Thoughts on Fisher

[Ramfreak]

First and foremost, thank God we signed him because the influx of talent that he and Snead have been bringing to St Louis has been awesome. I've never felt this good about going into drafts like I do now.
Up until now, Fisher has gotten a pass for not producing a .500 team in his 1st 3 years. Fair enough. Last year, we watched this defense transform into an elite group right around the time we traded for Barron. It wasnt so much Barren that week but the game at Arizona in the same week where Austin Davis basically lost his job for the year. Our defense control that game and virtually every game from that point with little help from our offense. Keep our fingers cross that our defense stays healthy because it's good enough to win a championship right now.
Fisher has shown to be elite at gimmick plays. Every one of them seems to work. It's all based on if the special teams is giving them something that they can't stop. I give him an A for gimmicks.
Where the red flag comes up is when he goes up against an elite coach like Tom Coughlin who had a bad team last year and gets out coached badly. There's a history of not a lot of winning seasons with Fisher. With the talent he's brought in for this season, he won't be able to hide behind lack of talent. He knows this is the season where he'll be exposed if they falter. This is a HUGE year for Fish to see if he can impact this team over the hump to a 10+ win season. No more excuses.

 

[Corbin]

First and foremost, thank God we signed him because the influx of talent that he and Snead have been bringing to St Louis has been awesome. I've never felt this good about going into drafts like I do now.
Up until now, Fisher has gotten a pass for not producing a .500 team in his 1st 3 years. Fair enough. Last year, we watched this defense transform into an elite group right around the time we traded for Barron. It wasnt so much Barren that week but the game at Arizona in the same week where Austin Davis basically lost his job for the year. Our defense control that game and virtually every game from that point with little help from our offense. Keep our fingers cross that our defense stays healthy because it's good enough to win a championship right now.
Fisher has shown to be elite at gimmick plays. Every one of them seems to work. It's all based on if the special teams is giving them something that they can't stop. I give him an A for gimmicks.
Where the red flag comes up is when he goes up against an elite coach like Tom Coughlin who had a bad team last year and gets out coached badly. There's a history of not a lot of winning seasons with Fisher. With the talent he's brought in for this season, he won't be able to hide behind lack of talent. He knows this is the season where he'll be exposed if they falter. This is a HUGE year for Fish to see if he can impact this team over the hump to a 10+ win season. No more excuses.

Great article RamFreak. One of three points I think that will make us better this year.

1. Cignetti is a custom OC for Fisher and I really believe Schotty hurt our offense last year more than he helped ( not really regressed but stayed the same which in the NFL it is the same as regressing).

2. We actually have damn decent talent on the O-Line for once. As long as the C position holds up I really see us getting somewhere with the great talent we have now in the trenches.

3. Foles and Mannion. Between them we have a steady and talented QB pairing that won't throw away a game and might actually have the talent to win a game for us instead of just being a game manager or throwing away a game.

These reflect on Fisher as an overall coach and he inherited the worst team in NFL history with a NFL history worst roster. 3 full years to restock us, I think we are ready to rock and roll this year!

 

[JUMAVA68]

The time is now we have to much talent on this team to not succeed and they are all young that have experienced failure.So they need a winning season to get that confidence up and start dominating like they are built to.

 

[RamzFanz]

When I reflect on the team Fish inherited and the letdown of Bradford for his tenure compared to the talent we have today? Night and day.

My biggest fear with Fish is he isn't aggressive enough. Sounds crazy, right?

I can't count how many games he abandoned time on the clock AND timeouts at half time last season while the Rams were behind. Most of them they were giving up the ball after half time! I will NEVER understand that. 2nd and 15 at the Rams 30 with 40 seconds and 2 timeouts? Run it up the middle then take a knee with no TO called. What?!?

Squandering opportunities is not what a winning coach does.

 

[jrry32]

Solid coach. Good team builder. Loved by his players. Not an elite coach by any means but he's the best coach we've had since Vermeil and we needed a steady hand to help us out of the hole we had dug ourselves in. We'll see if he's a good enough coach to lead us to where we need to go now that we are out of the hole.

 

[bluecollarram]

The time is now we have to much talent on this team to not succeed and they are all young that have experienced failure.So they need a winning season to get that confidence up and start dominating like they are built to.

