Rapoport: Indications Are Fisher/Snead Safe For 2016

[ramsince62]

A QB would definitely be a recruiting tool. But, having Gurley is not just a ham sandwich.

Except when the OL is loaded with bologna.

 

[Rmfnlt]

Let's see how much improvement they can muster between tonight and the end of the season.

If things stay the same, or worsen, it could get ugly.

Well, haven't seen the game yet but the bits and pieces I'm hearing (listened to Bernie this morning) indicate the offense played very well. Bernie said Keenum's rating over the last game and a half is something like 145?

Small sample size, to be sure... but a very definite upward trend going on with that offense.

Great test next Sunday!!

 

[VegasRam]

How do we know how much control Fisher has of the offense? It just seems like the fashionable thing to say these days, but does anyone really know? Because during the Lions game the announcers made a point to say that Fisher doesn't meddle during the play-calls, but sometimes might give his input inbetween series. Just because he set the philosophy doesn't mean he's constantly in the coordinator's ear.

And just out of curiosity, why is is it assumed, (by everyone it seems), that Boras automatically is not the guy. Team has looked SIGNIFICANTLY better these last two games, quality of the opponents notwithstanding.
Not saying he IS the guy, just wonder why people assume he isn't.

 

[MrMotes]

Reports were Fisher was spending a lot more time with the offense than the defense during training camp, for whatever that's worth.

Offense did look good last night but for now i'm inclined to put that on Tampa, but we'll see...

 

[Rmfnlt]

And just out of curiosity, why is is it assumed, (by everyone it seems), that Boras automatically is not the guy. Team has looked SIGNIFICANTLY better these last two games, quality of the opponents notwithstanding.
Not saying he IS the guy, just wonder why people assume he isn't.

I'm not assuming anything.. but, given the amount of play calling and how long ago it was... and at what level (UNLV), I think it's fair to have some concerns.

As I was listening to Bernie driving into work this morning, it struck me how random things can be in the NFL... sometimes it seems like so much luck.

Fisher decides on Cignetti and things don't go well... he turns to the guy he passed over and (at least for now) things improve almost immediately. Bernie (and others) keep lamenting... what if Fisher had just selected Boras back then?

But, given the experience, he chose Cignetti (which made sense).

Just so random... kinda like all the pieces falling together in 1999.

I hope Boras does turn out to be "the real deal".

 

[Rainram]

Cignetti had good first few games too.

And actually, his play-calling overall wasn't too bad. The execution from many levels was piss poor. That's what cost us another 2 or 3 games.

Boras didn't do a whole lot different from play calling perspective (sans a couple little things). But in large part our offense was effective because of one main thing...QB play. Now, I'm not a big Keenum guy, but he played pretty damn good last night. 3 throws in particular. Our pass catchers didn't have one drop. Keenum had decent protection too. Go figure...they executed.

But Boras hasn't done a anything different in terms of scheme and overall philosophy..

The other reason we won...TB absolutely shot themselves in the foot all game.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Todd gurley reads all my posts. True story

5,000 of my "likes" are from Jeff Fisher on Mondays. You can take that to the friggin bank.

 

[Mojo Ram]

I guess the bigger concern is whether these final games are enough to warrant Boras being full time OC next season with Fisher staying

That's my biggest concern. I'm not sure Fisher should be gambling on anything at this point.
Gambled on Bradford, gambled on the in-house unknown OC replacement for Shotty, gambled on drafting a young OLine, gambled on Foles...

I hope he's under just enough pressure to make an obvious change with the approach to the offense this offseason. Giving Boras the full time gig in 2016 based on 4 games of work doesn't strike me as the right direction to go with 4 seasons of .500 football under your belt.

 

[Rmfnlt]

That's my biggest concern. I'm not sure Fisher should be gambling on anything at this point.
Gambled on Bradford, gambled on the in-house unknown OC replacement for Shotty, gambled on drafting a young OLine, gambled on Foles...

