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All Signs Point To Null Vs. Arizona

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  • #1

    All Signs Point To Null Vs. Arizona

    12.24.2009 5:01 pm
    All signs point to Null vs. Arizona
    By Jim Thomas
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch



    For the second day in a row at practice, St. Louis Rams rookie QB Keith Null took the vast majority of the snaps with the starting offense _ a strong indication that he will start this Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

    As usual, coach Steve Spagnuolo declined to name his starting QB.

    DE Leonard Little was a spectator once again at practice, hoping his infected right knee will heal in time to play Sunday. If Little can’t go, James Wyche will dress against the Cardinals. Wyche was claimed off waivers from Jacksonville on Monday.

    There was a Marc Bulger sighting Thursday at Rams Park, walking without the aid of crutches. But Bulger already has been ruled out of the Arizona game as his fractured shin bone continues to heal.

    RT Jason Smith (concussion) and CB Quincy Butler (ankle/knee) haven’t been officially ruled out, but neither will play Sunday. Butler is still wearing a boot for his high ankle sprain. Smith hasn’t been seen even watching practice for a couple of weeks.

    CB Ron Bartell was taken off the injury report, with his bruised hip healing.

    RB Steven Jackson (back) once again did not practice, but did his usual work on the side.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: All Signs Point To Null Vs. Arizona

    Good for Keith. Also, good move by the coaches. We need to give Null some time. The kid has the tools, he just has to put them to use.

    Lets hope for a good game by #9!

    Comment

    • #3
      Re: All Signs Point To Null Vs. Arizona

      I really think Null has potential. At Rams Park, no one is just given the job, they have to earn it and I'd personally love to see a good QB battle in 2010. (Sounds so futuristic...)
      Always and Forever a fan of the St. Louis Rams

      Comment

      • #4
        Re: All Signs Point To Null Vs. Arizona

        i hope null conitnes to get better
        now we can see if Bartell is worth the money he is finally healed and better be ready to cover those pro bowl recievers

        Comment

        • #5
          Re: All Signs Point To Null Vs. Arizona

          I'm also pullling for Null to get the nod. I think that if Null starts the rest of the season and gets experience, he'll be ready to battle for the starting job by the start of 2010 season.

          Comment

          • #6
            Re: All Signs Point To Null Vs. Arizona

            Originally posted by chucknbob View Post
            I'm also pullling for Null to get the nod. I think that if Null starts the rest of the season and gets experience, he'll be ready to battle for the starting job by the start of 2010 season.
            I am guessing they will keep Marc around a little longer to teach Null, then in 2011, we have our new franchise QB.
            temp_4394_1467243487543_20
            RAMS!

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            Related Topics

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            • Bing69
              Where is Null??
              by Bing69
              I was just looking at the rams practice squad on the offical site and cant see Keith Null on it! Has he been snapped up already??
              -09-06-2010, 03:19 PM
            • MauiRam
              Null continues fight for his QB position with St. Louis Rams
              by MauiRam
              BY BILL COATS
              ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
              05/26/2010

              In a way, it almost seems unfair.

              Keith Null was the Rams' starting quarterback for the last four games of the 2009 season. The two players ahead of him on the depth chart for most of the season, Marc Bulger and Kyle Boller, no longer are with the team.

              And yet as organized team activities continue at Rams Park, Null is in exactly the same situation that he was last spring: fighting to land the No. 3 QB job.

              "Wherever I end up by the season, I trust the coaches enough to put me in the right position," said Null, a sixth-round draft pick last year from NCAA Division II West Texas A&M.


              Null beat out Brock Berlin to make the 53-man roster as a rookie. Null dressed as the No. 3 quarterback until injuries felled Bulger and then Boller.

              That thrust Null into the lineup Dec. 13 at Tennessee for an NFL debut that was short on personal highlights. Null did throw a touchdown pass, an 11-yard toss to tight end Randy McMichael. But Null also was intercepted five times in a 47-7 thumping.

              The Rams were outscored 122-36 and went 0-4 with Null as the starter, wrapping up their franchise-worst 1-15 season. Null completed 73 of 119 passes (61.3 percent) for 566 yards and three touchdowns, with nine interceptions. His passer rating was a woeful 49.9.

              "I definitely wish I could get another chance to get back in and sort of redeem myself," Null said. "I don't think that I played as good as I could have."

              Coach Steve Spagnuolo agreed. "He had some ups and downs, like you would think in a rookie," Spagnuolo said. "Here's a guy that probably didn't expect to play at all, and we had the injury situation. He made some good plays, and he made some bad ones. I know it wasn't probably as good as he wanted it to go overall.

              "But I do think the reps he got were invaluable."

              Again, coach and player were in agreement.

              "These OTAs, as far as knowing the plays and calling the plays in the huddle, it's way easier than it was last year at this time," Null said. "Having one year under my belt, and then getting to go in and play four games, I'm taking all that with me ... and using that experience to help me."

              The Rams signed veteran quarterback A.J. Feeley to a free-agent deal in the offseason, then spent the No. 1 overall draft choice on Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford.

              Feeley has been getting all the first-team snaps during OTAs, with Null and Bradford alternating with the second and third units. Ultimately, though, Bradford will be starting and Feeley will be backing him up.

              That means that the 6-foot-4, 219-pound Null, 24, seemingly will have to best rookie free agent Thaddeus Lewis to retain his roster spot.
              ...
              -05-26-2010, 08:39 AM
            • r8rh8rmike
              "Accent-ing The Positives With Null
              by r8rh8rmike
              12.15.2009 12:11 pm
              “Accent-ing” the positives with Null
              By Jim Thomas
              St. Louis Post-Dispatch


              Even in the midst of Sunday’s 47-7 drubbing to Tennessee, the St. Louis Rams’ offensive unit found some humor in the Texas twang of rookie quarterback Keith Null.

