among the WRs. But at some point, we have to stop making excuses for some of these players. “They aren’t using Austin correctly”. “Bailey needs to play more”. This has been the common theme among many posters for the past 2+ seasons.

Now four different QBs later, the same things are being said. Maybe, just maybe it’s on the receivers. Austin is not a polished WR. He’s a gadget type playmaker that they now seem determined to force the offense through. But when his limited production comes from having the ball handed off, it tells me he still isn’t there as a WR.

Bailey gets plenty of snaps. What he doesn’t get is targets. Again, this has been through four different QB somehow not throwing him the ball on any consistent basis.

I am not in any way trying to compare the systems here, but merely comparing the roles these guys need to perform to be successful. Consider Britt and Quick in the same roles as Bruce and Holt. The primary outside receivers who play all three downs. Austin fits the Az-Hakim role with Bailey being Ricky Proehl. It takes all four of them to be performing for ANY any of them to be able to be their best. When the GSOT lost Hakim, then Proehl wasn’t as productive.

Bailey should be that go-to guy on 3rd down. But if he is the only guy that teams fear in that scenario, he will be limited. Austin feeds off the other three. But to try to force the ball to him, just won’t work. He is too inconsistent as a route runner.

The play that sums it up for me occurred last week vs. Pittsburgh. It was a 3rd & 6 I believe and they ran Austin on the “arrow” route that Amendola mastered here. The problem is, instead of driving straight thru the CB, forcing him to react to the route, Austin cut it off after 3 yards, made his move inside before cutting back outside. The CB just let him run the route and then closed on him once he caught the ball. He was bought down after a 3 yard gain and we punted.

Bailey doesn’t have the quickness to even run that route. So there in lies the problem with both.

The lack of consistency has to start with the QB position. That, IMO, has more to do with the slow development of just about every player you mentioned. These guys have had backup caliber QBs pulling the trigger for the better part of their time here. Clemens, Davis and Hill were as much to “blame” for the inconsistent passing game as any receiver on the roster in that time.

How many time last year alone would Britt or Quick be behind the secondary, only to have Davis underthrow them? How many times did Brian Quick run the deep dig route uncovered only to have Clemens not even look at him because he knew he couldn’t throw that pass? How many times has Bailey run a crossing route to have the ball checked down to a RB because they didn’t have the time to let the route develop? This year it’s been three games with a QB who is not nearly as accurate as he needs to be. Again, IMHO, he isn’t comfortable in his reads, and is not getting the ball out “on time”. But he gets a pass from most fans because he’s not Bradford.

It’s actually interesting to me, that Brian Quick is the longest tenured Ram WR being in his 4th season. And that is after losing most of last year, when he finally was showing he belonged on the field.

In terms of the Givens trade, Brian Quick is a much better receiver than Givens on his worst day. The route tree, the physical skill set and overall athleticism isn’t even close. It seems pretty obvious to me anyway, that as soon as Quick got back in the mix, Givens became expendable. Givens was the epitome of a one trick pony, and was easily taken away by simply rolling a safety over the top. From the day he got here, he showed a hesitation to go over the middle. Completing a simple slant to him was an adventure. He was never going to win any contested balls. IMO he was a lesser version of Donnie Avery.

I will be the first to admit that Quick needs to take the next step. But there are a multitude of reasons why he hasn’t had more success. But unlike Givens, I have seen the potential to be a complete WR from the day he showed up. I just don’t think there is any comparison between the two.

Let’s see if getting Quick back has an impact on the overall success of the rest of the group. Theoretically, if Britt and Quick both can post some level of consistency, then Bailey and Austin should get more room.

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