I think being a beat writer takes energy and enthusiasm, because the travel and the day to day writing about how the team is playing must get really old. I think Quick is burned out on the job and going through the motions. If you read his feature pieces, you see that's where his heart is. Also, in the PatterNash days, he burned a LOT of bridges with the organization. They'll talk to him, but he's always getting outscooped.
I thought the last two beat writers for The Columbian (IIRC Brian Hendrickson and Brian T. Smith) were both superior to Quick. I don't think Quick is bad at his job; he's just been there too long.