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Greg A. Bedard earned his “Wet Blanket of

Are the Rams a Quarterback Away From Being aQuality Team?November 13, 2014 by Greg A. Bedard

In our second installment of #SettleThis, we discuss whether the Rams are just a quarterback away from being a goodteam, whether Mike McCarthy should have pulled Aaron Rodgers so early against the Bears, what constitutes asuccessful season in pro sports, and why Brandon Tate takes some of Adam Jones’s returns for the Bengals.

If you have any suggestions for future topics, email talkback@themmqb.com with the subject like #SettleThis, or tweet at@GregABedard.

#SettleThis: Are Rams really a quarterback away from being a qualityteam? Heard it several times, but what does the film say?

— Lucas Bruton, @LukeBrute

We first need to define “quality team.” I’ll say that means a winning team, which they haven’t been since 2003, althoughthey’ve been close several times. The short answer, Lucas, is yes, because I like their defense and some of their offensivepieces. But I don’t think getting consistent quarterback play means they’ll suddenly rise to the top of the NFC West.

Consistent quality play from the quarterback position is the Rams’ biggest missing puzzle piece. How do they get that?They can’t just keep the status quo. Like I said in March about the Bengals, “If the definition of insanity is doing thesame thing over and over again, but expecting different results, then the Bengals are certifiable when it comes toquarterback Andy Dalton.” If the Rams put all their eggs in the Sam Bradford basket again, then they’re crazy andeveryone should be fired. I still think Bradford can be a good pro, but the Rams have to throw multiple options at thequarterback position and sort it out later. The new rookie contracts mandate that, and it’s borderline criminal that theRams haven’t invested in a quarterback—at least someone to develop—since taking Bradford in 2010 (2014 sixth-rounder Garrett Gilbert was cut from the practice squad a few weeks ago). The starter since Bradford went on IR, AustinDavis has certainly made some plays, but he is not an NFL starting quarterback unless he develops significantly; he doesnot see the field well enough. Shaun Hill is a solid backup.

After two ACL surgeries, Bradford can be broughtback but not at his $16.6 million salary cap number.He should return under a reduced, incentive-ladendeal. If he balks at that, the Rams should just moveon. Even if Bradford returns the team still needs afranchise quarterback for the future, and they need todraft one high. If both Bradford and the draft prospectdevelop, one can be traded down the line. That’s aproblem the Rams need to get themselves into.

But there’s still other work to be done. The interior ofthe offensive line needs to be revamped, specificallyleft guard Davin Joseph and center Scott Wells. The

Reason” nickname for his long history oftempering rabid fan enthusiasm with cold, hard,irrefutable facts. In a new column for TheMMQB, he’ll take the same approach to settleyour arguments on a weekly basis. To catch upon Settle This, CLICK HERE. Email ideas for future topics totalkback@themmqb.com with the subject like#SettleThis, or tweet at @GregABedard.

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Rams will have to make a decision on tackle JakeLong; moving on from him would save $8 millionagainst the cap. The Rams also need to find a legitNo. 1 receiver and a consistent weapon at tight end(Jared Cook has played better this year but hasn’tmaximized his physical talent). I like Tre Mason atrunning back; Tavon Austin has been used better thisseason, and the Rams have solid receivers.

Defensively, coordinator Gregg Williams could reallyuse a more dynamic middle linebacker than JamesLaurinaitis. I don’t care about tackle numbers; he’saverage against the run and poor against the pass. I’msure Laurinaitis will stick around since his capnumber drops from $9.65 million to $4.275 millionand you can certainly win with him, but the Rams cando better. Linedbacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar needs to bereplaced. Other than that, I like the pieces the Rams have on defense and Williams knows how to make them work.

So, Lucas, I believe the Rams have most of the important pieces needed and are just lacking a competent quarterbackwho can make them a quality, winning team. But taking that next step is easier said than done. They just can’t wait forBradford to get healthy again.

#SettleThis: Was Mike McCarthy right to take Aaron Rodgers out of thePackers-Bears game in the second half? Rodgers, whose six touchdownssecured the win, got to rest his hamstrings while Matt Flynn got somereps. Should McCarthy have let Rodgers play for more touchdowns? Onemore and he would have tied the NFL single-game record. Two more,and the record would have been his.

— Lawrence Jones, Rochester, N.Y.

Even though I know Rodgers likes his numbers, McCarthy made the correct call for a number of reasons, including thetwo you pointed out. Rodgers was just coming back from a hamstring injury. He’s the franchise; there’s no reason to puthim at further risk. And Flynn needs all the game action he can get, because you never know when the Rodgers mighttake a bad shot and miss a game. The Packers (6-3) will be in a fight for NFC North division crown and a playoff spotuntil the final week, so every game will be crucial. They can’t afford to slip up like last season. And, finally, it was adivision game against the Bears. I’m very much against kicking a rival when it’s down. The Bears have hit the skids, butthey’ll be back. There’s no point in giving them extra ammunition for future showdowns. Like Rodgers said after thegame, “That’s respect for the opponent and respect for the game.” Plus, as the best offensive player in the game, Rodgerswill have more opportunities to tie or break that record. Hopefully he gets a chance in a shootout, not a blowout.

