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NFL's final four another reminder for Rams on importance of QB
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...another-reminder-for-rams-on-importance-of-qb
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The fact the Los Angeles Rams finished the 2015 season last in the league in most major passing categories offered a 16-week course on how important it is for them to aggressively pursue upgrades at the quarterback position in the 2016 offseason.
But just in case those nearly weekly reminders weren't enough, the lesson has continued well into the NFL's postseason. For evidence, one need look no further than the NFC divisional playoffs. And, well, if you want to look a little further, next weekend's championship round.
New England, Carolina and Arizona boast the three players widely regarded as the top candidates for the league's Most Valuable Player award. Tom Brady, Cam Newton and Carson Palmer finished 11th, ninth and first in QBR. They're all playing on Sunday for the right to go to the Super Bowl. Even the teams that went home over the weekend -- Seattle, Kansas City, Green Bay and Pittsburgh -- had quarterbacks who finished in the top 10 in the NFL in QBR this year.
The Denver Broncos are the lone outlier in the final four, after Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler finished 30th and 26th in the league in QBR, respectively. But the Broncos were buoyed by the league's best defense and Manning's resume speaks for itself.
Meanwhile, the Rams have hoped that a top-notch defense and running game would be enough to push them deep into the postseason, as well. In theory, one could look at Denver as the bastion of hope remaining in the postseason. But the sobering reality is that the Rams must find a way to do better than Nick Foles or Case Keenum if they want to find themselves playing in late January anytime soon.
It's an idea that's not lost on general manager Les Snead.
"We've got to get stability at the QB position," Snead told reporters in Los Angeles on Friday. "... We've had six starters in three years so stabilize that position, keep developing who we have, the Aaron Donalds and the Todd Gurleys ... and keep adding players like that and I think we have a chance."
Stability would be a good start. The Rams thought they had it in Sam Bradford but he couldn't stay healthy. They thought they'd traded for it in Foles -- even signing him to an extension before he played in a game -- but he was too inconsistent. Keenum offered a bit of a spark late in the season and will be given a chance to compete for the job, assuming he's retained as a restricted free agent.
"We will always have a competition and the guy that finished out the season, Case Keenum nearly finished the season 4-0 and was at one time playing like a top 10 QB when you look at the analytics, so we'll let him compete," Snead said. "I'll bet on Case competing, that's what he likes to do and we'll definitely try to add as many good players as possible."
Of course, the Rams aren't the only team seeking solutions at the game's most important position, which is why upgrading there is easier said than done. Good starters rarely hit the free-agent market or become available in trade and the Rams' continued insistence on mediocrity has kept the top signal-callers in the draft out of their reach.
That doesn't mean they won't keep looking, however.
"Quarterbacks are hard to find, especially good ones," Snead said. "But definitely there's a lot of avenues, whether it's free agency, whether it's the trade market, whether it's the draft and with all of that, I call them roses and thorns with each acquisition method for that QB position but we will always search for that."
As the NFL playoffs can attest, they'd better.
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...another-reminder-for-rams-on-importance-of-qb
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The fact the Los Angeles Rams finished the 2015 season last in the league in most major passing categories offered a 16-week course on how important it is for them to aggressively pursue upgrades at the quarterback position in the 2016 offseason.
But just in case those nearly weekly reminders weren't enough, the lesson has continued well into the NFL's postseason. For evidence, one need look no further than the NFC divisional playoffs. And, well, if you want to look a little further, next weekend's championship round.
New England, Carolina and Arizona boast the three players widely regarded as the top candidates for the league's Most Valuable Player award. Tom Brady, Cam Newton and Carson Palmer finished 11th, ninth and first in QBR. They're all playing on Sunday for the right to go to the Super Bowl. Even the teams that went home over the weekend -- Seattle, Kansas City, Green Bay and Pittsburgh -- had quarterbacks who finished in the top 10 in the NFL in QBR this year.
The Denver Broncos are the lone outlier in the final four, after Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler finished 30th and 26th in the league in QBR, respectively. But the Broncos were buoyed by the league's best defense and Manning's resume speaks for itself.
Meanwhile, the Rams have hoped that a top-notch defense and running game would be enough to push them deep into the postseason, as well. In theory, one could look at Denver as the bastion of hope remaining in the postseason. But the sobering reality is that the Rams must find a way to do better than Nick Foles or Case Keenum if they want to find themselves playing in late January anytime soon.
It's an idea that's not lost on general manager Les Snead.
"We've got to get stability at the QB position," Snead told reporters in Los Angeles on Friday. "... We've had six starters in three years so stabilize that position, keep developing who we have, the Aaron Donalds and the Todd Gurleys ... and keep adding players like that and I think we have a chance."
Stability would be a good start. The Rams thought they had it in Sam Bradford but he couldn't stay healthy. They thought they'd traded for it in Foles -- even signing him to an extension before he played in a game -- but he was too inconsistent. Keenum offered a bit of a spark late in the season and will be given a chance to compete for the job, assuming he's retained as a restricted free agent.
"We will always have a competition and the guy that finished out the season, Case Keenum nearly finished the season 4-0 and was at one time playing like a top 10 QB when you look at the analytics, so we'll let him compete," Snead said. "I'll bet on Case competing, that's what he likes to do and we'll definitely try to add as many good players as possible."
Of course, the Rams aren't the only team seeking solutions at the game's most important position, which is why upgrading there is easier said than done. Good starters rarely hit the free-agent market or become available in trade and the Rams' continued insistence on mediocrity has kept the top signal-callers in the draft out of their reach.
That doesn't mean they won't keep looking, however.
"Quarterbacks are hard to find, especially good ones," Snead said. "But definitely there's a lot of avenues, whether it's free agency, whether it's the trade market, whether it's the draft and with all of that, I call them roses and thorns with each acquisition method for that QB position but we will always search for that."
As the NFL playoffs can attest, they'd better.
