Austin Davis Must Start For The St. Louis Rams Moving Forward.

By Blaine Grisak | Sep 23, 2014

Despite the fact that St. Louis Rams quarterback Austin Davis has outperformed Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Joe Flacco thus far in 2014, head coach Jeff Fisher is standing by his statement that Shaun Hill is the starter when healthy.

However, whether or not Fisher wants a quarterback controversy, he might have to face the fact that he does indeed have one. After defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19-17 in his first career start, Davis followed that up by becoming the first Rams quarterback since week two of last season to throw for over 300 yards in his second start against the Cowboys.

Davis leads the league in completion percentage among quarterbacks with more than 100 snaps, completing 72.3% of his passes. With that stat you might think that Davis is checking the ball down, but that isn’t the case. Davis is throwing the ball an average of eight yards per attempt which is the seventh most in the NFL.

To say Davis had a good first two games is a complete understatement. Davis hasn’t been just average, he hasn’t been solid, he has been very impressive. If the Rams defense would have shown up against the Cowboys, Davis very well could be 2-0 as a starter.

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The Rams offense has looked as good as it has in years with Davis under center. On Sunday against the Cowboys,who although their defense isn’t great, it has played alright this season, the Rams offense was forced to punt only once.

Not to mention, the Rams offense is actually taking shots down the field. On third and 13 from midfield, instead of hitting a check down or even just handing the ball off to Zac Stacy, Davis threw a pass down the sideline to Brian Quick that went for a touchdown. Thats not a play the Rams offense would have made in the past even with Sam Bradford.

According to ESPN Rams reporter Nick Wagoner, since the Rams drafted Sam Bradford with the first pick in 2010, Davis’ passer ratings in each of the past two weeks would rank as the 14th and 15th best performances in a game by a Rams quarterback and Davis’ 327 passing yards is the fifth-highest output by a Rams signal caller in that time.

This team is rallying around Davis, and you can see it on the sideline. When Jared Cook shoved Davis after dropping a touchdown pass, William Hayes was right there to back up the signal caller.

Austin Davis is earning the respect of this team and is giving them a chance to win each game. Yes, he threw two interceptions late in the game, but the game shouldn’t have even came to those throws. Davis has earned the starting quarterback role whether Fisher likes it or not. The Rams head coach has a big decision to make during the bye week, but really it should be an easy one.

He can either stand by his word and start the 34-year old Hill who didn’t look the slightest bit impressive in the only half of football he’s played this season, or he can start one of the few players who has actually played well for the Rams over the past two weeks.

It is unfair to Hill to lose his job while being hurt, but who could have really anticipated that Davis would play like he has? In the NFL things change, and you play the guy who gives you the best chance to win, and as of right now, it’s hard to argue that Davis isn’t that guy. This is a decision that Jeff Fisher needs to seriously reconsider over the bye week.

Taking away the remarkable performances by Davis, it makes more sense going forward to start him. The 25-year old is in his third season. Playing Davis allows the Rams to see what they have in him while still allowing them to stay competitive. Meanwhile, Hill is 34 and is on a one-year deal.

Starting Davis now is the best decision for the team this season as well as moving forward and it’s about time Jeff Fisher turns on the game film and realizes it himself.