Chris Givens Is Showing Versatility

The St. Louis Rams wide receivers are young, hungry, and determined to prove to league that they can be great. They will have a long way to go, but one of the most important receivers is Chris Givens, a player whom I wrote about a couple days earlier. He will be trying to avoid the dreadful sophomore slump. In the article I highlighted that one of the ways that Givens can avoid a slump is working on different routes and incorporating it in his overall game.

So it wasn't a surprise when Nick Wagner the senior writer of the Rams official site, had some interesting information about Givens. Here's a short excerpt from his article.

Another reason Givens added some weight/muscle was to help him diversify his game. After working exclusively catching the deep ball and then doing some stuff in the screen game, Givens said it was imperative to diversify his game a bit by adding intermediate routes and working on that. Added bulk can help him take on some of the hits he’ll see if and when he goes over the middle more.

- Asked Bradford about Givens’ work in the offseason and Bradford made it a point to mention how Givens is showing a lot of versatility and that versatility is going hand in hand with expanded route concepts that Givens is taking on. Instead of playing exclusively on the outside, Givens is moving into the slot some, working on the opposite side a bit, etc. That’s allowing him to run more of those aforementioned routes. It’s something Bradford believes will be very beneficial for Givens and for the offense in 2013.

This is great news. Givens did most of his damage attacking deep last season, which wouldn't be a big problem this year if the Rams had more experience talent with him. Givens knows that he will be depended upon heavily this season and this is his response to it.

For those that want an explosive offense this should be a great sign. Moving Givens sometimes to the slot, or to the opposite side of the field than where he was the play before will prove to be a headache for defenses. Then you will have Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey moving around also, and well let's just say that if everyone stays healthy the offense will be explosive.

Givens will be "The Guy" for the Rams, at least in the beginning. He's the guy that defensive coordinators will worry about and he is the best deep threat on the team. The Rams offensive will most likely be a unit, but that unit will need Givens to be at his best if they want to worry defenses.