Ramblin' Fan » Donnie Avery

Is Chris Givens The “New Donnie Avery”?

Nathan Kearns — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 15:00:21 +0000

In 2008, the makeup of the St. Louis Rams drastically changed in a number of ways. It marked the death of the legendary Georgia Frontiere and oversaw the acquisition of a number of “big name” free agents, including Josh Brown from Seattle and Jacob Bell from Tennessee. The Rams used their 2nd overall pick to select Chris Long in the 2008 draft, who recently signed a massive contract extension to anchor our defensive line for the next half decade.

Nov 22, 2009; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams wide receiver Donnie Avery (17) catches a pass against the Arizona Cardinals during the second half at the Edward Jones Dome. The Cardinals defeated the Rams 21-13. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE

In a lesser remembered storyline from that draft, the Rams decided to bypass DeSean Jackon in the 2^nd round and, instead, draft Donnie Avery, the burner from the University of Houston. In retrospect, the Rams’ made a poor choice, with Jackson, character issues aside, blossoming into one of the perennial young wide receivers in the NFL.

Avery put up some decent numbers in his rookie campaign, with 674 yards on 53 receptions, with over 22.6 percent of those catches going for 20+ yards. Fast forward to the 2010 Preseason Week 3 matchup against the New England Patriots where we all watched the end of Donnie Avery’s career in St. Louis, as he was carted off the field with a torn ACL. Since then, our wide receiver corps has been plagued by injury, inconsistent production, and rapid turnover that has diminished any hopes of Bradford building a strong, on-field connection with any single player.

In 2012, Head Coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead made it a priority to break this cycle by drafting Brian Quick with the first pick of the 2^nd round and taking Chris Givens in the 4^th. Givens was marked by draft analysts as a burner, a player from a smaller university whose speed could translate into problems for the opposing defense. Ring a bell? The same was said about Avery coming into the draft. Sports Illustrated had this to say about each player’s “positives” in their respective draft profiles:

“Game-breaking receiver who can take it the distance. Plays with outstanding balance, body control, and quickness… leaves defenders in the dust if given the slightest bit of open space. Has a second gear, easily runs to the long throw… Displays solid eye/hand coordination, finds the soft spot in the defense, and for the most part catches the ball with his hands.” -on Donnie Avery

“Big-play receiver with a nose for the endzone. Displays tremendous overall quickness, has deceptive speed and is consistently doubled by opponents. Works his way back into the clearing to make himself an available target, uses his hands to separate from defenders… Displays good eye/hand coordination… Runs well laterally, making the reception in stride. Shows a burst and can turn it on in a single step. Plays with terrific balance and body control.” – on Chris Givens

Alongside their seemingly identical pre-draft analyses, Avery and Givens also have eerily similar size, speed, and collegiate production. Check out a comparison of Givens’ Wake Forest stats vs. Donnie Avery’s stats from his last three years at the University of Houston, as well as NFL Combine results:

	Donnie Avery	Chris Givens
Total Yards	2996	2473
Receptions	192	163
Average	15.5	15.2
TD	17	21
Height	5′ 11	6′ 0
Weight	200	198
40 Yard Dash	4.43	4.41
225 Bench Reps	16	19
Draft Position	33	96
Major Injuries (requiring surgery or significant loss of playing time)	ACL (Right Knee, 2010)	ACL (Left Knee, Junior Year of High School) ACL (Right Knee, Senior Year of High School

If Givens can reincarnate the production that Avery put out during his rookie and sophomore campaigns, then Givens will be the steal of the draft for the Rams. On the flip side, if Givens follows too closely down the path that Avery paved, we may just have another 4.40 40-time receiver pacing the sidelines on Sundays. Hopefully not the latter, but only time will tell.

Go Rams!

Rams Roster Set (For Now)

Justin Stine — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 12:33:46 +0000

The final cut day came and went for the Rams, and so did a number of players who are quality NFL players. I have to admit that I was shocked when the team let Donnie Avery go, and although admittedly I’m not an Avery fan, I still couldn’t believe it. The bad news is that Avery did not get claimed by any NFL team through the waiver process, which means that the team will have to pay his base salary of $638,000 that was guaranteed.

Although Avery is still unclaimed, several of the players who got cut did find new homes quickly. Thad Lewis was picked up by the Browns, which comes as absolutely no suprise considering former Rams OC and current Browns head man Pat Shurmur is a big Lewis fan. I too am a big Lewis fan, so I hope he carves out a spot in Cleveland. Speaking of guys I’m a big fan of, DE George Selvie was claimed by the Carolina Panthers. If I have one major beef with the roster decisions, it’s that Selvie was cut while CJ Ah You and Eugene Sims were not. Still, Selvie should be able to get some time in Carolina, and I have a feeling he will be a good NFL player. Also, WR Mardy Gilyard is heading to New York to join the Jets. He just seems like a Jets kind of player, so hopefully they will give him a chance. More after the jump…

Rams Finish Undefeated Preseason

Justin Stine — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 10:43:27 +0000

Let me preface this all by repeating that preseason records mean absolutely nothing. With that being said, the Rams looked awfully good again on Thursday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars. I thought our first-team offense and defense were both significantly better than Jacksonville. Sam Bradford looked sharp again, and Lance Kendricks made yet another touchdown catch. The defense was outstanding against their starters, and the line really made life miserable for David Garrard for the entire time he was in the game. I know the offense only scored seven points while they were in, but they were in the middle of another big drive when the backups came in. Overall, as far as the starters go, I thought they looked ready for the regular season.

Now, I don’t know how much stock the decision-makers put into tonight’s game as far as roster spots are concerned, but I thought a few guys stepped up and made a ncie showing in their final game. Greg Salas was pretty solid, and I liked what I saw from Jerious Norwood more than Keith Toston. Danario Alexander had a nice catch for big yardage (although he dropped one too), and Donnie Avery looked like a real weapon with the ball in his hands. Thad Lewis was outstanding again, and I really think he is pushing AJ Feeley to be the team’s backup. On the other side, I don’t think Mardy Gilyard helped his cause with a drop on special teams and another on offense. The roster will be down to 53 on Saturday, so it’s going to be a couple of tense days for a bunch of guys.