People may question Brian Quick's bona fides, but nobody should question the rookie's desire to become the St. Louis Rams' top wide receiver.
Quick spent some time after practice this week with Sam Bradford and Brandon Gibson, running extra routes, learning the finer points of the pro game and developing a rapport with his quarterback. It was part catch up session after missing last week's OTAs for the NFLPA Rookie Premiere event and just plain dedication.
Bradford singled out Quick in comments to the media.
"I was working with him a little bit after practice today and it's just extremely impressive watching him move," Bradford said. "As big as he is, as tall as he is, he gets in and out of breaks really well. He's fast as well."
The third-year quarterback also noted that Quick was, so far, living up to advanced billing from head coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead.
"I know that Coach Fish and Schotty (Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer) and Les Snead went out and worked several wide receivers out and they all came back raving about Quick," Bradford revealed. "They said he might have had...actually I know they said he had the best workout of any of the receivers that they worked out. I was extremely excited to see him when he got here last week and he had the opportunity to get on the field. It was pretty exciting just to see him out there moving."
The Rams have a lengthy profile on Quick on the team's web site, that is well worth your time to read. Of all the quotes from Quick in that feature, this one stood out to me:
"I am excited about playing but like I said, we are going to take it one step at a time," Quick said. "Who knows what is going to happen? I hope for the best. I hope I get to play but I'll have the right attitude about it and I'm going to do all we can to help us win games."
Yes, it's not out of line with typical draft pick talking points, but when you layer it with the visible dedication Quick has shown on the field, it comes across as more than just a platitude.
Make no mistake about it, if Quick can contribute this season, it significantly improves the Rams chances of getting back on track sooner rather than later.