Austin Davis experiment should be over now

[Smed55]

Davis and the offense played well enough in the first SF game and the Dallas game, to win both of those games, our defense gave those games away! The defense has pretty much shut down "almost" every good running back we have faced with the exception of Murray, that being said, they still give up those one, two, or three big plays a game that kill us!

Yes Davis had those late turnovers, but you can't get beat on a 50yard pass with the backup QB in there. Our D stuffed the run again all day, played fairly well against the pass all day, until it was crunch time, then Davis didn't help matters, but part of that is because the D let Arizona back in the game and then Davis "had" to try and make things happen. Shotty stays with what was working and we get a bigger lead, none of this happens because they wouldn't have "had" to

 

[Caynine29]

I know what you are trying to say, but I don't think our record would be any different with Hill in there, in fact it might be worse. Plus the fact, I don't think Hill would still be standing after being hit as much as Davis has, I really don't think Hill would have made it this far in the season without already going down with an injury, he is not mobile, and after that Minnesota game, I don't see where his so called decision making is any better than Davis!

I agree, Smed55. Truthfully, I don't think our record would be much better even with Sam Bradford playing. I think it's become painfully obvious (pretty much as it has been over the last 4 years) that the QB isn't the problem here, evidenced by the fact that Davis' 3 best games were all losses and his absolute worst... was a win over the 49ers. Davis is only a part of the problem... but he isn't THE problem.

My point was that with all the unrealistic expectations most fans were heaping all over the 3rd string QB... the "Austin Daivs experiment" was doomed to be an abject failure from the get-go. Even with all the hype about his mobility, or his first two games worth of stats, or his (at one time) league lead in completion percentage, or even the fact that he's a fantastic cheerleader does a lot of yelling on the sideline (whooptie-doo), I saw this coming a mile away.

 

[Vitamike]

That's the view from 100 ft, but the close-up for Rams fans is that they're losing winable games, regardless of the opponent. To lead the Cardinals through 3 quarters and knock out the starting QB, only to allow the back up to throw a TD bomb and give up 2 defensive TDs isn't ahead of the curve by any stretch. QB play has to improve, especially by limiting the killer turnovers.

We all knew we would take some lumps starting a QB with zero NFL game starting experience. This is the guys most wanted JF to start so unless there were some unrealistic expectations this is kind of what we are gonna get. We got this guy who is still learning on the job and who may just yet turn a corner before the season is done.

It just hasn't been easy on him considering the teams we have faced in this dreaded 8 game stretch. AD will either learn, adjust and grow or he wont but in the meantime erratic play, during this stretch, is sort of a realistic expectation.

You know shops, just because we show well for most of the game doesn't mean these are 'winnable games' other than having an underdog's shot at it is all. I think we are letting our defense trick us into thinking this but if you can't sustain drives, eventually the defense may tire and we end up talking about games that just got away in the end.

You and I can agree on one thing though, it is about perspective as you point out.

 

[Clayton]

No point in turning back now. If he stinks up the joint then he gets replaced in the draft.

He does look an awful lot like the Rams future backup QB

 

[chy1127]

I am now on the side of moving on from Mr. Davis. With the lead, he played like a QB that didn't want to lose. When behind he wasn't a QB that could win a game. Some teams win with a QB that doesn't win games but also doesn't lose them. We don't have a team that is good enough to have a QB that doesn't lose games.

 

[UVA_Guy81]

I think it'd be good for Davis to sit out a game or two (barring Hill gets hurt during those games). I would like to have him intently study how Manning dissect's defenses and learn from it. That's been a big problem of his is him not learning from mistakes. Is everything his fault? Absolutely not. The offensive line is once again injury prone and BS is an awful coordinator, which has been discussed and probably something everyone agrees with. But even when Davis has time and there's open WR's, he's not finding them and forcing throws that should not be made. And if there is no open WR's either try to run if there's a gap, take the sack or just throw the ball away if at all possible. Anything is better than throwing stupid INT's that gives the opponent great field position or where they return it for a touchdown.