#SettleThis: My friends and I have been arguing over the definition of a“successful season” in any sport. The perfect example for this argumentoccurred after the Royals lost Game 7 of the World Series. One of myfriends is from K.C. and a diehard Royals fan who was born six monthsafter their last playoff appearance. So, naturally, you’d think waiting 28years for a playoff game you would mean that 2014 was a successfulseason, right? Nope! He agrees with me: the only way for a successfulseason (in any sport) is to win the championship, regardless ofpreseason expectations. Every team at the beginning of the year shouldhave the goal of winning it all, and thus every year there is only onesuccessful team. Settles this, what defines a successful season inprofessional sports?

— Matthew

This a great question, but I don’t think there’s a universal answer. I can only put on my fan hat (Red Sox, Bruins andRutgers) and give you my take.

I think it’s a successful season when a team realizes or exceeds realistic expectations. With the Royals example, I don’tknow how you and your buddy could view that as anything other than a rousing success. It’s reasonable to bedisappointed that they didn’t win the World Series, but to be a small-market team and not only make the playoffs for thefirst time since 1985, but to also go to Game 7 of the World Series? That’s a smashing success, and what a ride it was.You’d of course love one more win, but how can you ask for more as a fan? If the Browns go the Super Bowl this yearbut lose, that’s a huge success. Sure, Brownies will be disappointed because you only get so many shots at a ring, but thatwould still be a heck of a season.

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For teams that have been previously near the top and should be there again, I think success is defined differently. Takethe Broncos and Patriots. With the body clocks ticking for Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, and with both rostersmolded to win it all, it’s hard to define success as being anything other than advancing to the Super Bowl. If the Broncosgo and fail to win it for a second straight season, I would not call that a success. Last season’s loss was disappointing, butI think it was still a success due to the length of time between appearances (same would go for a Patriots’ Super Bowlloss this season). But for the Broncos, a second straight Super Bowl loss would mean there’s something fundamentallywrong. Their roster is too talented to come up short again.

It’s similar to how I feel about my alma mater. Some Rutgers fans feel we should be happy, after so many down years,just to have winning seasons and go to lower-tier bowl games. But after so many years of having the opportunity to winconference titles and losing, I’m sorry, I don’t find a 20-17 home loss to Louisville in 2012 with a BCS berth on the linesuccessful (especially after having a 14-3 halftime lead). At some point you either take the next step, or you’ll always besomeone else’s stepstool.

#SettleThis: Why do the Bengals continue to use Brandon Tate forreturns instead of Adam Jones?

— Kelly McDonald, @mcdonaldkelly

Kelly, my guess is that you like the fact that Jones leads the NFL punt return average (14.8 yards) and is second (31.9) toMiami’s Jarvis Landry (32.0) in kickoffs. Tate, meanwhile, is at 6.0 and 21.4.

The good news, Kelly, is that Tate has returned more than one kickoff in only one game this season (against his former

team, the Patriots, when he took seven). In the past four games, Jones has returned 11 to Tate’s two. Jones has returnedeight punts to Tate’s six in the same stretch.

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To me, and probably to the Bengals, preservation has to be a factor. Jones is much more valuable as the Bengals’ nickelback than Tate is as the team’s third wide receiver. They should be picking and choosing their spots to use Jones on puntreturns, considering he’s absolutely fearless (he hasn’t fair-caught a punt since Nov. 16, 2006). That has to be a factor.

Five Thoughts Going Into Week 111) Yeah, I’m the guy who doesn’t believe Andrew Luck is a great quarterback—yet—but he has all the traits you want ina QB, and that greatness should arrive in short order. I want to see him cut down on his big mistakes in big games, andI’d like to see the rampant excuse making that people do for him cut down as well. (The Peyton Manning face has beenreplaced in Indianapolis so far by Luck’s two-handed “I’m an idiot!” helmet slap). Against the Patriots on Sunday night,Luck has a prime chance to show me what an idiot I am. Both teams will have had a week off, and Luck’s favored athome in a game that has huge playoff implications. Take the next step, Andrew.

2) Replacing an injured Carson Palmer, quarterback Drew Stanton should be able to keep the Cardinals’ ship afloatbecause the team and the coaching is that good. But make no mistake, the Cardinals will miss Palmer. He had developedinto one of the best anticipation passers in the league, and that’s a huge factor in Bruce Arians’ offense. Stanton can’tduplicate that.

3) My scouting report on new Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett from having covered him on the Patriots: big arm;struggles to read the field when pressured; will miss some easy throws and, unlike Browns QB Brian Hoyer, hiscounterpart on Sunday, Mallett doesn’t readily instill confidence in teammates. I expect Cleveland to harass Mallett intoa long afternoon in the Tom Brady Backup Bowl.

4) You can almost put Sunday’s game against the Eagles in the must-win column for the Packers. They already have onehead-to-head loss to a team (Seattle) they could be battling for an NFC wild-card spot, and falling to Philadelphia wouldmake it two. If Green Bay loses, it would have to root for the Eagles to win the NFC East so Dallas would be in the wild-card hunt. A loss would drop the Packers to 6-4 (4-4 in NFC); Dallas is 7-3 (4-3) and on a bye. This game will be won orlost based on the matchup between the Eagles’ offensive line and the interior of the Packers’ defensive front.

5) Detroit’s Calvin Johnson vs. Arizona’s Patrick Peterson on Sunday afternoon. Set the DVR.

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