By Jeff Gordon
ONLINE SPORTS COLUMNIST
Sunday, Nov. 27 2005
Well all know the Houston Texans are truly dreadful.
At 1-10, they are racing toward first place in the Reggie Bush Race. They
heading for a complete overhaul -- with a new, offensive-minded head coach
(Mike Martz?) to be hired and the remarkable Bush waiting to be drafted first
overall.
There is a lot wrong with that team. To blow a 24-3 halftime lead, at home,
against the reeling Rams . . . well, that’s just awful.
But enough of the legal disclaimer. Despite all the mitigating circumstances,
rookie Rams quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick enjoyed an amazing afternoon.
He announced to the Rams, and the rest of the NFL, that is an outstanding
quarterback prospect. He is no more than that after one game, of course, but he
is no less either.
Fitzpatrick has a great arm, but the Rams have had plenty of young quarterbacks
with great arms. Remember Kirk Farmer?
He has a tremendous feel for the offense, but we were told that other
youngsters had a great feel, too. Remember Joe Germaine?
He is unusually intelligent, having played and studied in the Ivy League. He is
highly mobile, an element the Rams have lacked since Trent Green suffered that
catastrophic knee injury.
All those elements are great. We saw them in training camp and we saw them in
preseason play.
But a lot of guys look great playing make-believe. The real games – even
against woeful opponents – finally show what a quarterback can and cannot do.
By rallying the Rams to their 33-27 victory at Houston, Fitzpatrick earned the
right to finish out the season as the Rams quarterback, ahead of career back-up
Jamie Martin.
He earned the right to spend next season as
Marc Bulger’s understudy, preparing
to step in should Bulger go down again.
We know Fitzpatrick will take some lumps from here on out this season. The Rams
will play some very good teams down the stretch.
Opposing defensive coordinators will game-plan against the rookie, disguising
their coverages and devising ways to apply pressure on him. Given the state of
the Rams offensive line, he will take some pops.
Odds are, Fitzpatrick will cost the Rams a game or two this season by making
rookie mistakes. He is a confident, aggressive quarterback – so he’ll likely
put some passes into harm’s way.
There is something there, though. His confidence is contagious. So is his calm.
The guy was out there playing pitch and catch Sunday. He was smiling on the
sidelines, the picture of relaxation.
We’re more accustomed to seeing the deer-in-the-headlines look when a
quarterback is setting his first real NFL action. Fitzpatrick never acted
nervous. He never made a jittery play.
Martz was right this time. He has raved about a lot of kids over the years,
lathering up the unfortunate likes of Farmer and Travis Scott with hyperbole.
Those guys were nothing more than camp fodder, regardless of what Coach said.
But Fitzpatrick is different. He beat out Jeff Smoker for the No. 3 job, going
away. Their “competition” wasn’t even close.
Ryan showed enough in preseason play to excite Rams Nation. Once Bulger was
eradicated for the second time – and once the Rams hit bottom at 4-6, losing to
the Cardinals – fans clamored to see the kid play ahead of Martin.
Once Martin went down with another concussion Sunday, we saw what the fuss was.
Fitzpatrick just kept firing Sunday, even when all appeared lost.
Torry Holt responded to him. So did Isaac Bruce, Shaun McDonald and finally
Kevin Curtis. He oozed command out there. Fitzpatrick threw deep, with
authority, and he was reasonably accurate on his intermediate throws too.
So now we have a reason to watch the Rams play out their string this season,
even if their playoffs hopes remain bleak. The Next One is in the house.
Linear Mode
