BY JIM THOMAS Friday, August 6, 2010 12:10 am
"Just like I stated all spring, if we played today — I'm sticking with it — if we played today, A.J. would be the guy. Maybe I should put that on tape."
Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo has been so unwavering in that answer that he hasn't even been asked about it since the start of training camp last week.
But in the grand scheme of things, A.J. Feeley knows he's merely keeping the seat warm at quarterback. A 10-year veteran of the NFL who is well-schooled in the West Coast scheme, Feeley can be a valuable mentor for No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford.
Then again, Feeley wants to play. He doesn't want to help Bradford too much, does he?
"I want to help him out as much as he wants to be helped out," Feeley said. "But everybody wants to play. If you don't want to play, you shouldn't be in this position. It's what you do."
But Feeley is quick to add: "The nature of playing quarterback is you help each other out in the meeting room. Those guys that don't have good meeting rooms, where the guys don't get along, that's where bad things happen. But we have a great group."
Feeley, 33, is surrounded by two rookies — Bradford and Thaddeus Lewis — and second-year man Keith Null in the meeting room at Rams Park. That's a lot of inexperience.
"My mind-set going into this thing is to get this team ready to play," Feeley said. "And offensively, it's to go in there and be the guy and run with it. But in the meeting room and outside of that, I'm there to help those guys out as much as possible."
That mind-set explains in part why the Rams signed Feeley to a two-year, $6 million free-agent contract in March. They feel he's someone capable of starting a few games if need be until Bradford is deemed ready. But his knowledge of the offense — and the coaches — should help Bradford get ready.
"Feeley's being something like a big brother to Sam is the best way I can put it," rookie wide receiver Mardy Gilyard said. "He's the leader of the bunch. He's the No. 1 guy. He knows his checks. He's confident in his throws. He's telling our receivers exactly where he's going to put the ball and how we should run our routes.
"And Sam, he has a lot to learn. That's why I'm glad that we have A.J. here so Sam can be able to cling on his leg in a sense and learn everything he can learn."
During the summer break from mid-June to reporting day last week, Feeley worked at home in San Diego with noted quarterback trainer Todd Durkin.
"He works out a bunch of quarterbacks — Drew (Brees), Aaron Rodgers, all those guys," Feeley said.
Feeley trained in the morning with Durkin, and then again in the afternoon. It was his own pre-camp version of two-a-days,...
-08-06-2010, 12:34 AM
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