              “They love it when I say ‘nek-ked right, nek-ked left,’ ” Null said.

              That’s “nek-ked” as in “naked bootleg” to those who grew up north of Mason-Dixon.

              “That’s one of the things they just love to give me heck about,” Null said. “So they even did it during the game.”

              Right in the huddle.

              “Oh yeah. Every single time I say it, they give me something about it,” Null said.

              But starting left guard Jacob Bell said he liked what he saw and heard from Null in the huddle Sunday at LP Field, accent and all.

              “It was very impressive to see a young guy with such poise in the huddle,” Bell said. “He’s southern as it is, so he speaks slow which I like. I can understand what he’s saying. But he didn’t lose his cool. He had a little laugh in there. He looked like a veteran almost.”
              -12-15-2009, 06:56 PM
            • r8rh8rmike
              Round Two: Why Not Null At QB For Rams?
              by r8rh8rmike
              11.25.2009 11:53 am
              Why not Null at QB for Rams?
              By Roger Hensley



              QUESTION: With only six games remaining and the St. Louis Rams sitting at 1-9, and with QB Marc Bulger injured, why are the Rams not considering Keith Null at QB so they can see what they’ve got there? Rookie QBs play all the time, surely he’s prepared after being with the team since training camp, right?

              JIM THOMAS

              Apparently this is hard for some to fathom, but Keith Null IS NOT READY. He played at WEST Texas A&M, not Texas A&M. It wasn’t until October that he even felt comfortable taking snaps from center. If you think Marc Bulger had communication and timing issues with Brandon Gibson, what do you think will happen with Null? To borrow from a Rams Park colleague, about the best thing Null has going for him right now is an absence of failure. And whether you’re 1-9 or 9-1 — this is the NFL. You play to win. This is November, not August. And right now, Kyle Boller gives the Rams their best chance to win.

              BERNIE MIKLASZ

              No. 1, Null is a very raw project. A small-college guy from a spread offense. He needs a lot of time to prep before he can start an NFL game. He’s at a disadvantage compared to other rookie QBs who played in major-college programs and in more pro-style offenses.

              No. 2, he has had virtually no practice time at all in running this offense. It would be a disservice to the kid to throw him to the wolves. Why do people want to see him fail at a job before he’s ready to take on that job? What’s the point? Why get him massacred? Irresponsible.

              No. 3, the Rams aren’t as high on Null as people seem to think that they are.

              BRYAN BURWELL

              Unless there is a major medical disaster to Kyle Boller, there is no reason to put a rookie QB who doesn’t forecast as a star into the lineup as a starter. Would I like to see him in for a look-see? Sure, but perhaps the Rams staff has already seen enough of Null and they don’t think he is ready yet.

              BILL COATS

              Null’s simply not ready. As the No. 3 QB, he’s gotten very few reps in practice since the start of the regular season because Kyle Boller does the scout-team work. It would be unfair to Null to toss him in there now. You would set him up to fail by doing so.
              -11-25-2009, 10:41 AM
            • r8rh8rmike
              Null Learns Plenty In First Start
              by r8rh8rmike
              Null Learns Plenty in First Start
              Monday, December 14, 2009


              By Nick Wagoner
              Senior Writer

              Although he was nervous, rookie quarterback Keith Null let nobody know that the moment of making his first start was too big for him.

              And, like most players making their NFL debut, Null’s nerves went away quickly.

              “I’d say after the first play,” Null said. “I went out there pretty comfortable. It definitely helps to go out and throw a completion on your first pass so after that any player would tell you, you get that first play then you are out there playing football again.”

              It was a long road from tiny West Texas A&M to taking the reigns of the Rams offense for Null but on the first play from scrimmage, Null had a number of firsts.

              Null took his first snap in a regular season game (and from under center, something he hadn’t done much of in his shotgun-heavy career), dropped back and delivered his first pass to tight end Daniel Fells for a gain of 7 yards.

              It wasn’t the flashiest opening to a NFL career, but it was enough to shake the butterflies loose from Null’s stomach and allow him to settle in.

              By the end of his first busy NFL Sunday, Null had a rough statistical day in line with what many rookie signal callers – let alone sixth-round draft choices with Division II pedigrees – would have.

              But in retrospect, it wasn’t so much the numbers Null posted as the way he handled an extremely difficult situation that impressed teammates and coaches alike.

              “Under the circumstances and how it all went down, I thought he handled himself well in the huddle, I thought he was composed, he had command of what he was doing,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said. “He’d like some throws back. I thought he stepped up in the pocket well and actually had some pretty nice throws. That part of it was encouraging.”

              Null finished the game 27-of-43 for 157 yards with a touchdown and five interceptions for a rating of 37.8.

              Considering that Tennessee represents one of the most hostile environments in the league with one of its toughest defenses, Null’s assignment was loaded with landmines before he ever was even declared the starter.

              Last week, Null split repetitions with Kyle Boller in practice for most of the week. With Boller battling a thigh injury, Null got more and more reps as the week went on.

              By Saturday, it had become clear that Boller would be a game time decision and Null was a viable candidate to start.
              That made for some interesting moments for Null in the run up to the game as he awaited word on his role.

              “I was going out, getting ready to play not really know what was going to happen and trying to prepare myself for whatever they tell me,” Null said. “I went back in the locker room, they told me I was going to...
              -12-15-2009, 07:01 PM
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