A savvy veteran heading into his 10th NFL season, quarterback A.J. Feeley knows his place with the Rams.
"I've got split roles," he said, "and that's to try to take this thing and run with it, but at the same time develop (rookie Sam Bradford) to the point where he can take it over and go with it."
Sure, Feeley would love to be the first-team quarterback. He's started only 15 games during his career, never more than eight in a single year. "It'd be nice to play a full season," he said a bit wistfully.
But Feeley also knows that barring injury, that simply isn't going to happen. Not with the regular season looming and Bradford, the No. 1 overall choice in April's draft, tuning up in the wings.
"We know that's the reality of the case," said Feeley, 33. "At some point, when Sam's ready to go, Sam's going to be the guy."
It could be an awkward situation, the veteran essentially keeping the seat warm for the rookie. But, Feeley insisted, it's been nothing of the sort.
"We have a great quarterback room, and one thing all of us realize is, at the end of the day, there's one guy that's playing out there," Feeley said. "And collectively, it's our job to help that one guy play ... to make his job easier."
Although he was a backup to Joey Harrington his senior year at the University of Oregon, Feeley was drafted by Philadelphia in the fifth round in 2001. He's had two stints with the Eagles and also has spent time with Miami, San Diego and Carolina.
The Rams signed Feeley as a free agent March 5, more than a month before they took Bradford at the top of the draft. "We were looking for a veteran quarterback, and A.J. was the guy we went with," coach Steve Spagnuolo said.
It was a providential choice, because Feeley was well-versed in the offense that coordinator Pat Shurmur brought from Philadelphia. All the better to impart his understanding of the scheme to Bradford, a product of Oklahoma's spread attack.
"You really can't put a value on how helpful he's been, just the fact that he's had experience in this offense," Bradford said. "It's one thing to listen to a coach and have him tell you what to do and look at it on paper. They can tell you how they think it should happen and what they're looking for.
"But it's a whole other thing to talk to someone who's actually run these plays and get a better understanding from them about how they actually unfold on the field and what to look for and what to be careful of."
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Feeley, who married soccer star Heather Mitts in January, has filled the usual journeyman roles. In four seasons, including 2008 and '09, he never got onto the field in a regular-season game.
"I've been the guy that's been on top, and I've been the guy that's had to watch the other guy play," he said. "I've played every role, and I've seen every situation."
That includes a similar situation with the Eagles in 2002, after Donovan McNabb broke his leg in Week 11. Feeley started the last five games of the regular season, guiding Philadelphia to four wins and a 12-4 finish that earned them the NFC East title.
When the playoffs began, however, McNabb had recovered and Feeley returned to the sideline.
"We knew at some point Donovan was going to come back after five or six weeks and take the show," Feeley said. "That wasn't a problem then. I knew my role, and we won games. But it was Donovan's team, and I understood that."
Just as he understands that probably sooner rather than later, this will be Bradford's team. And make no mistake: Feeley will be rooting the youngster on.
"At some point during all this, you've got to realize that it's a team game and that everybody plays a role on the team," Feeley said, "whether you're the guy that's playing under center or you're the guy on the sideline trying to help out that guy playing under center.
"I'm going to approach it like I'm going to play. But if I'm not, I'm going to take pride in getting him ready to go."
