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YOUNGBLOOD85
Brian Quick signing with the Redskins is another example of a player the Rams drafted who had all the physical tools but lacked an NFL mind and could not be counted on when his number was called. There are others on this team that fall into the same category the most obvious being Greg Robinson. List here on this thread the other great athletes that mentally couldn't put it all together while wearing a Ram uniform over the years. Here are just a few:
Greg Robinson
Brian Quick
Jason Smith
Alex Barron
Just my own take, and I'm probably in a very small minority on this board, but I think even a half-way decent staff would have found a way to utilize Quick's amazing gifts while minimizing his defects. I have no doubt, for instance, that if he had been drafted by the hated Pats, or the Steelers, or the Packers, or the Falcons, he'd be thriving right now.
The
Rams screwed up. It's on them, not Quick, in my view. They knew what they were getting when they drafted him, and they did all the wrong things when it comes to dealing with a player with his package of freakish athleticism and possible LD. The latter is just a layman's guess, and I have zero proof for that, obviously. But I think it's likely, observing from a distance.
Likely the same issue with Robinson. I have no idea regarding Smith and Barron, other than to say, I remember Barron playing really, really well as a rookie, and me thinking, "They hit the jackpot on this pick" at the time. Don't know why he regressed, etc. etc. And Smith, if he hadn't had multiple concussions? Who knows?
I think we fans are too Quick to pin everything on the players, and we also make the mistake of thinking of high draft picks solely in terms of when they were drafted, instead of their potential contribution to the team. If, for instance, someone drafted in the First Round plays like a Third Rounder, he's not a "bust." He just wasn't a great "value" pick. But you'd still want to retain him over someone drafted later who plays like he was drafted later (5th or 6th, etc.).