Jeff Fisher says Brian Quick 'needs to catch the football'Alden Gonzalez
ESPN Staff Writer
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IRVINE, Calif. -- Los Angeles Rams coach Jeff Fisher was asked about the development of his wide receivers on Sunday and spoke well about the main ones, from Kenny Britt to Tavon Austin to Pharoh Cooper.
Then he got to Brian Quick.
"Brian needs to catch the football," Fisher said. "Your receivers have to catch it, not drop it."
Catching is indeed the fundamental skill required, and it is one Quick continues to struggle with. Quick's catch percentage last season, 31.3, was the eighth-lowest in the NFL. He had 32 targets and hauled in only 10 of those. And on Saturday, a 21-20 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, Quick played with the second-team offense and caught only two of the five passes thrown to him by rookie quarterback Jared Goff.
"It just happens, man," Quick said after Monday's practice. "... I'm a vet, so there's no way I would let something like that get to me. I wish I could've had them. I'm good for that. I feel like I'm better as far as knowing what I'm supposed to do on the field. I'm disappointed, of course, but I'm not worried about that."
The Rams drafted Quick 33rd overall out of Appalachian State in 2012 and have been waiting for him to live up to his promise ever since. The 27-year-old has an enticing build at 6-foot-3 and 218 pounds but has displayed a propensity for struggling with the most elementary of tasks, whether it's running routes or securing catches.
Saturday might have provided another example.
With 10 minutes left in the second quarter, Quick ran a curl route and the ball was on him as soon as he turned around. It hit his hands and trickled out of bounds. He ran a crossing route with 7:12 left in the half and gained 10 yards, but then Goff threw to Quick despite having a defender nearby, resulting in a pass break-up early in the second half. Quick later ran a slant route with 8:30 left in the third quarter and dropped a fairly easy catch but finished his night with a 17-yard reception across the middle.
"I have confidence in my hands," Quick said. "Most of those things are just timing anyway, with the quarterback and me."
Quick was seemingly on his way to steady production early in the 2014 season, catching 21 passes for 322 yards through the first four games. But then he tore his rotator cuff in Week 7, sat out the rest of the season and struggled in 2015.
The Rams resigned Quick on a one-year contract, guaranteeing him $1.5 million. But his roster spot does not appear secure, regardless of how thin the receiving corps might be. Second-year pro Bradley Marquez and four rookies -- Paul McRoberts, Duke Williams, Michael Thomas and Nelson Spruce, who had a big performance in Week 1 -- could all give Quick competition for what appear to be three open spots.
Quick is trying to fight for his spot "every day."
"I feel like I have to show something every day," Quick said. "I don’t care where my spot is as far as the roster. I have to make sure I compete out here every day. I have something to prove -- every single rep, every single day. I love what I do. I have to come out here and show it every time I’m on the field."
