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The St. Louis Rams may have had a forgettable season, but it was a huge campaign for backup quarterback Austin Davis. Before the preseason started, the depth chart had Sam Bradford, Shaun Hill and rookie Garrett Gilbert listed ahead of Davis. Bradford tore his ACL during a preseason game and was lost for the year, Davis beat out Gilbert for the final quarterback spot on the roster, and Hill suffered a thigh injury in Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings. As a result, Davis became the unlikely starting quarterback for the Rams.
Davis had his high and low points during the season, but it was enough to have teams curious about him as he enters free agency. Admittedly, he didn’t become the next Kurt Warner like many hoped for, but he gained he played well at times and attracted some suitors. That said, what’s next for Davis?
The good: Hill was unable to go in Week 2, and that was the start of the rise in Davis. He held the starting job for more than half of the season even when Hill was healthy enough to return.
Davis recorded over 300 yards passing in two different games. In Week 3, he threw for 327 yards and two touchdowns in a loss against the Dallas Cowboys, and in Week 5, he compiled an impressive 375 yards and three touchdowns in a loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. Part of his success was making smart decisions with his passes. Davis didn’t take a lot of chances downfield, but it was unneeded considering the success he found with shorter passes. Most impressive of all was how well he kept his composure with the offensive line struggling.
While the majority of his stats aren’t breathtaking, one thing that could be said about Davis is that he found ways to win. Two of his impressive victories came from NFC West rivals Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers in Weeks 7 and 9. For being such a young, inexperienced quarterback, Davis had a remarkable knack for being a leader. However, he also had his faults.
The bad: One of the keys to Davis’s short-lived success was the fact that he was under the radar. There wasn’t a whole lot of film on him and defenses didn’t know how to read him. A couple of games into the season and defenses started giving him a hard time.
Davis had a bad habit of holding on to the ball too long under pressure. Bad habits like that contributed to the loss of his starting job, especially during Week 10 against the Arizona Cardinals.
Scanning the field was not his strongsuit either. An important tool for a NFL quarterback is downfield vision and too many times Davis failed to survey the field completely. It had to have been frustrating for guys like Kenny Britt and Brian Quick, who often fell victim to Davis’s lack of vision. There were a couple of games the Rams barely lost from simple mistakes that could have been avoided if Davis didn’t force passes into tight coverage.
Another bad habit he picked up was his atrocious footwork. Realistically, no quarterback should ever attempt to throw off his back foot, but Davis did this constantly under pressure, which resulted in multiple incompletions and turnovers. Anxiousness was the final nail to his starting role coffin.
The Unknown: So what does this mean for Davis’s future? On one hand, Davis lost his starting position to an aging veteran in Hill. On the other hand, he was playing for a 6-10 Rams team and did have some impressive outings. Davis may have done enough to spark some interest from multiple teams that have quarterback issues. That said, it is doubtful that any team will attempt to make him their starter. Davis will most likely continue to have a backup role, but one where teams will covet him since he has some starting experience. His future can be similar to Hill’s career; teams may not want him to be their starter, but he is a serviceable backup.
In terms of his future with the Rams, it’s possible that they could bring him back but not likely. There aren’t any appealing quarterbacks in free agency and unless the Rams trade up, they won’t be in any position to draft a “NFL ready” quarterback. This means most likely Bradford will be starter once again. The Rams will need a veteran quarterback to back him up, which will likely be Hill. The last spot will go to a project quarterback that the Rams can draft in the second or third round and potentially mold him into a starting role in the future. That leaves Davis probably finding a job elsewhere, but rest assured he will continue to be a NFL quarterback.
Source: Pro-sports-reference.com
You can follow Johnny Gomez on Twitter @Johnny5not6. Be sure to follow Rams Talk on Twitter @TalkRams.
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The St. Louis Rams may have had a forgettable season, but it was a huge campaign for backup quarterback Austin Davis. Before the preseason started, the depth chart had Sam Bradford, Shaun Hill and rookie Garrett Gilbert listed ahead of Davis. Bradford tore his ACL during a preseason game and was lost for the year, Davis beat out Gilbert for the final quarterback spot on the roster, and Hill suffered a thigh injury in Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings. As a result, Davis became the unlikely starting quarterback for the Rams.
Davis had his high and low points during the season, but it was enough to have teams curious about him as he enters free agency. Admittedly, he didn’t become the next Kurt Warner like many hoped for, but he gained he played well at times and attracted some suitors. That said, what’s next for Davis?
The good: Hill was unable to go in Week 2, and that was the start of the rise in Davis. He held the starting job for more than half of the season even when Hill was healthy enough to return.
Davis recorded over 300 yards passing in two different games. In Week 3, he threw for 327 yards and two touchdowns in a loss against the Dallas Cowboys, and in Week 5, he compiled an impressive 375 yards and three touchdowns in a loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. Part of his success was making smart decisions with his passes. Davis didn’t take a lot of chances downfield, but it was unneeded considering the success he found with shorter passes. Most impressive of all was how well he kept his composure with the offensive line struggling.
While the majority of his stats aren’t breathtaking, one thing that could be said about Davis is that he found ways to win. Two of his impressive victories came from NFC West rivals Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers in Weeks 7 and 9. For being such a young, inexperienced quarterback, Davis had a remarkable knack for being a leader. However, he also had his faults.
The bad: One of the keys to Davis’s short-lived success was the fact that he was under the radar. There wasn’t a whole lot of film on him and defenses didn’t know how to read him. A couple of games into the season and defenses started giving him a hard time.
Davis had a bad habit of holding on to the ball too long under pressure. Bad habits like that contributed to the loss of his starting job, especially during Week 10 against the Arizona Cardinals.
Scanning the field was not his strongsuit either. An important tool for a NFL quarterback is downfield vision and too many times Davis failed to survey the field completely. It had to have been frustrating for guys like Kenny Britt and Brian Quick, who often fell victim to Davis’s lack of vision. There were a couple of games the Rams barely lost from simple mistakes that could have been avoided if Davis didn’t force passes into tight coverage.
Another bad habit he picked up was his atrocious footwork. Realistically, no quarterback should ever attempt to throw off his back foot, but Davis did this constantly under pressure, which resulted in multiple incompletions and turnovers. Anxiousness was the final nail to his starting role coffin.
The Unknown: So what does this mean for Davis’s future? On one hand, Davis lost his starting position to an aging veteran in Hill. On the other hand, he was playing for a 6-10 Rams team and did have some impressive outings. Davis may have done enough to spark some interest from multiple teams that have quarterback issues. That said, it is doubtful that any team will attempt to make him their starter. Davis will most likely continue to have a backup role, but one where teams will covet him since he has some starting experience. His future can be similar to Hill’s career; teams may not want him to be their starter, but he is a serviceable backup.
In terms of his future with the Rams, it’s possible that they could bring him back but not likely. There aren’t any appealing quarterbacks in free agency and unless the Rams trade up, they won’t be in any position to draft a “NFL ready” quarterback. This means most likely Bradford will be starter once again. The Rams will need a veteran quarterback to back him up, which will likely be Hill. The last spot will go to a project quarterback that the Rams can draft in the second or third round and potentially mold him into a starting role in the future. That leaves Davis probably finding a job elsewhere, but rest assured he will continue to be a NFL quarterback.
Source: Pro-sports-reference.com
You can follow Johnny Gomez on Twitter @Johnny5not6. Be sure to follow Rams Talk on Twitter @TalkRams.
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