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August 3, 2014 at 2:48 pm #3178
RamBillParticipantRams’ Bailey still busy despite suspension
By Nick Wagonerhttp://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/10152/rams-bailey-still-busy-despite-suspension
EARTH CITY, Mo. — For those who have watched the St. Louis Rams in training camp, there has been an obvious attempt by the team to give a handful of their wide receivers an opportunity to play with the first team.
Kenny Britt and Brian Quick have had regular work with quarterback Sam Bradford and the first team. Tavon Austin has also been on the field a lot. The other constant is Stedman Bailey.
Bailey’s work with Bradford and the top offense was particularly noticeable in Saturday’s 11-on-11 drills at the team’s annual fanfest at the Edward Jones Dome. Bailey created separation and came up with catches for big gains down the field from Bradford on consecutive plays as team drills began. He then continued to make plays throughout the day.
“Sted made a lot of plays today,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “He’s there. He knows how to get open and knows how to make the plays.”
A few months ago, Bailey working with the first-team offense regularly would have been no surprise. In fact, it would have been surprising if he wasn’t getting that work when you consider he closed his rookie season as the team’s most consistent performer on the outside.
But Bailey’s outlook for the 2014 season changed for the worse two days after the NFL draft when the league announced his four-game suspension for violation of the policy against performance enhancing substances.
Entering this training camp, Bailey’s suspension put the Rams in the unenviable spot of trying to replace him for the first four weeks while also getting him enough repetitions to stay sharp. Making matters worse, a scheduling quirk where the Rams have a bye in Week 4 means Bailey won’t actually return until Week 6.
Despite Bailey’s forthcoming absence, Fisher has not been shy about getting him work with the first-team offense. Fisher said that approach will continue until the season and suspension draw closer.
“He’s going to get plenty of work and so are the other guys,” Fisher said. “We’ve got four preseason games and there’s plenty of snaps, plenty of practice snaps to have him ready. We’ll probably adjust things right prior to the final cut down.
“Yes, we’ll miss him, but he’s going to push right through camp, and we’ll get through his ordeal, and we’ll get him right back in the lineup.”
In other words, expect to see plenty of Bailey in preseason games. While Bailey has looked to be one of the team’s best wideouts in camp, it’s understandable why the Rams would be planning big things for him upon his return. And though it’s fair to wonder if other receivers who are going to be on the roster in the opening weeks would be better served with more reps, it seems Britt, Quick and Austin have not been hampered by their changing roles from day to day.
For his part, Bailey says the game has slowed down a lot for him entering his second season. He spent most of his rookie season working exclusively on special teams before getting more offensive snaps at the end of the season. He took advantage of the additional chances in posting 16 of his 17 catches and 214 of his 226 receiving yards over the final six games.
Those numbers won’t wow anyone, but Bailey’s knack for getting open and coming up with key catches offered plenty of promise. The possibility of losing out on that promise clearly gnaws at Bailey. However, he has nobody but himself to blame for the suspension.
“It’s something that kills me every time I think about it, but my job is to just keep working hard, keep giving my all to the team,” Bailey said. “It actually makes me feel really good that they have the confidence in me to keep me out there, keep me getting reps with the ones. Once I come back, I hope I can get back in the rotation and help this team out.”
Clearly, the Rams do have big plans for Bailey upon his return. He wouldn’t be getting so many reps with the first-team offense if they didn’t. Bailey spent a couple of days in the offseason working with Bradford in Oklahoma, and they have a growing rapport that Bradford looks forward to resuming when Bailey gets back.
“I think he’s going to be a big part of what we do when he gets back,” Bradford said. “Obviously, it’s a bummer that he’s not going to be with us [in] the first four, but when he comes back, the timing and everything that we’re doing right now is to make sure that we’re ready when he does get back. He’s been very productive.”
For a team in need of consistent receiver production, the real shame is that they have to wait at all.
August 4, 2014 at 12:44 am #3209RamBillParticipant
Bailey shines but will disappear in September
• By Jim ThomasStedman Bailey learned to be patient last season as a rookie, and the start of this season will be no different.
Despite a stellar college career at West Virginia, Bailey participated in only four plays at wide receiver through his first eight NFL games in 2013. He didn’t have a pass thrown his way by a quarterback until Game 9 against Tennessee.
