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Like most teams in the NFL, attrition begins to take its toll on rosters around the league the deeper into the season you get. That’s certainly held true in the case of the Rams and nowhere is that more evident than at the receiver position.
At a position that was short on experience entering the season, there’s been only one constant. That constant is a blur in blue, wearing No. 17 named Donnie Avery.
No matter which quarterback has been under center, the one player that signal caller has been able to count on this year is Avery, the second-year speedster out of Houston.
“You get comfortable with certain guys,” quarterback Kyle Boller said. “I just started taking reps with these guys again. Donnie is probably one of the ones I’m more comfortable with because he’s been around for training camp and mini camps and all that kind of stuff. I feel like each and every week we get more comfortable with each other. That’s the name of the game. Timing is what it’s all about.”
After an up and down start to this, his second season in the league, Avery has timed his emergence at a good time.
It’s difficult for any young player to have an immediate impact but receivers rarely make that much of a difference unless their name is Randy Moss.
In the offseason, the Rams’ receiver corps went through an extreme makeover, leaving Avery and fellow second year wideout Keenan Burton as the most tenured players at the position on the roster.
But at least entering the year, Avery was surrounded by players like Laurent Robinson and Burton, guys who had been in the new offense installed by coordinator Pat Shurmur for the entirety of the offseason program.
Fast forward to now and Avery is the only active wideout on the roster who was also on it when the preseason came to an end.
Whether he was ready for an expanded leadership role or not, Avery was thrust into it as the most experienced guy on the team.
“I don’t try to go out and yell during the week or go crazy,” Avery said. “I just try to lead by example and go out there, practice hard and hopefully go into the game, play hard and have success.”
Since the beginning of the season, the Rams have lost Robinson and Burton to season-ending injuries. Derek Stanley was released to make room for Danny Amendola and the likes of Nate Jones and Tim Carter have made appearances on the roster.
The Rams have replaced those players with youngsters like Amendola and Brandon Gibson as well as more experienced guys like Ruvell Martin and Jordan Kent.
But none of those players have been around or have the rapport with the quarterbacks like Avery and all of those receivers are quick to turn to Avery with questions.
“I just try to calm them,” Avery says of the younger wideouts. “Sometimes, I see them on the sideline with jitters and tell them I was in the same situation last year, just relax and go out there and have fun. It’s just like college except you are playing against grown men instead of teenagers.”
That’s a lesson Avery learned as a rookie last season. Taken with the team’s pick in the second round, Avery was the first wide receiver drafted in the 2008 NFL Draft.
Any pressure that goes with that lofty status was quickly shrugged off by Avery who became on the team’s most dynamic play makers in a four or five game stretch last October that showcased his blazing speed and big play skills.
As the season went on, though, Avery began to see more double coverage as teams began to roll safeties over the top so Avery couldn’t use his deep speed to stretch the field.
“(I was surprised at) just how fast the coverages can change and how good and layered the coverages are,” Avery said. “That part is hard to get a hold of.”
Still, Avery posted 53 receptions for 674 yards and three touchdowns and added a touchdown on the ground off an end around.
When the Rams opted to make a coaching change in the offseason, Avery found himself learning his second system in as many seasons.
That made for another difficult transition but at least this time Avery was learning along with the rest of his teammates.
Avery was unconcerned with the pressure of being the team’s top receiver after a flurry of moves left him as the team’s most accomplished wideout. His focus was more on the fundamentals and details of the game.
“I can honestly say I am more relaxed,” Avery said. “I know what I am doing when it comes to reading coverages and trying to get open for the quarterback. Different plays, just by reading the coverages I can now tell if the ball is coming to me or not. Then when it comes down to blocking, I know what man I have to be on whether it’s the safety or getting to the corner. It’s just stuff like that.”
In addition to his expanded leadership role for the team’s young wideouts, Avery is also making his strides in a larger role on the field.
After a rough start to this season, Avery has become a reliable target and leads the Rams in touchdown receptions.
Avery remains confident that staying in a system longer will only make him better in the future.
“This year, it’s a different system than last year,” Avery said. “I am pretty sure next year will be a lot easier because I will be in the same system for a second year which should make it twice as easy as it is this year.”
For most of his young career and particularly toward the end of this season, Avery is establishing himself as exactly what the Rams have been looking for: a potential big time play maker with the ability to change the game any time he touches the ball.
Avery is the fastest Ram and perhaps among the fastest players in the league. Before the 2008 draft, Avery trained with Tennessee running back Chris Johnson and Arizona cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, two players widely considered among the fastest in the league.
In those training sessions, Avery would regularly push both players to the brink and clock the same time in the 40-yard dash.
Johnson and Rodgers-Cromartie are viewed as dangerous play makers on their teams now, much in the way Avery is trying to build his reputation. Through 12 games, Avery had caught 90 passes in his young career with 62 of those grabs going for a touchdown or a first down.
In just the past nine games, Avery has had 27 catches with 22 of those (81.5 percent) going for touchdowns or first downs.
Maybe it’s not known yet but Avery appears to be on his way to becoming a play maker along the lines of his speedy brethren.
“Every receiver wants to be a big play guy,” Avery said. “But that’s my role being a smaller receiver than the rest of the guys. I have to try to get down the field and make things happen.”