Love your take on the team.
BTW, you were awesome in Sons of Anarchy!

 

[Corbin]

Solid coach. Good team builder. Loved by his players. Not an elite coach by any means but he's the best coach we've had since Vermeil and we needed a steady hand to help us out of the hole we had dug ourselves in. We'll see if he's a good enough coach to lead us to where we need to go now that we are out of the hole.

So what your saying is we need Vermeil back after this season?

 

[A.J. Hicks]

Since the day we hired him I had this idea that he would lead the Rams to a super bowl in some sort of redemption for us beating his Titans. I think we are very close, very, very close.

 

[Sleepy1711]

My biggest fear with Fish is he isn't aggressive enough. Sounds crazy, right?

I dunno, I think he's pretty aggressive when he allows his defensive guys tear the heads off. I love it, I just think things will fall into place, youth needs time.

 

[Merlin]

Great article RamFreak. One of three points I think that will make us better this year.

1. Cignetti is a custom OC for Fisher and I really believe Schotty hurt our offense last year more than he helped ( not really regressed but stayed the same which in the NFL it is the same as regressing).

2. We actually have damn decent talent on the O-Line for once. As long as the C position holds up I really see us getting somewhere with the great talent we have now in the trenches.

3. Foles and Mannion. Between them we have a steady and talented QB pairing that won't throw away a game and might actually have the talent to win a game for us instead of just being a game manager or throwing away a game.

These reflect on Fisher as an overall coach and he inherited the worst team in NFL history with a NFL history worst roster. 3 full years to restock us, I think we are ready to rock and roll this year!

Agreed on just about everything you said there Corbin. Mannion is interesting too, maybe the most interesting thing going on with that offense outside of the OL shuffling. Is he the guy we saw his junior season where he lit things up when he had Cooks and some time? Or is he the guy who struggled last season. I did find Fish's specific note of him "breathing down the necks" of the two battling it out for backup to be another interesting note since it was unprompted. Bigger story there maybe than most expect IF he can push those two.

I dunno, I think he's pretty aggressive when he allows his defensive guys tear the heads off. I love it, I just think things will fall into place, youth needs time.

No doubt. Fish has huge balls to take risks lol, and has demonstrated that at this level. Thing is he doesn't take risks when he knows his offense sucks, well, what I just mentioned. I couldn't blame him for wanting to not see his offense make things worse before halftime and some of those other instances. Trust me, when he knows his offense is good--if it ever happens--he will roll the dice enough that fans will cry about it.

 

[JUMAVA68]

Love your take on the team.
BTW, you were awesome in Sons of Anarchy!

Thanks,you are actually the 2nd person in here to tell me that..lol

 

[bluecollarram]

Thanks,you are actually the 2nd person in here to tell me that..lol

I guess it's an obvious comparison.
Just glad you have a sense of humor about it:cheers:

 

[JUMAVA68]

I guess it's an obvious comparison.
Just glad you have a sense of humor about it:cheers:

I could be compared to much worst so its cool.
Hell of a show still have not seen the ending I have on dvr though.

 

[RAGRam]

My thoughts on Fisher haven't changed much since the day we were trying to get him to come here, he's an OK "safe option" coach he'll get you around .500 maybe a few wins less, maybe a win more, you're never going to suck for long with him as HC, but you're never going to be great for long either.

 

[blue4]

he's the best coach we've had since Vermeil

Can't say as I agree with that. Martz was 56-30 with a SB appearance. He did inherit plenty of talent on the offensive side but totally rebuilt a defense and went to the bowl. Fisher has a very long way to go to hit that mark.

 

[blue4]

My thoughts on Fisher haven't changed much since the day we were trying to get him to come here, he's an OK "safe option" coach he'll get you around .500 maybe a few wins less, maybe a win more, you're never going to suck for long with him as HC, but you're never going to be great for long either.

We may not be great for long, but we'll be steady and competitive and that's a start. What concerns me is the length of time. All the building blocks we drafted are getting ready for their second contract and .500 is still a goal to be reached.

 

[snackdaddy]

I thought Fisher was a great hire. Kroenke showed his commitment by opening up his check book. No doubt we're much more more talented than before.

