Last quote I remember was something like "He's doing fine. Practicing hard. He just needs to keep doing what he's doing and he'll be fine."
Have to look it up not sure where it came from.
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/12455/greg-robinson-still-awaiting-his-opportunity
Greg Robinson still awaiting his opportunity
October, 9, 2014
Oct 9
2:00
PM ET
By
Nick Wagoner | ESPN.com
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The first quarter of
St. Louis Rams offensive lineman
Greg Robinson's rookie season has passed. But if you're looking to assign him a grade, you'd probably have to go with an "I." As in incomplete.
That's because Robinson, the No. 2 overall pick in May's draft, remains stuck in a reserve role when it comes to offense. Most of his contributions have come while blocking on special teams. Through four games, Robinson has played just 10 snaps on offense, filling in briefly for
Rodger Saffold in the opener against Minnesota.
After another rough day at the office for the offensive line against Philadelphia last week -- especially in the first half -- it's left many to wonder why Robinson isn't getting an opportunity to at least get some work in games.
Since the Rams drafted Robinson, it's been well known that it would take him some time to get used to pass blocking at the NFL level, but the Rams did him no favors by having him bounce between tackle and guard throughout the preseason. Robinson is still going back and forth during practice.
When asked about Robinson's progress earlier this week, coach Jeff Fisher gave his standard response.
“Greg just needs to keep doing what he’s doing," Fisher said. "He’s gotten much better over the last couple of weeks. He’s got a good feel for both of the positions. And just keep learning, working. He’s working hard on the practice field.”
The question then becomes when that hard work on the practice field will translate into actual playing time on Sundays. Considering the injury histories of four of the Rams' starting offensive line linemen -- tackle
Jake Long, guards Saffold and
Davin Joseph and center
Scott Wells -- it would seem entirely possible that Robinson will get his chance at some point.
But that's not really the point. Joseph has mostly struggled in the first four games, failing to provide consistency in pass protection and not generating much push in the run game.
For what it's worth, Pro Football Focus has Joseph down for allowing one sack, six quarterback hits and eight quarterback hurries in the first four games, not to mention three penalties (one offsetting).
If they wanted, the Rams could easily plug Robinson in at left guard and kick Saffold over to right guard in place of Joseph. Or, barring that, they could at least get Robinson in the game as part of a rotation, something they were willing to do last year at times.
Even if you operate under the assumption that Robinson will have his share of hiccups, especially as a pass blocker -- and he will -- why not get him in there to take some lumps while also adding a player who might be able to help the run game somewhere else besides the left side? If both Joseph and Robinson are going to have issues protecting quarterback
Austin Davis, wouldn't it be worth seeing if Robinson can provide more punch in the run game?
The Rams are about to enter the teeth of their schedule with physical matchups against San Francisco and Seattle over the next two weeks. Robinson was drafted for just these types of games. But he can't help the Rams stare down the neighborhood bullies if he's not allowed to leave the house.
