Can Brian Quick Breakout in Year Three?/TST

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RamBill

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Can Brian Quick breakout in year three?

By Ryan Van Bibber

http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2014/7/22/5822046/st-louis-rams-receivers-brian-quick-depth-chart

The Rams made a big bet on their incumbent wide receivers this year. Can the 33rd pick in the 2012 draft finally live up to the billing?

"I’ll tell you what, probably the most improved player I've seen is Brian Quick. He's doing a great job."

That was St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer talking up the team's third-year wide receiver after an OTA session this spring. If it sounds familiar, it probably is. The Rams have been talking up Brian Quick since the day they made him the 33rd overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, ahead of Alshon Jeffery. At that point, they were comparing him to T.O. (the on-field version of Owens not the sadly comical guy who just can't quit hanging onto the past).

Every club is entitled to talk up their own guys. That's their job. But as Quick heads into year three of his career, the Rams are still banking big on him breaking out, having avoided drafting any wide receiver help whatsoever in this year's draft, including Clemson's Sammy Watkins who is looking otherworldly for the Bills in early returns.

So, can Brian Quick break out in year three?

The best place to start is to look at comparable players with comparable results. Through two seasons, Quick has played in 31 games, made 29 catches for 458 yards and scored four touchdowns. Using those numbers as a baseline, I went to Pro Football Reference to run a list of comparable players, receivers with 31 or more games played, less than or equal to 29 catches and less than or equal to 458 yards through their first two seasons, since the 1970 merger with the AFL.

Here's what I found.


Screen_Shot_2014-07-22_at_1.31.51_PM.png


Screen_Shot_2014-07-22_at_1.33.01_PM.png


(Data via Pro Football Reference)

That's not a very illustrious list of names. Wes Welker stands out, but he's also a different type of player than Quick and one who happened to land in New England with Tom Brady in his fourth season. Devin Hester's on there, but he's made his money returning kicks, not lining up as a receiver.

The only other name on that list who went to achieve something notable after two fairly unproductive seasons in the NFL is Denver Bronco Steve Watson. He broke out for 1,244 yards and 13 touchdowns in his third season, and continued to produce after Denver landed John Elway in 1983.

Quick found himself sliding down the depth chart when camp broke last year, and if Kenny Britt can find his footing again, Quick may be even further down the roster than last year. In short, the odds aren't good for a Brian Quick breakout, not impossible, but not good.
 

tahoe

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I really hope that Quick breaks out this year! He has the tools to be a stud.
 

cracengl

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Hi, I'm Ryan Van Bibber and this is my ass.

I went to pro football reference to see if it kept track of the number of plays per game or for their career for a wide receiver or the number of times they were thrown to per game or for their career. I could find neither of them. How do you begin to compare Quick's stats without knowing that?
 

Athos

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I fucking hope so...One of Pead/Quick needs to show something this year. Hopefully Quick as I think he means more to the offense. Significantly more.
 

TheDYVKX

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Just to name a few, Jordy Nelson and Vincent Jackson had comparable starts to Brian Quick, and are comparable players. It's definitely possible and there are precedents. The odds are against him of making that leap though.
 

JackDRams

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If he lands a starting spot, I think he'll do well. I'm still hoping for a Britt and Quick combo, with Tavon in the slot, and Givens running deep in 4 receiver sets.
 

Rmfnlt

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Just to name a few, Jordy Nelson and Vincent Jackson had comparable starts to Brian Quick, and are comparable players. It's definitely possible and there are precedents. The odds are against him of making that leap though.
Yes, but both of those players went to Div I schools, I believe.

When Quick got drafted, being from small Appalachian State, I worried a bit that the NFL might seem too large for him.

Then, I read that Appalahian State didn't have a playbook? Sounded like schoolyard football.

So, he has had a lot to absorb and learn. It's year three now... I believe that's enough time.
 

ChrisW

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The stats he's listed in this article are questionable at best. Can we please compare catches to targets for all these guys as well? If I'd spent any time on the stat websites, I'd do it...but alas, I don't know much about stat websites.

I think we will get a good feel on what to expect from him in our first pre-season game. Don't sugarcoat it as vanilla. You can get a feel for how aggressive and dominant he will be with his body. If he shy's away and doesn't pull down passes with authority it's going to be more of the same.
 
