Don't Expect Much from New St. Louis Rams Wide Receiver Wes Welker

By any measure, the St. Louis Rams passing game is terrible.

Nick Foles hasn't thrown for more than 200 yards since Week 1 and is on pace for just 2,956 yards while averaging 6.7 yards per attempt. His exploits have helped the Rams rank dead last in passing yards per game (177.1) and No. 30 in points per game (19.1) despite having the fourth-ranked running game (135.5).

In Football Outsiders' more advanced measurement of efficiency, the Rams look slightly better as a passing team but are still among the worst in the league.

The Rams need better execution from their quarterback, and their quarterback needs more help from those around him. It doesn't help that Stedman Bailey, a talented receiver who has underachieved throughout his career, has been suspended for the second time in successive seasons.

Bailey will be inactive for four games, and the Rams wasted no time in signing his replacement: former Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and Denver Broncos receiver Wes Welker. It's unclear if Welker is going to be just a four-game fill-in or have a permanent spot on the Rams roster, but Bailey has no guarantees at this point.

Head coach Jeff Fisher was obviously livid in his comments about Bailey's recent suspension, but his high opinion on his skill set also came through. From Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Fisher said:

"

Very, very disappointed in his choices. He let himself down in addition to letting his teammates and this organization down. We have a strict policy as it relates to substance abuse, and he violated the policy.

A setback for us from an offensive standpoint. A setback from a special teams standpoint. I've had numerous conversations with "Sted"—he understands that this is his last go-around. If he wants to flourish in this league and have a career in this league, he's gonna have to change his lifestyle.

"

Welker is a 34-year-old slot receiver whose physical talent had begun to decline long before he left the Denver Broncos after the 2014 season. He was still a productive player in 2013, but that was with Peyton Manning when the quarterback was playing historically good football.

In 2014, Welker lost a step of his quickness and suffered multiple concussions. Concern over his quality of life off the field was widespread, but even looking past that he was no longer a valuable contributor on the field.

Whether Welker should be playing football or not anymore is unclear, but what's definite is the Rams shouldn't have high expectations for him.

Even if Welker was closer to his prime and fully healthy, he wouldn't be a good fit with Foles. The first-year Ram is a weak-armed passer who doesn't anticipate throws. For a quickness-based receiver who excels on option routes underneath, that is not an ideal teammate for Welker.

Foles is better suited to lofting catchable balls to receivers who can consistently win at the catch point downfield. More precision is required to get the most out of Welker.

According to Pro Football Focus, Foles is one of the better deep passers in the NFL. Yet, by their measurement, his overall accuracy percentage is just average. Furthermore, Foles throws a large percentage of screen passes, which don't require him to be precise.

Just last week against the Minnesota Vikings, Foles had three bad misses in the first quarter alone. Two of those were extremely concerning.

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Foles first missed Todd Gurley when he was wide open in the flat on a simple swing pass. He lofted the ball too high because of his loose mechanics. His mechanics were an issue again when he threw the ball into the ground instead of hitting Tavon Austin on a shallow crossing route. Foles' motion was very slow, inviting blindside pressure to impact his throw.

Welker was never a system receiver, but his strengths are getting open quickly underneath and finding soft spots in zone coverage. The windows Welker worked in were the kind that typically close quickly in the NFL.

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This play was typical for Welker during his prime with the Patriots. He is left uncovered in the slot on 3rd-and-6 because the Baltimore Ravens are playing zone coverage and keeping defenders in the box to threaten to blitz.

Under head coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots offense has always incorporated a huge number of option routes. Welker excelled with these responsibilities. He and quarterback Tom Brady were rarely ever on a different page.

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Just before the ball was snapped, the Ravens adjusted their coverage so a linebacker was running toward Welker. The receiver advanced downfield at an angle that pushed him away from the coverage before settling in a spot between the two zone defenders closest to him.

Welker settled just past the first-down marker, so he made the perfect adjustment to the coverage the Ravens were playing.

Away from Welker on this play, Brady had to diagnose the coverage and hold the ball long enough to make sure the outside cornerback couldn't cheat inside on Welker. To do that, he had to be able to get the ball to Welker in a hurry.

Brady has never had a huge arm, but he has always shown off impressive short-throw velocity while releasing the ball extremely quickly. Those aspects of his skill set, along with his accuracy, allowed him to get the ball to Welker accurately and on time while surpassing the linebacker trying to undercut the pass.

Making this kind of play isn't something the Rams can ask Foles to do with Welker on a regular basis. He is better suited to making the types of throws that set up yards-after-the-catch opportunities for a player such as Tavon Austin.

Welker is unlikely to get heavy volume in the Rams' passing game unless he forces his way into a bigger workload.

Using Austin in the slot with Brian Quick and Kenny Britt outside, Jared Cook at tight end and Gurley in the backfield should keep Welker sidelined in most formations. Forcing his way into a bigger role will be difficult because Welker won't be a deep threat at this stage of his career, and he's always had questionable hands.

According to Pro Football Focus, Welker had 40 drops from 2011 to 2013, including an incredible 17 in 2012. Part of that is his being a high-volume receiver, but it's still hard to brush those concerns aside—especially since he isn't entering this role with the Rams after a full training camp and preseason.

Fisher did say he believes Welker is in "outstanding shape" when asked at his press conference this week.

Welker is a name player who was always going to garner attention if he signed with a team in the league. No matter who he signed with, expectations were never going to be realistic because of his history, but signing with the worst passing team in the league should make everyone more pessimistic about his outlook.