(Punter Johnny Hekker missed connections on a throw Bailey’s way on a fake punt in Game 3.)
It wasn’t until the final five games that Bailey saw appreciable playing time at wide receiver, including starts at Arizona and Seattle. He had 15 catches for 195 yards over that five-game stretch, showing enough promise that he figured to be a starter — or at least a strong contender for a starting position in 2014.
Then came that four-game NFL suspension for violating league policy on performance-enhancing substances. Once the preseason ends, Bailey won’t be seen again until mid-October — the Rams’ Monday night home game against San Francisco on the 13th to be exact.
Which is a shame for the Rams because Bailey looks like he’s poised for a breakout season based on his practice performance in the first week and a half of training camp.
“Yes, we’ll miss him,” coach Jeff Fisher said following Saturday’s FanFest practice at the Edward Jones Dome. “But he’s gonna push right through camp and will get through his ordeal, and we’ll get him right back in the lineup.”
Along with Kenny Britt and Brian Quick, Bailey has been the most impressive pass-catcher thus far in camp. Saturday in the dome was no different, when he was quarterback Sam Bradford’s favorite target during 11-on-11, 2-minute, and red zone periods.
“Sted made a lot of plays,” Fisher said. “He knows how to get open and knows how to make the plays.”
Despite the suspension, Bailey is allowed to practice and play in all four preseason games. But that all stops once the preseason ends. The leaves will be turning and folks will be shopping for their Halloween pumpkins by the time Bailey returns.
“It’s something that kills me every time I think about it,” Bailey said. “But my job is to compete, work hard, keep giving my all to the team, and when I come back just be looking for a show.”
He put on a show Saturday, showcasing his separation skills and good hands before 15,723 spectators.
During the first 11-on-11 period, Bailey caught intermediate-range passes from Bradford over the middle and down the sideline. Later in practice, he had a gain of 20-plus yards on a deep out, and then another during 2-minute drill when he split two defenders down the left sideline. His day ended with a touchdown catch, also during the 2-minute.
“Stedman’s been great all camp, all spring,” Bradford said. “I think he’s gonna be a big part of what we do when he gets back.
“Obviously, it’s a bummer that he’s not gonna be with us the first four (games), but when he comes back the timing and everything that we’re doing right now is to make sure we’re ready when he does get back.”
Which explains why Bradford keeps throwing the ball Bailey’s way, and why Bailey keeps getting reps with the first-string offense in camp.
“It actually makes me feel really good that they have the confidence in me to keep me out there, keep me getting reps with the ‘1s,’ “ Bailey said. “Once I come back, hopefully I can get back in the rotation and help this team out.”
But why not work Bailey less during camp and the preseason since he won’t be around in September, letting others get more work?
For one, the Rams are thinking long-term on this, namely the 12 games Bailey will be on the field after the suspension. Even more important is the need to build chemistry with Bradford.
Keep in mind, Bailey didn’t have one pass thrown his way by Bradford during the 2013 regular season. By the time Bailey started playing, Bradford was gone for the year with his knee injury in Game 7 at Carolina.
Even in practice, Bailey barely worked with Bradford before the injury because Bailey was so far down the depth chart. So the two were basically a blank page until workouts this June.
All of which explains why Bailey was among a handful of pass-catchers Bradford invited to his home in Norman, Okla., to work for a couple of days during the Rams’ summer break.
Having Bailey in Norman “was huge,” Bradford said. “Especially knowing that we were gonna spend (four) weeks without him. I think those two days with him in Norman were probably even more valuable than with some of the other guys, making sure that we had everything down before he’s gonna leave the building.”
For the most part, Bradford and Bailey look very much in sync, but a couple of plays Saturday showed there’s still room for improvement.
On one play, Bailey didn’t adjust to a blitz on a deep route. Hoping Bailey recognized the pressure and cut short his route, Bradford threw an underneath ball that landed harmlessly on the turf with nobody near.
On another deep sideline pattern, Bailey was bracketed by two defenders to his inside. Seeing that, Bradford threw the ball to the open spaces outside, but Bailey recognized where the ball was going too late to get there.
Even so, Bailey says, “The game’s slowed down a whole lot for me. I know what I’m doing, whereas I don’t have to think and then go play. I know exactly what I’m doing, so I can just showcase my talents and just go play ball.”
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