I hope he's under just enough pressure to make an obvious change with the approach to the offense this offseason. Giving Boras the full time gig in 2016 based on 4 games of work doesn't strike me as the right direction to go with 4 seasons of .500 football under your belt.

Yeah, he (Fisher) might have to make a difficult decision if Boras is able to elevate this offense from here on out.

Me? Make that tough decision and let Rob know how impressed you were with what he did and he is a valued member of the coaching staff... right after you've secured a known, proven, successful NFL OC.

 

[RamBill]

Don Banks: ‘Jeff Fisher is not going anywhere’

SI senior writer Don Banks explains why St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher will not be fired even if the team moves to Los Angeles.

Watch Banks Talk Fisher's Future

 

[Rams43]

Yeah, Keenum looked good in the 1st half.

And the receivers made some nice catches for him, too. Funny how that works, huh?

But before we get completely carried away, let's remember a few things, and in no particular order...

We had a great 1st half, but Fisher put the brakes on our passing game late in the 3rd qtr making us one dimensional. A fact not lost on the Bucs. They out scored us 17-3 from that point on. I believe we only ran 9 plays for a total of 8 yards (not counting the 3 kneel downs at the end) from that point. Fisher went into his shell a bit too soon, if you ask me. Almost bit him in the butt. A coaching error by an excessively risk averse HC.

We got bailed out time and again by ST and big plays on D.

Donald's tackle for loss on 4th down.
Worthington's fumble recovery.
TruJo's int.
Benny's two outstanding KOR's resulted in 10 points in a game ultimately decided by 8 points.

These are just off the top of my head.

Sooooo...

Yeah, great game offensively in the first half, especially. Keenum exceeded everyone's expectations, I'm sure.

But we couldn't run worth a lick and the Seahawks will be a much sterner test.

I'm encouraged by what we've seen from Keenum and Boras so far. Make that greatly encouraged. Hopefully, Fisher has the sense to let the O really go for it against the Seahawks.

 

[FrankenRam]

I think they do listen, and read us. Please keep posting.

You do? Seriously? Would you listen to the fans tell you how to do your job if you were an NFL HC?

The best way for a HC to get a seat with the fans is to listen to them.

 

[FrankenRam]

Jeff Fisher does not know offense. He has no business dictating what the offense does. If the Rams want to be great, he needs to take a step back, hire a quality OC, and let him do his job.

Seriously? Because JF's football origins are on the defensive side of the ball, he doesn't know anything about offense.(??) How exactly does one become a good defensive coach w/o knowing something about offense?

NO HC in anything resembling his right mind would neuter himself by totally staying away from one side of the ball or the other. That's just absurd. That's why their title is 'Head Coach'...because their job is to oversee all 3 phases of the game. For all intents & purposes, they coordinate the coordinators.
.

 

[Mojo Ram]

The Rams scored 31 points on a good defense. Pay attention.

 

[LACHAMP46]

I guess the bigger concern is whether these final games are enough to warrant Boras being full time OC next season with Fisher staying

I think so.....

Team has looked SIGNIFICANTLY better these last two games, quality of the opponents notwithstanding.

We have, and really I'll give a big plus to the QB for this....

I hope Boras does turn out to be "the real deal".

Me too.....change for the sake of change does not work well.....

Boras didn't do a whole lot different from play calling perspective (sans a couple little things). But in large part our offense was effective because of one main thing...QB play.

I see a decidedly different passing focus...Quick downfield passes. Slants, seams, outs, hitches, RB's, TE's....and much better timing and rhythm....of course the receivers making some nice catches helps....But QB play, was clearly the difference....It was obvious...

But we couldn't run worth a lick and the Seahawks will be a much sterner test.
I'm encouraged by what we've seen from Keenum and Boras so far. Make that greatly encouraged. Hopefully, Fisher has the sense to let the O really go for it against the Seahawks.

This should be the keep Boras or find a new OC game....If Boras & Keenum can perform in these circumstances, keep them both for next year.....Especially if we win. It should be a playoff-type atmosphere....

 

[RamFan503]

Fucking France. Go figure.

 

[RamFan503]

So true.

