NFL coach breaks down Rams receivers

Longtime NFL coach breaks down the Rams’ receivers
• By Joe Lyons

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/longtime-nfl-coach-breaks-down-the-rams-receivers/article_61a572cd-6843-5475-ac49-6bc8234fe09e.html

The Coach’s take: A really good addition for the Rams. What Britt brings along with physicality, he brings an NFL presence. Guys who have established themselves in the NFL tend to get respect. He’s like a power forward, extremely good on the skinny post, in the seams and in the possession areas. He’s a guy who’s a big target, who can separate with his body. He can be a go-to guy on third down and certainly in the red zone.

The Coach’s take: When I see Pettis, what I see is reliability. He’s a guy who can basically finish a game for you at any spot. He’s smart, he can play multiple positions. Pettis has really good body control and good hands. He’s not a guy who can create offense, but he’s a guy who can take advantage of zone defenses, particularly in the slot. In the slot, he’s a guy who is smart. He can run the pivots and the drive stuff and if he isn’t pressed, he’s a guy who can catch a lot of balls for you.

The Coach’s take: Givens is the guy to me who really has to find it. He’s a guy who was terrific as a rookie. He’s a guy who is a potential playmaker. He lacked refinement, like a lot of young receivers; as a rookie, it was either go-route or catch and run. What I thought he had to do was really develop in the intermediate areas. You would’ve had a hard time differentiating from Givens and T.Y. Hilton of the Colts as rookies. But Hilton has gone on and has been developed to become an elite player while Givens is almost hanging on. There’s too much talent there to not be more productive.

The Coach’s take: Quick is a guy I thought, when they brought him in, at least from a skill set, could be kind of a Kenny Britt-type guy. He’s a guy with that same kind of power forward ability and maybe a even a little bit better stretch speed than Britt. He’s a guy I always thought would make a good red-zone guy, third and short, using that big body to separate. He’s just been, for one reason or another, he’s a guy who’s never connected the dots in competition, never developed that consistency. He has solid hands, not great hands. Now that he’s had all these reps and time to develop, it’s really now or never for him.

The Coach’s take: Austin is a very unique guy. You almost consider him a separate entity from your other receivers because he’s a guy who’s a playmaker that has to be used in creative ways. He’s a wrinkle player, a guy you have to use in a lot of different ways. He’s explosive and you have to find ways to get him the ball so he can catch and run — quick screens, bubble screens, hitches. At times, you want to get him in the backfield and hand him the ball. In the passing game, he plays best in the slot or from tight splits. He’s a guy who should be outstanding inside on pivots and options, a guy who can run away from people.

The Coach’s take: Bailey is an interesting guy. Bailey is one of those guys who really looks to be productive. We haven’t seen him enough, he’s not flashy, he’s kind of a one-speed guy. Doesn’t look like he’ll run away from people, like he may struggle at times on the press. But the one thing about Bailey is he tends to separate from defenders and he really tends to go get the football. And there’s always a spot for somebody like that. I don’t think he’s a creator, but I think he plays a little faster off the break and I think he can make the acrobatic catch and he will make the consistent catch. It’s always good to have guys you can count on like that.

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