 

[Vitamike]

I think it'd be good for Davis to sit out a game or two (barring Hill gets hurt during those games). I would like to have him intently study how Manning dissect's defenses and learn from it. That's been a big problem of his is him not learning from mistakes. Is everything his fault? Absolutely not. The offensive line is once again injury prone and BS is an awful coordinator, which has been discussed and probably something everyone agrees with. But even when Davis has time and there's open WR's, he's not finding them and forcing throws that should not be made. And if there is no open WR's either try to run if there's a gap, take the sack or just throw the ball away if at all possible. Anything is better than throwing stupid INT's that gives the opponent great field position or where they return it for a touchdown.

And all he will see is the amount of time Manning has to throw the ball.

Not saying that he couldn't learn a few things but when you have that glaring disparity it's only natural to only focus on that.

Point here is, he is not on the Broncos. He doesn't run a Bronco offense nor have Bronco protections or playmakers. His are all Rams and it's not as if he doesn't have opportunity as you point to UVA guy but his best film is Rams film. He can learn to find the opportunities that are here for him to convert.

 

[UVA_Guy81]

No but Peyton has always been smart with the football. He knows when not to force throws and when to take a sack or when to throw it out of bounds. Very rarely does he get flustered and make the same mistakes over and over again like Davis does.

 

[Caynine29]

If we're being honest... does it really even matter? Throw Hill back out there... stick with Davis. Hell... we could go ahead and trot Johnny Hekker out there for all I care. For all intents and purposes, the 2014 season is over for the St. Louis Rams. Face it... we don't have a full-time starting caliber QB on the roster. Well... not active, at least. Nor do we have the line to protect him if we did.

Right now, it's all about talent evaluation. We're developing next year's team. We can work out which RB we're going to jettison. We can shuffle the offensive line at will and find out their strengths and weaknesses in live NFL action. Sure, we'll be giving some teams of other teams an extra practice session over the next 7 weeks. But, just think of it as scoring a much needed early jump on the 2015 offseason.

 

[BOSS429Mustang]

OK, we finally found out that Davis isn't the second coming of Brett Farve. He is certainly not what we all were hoping for. He has the fire of Bret Farve, and the inexperience and inconsistency of an undrafted FA. Probably still better than that stiff Shawn Hill, but we might as well resign ourselves to looking for a QB in the upcoming draft. Of course factoring into the equation is the incompetence of Shottenheimer to even impersonate a decent OC. He can't even pretend to know what he's doing at this point. If he was OC when we had Curt Warner, Warner probably would be managing a grocery store somewhere about now.

 

[Vitamike]

OK, we finally found out that Davis isn't the second coming of Brett Farve. He is certainly not what we all were hoping for. He has the fire of Bret Farve, and the inexperience and inconsistency of an undrafted FA. Probably still better than that stiff Shawn Hill, but we might as well resign ourselves to looking for a QB in the upcoming draft. Of course factoring into the equation is the incompetence of Shottenheimer to even impersonate a decent OC. He can't even pretend to know what he's doing at this point. If he was OC when we had Curt Warner, Warner probably would be managing a grocery store somewhere about now.

Right, CURT Warner!

That guy!

Come on Boss, fess up, you're not really a Rams fan are you?

 

[Vitamike]

No point in turning back now. If he stinks up the joint then he gets replaced in the draft.

He does look an awful lot like the Rams future backup QB

 

[jacobarch]

I just feel the jury is out on Davis.
He's shown a lot of potential and a lot of inexperience. I think we sometimes forget that he came in as a 4th string QB that hardly got any reps during practice and preseason. Yet played pretty well coming half way thru the Minnesota game. This kid has had no real time to develop. If he was a 2nd string QB for the last two years thats different as they are a lot more involved with the weekly preparations.

I'll say this. I blame half of it on him and the other half on Schitty. I have a hard time believing that almost every player we've had on this god forsaken team has regressed after their rookie year (minus Quick). That speaks a lot to coaching.

Don't be surprised if Donald and Robinson look like Jason Smith next year.

 

[UnrealTerm04]

Right, CURT Warner!

That guy!

Come on Boss, fess up, you're not really a Rams fan are you?

LOL! I KNOW RIGHT! Curt Warner was a RB for the Seahawks and the LA Rams who had a good career. Kurt Warner is a HoF QB who gave the Rams their only SB victory and who lead the Cardinals to their first SB ever.

