Wagoner: Rams mailbag

Rams mailbag: Setting expectations for Nick Foles

Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff Writer

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/19567/rams-mailbag-setting-expectations-for-nick-foles

EARTH CITY, Mo. — We’ve moved a week closer to the start of the St. Louis Rams’ 2015 training camp. But we’re still about two weeks away. That means plenty of time left for speculating on how things might play out.

And perhaps no question (on the field, anyway) burns hotter than how new quarterback Nick Foles will fare in his first season with the team. That leads off this week’s Rams Twitter mailbag.

Clyde Escope @ReckaTee
If you were to project Nick Foles stats this year, what would they be?

@nwagoner: That’s a tough question to answer at this point because we still need to see how he fits and how well he grasps the new offense. By Foles’ own admission, this offense is much different from what he had in Philadelphia. That’s not a surprise but it means it will take some time to learn. It would be foolish to expect him to repeat the 27-touchdown, two-interception performance of 2013. But he will also need to be better than the 13-touchdown, 10-interception version from last year. And, of course, he’ll need to stay healthy all season. With all of that in mind, we probably need step away from using his history with the Eagles as a predictor of his future and focus on his fit with the Rams and what will be asked of him. Considering the Rams’ desire to run the ball first and foremost and need to take care of the ball, I could see Foles coming in somewhere near what Alex Smith did for the Chiefs in 2014 if he remains healthy. So let’s say, again assuming health for 16 games, that a reasonable projection for Foles would come in somewhere in the range of 3,100-3,300 passing yards, 18-22 touchdowns and seven to 10 interceptions. If he puts together that type of season, it’s reasonable the Rams will be in playoff contention.

Danion Jacobson @danjac01
Any updates on Quick’s injury, and if he isn’t ready to go week 1, who is first in line to replace him in the lineup?

@nwagoner: Again, no update until they report back for training camp at the end of the month but Brian Quick made progress throughout organized team activities. At that time, he was participating in individual drills before practices but then sitting out during team drills. Clearly, that’s a good sign for his progress but it guarantees nothing in terms of when he’ll be back at full speed in full-team practices. I still tend to think he’ll be ready for Week 1. If he’s not, I’d lean toward Stedman Bailey being the starter in his place on the outside though I’m sure Tavon Austin would get plenty of snaps as well. Bailey has traditionally showed more ability to line up and get the job done outside the numbers while Austin has primarily been used more in the slot.

Adam Gingrich @adam_gingrich
Do you expect Jared Cook to take a step back this year w/ an emphasis on a power running?

@nwagoner:I wouldn’t project that, necessarily. The thing with Jared Cook is that at this point in his career, he kind of is who he is. For those waiting for him to break loose and post 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns, well, that’s probably not going to happen. But he’s also probably not going to regress to something like 350 yards and a touchdown, either. Cook has posted 51 and 52 catches, 671 and 634 yards and five and three touchdowns in his first two seasons with the Rams. And it’s not like they were throwing the ball all over the place in those two years. It’s probably safe to expect a healthy Cook to come in somewhere around 50 catches with 650 yards and four touchdowns once again. And it’s possible he might have an uptick in all of those areas with a better quarterback in place than he’s had with the likes of Kellen Clemens, Shaun Hill and Austin Davis.

Luiz Maia @LuizMaia12
can you tell if the offense staff is adapting the playbook to short passes, in case the OL cant hold on?

@nwagoner: It’s early to make any sweeping judgments about the offense but to answer the question, yes, I believe there’s an emphasis on getting the ball out quick in the offense. In OTAs, part of that stemmed from an offense that lagged far behind the defense but it’s more than that, as you mentioned. There are going to be growing pains for the offense as a whole but especially on the offensive line. There are two ways to protect Foles in that sense. One is to run the ball effectively and a lot. The second is to get the ball out quick in the passing game. It’s safe to expect the Rams to do both. It’s also safe to expect Foles to take his deep shots, too, with many of those shots likely coming off play action.

Kenneth Pavloff @KPavloff
Wasn’t E. Westbrooks doing well last yr until he broke his hand? If so, how he is doing & what are the expectation now?

@nwagoner: The coaches were pleased with Ethan Westbrooks’ progress throughout the year, but yes, he did have a setback. He seems to be doing fine now, but the expectations aren’t much right now. In some ways, though, this is a big year for Westbrooks. He likely won’t need to take many snaps but he does need to continue to improve through the course of the season. William Hayes and Eugene Sims are free agents after the year and that could be Westbrooks’ opportunity to earn an expanded role. If he doesn’t progress how the Rams envision, he might never get much of a chance. If he does, the Rams could part with Hayes and/or Sims to allow Westbrooks more snaps at a lower cost.