But I have wonder where our ceiling is? We had more talent in year 3, yet we had our worst record in his tenure here. I'm not sure he's the right X's and O's guy for today's NFL. He knows how to find talent. But does he know how to win with it?

 

[Prime Time]

Jeff Fisher:

Hou/1994 - 1-5
Hou/1995 - 7-9
Hou/1996 - 8-8
Ten/1997 - 8-8
Ten/1998 - 8-8
Ten/1999 - 13-3
Ten/2000 - 13-3
Ten/2001 - 7-9
Ten/2002 - 11-5
Ten/2003 - 12-4
Ten/2004 - 5-11
Ten/2005 - 4-12
Ten/2006 - 8-8
Ten/2007 - 10-6
Ten/2008 - 13-3
Ten/2009 - 8-8
Ten/2010 - 6-10
St. Louis/2012 - 7-8-1
St. Louis/2013 - 7-9
St. Louis/2014 - 6-10
-------------------------
162 wins/147 losses/1 tie/.524 percentage
Playoffs: 5-6
-------------------------
St. Louis/2015 - 19-0 :banana::cheers::banana:

 

[Moostache]

Jeff Fisher:

Hou/1994 - 1-5
Hou/1995 - 7-9
Hou/1996 - 8-8
Ten/1997 - 8-8
Ten/1998 - 8-8
Ten/1999 - 13-3
Ten/2000 - 13-3
Ten/2001 - 7-9
Ten/2002 - 11-5
Ten/2003 - 12-4
Ten/2004 - 5-11
Ten/2005 - 4-12
Ten/2006 - 8-8
Ten/2007 - 10-6
Ten/2008 - 13-3
Ten/2009 - 8-8
Ten/2010 - 6-10
St. Louis/2012 - 7-8-1
St. Louis/2013 - 7-9
St. Louis/2014 - 6-10
-------------------------
162 wins/147 losses/1 tie/.524 percentage
Playoffs: 5-6
-------------------------
St. Louis/2015 - 19-0 :banana::cheers::banana:

I sincerely hope you're right on 2015...LOL!

The thing about Fisher that has always bothered me is the lack of winning seasons.
Only 6 total out of 20 so far...that would mean only 3 per decade and that won't cut it.

The second thing that bugged me was the proclivity for 6-8 wins....11 out of 20 so far (including his last 5 in a row).

It has always been my opinion that Jeff Fisher is great at fielding competitive teams - obviously his record shows that, and he is rarely a cellar dweller - but he is simply missing something that allows the great coaches to get over the hump of being competitive and into the rarefied air of being great. I think he needs to have an assistant or two that really instill discipline and counter balance his "player's coach" persona. Its true that players love playing for him, but that lack of discipline from loving the head coach is evident year after year after year in the same old mistakes and mental miscues on Sundays.

Players HATED Lombardi while he was coaching them and LOVED him later in life for driving them to achieve more than they would have without him.
If the players love you before they win anything, and your coaching history shows good but not great achievement, it might behoove a wise man to consider changing something about his overall approach...

 

[Prime Time]

Good points @Moostache. The lack of discipline and the same boneheaded penalties season after season, usually at the worst times in a game, is the one complaint I have against Fisher and his coaching staff. I was happy that we hired him but never saw him as more than a coach who could rebuild a terrible team, get it to the next level(8-8) and make us a team that would be feared for its defense and smash-mouth offense. We're almost there.

His tenure with the Oilers and Titans proved that Fisher could make the most out of the cards he was dealt. In 1997 the Oilers relocated and played at Liberty Bowl Stadium. In 1998 they played at Vanderbilt. In both those seasons the team went 8-8. The following year they moved into their new stadium in Tennessee and went to the Super Bowl. The following year they went 13-3 again. That's a lot of wins for a team in transition.

It is well known that Fisher didn't see eye to eye with ownership and the front office. We all know the problems that can cause from having lived through the Mike Martz era. In the combined history of the Oilers and Titans there have been 18 head coaches. Jeff Fisher had the longest tenure of them all by far with 16 years. Bum Phillips was second with 5 years. That amazes me.

Would love for our team to win a Super Bowl every season but since that is a near impossibility, my second choice for the Rams is that they are feared and respected. I believe that Jeff Fisher has us on that trajectory.