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Null should be on '10 roster, but starting is another question
Jeff Gordon
POST-DISPATCH ONLINE SPORTS COLUMNIST
12/21/2009
Rookie quarterback Keith Null has earned a spot on the 2010 Rams. This much we know for sure.
Could he compete for the starting job next season? It is too soon to stay that.
Could he blossom into the franchise’s Quarterback of the Future? It is much, MUCH too soon to make such an optimistic assessment.
We do know that Null has pretty good tools. And we know he has some nerve, too, since he shrugged off his ghastly five-interception debut in Week 14.
Clearly Null learned from his first NFL start. His second outing went much more smoothly than his first. He settled down and got into a nice passing rhythm.
"It was a lot different," Null told reporters after the game. "It seemed like things slowed down a little bit for me a lot more than it did last week. It was a great opportunity to get out there and play again."
He made just two glaring mistakes during the Rams’ 16-13 loss to the visiting Texans Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.
1) After a botched exchange, Null tried to execute the running play. He needed to eat the football instead, as he learned while losing a costly fumble. Job One for young NFL quarterbacks is ball security.
2) While scrambling for his life, Null tried to make a play. He needed to just throw the ball away, as he learned while throwing a costly interception.
Other than those errors of aggression, Null was just fine.
He took a couple of big sacks after failing to locate a receiver, but at least he pulled the ball back instead of forcing throws into coverage. That was progress.
Null completed 18 of 27 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown. He looked like a veteran while converting that one red zone opportunity.
The Rams lined up with three wide receivers on the short side of the field on a first-and-goal play from the Houston 3. The other two wideouts cleared room for Danny Amendola, who caught a quick pass from Null to score.
That is a routine touchdown play for most teams, but it was like scaling a mountain for this group. Week after week after week the Rams have come up short in the red zone.
So fans saw glimmers of hope in this game. The Rams offense appeared more assertive than it had been for most of this season. We saw a lot of three- and four-receiver sets, which is highly unusual for the Steve Spagnuolo regime.
Null demonstrated a strong arm while taking some deep shots. He threw intermediate passes with authority. He made generally good reads, too.
Some fans have gotten way too excited in our forums and chats here at STLtoday, but Null did a lot of good things. During a season of unrelenting failure, his performance was a rare sign of progress for this sad sack team.
If I’m Spagnuolo, I would want to take at least one more look at Kyle Boller to see if there is something there. And I would still be very careful with the rookie quarterback, so as not to beat him down the way the Raiders beat down JaMarcus Russell.
Right now Null is feeling good about himself. The coaching staff needs to keep it that way.
"I feel like I did a pretty good job," Null told reporters. "There were definitely some plays I wanted back. Especially the pick, that just wasn’t a smart play by me but I felt like I improved a lot from last week.
"I think I still need to get a lot better and still need to keep working to improve my game."
The Rams coaching staff needs to keep working Null, who is adapting to life behind center in the NFL after running a spread offense in college.
The staff must continue to work with newcomer Mike Reilly, too, to see if the rookie from Central Washington offers long-range potential as well.
The Rams braintrust must compare Boller and Marc Bulger to what might become available through free agency trade during the off-season.
Drafting a quarterback still seems like a good idea, too, since this team needs to bring four strong candidates to training camp.
Null is panning out to be fine sixth-round draft pick. That is a start. But like the rest of this team, the kid from West Texas A&M is a long way from the finish.
Jeff Gordon
POST-DISPATCH ONLINE SPORTS COLUMNIST
12/21/2009
Rookie quarterback Keith Null has earned a spot on the 2010 Rams. This much we know for sure.
Could he compete for the starting job next season? It is too soon to stay that.
Could he blossom into the franchise’s Quarterback of the Future? It is much, MUCH too soon to make such an optimistic assessment.
We do know that Null has pretty good tools. And we know he has some nerve, too, since he shrugged off his ghastly five-interception debut in Week 14.
Clearly Null learned from his first NFL start. His second outing went much more smoothly than his first. He settled down and got into a nice passing rhythm.
"It was a lot different," Null told reporters after the game. "It seemed like things slowed down a little bit for me a lot more than it did last week. It was a great opportunity to get out there and play again."
He made just two glaring mistakes during the Rams’ 16-13 loss to the visiting Texans Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.
1) After a botched exchange, Null tried to execute the running play. He needed to eat the football instead, as he learned while losing a costly fumble. Job One for young NFL quarterbacks is ball security.
2) While scrambling for his life, Null tried to make a play. He needed to just throw the ball away, as he learned while throwing a costly interception.
Other than those errors of aggression, Null was just fine.
He took a couple of big sacks after failing to locate a receiver, but at least he pulled the ball back instead of forcing throws into coverage. That was progress.
Null completed 18 of 27 passes for 173 yards and a touchdown. He looked like a veteran while converting that one red zone opportunity.
The Rams lined up with three wide receivers on the short side of the field on a first-and-goal play from the Houston 3. The other two wideouts cleared room for Danny Amendola, who caught a quick pass from Null to score.
That is a routine touchdown play for most teams, but it was like scaling a mountain for this group. Week after week after week the Rams have come up short in the red zone.
So fans saw glimmers of hope in this game. The Rams offense appeared more assertive than it had been for most of this season. We saw a lot of three- and four-receiver sets, which is highly unusual for the Steve Spagnuolo regime.
Null demonstrated a strong arm while taking some deep shots. He threw intermediate passes with authority. He made generally good reads, too.
Some fans have gotten way too excited in our forums and chats here at STLtoday, but Null did a lot of good things. During a season of unrelenting failure, his performance was a rare sign of progress for this sad sack team.
If I’m Spagnuolo, I would want to take at least one more look at Kyle Boller to see if there is something there. And I would still be very careful with the rookie quarterback, so as not to beat him down the way the Raiders beat down JaMarcus Russell.
Right now Null is feeling good about himself. The coaching staff needs to keep it that way.
"I feel like I did a pretty good job," Null told reporters. "There were definitely some plays I wanted back. Especially the pick, that just wasn’t a smart play by me but I felt like I improved a lot from last week.
"I think I still need to get a lot better and still need to keep working to improve my game."
The Rams coaching staff needs to keep working Null, who is adapting to life behind center in the NFL after running a spread offense in college.
The staff must continue to work with newcomer Mike Reilly, too, to see if the rookie from Central Washington offers long-range potential as well.
The Rams braintrust must compare Boller and Marc Bulger to what might become available through free agency trade during the off-season.
Drafting a quarterback still seems like a good idea, too, since this team needs to bring four strong candidates to training camp.
Null is panning out to be fine sixth-round draft pick. That is a start. But like the rest of this team, the kid from West Texas A&M is a long way from the finish.
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