I do this every time I see Curt Warner's name.

 

[Retroram52]

I think you know ShaneC, one of the more obvious distinctions between the two players is Curt Warner was a RB out of Penn State whose career was relatively uneventful and spells his first name with a "C" and Kurt Warner... ...well we know that history and he spells his first name with a "K". Many people get the two confused many times based on that simple distinction alone.

 

[Smed55]

Davis still has more upside than Bradford ever did! He may turn out to be a nobody, but we don't know that yet, we already know what we had, or rather didn't have in Bradford!

 

[SJ76]

Shawn Hill would have been carted off just like Palmer in that game. That pocket in AZ was collapsing on 90% of our pass plays.

Having knee jerk reactions because you are pissed is just... Dumb. Did anyone see how good Romo looked at home versus the 49ers? Would you rather have Jay Cutler? Andy Dalton?

Davis was mobile enough to make plays and KEEP US IN THE FRIGGIN GAME ON THE ROAD, AGAINST THE BEST TEAM IN THE NFC, up until the 4th Q! He played a very good 1st half people.. Geez louiz! Did you people think we would walk out of San Fran and AZ with 2 W's on the road?

You all need to slap yourselves in the face. Wake up. Many teams right now in the NFL are inconsistent and we are the youngest team in the NFL.. But we are getting better.

Do I think that we could have ran the ball more against AZ? Yes I do, but that is THE BEST RUN D IN THE NFC!! HOLY HELL PEOPLE. LOWER YOUR EXPECTATIONS AND just look for some improvement. We are not INDY, DENVER, or AZ yet. And look at our schedule! the old Rams would have packed it in and been beatin like step-children during this stretch.

Get your head out of your ass. Shawn Hill?!! Really!! After you get done slapping yourself in the face, go back and look at our schedule and notice the caliber of defenses we have been playing. Look at who's on our O-line right now. And then realize that we are still competing with the best teams in the NFC.

 

[Jermaine133]

hell I don't want Shawn Hill at QB, but regardless of the matter it is a pick 6 just about every game. Dude is holding onto the ball 2 freaking long and if he can make plays with his legs then he needs to do so. Fact of the matter is he is better than bradford which doesn't say much imho. We are young yes, young and dumb; been that way for years and i don't see it getting any better. Defense will get better for a week then fall back to shit the following. Nothing is changing, I'll believe it when i see it.

 

[SJ76]

Dude is holding onto the ball 2 freaking long and if he can make plays with
his legs then he needs to do so. Fact of the matter is he is better than
bradford which doesn't say much imho. We are young yes, young and dumb; been
that way for years and i don't see it getting any better. Defense will get
better for a week then fall back to shit the following. Nothing is changing,
I'll believe it when i see it.

I agree that Davis is holding onto the ball too long and if no one is open, then run and find 3-4 yards. It is difficult when the pass rush is coming at you so much and your O-line has back ups playing a lot. But you can't tell me after that TD pass to Cook, you weren't stoked. Did any of us think we would win that game? Not really. For a team so young and so inexperienced to beat San Fran and AZ on the road, might have taken a small miracle.

But.... Jermaine my man you need an attitude adjustment.

We are young and dumb. And we are IN football games that the previous Rams' teams would be getting blown out. You have to start somewhere right? Austin Davis DID throw another pick 6 to one of the best CBs in the league, but he also had us in the game until the 4th Q and just helped us beat San Fran.. Remember that?

Do you think our schedule is a bit brutal right now? 3 road games in a row?

Look at the NFL right now. Who is bringing it every week? Denver? AZ? Not even New England has been consistent.

I'm not trying to be an asshole, but I think people need to look at all the injuries we have had (again) and some below average drafts. How can you expect the Rams to be Denver or AZ? They are the only 2 teams that have been consistent.

 

[UnrealTerm04]

I think you know ShaneC, one of the more obvious distinctions between the two players is Curt Warner was a RB out of Penn State whose career was relatively uneventful and spells his first name with a "C" and Kurt Warner... ...well we know that history and he spells his first name with a "K". Many people get the two confused many times based on that simple distinction alone.

I know brother. Just doin' some teasing!