The St. Louis Rams lack an elite wide receiver. This isn't breaking news by any means, but it was basically confirmed by Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer in a terrific article by Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Today I want to try to read between the lines on Schotty's comments. How much of what he said should be chalked up to "preseason PR spin," and how much of it is true?
Schotty Talking About the Rams Not Having a True No. 1 Wide Receiver...
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"I think we have a couple guys that we're going to put in spots to make plays," Schottenheimer said. "I've been other places where you have a so-called No. 1 receiver and it's easy to double that guy.
"We're looking for a bunch of weapons. They're hard to find. We put 'em in different spots all over the field. That way, we can take advantage of matchups."
Translation: "We don't have anybody that can get open against an elite corner. We're not even going to dream of throwing at a guy like Darrelle Revis, but we might be able to work on some No. 2 or No. 3 corners."
My take: Come on Schotty! If they are double teaming somebody, it's still 11 on 11, right? That is going to really open up another part of the field, right? You're not really trying to get us to believe that having a guy like Calvin Johnson is a bad thing, are you?
This is PR spin. It means the rookies probably aren't as far along as we hoped, and Danny Amendola is still the Rams' best receiver. Yikes.
Schotty Basically Saying No Receiver Has Seperated Himself...
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"It's still very fluid," Schottenheimer said. "There's going to be a lot of combinations that you guys will see, even working through the second and third preseason game as we're just trying to evaluate everybody."
"A lot of the young guys are coming along," Schottenheimer said. "I think you see a guy like Brian Quick picking it up now. For him, third, fourth time (going through the offense) he's starting to get it. Chris Givens is showing up."
Translation: "We don't know what to make of the situation when Brandon Gibson is outplaying all these guys we picked to replace him. And all that 'Brian Quick is the next Terrell Owens hype,' well you can pump the brakes on that stuff right now. Because this isn't Appalachian State."
My take: What this really means is we have some guys who look decent in the slot, but no threats on the outside. Amendola, as we know, is a nice weapon in the slot. Steve Smith led the NFL in receptions playing for the New York Giants, and he worked primarily out of the slot. Even Greg Salas, who did a nice job last year as a rookie before he broke his leg, was mainly playing in the slot, having replaced Amendola after that gruesome elbow injury.
Brian Quick and Chris Givens, for the love of Issac Bruce, please stand up.
Schotty Talking About All These Tight Ends They Have in Camp...
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"We've got a lot of guys," Schottenheimer said. "It's probably the deepest tight end group I've ever been around in terms of not only just numbers, but of good players. It'll be good to get Lance going, let him get some work (in preseason play)."
"I've always thought that if you have tight ends that can play multiple spots, it makes it harder for the defense," Schottenheimer said. "If guys are interchangeable, you can do one thing one week, and the very next week just flip the pieces."
 Translation: "Why did Lance Kendricks only catch 28 passes last year? Because this guy looks like he could be really good. I need to see him play against other competition to really see how much better he is than all these non-drafted free agents we have in camp."Â
My Take: Kendricks, outside of Sam Bradford and Steven Jackson, is the key guy in this offense. With the way the Rams are going to pound the run and simplify the passing game, Kendricks has a chance to be a dynamic weapon over the middle and down the seam.
I agree 100 percent with Schotty. It would be great to get Kendricks going.
Schotty Talking About Bradford...
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"We got on him a little bit the other dayâ€"just some mental things and stuff that came up," Schottenheimer said.
"It'll be good for him to get in the (Indianapolis) game and play a little bit," Schottenheimer said. "Obviously, he's not going to play very long. We'll get him mixed in and get him a completion or two."
Translation: "We're coaching Sam hard, and that's a good thing. He's getting better. We're hoping he plays well in this first preseason game, but we're going to get him out of there ASAP so Saffold and Smith don't get him killed."
My Take: I think Bradford takes a step forward this year and plays a lot better. He's being held accountable, and he's in a system that isn't going to allow him to get beat up.
Schotty Talking About the O-Line...
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"I tell you what, I think this defensive line we're going against (in practice) is one of the best in the league," Schottenheimer said. "A lot of people are going to have problems with those guys. You've almost got to be perfect with your fundamentals and your sets to block those guys. Because not only are they great edge rushers with speed, but they play so hard that it's not only the first effort, but the second and third effort. You've got to sustain that block."
Translation: "If you think it's so easy to block Robert Quinn and Chris Long, you get out there and do it! Our D-line is freaking awesome! They are going for 25 to 30 sacks between the two of them this year, so yeah, we're having a hard time blocking them in camp."
My Take: Can't say I argue with his assessment of the Rams D-line. However, these guys Smith and Saffold have to block on Sundays, they get paid to play also. I bet they try to get after Sam Bradford a little bit.
If the Rams young tackles will just compete everyday in practice, they have to get better, right? Because going up against great competition can only make you better. I just hope both of these guys know their future in St. Louis is on the line.
There is no way Jeff Fisher and company are going to allow the nonsense that happened for the last two years to happen again. It's time for both of these guys to do something or get off the pot.
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