WR Brian Quick

St. Louis Rams As the St. Louis Rams prepare to enter their third training camp under coach Jeff Fisher, much will hinge on the ability of the team's many young players to turn potential into production. St. Louis Rams In this final week before camp officially begins, St. Louis Rams we take a look at some players who must take the next step either to preserve their jobs, St. Louis Rams help the team reach its first winning record since 2003 or, St. Louis Rams to the team's preference, both. The Rams spent the first pick of the second round in the 2012 NFL draft on the raw but talented wideout from Appalachian State. St. Louis Rams Quick has tantalized on the practice field with his combination of size and speed but has been unable to consistently turn that into production. St. Louis Rams In two seasons, Quick has appeared in 31 games with 29 catches for 458 yards and four touchdowns. Rams quarterbacks have targeted Quick 61 times in those games. To his credit, the 6-foot-3, 218-pound receiver has become a solid blocker in the run game but that has probably been his greatest contribution thus far. There was little doubt that Quick would take some time to develop upon arriving in St. Louis. He was far from a polished product when he got to St. Louis after playing at a small school with little experience running the NFL route tree or playing in a pro-style offense. But the Rams spent a valuable pick on Quick with other, more accomplished receivers on the board and did so despite the need for more production at the position. St. Louis Rams They did it based largely on an impressive private workout in the pre-draft process. They've been patient with Quick, St. Louis Rams hoping that he would break out further into his career much like Tampa Bay's Vincent Jackson, who profiled similar to Quick when he came into the league. It's now Quick's third season and the time for talking about his development is about over. St. Louis Rams The Rams need production from their receiver group, regardless of who it is. St. Louis Rams Given his draft position and potential, Quick making the leap forward would be a welcome sight. Quick is one of about six receivers on the roster who figure to make the 53-man roster, St. Louis Rams but this training camp should offer a fairly open competition for how those wideouts fit on the depth chart. St. Louis Rams Chris Givens and Tavon Austin seem poised for large roles in the offense but there is still plenty of room for Quick to step in and stake his claim to an expanded role. St. Louis Rams It's folly to expect Quick's step forward to result in a 1,000-yard, St. Louis Rams 10-touchdown season or something close to that but if he could exceed his combined career numbers in the 2014 season and still provide solid run blocking on the edge, he'd at least become a valuable contributor with solid footing for the future. St. Louis Rams If Quick is unable to do much more than he has in his first two seasons, it's fair to wonder where he fits long term, St. Louis Rams.

SCOTT WELLS, THE DONUT EFFECT

St. Louis Rams a hole in the middle. The same thing that makes a donut a donut can also make an offensive line into a complete disaster, St. Louis Rams I went back through some old posts and found one from Week 12, when the Rams’ offense was finally hitting its stride. St. Louis Rams Zac Stacy had cemented his role as a workhorse back, Tavon was making electric plays, and a new Ram Tough identity appeared to be taking shape. We called it “a turning point.” Then, in week 13, St. Louis Rams Scott Wells’ season-ending injury had a donut effect on the Rams’ interior blocking, especially in the run game. St. Louis Rams I followed up on the stats from that “turning point” article and fleshed out the run blocking numbers for the rest of the season. The results are downright frightening. In these charts, St. Louis Rams focus on the black bars for a moment. These tell you the average number of yards, per carry, a Rams RB traveled before meeting a tackler. (The red bars show you how many more yards that RB gained after contact.) You’ll be forgiven if you need a microscope to find any evidence of those easy yards after Wells’ injury. There may be other factors at play, such as quality of opponent or the collateral damage of Tavon Austin’s missed time, but from a pure line-play perspective, the drop-off is severe with Tim Barnes at center rather than Wells. (More disconcerting is that presumptive future center Barrett Jones couldn’t unseat Barnes, despite being healthy by this time of the year.) This may be curious to anyone who has looked at Pro Football Focus’ player ratings. They don’t have Wells particularly highly rated in run blocking, ranking him 30th of 35 starting centers. St. Louis Rams On a per-snap basis, Wells and Barnes are scored relatively equally in blocking prowess. Clearly, the numbers say something different. St. Louis Rams Evan Glantz of Cover32 Rams recently wrote a good piece detailing the Rams veterans that will need to step up their game in 2014. St. Louis Rams My humble addition to this list, wrap Wells up in bubble tape. Put him in the witness protection program until he’s needed on Sundays. Give him one of these. St. Louis Rams Whatever it takes. While we’re all excited about the possibilities of what new additions Greg Robinson and Tre Mason can bring to the run game, they can’t do much to prevent the donut effect if Wells goes down again, St. Louis Rams.