 

[Merlin]

That's my biggest concern. I'm not sure Fisher should be gambling on anything at this point.
Gambled on Bradford, gambled on the in-house unknown OC replacement for Shotty, gambled on drafting a young OLine, gambled on Foles...

I hope he's under just enough pressure to make an obvious change with the approach to the offense this offseason. Giving Boras the full time gig in 2016 based on 4 games of work doesn't strike me as the right direction to go with 4 seasons of .500 football under your belt.

^This.

He gambled on Schotty too, btw. Schotty was a "this guy is poised to prove what he can do" type hire, vice a proven type hire. When he hired Schotty my fear was that their #1 overall QB might not have maximized development and it does seem that was the case because Sam never really did play well for him even when he was healthy.

Anyway, I do like that he at least cut bait on Cigs when it was obvious he was in over his head. And while none of us know if Boras is the guy, there's no doubt about it: if Fish sticks with him over more proven options it's gonna be yet another gamble and one that will cost him his job if he's wrong.

 

[RamFan503]

How do we know how much control Fisher has of the offense? It just seems like the fashionable thing to say these days, but does anyone really know? Because during the Lions game the announcers made a point to say that Fisher doesn't meddle during the play-calls, but sometimes might give his input inbetween series. Just because he set the philosophy doesn't mean he's constantly in the coordinator's ear.

Agree. I'm still not convinced Fisher wants a generally low output offense. I'm guessing when we have a good lead, the edict is to run the clock but this idea that Fish is holding his coordinators back is kind of ludicrous in my mind. He may not have chosen coordinators well but he was obviously open to a spread type offense, is the king of trick plays, and opened it up in Tenn when he had the tools. This does not mesh with the theory of what many want to believe about Fish.

The product has not been good. But I highly doubt it is because Fish is holding anyone back.

As to the other theory that very good offensive coordinators are not wanting to come here, I'm not buying that either. If an OC is that good, wouldn't he be thinking that he would have a better than average shot at becoming a HC if Fish gets fired or if he makes this offense suddenly start clicking? So if Fish tries to hold him back, the OC will be able to bring that to Stan at the end of the season when applying to take over (as he would no doubt do). If the offense lights it up, he will be looked at by every other team looking for their next HC. Seems to me to be an excellent opportunity.

 

[jrry32]

Seriously? Because JF's football origins are on the defensive side of the ball, he doesn't know anything about offense.(??) How exactly does one become a good defensive coach w/o knowing something about offense?

Jeff Fisher can have knowledge of offensive football without being qualified to be involved in the offense. I know offensive and defensive football. But I certainly don't have enough knowledge to be telling the Rams OC or DC what to do. You're taking things to a ridiculous extreme to avoid addressing the real point.

NO HC in anything resembling his right mind would neuter himself by totally staying away from one side of the ball or the other. That's just absurd. That's why their title is 'Head Coach'...because their job is to oversee all 3 phases of the game. For all intents & purposes, they coordinate the coordinators.

There are plenty of HCs in the NFL that stick to what they know.(unless you're going to ridiculous extremes yet again and claiming that staying away from one side of the ball means literally never talking to the coaches about that side of the ball) A HC's job isn't to micromanage his staff. The job is to run the team and run the staff. That means delegating. That means doing what they know. Fisher knows defense. Fisher does not know offense. He has no business dictating what the offense should be doing or setting the philosophy on that side of the ball. That's micromanaging.

Don't take this as me saying that Fisher should have absolutely nothing to do at all with the offense.(since I'm sure someone would have taken it to the extreme...just like how people take me saying Fisher doesn't know offense to mean Fisher literally knows nothing about offense) As you said, he knows defense so if he can give insight to the offensive coaches on things he sees...he should do it. But that's giving input and insight...not telling people who they should be doing or need to be doing. He needs to recognize his own limitations. If his people can't get the job done without him (or he believes that), he's hired the wrong people.

I've seen too many intelligent people be bad head coaches because they didn't recognize their own limitations and trust their staff to do their jobs. Great HCs delegate and trust the people they hire.