-Nick Wagnor
Stlouisrams.com
At a position that was short on experience entering the season, there’s been only one constant. That constant is a blur in blue, wearing No. 17 named Donnie Avery.
No matter which quarterback has been under center, the one player that signal caller has been able to count on this year is Avery, the second-year speedster out of Houston.
“You get comfortable with certain guys,” quarterback Kyle Boller said. “I just started taking reps with these guys again. Donnie is probably one of the ones I’m more comfortable with because he’s been around for training camp and mini camps and all that kind of stuff. I feel like each and every week we get more comfortable with each other. That’s the name of the game. Timing is what it’s all about.”
After an up and down start to this, his second season in the league, Avery has timed his emergence at a good time.
It’s difficult for any young player to have an immediate impact but receivers rarely make that much of a difference unless their name is Randy Moss.
In the offseason, the Rams’ receiver corps went through an extreme makeover, leaving Avery and fellow second year wideout Keenan Burton as the most tenured players at the position on the roster.
But at least entering the year, Avery was surrounded by players like Laurent Robinson and Burton, guys who had been in the new offense installed by coordinator Pat Shurmur for the entirety of the offseason program.
Fast forward to now and Avery is the only active wideout on the roster who was also on it when the preseason came to an end.
Whether he was ready for an expanded leadership role or not, Avery was thrust into it as the most experienced guy on the team.
“I don’t try to go out and yell during the week or go crazy,” Avery said. “I just try to lead by example and go out there, practice hard and hopefully go into the game, play hard and have success.”
Since the beginning of the season, the Rams have lost Robinson and Burton to season-ending injuries. Derek Stanley was released to make room for Danny Amendola and the likes of Nate Jones and Tim Carter have made appearances on the roster.
The Rams have replaced those players with youngsters like Amendola and Brandon Gibson as well as more experienced guys like Ruvell Martin and Jordan Kent.
But none of those players have been around or have the rapport with the quarterbacks like Avery and all of those receivers are quick to turn to Avery with questions.
“I just try to calm them,” Avery says of the younger wideouts. “Sometimes, I see them on the sideline with jitters and tell them I was in the same situation last year, just relax and go out there and have fun. It’s just like college except you are playing against grown men instead of teenagers.”
That’s a lesson Avery learned as a rookie last season. Taken with the team’s pick in the second round, Avery was the first wide receiver drafted in the 2008 NFL Draft.
Any pressure that goes with that lofty status was quickly shrugged off by Avery who became on the team’s most dynamic play makers in a four or five game stretch last October that showcased his blazing speed and big play skills.
As the season went on, though, Avery began to see more double coverage as teams began to roll safeties over the top so Avery couldn’t use his deep speed to stretch the field.
“(I was surprised at) just how fast the coverages can change and how good and layered the coverages are,” Avery said. “That part is hard to get a hold of.”
Still, Avery posted 53 receptions for 674 yards and three touchdowns and added a touchdown on the ground off an end around.
When the Rams opted to make a coaching change in the offseason, Avery found himself learning his second system in as many seasons.
That made for another difficult transition but at least this time Avery was learning along with the rest of his teammates.
Avery was unconcerned with the pressure of being the team’s top receiver after a flurry of moves left him as the team’s most accomplished wideout. His focus was more on the fundamentals and details of the game.
“I can honestly say I am more relaxed,” Avery said. “I know what I am doing when it comes to reading coverages and trying to get open for the quarterback. Different plays, just by reading the coverages I can now tell if the ball is coming to me or not. Then when it comes down to blocking, I know what man I have to be on whether it’s the safety or getting to the corner. It’s just stuff like that.”
In addition to his expanded leadership role for the team’s young wideouts, Avery is also making his strides in a larger role on the field.
After a rough start to this season, Avery has become a reliable target and leads the Rams in touchdown receptions.
Avery remains confident that staying in a system longer will only make him better in the future.
“This year, it’s a different system than last year,” Avery said. “I am pretty sure next year will be a lot easier because I will be in the same system for a second year which should make it twice as easy as it is this year.”
For most of his young career and particularly toward the end of this season, Avery is establishing himself as exactly what the Rams have been looking for: a potential big time play maker with the ability to change the game any time he touches the ball.
Avery is the fastest Ram and perhaps among the fastest players in the league. Before the 2008 draft, Avery trained with Tennessee running back Chris Johnson and Arizona cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, two players widely considered among the fastest in the league.
In those training sessions, Avery would regularly push both players to the brink and clock the same time in the 40-yard dash.
Johnson and Rodgers-Cromartie are viewed as dangerous play makers on their teams now, much in the way Avery is trying to build his reputation. Through 12 games, Avery had caught 90 passes in his young career with 62 of those grabs going for a touchdown or a first down.
In just the past nine games, Avery has had 27 catches with 22 of those (81.5 percent) going for touchdowns or first downs.
Maybe it’s not known yet but Avery appears to be on his way to becoming a play maker along the lines of his speedy brethren.
“Every receiver wants to be a big play guy,” Avery said. “But that’s my role being a smaller receiver than the rest of the guys. I have to try to get down the field and make things happen.”
-Nick Wagnor
Stlouisrams.com
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