Tipsheet: Britt may not be lost cause
• By Jeff Gordon
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_3b542a1d-92fe-55b5-bfdc-a994f0bcb3d7.html
New Rams receiver Kenny Britt has been one of pro football’s most egregious underachievers.
Dropped passes, clashes with his coaches, multiple run-ins with the law, a serious knee injury . . . Britt checked all the boxes while washing out for the Titans. The 30th overall pick of the draft became a classic NFL failure.
His signing with the Rams elicited more groans than cheers in these parts. Many fans were hoping the Rams would go a different direction and use a high draft pick to select an elite receiving prospect.
Britt's arrival was hardly a free agency blockbuster. But the Newark Star-Ledger found a guy who believes Britt could finally fulfill his vast promise.
“He's maturing,” Titans cornerback Jason McCourty told the newspaper. “Kenny came in the league real young. We came in together and you can see him continue to grow.”
McCourty played with Britt at Rutgers. He saw Kenny flash great potential before his knee injury.
Last season he saw Britt working hard on the scout team after falling out of Tennessee’s playing rotation.
“As defensive backs, we hated it because he gave you 110 percent every day in practice," McCourty said last week. “But he got us ready for every game each week so I appreciated the hard work that he continued to give no matter what was going on with the season.
“I definitely think that was a huge step for him to go through that type of adversity and still be able to persevere and continue to fight and practice hard.”
Rams coach Jeff Fisher drafted Britt in Tennessee and still believes in him. After all, Britt did catch nine TD passes in 2010 – a staggering total compared to Brian Quick’s non-production here – and he had 42 receptions in two different seasons.
“I truly believe he can be a No. 1 receiver in this game.” McCourty said. “That's just from competing with him all throughout practice and camp through these past five seasons. I just think a new scenery will be huge for him. To get back with Coach Fisher, the coach that drafted him, I think that would be a huge opportunity.”
It also may be his last opportunity, given the steady flow of receiving prospects from the college ranks to the NFL.
“He knows he has a family to support and the whole nine,” McCourty said. “I definitely think he understands the process. Sometimes it takes a little while for us to understand the business side of the NFL and I think he's poised and he's ready to go.
“That guy can still go get it. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what he does this upcoming season.”
So are we. For the sake of the Rams and their long-suffering Rams, let’s hope he plays with more urgency than another former Titan, Jared Cook, demonstrated after signing a big free agent deal here.