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Rams mailbag: Setting expectations for Rams’ defense
By Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff Writer

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/19584/rams-mailbag-setting-expectations-for-rams-defense

EARTH CITY, Mo. — In Saturday’s mailbag, we discussed what reasonable numbers for new St. Louis Rams quarterback Nick Foles might look like. Today, we turn our attention to the defense and what constitutes a disappointment.

Kyle Weible @kweible_8
If the Rams don’t boast a Top 5 Defense statistically, would it be considered a disappointment? Talent is there…

@nwagoner: That’s a good question, and there’s multiple ways to look at answering it. In some sense, it’s unfair to expect a defense that hasn’t even cracked the top 10 under Jeff Fisher to suddenly become a top-5 group. But on the other hand, this is a unit that absolutely has the talent in place to reach a top-5 level. But I tend to lean toward making the answer yes. At this point, I think we’d all agree that in the fourth year under Fisher, making the playoffs should be the goal and expectation. For the Rams to get there, I believe they need the defense to play at a top-5 level all season. If that group falls short of that, it’s hard to imagine the offense being good enough to make up the difference, especially early in the season. The key for the defense is getting off to a faster start and playing with more consistency, especially in the secondary. If they cut down on the big plays allowed on the back end, that top-5 status should be within reach. One other area to monitor, even in the preseason, is run defense. A slow start in that area last year pretty much wrecked any chance the Rams had of reaching their vast defensive potential. Much like with the rest of the team, seeing will be believing when it comes to this.

Brawley Darbon @brawleydarbon
Are the #Rams comfortable with the squad they have? Or will they look to bring in someone late in free agency?

@nwagoner: Well, if they aren’t, there’s a problem. Fisher always says that he and the scouting department will keep their eyes open for opportunities, but when you reach this point in the game, there simply aren’t going to be many players available who will make much of a difference. There might be a couple of names out there right now (yes, Evan Mathis is available), but the Rams don’t seem to have much interest in going that direction. They certainly could make an addition or two if there are injuries or someone intriguing pops up on the waiver wire, but what you see is mostly what you’re going to get with the roster right now.

Wynnde @wynnde13
What kind of season, numbers-wise, do you think Tavon needs to have to get his ~$11M option for ’16 exercised?

@nwagoner: It’s a good question and one that probably comes with an answer that is seemingly outrageous. For the record, the fifth-year player option would be for 2017, but you’re right in that they would have to choose to exercise it before the 2016 season. As it stands right now, it’s hard to imagine the Rams would want to spend that type of money for Austin, but if he does have a much-anticipated breakthrough season this year, then maybe it would have to become a strong consideration. The hard part in determining what that would look like is how often he’s going to touch the ball and how those touches will be distributed. Coordinator Frank Cignetti said in the spring that Austin is a wide receiver, and they want to use him as such which leads one to believe he won’t be in the backfield as much. Right now, Austin is a talented punt returner but hasn’t proved to be much more. So let’s play the game anyway and try to take a stab at it. Breaking 1,000 receiving yards (something no Rams has done since Torry Holt in 2007) would be a good start. But if he doesn’t, tacking on another 400-500 rushing yards would help offset what isn’t produced there. Short of that, it’s hard to find a realistic scenario in which you’d feel comfortable getting a return on that type of investment.

M. Hightower @Highest_Tower
I’ve seen B. Jones’ name thrust in as a projected starter at C. Anything real, or just speculation?

@nwagoner: Well, of course it’s real. But it’s also a bit of speculation. There’s an open competition at center right now among three players, including Barrett Jones. He’s set to battle Demetrius Rhaney and Tim Barnes for that gig. All three worked with the first-team offense in the spring, and all three will continue to get chances with the starters through training camp and the preseason. It’s hard to project who will win that battle, and I do believe all three will get consideration, but looking at it in terms of investment, it stands to reason Jones is the one the Rams would like to see win it. He was the one the team spent the most draft capital on, and they’ve invested two years in him on the roster despite myriad injury issues. That doesn’t mean he’ll win it by default; he still has to earn it but I do think they’d like to see him emerge.

Patrick Thole @pthole8
What do you think about the possibilities of exploring Reggie Wayne?

@nwagoner: I’ve learned in nearly a dozen years covering the NFL to never completely rule anything out. But I’d say the chances of that happening are very, very slim