Robert Quinn looks like he's regained his All-Pro form of 2013

Robert Quinn looks like he's regained his All-Pro form of 2013 after back problems ruined last season

By RICH HAMMOND / STAFF WRITER

[www.ocregister.com]

THOUSAND OAKS – Robert Quinn is back. This is different from Robert Quinn’s back, which caused him so much trouble in 2015 that nobody knew what to expect from the Rams’ defensive end this season.

Widespread pain, and subsequent back surgery, cost Quinn half of last season and unfortunately made it fair to question whether Quinn, in his prime NFL years, ever would return to top form. Through the first two games of this season, the answer seems to be affirmative.

Quinn recorded a sack and a forced fumble in Sunday’s victory over Seattle. Even when he doesn’t get to the ball, Quinn has been a disruptive force as an edge rusher. In two games, Quinn has recorded four quarterback hits, second on the team to star tackle Aaron Donald.

One of the NFL’s top defensive players three years ago, Quinn quickly is returning to that level.

“He’s slowly working back to being that 2013 Rob Quinn,” fellow defensive end William Hayes said after Tuesday’s practice at Cal Lutheran. “He’s putting in that work, and you’re starting to see the little things. He’s starting to look really fluid again.”

The Seattle game showed what Quinn can bring to the Rams’ defense. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson wasn’t at full strength because of a sprained ankle the previous week. Quinn, rushing from Wilson’s blind side, regularly sent Wilson on the run and put him in uncomfortable situations.

Quinn recorded one of the Rams’ two sacks on Wilson, and the Rams’ defense held Wilson to 14 rushing yards. Wilson passed for 254 yards, but 53 came on one final-drive completion.

“We had our game plan,” Quinn said. “We had a mix of defensive coverages to make it tough on him, but that’s what any defense does, give a quarterback different looks.”

It was a solid turnaround for the Rams. Quinn played well in the opener at San Francisco, but the defense allowed four touchdowns and the Rams lost, 28-0.

“We knew we had to play better,” Quinn said, “and we used how bad we played the first game for a little motivation. We realized we need more from everybody and I think everyone stood up and made a play when needed.”

Things are far from perfect, but Quinn’s return has allowed the Rams’ defense to look complete again.

A year ago, the team thought it had everything lined up nicely. Quinn and Donald would form an outside-inside combination that would cause headaches for even the most stout of offensive lines.

“He’s a significant part of our defense,” Hayes said. “He does everything. He takes a lot of pressure off us. He’s going to demand a double team and AD is going to demand a double team, so that’s going to leave a lot of people one on one. That opens up a lot of things.”

Donald, a rookie, held up his end but Quinn labored. He suffered through early-season knee and hip pain and before doctors finally determined that Quinn’s back was causing the problems.

Quinn underwent surgery in December and it went well, but the recovery kept Quinn out of most of the team’s OTA practice work in June and even this year’s first preseason game (out of precaution).

The Rams felt confident, though, that it was only a matter of time before Quinn would return to normal. During the first OTA practice in Oxnard, Quinn went diving at a tackling dummy and an assistant coach had to tell him to pull back, that he shouldn’t be going full-speed just yet.

Fisher said he felt assured in July in Irvine, on the first day of training camp, when the Rams wanted to delay Quinn’s conditioning test but Quinn insisted upon taking it.

“When I saw him do the conditioning test, he had made significant strides from OTAs,” Fisher said. “He’s back. His weight is great. His strength is good. No issues.”

That means “issues” for opposing offenses, including this week’s opponent, Tampa Bay.

The Rams drafted Quinn out of North Carolina with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2011 draft, and it didn’t take long for Quinn to make an impact. In the final week of the 2013 season, Quinn set a Rams single-season record with his 18th sack.

Quinn was an All-Pro selection that season and made the Pro Bowl in 2013 and 2014, which made his inability to build on that in 2015 all the more frustrating. Quinn was out of action by last December, when the Rams beat Tampa Bay, 31-23.

Quinn and the Rams’ defensive front face another notable challenge this week in Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston, who will attempt to bounce back from Sunday’s brutal loss to Arizona.

Winston completed 27 of 52 attempts for 243 yards and one touchdown, threw four interceptions and was sacked twice. Still, Winston has one of the strongest arms in the league and, in the opener, he passed for 281 yards and four touchdowns in a victory over Atlanta.

“He can push the ball down the field and he’s got outstanding weapons outside,” Fisher said. “So that’s the concern. He sees the field well, and if he needs to pull it down and run, he can. He can extend plays and he has made some great throws.”

The Rams will counter with Quinn, who appears to be back in All-Pro form nine months after significant surgery.

“I feel fine,” Quinn said. “Me and the trainers put in work this whole offseason, trying to get back to normal. Every day has been a grind.”