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TheDYVKX

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Yes, but both of those players went to Div I schools, I believe.

When Quick got drafted, being from small Appalachian State, I worried a bit that the NFL might seem too large for him.

Then, I read that Appalahian State didn't have a playbook? Sounded like schoolyard football.

So, he has had a lot to absorb and learn. It's year three now... I believe that's enough time.

That's even more of a reason to give Brian Quick time. If even some Division I athletes take 3 years to develop at the WR position, than obviously Quick is going to need time coming from a small school like App State. WR is an incredibly hard position to translate and adjust to in the NFL. We do need to see more from Quick, but give him a break too. The gap between playing at Appalachian State and playing at St. Louis is massive. Most WRs don't do well in those circumstances either, the odds were against him from the start.
 

Rmfnlt

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That's even more of a reason to give Brian Quick time. If even some Division I athletes take 3 years to develop at the WR position, than obviously Quick is going to need time coming from a small school like App State. WR is an incredibly hard position to translate and adjust to in the NFL. We do need to see more from Quick, but give him a break too. The gap between playing at Appalachian State and playing at St. Louis is massive. Most WRs don't do well in those circumstances either, the odds were against him from the start.

So, you don't think three years is enough? I think that's reasonable. If he doesn't make a move this year, he may be gone.
 

TheDYVKX

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So, you don't think three years is enough? I think that's reasonable. If he doesn't make a move this year, he may be gone.

No, I agree with you. 3 years is definitely enough to show what he is. He doesn't need to be elite or 1000 yards or anything, but by now he should show something and make a drastic improvement. I'm just saying, for all the people who wanted instant gratification and calling Quick a bust, it takes time. Even year 3 he likely won't be nearly as good as he can be. He's still developing.
 

Rmfnlt

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No, I agree with you. 3 years is definitely enough to show what he is. He doesn't need to be elite or 1000 yards or anything, but by now he should show something and make a drastic improvement. I'm just saying, for all the people who wanted instant gratification and calling Quick a bust, it takes time. Even year 3 he likely won't be nearly as good as he can be. He's still developing.

Yes, it is an instant fratification world we live in these days. Fans see a Bruce Ariens come into Arizona and they go 10-6 and they wonder why can't we do that?

Of course, it's not that simple and there are a lot of variables between one team's situation and another.
 

TheDYVKX

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So, you don't think three years is enough? I think that's reasonable. If he doesn't make a move this year, he may be gone.

No, I agree with you. 3 years is definitely enough to show what he is. He doesn't need to be elite or 1000 yards or anything, but by now he should show something and make a drastic improvement. I'm just saying, for all the people who wanted instant gratification and calling Quick a bust, it takes time. Even year 3 he likely won't be nearly as good as he can be. He's still developing.
 

RamWoodie

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I think Quick shows a big leap. Let's not forget after Sam went down Clemens just didn't look for Quick much...he had his comfort zone and Quick wasn't in it.

It is time...and I think Quick KNOWS IT!
 
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I think Quick or Britt will breakout next year. I would bet on Quick more, but I could see both benefiting from the competition between the 2 of them.
 

Yamahopper

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It's pretty bad when a writer cherry picks his stats and still can't make his case.
How in blue hell is Kendall Reyes on this list? He's a freaking fat DE for the bolts. I just don't see him learning the route tree.
Somebody just made this list up. Some of these players I can't find, maybe there the writers friends on Facebook or something.
 
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OldRock

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Can he? Yes. Will he? Probably not but I do think he will show a lot of improvement. I look for next year to be the deciding factor. Fisher is patient. He's still giving pead a chance and running backs are one of the quickest positions to break out from. Special teams aside, Quick's ceiling will be more important to the team. He started basically from scratch so let's give him another year to catch up. Low risk, possible huge rewards. I still believe coach Fisher knows best. They sure as hell didn't ask my opinion and I wouldn't want them to. I want to win after such a long drought!
 

den-the-coach

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WTH....Yes he can and I believe the receiver unit on this team is on the upside. They have the right QB they've added a veteran who has no place else to go and the one thing Quick can do unequivocally is block. IMO his blocking will increase his confidence and I expect more plays to be made. Throw in an end around every now and then and when Bailey gets back the unit will be more of an asset and less of a liability.