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Gordon: Can Rams work their way out of this mess?
• By Jeff Gordon
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_83b2adb4-cde3-5889-8fc5-917bd091d35b.html
After three years under coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead, the Rams have better talent and more competitive zeal than they exhibited during the final days of the sorry Steve Spagnuolo Era.
So there's that.
But the Rams are still playing losing football 48 games into this misadventure, so Fisher must step back and reconsider everything the operation does every single day.
Why are the Rams such a sloppy mess? While can't they line up correctly, block and tackle consistently well and take care of the football?
Why do they blow pass coverage, blow pass protections and mindlessly earn stupid penalties on top of stupid penalties?
Players come and go. Some assistant coaches come and go. And yet the familiar problems remain, cropping up at the most inopportune times.
Spagnuolo faced similar challenges and responded by firing blameless support staffers. Not surprisingly, that strategy failed and the losses mounted.
Fisher has been around the NFL forever so we assume he will come up with something better. Or will he?
In Year 3 under Fisher the Rams still could not play with discipline and precision. They couldn't execute the simplest plays with the necessary consistency.
The Rams put the work in, day after day, month after month, and yet in Week 17 the quarterback misses the ground with a spike attempt, a running back fumbles away a touchdown reaching for the pylon, a tight end lets a pass squirt through his hands for a "pick six", a cornerback wanders away from still another coverage assignment . . . on and on it went as another potential victory slipped away.
The team can't just cut players who make big mistakes because there would be nobody left to play the games. The Rams served up penalty machine Ray Ray Armstrong as the Sacrificial Knucklehead but his dismissal did nothing to change things.
So Fisher must change the culture of failure at Rams Park, once and for all, or face the possibility of finishing out his excellent football career in a TV studio or broadcast booth.
Effort is not enough. Competitive heart is not enough. Physical toughness is not enough.
Those qualities have been evident under Fisher's Rams, but they didn't translate to success because they have remained a breakdown waiting to occur.
The Rams will have another opportunity to clear out spent veterans and free up salary cap space. They will have a every chance to upgrade their battered offensive line in the NFL Draft.
They could get better at quarterback by bringing injury-prone Sam Bradford back (with crossed fingers) and/or by seeking upgrades via free agency, a trade and the draft.
Perhaps they could toss offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to the angry mobs and find somebody to draw more exotic Xs and Os.
But none of that will matter if the Rams don't redouble, re-triple and re-quadruple their commitment to doing everything on the football field correctly, every single time. The Rams must develop a winning program, a strict way of operating that remains the same no matter which players get hurt or move on.
Some how, some way they must shed the sloppiness that has become the franchise trademark, replacing the far more entertaining "Greatest Show on Turf" persona.
You see the impact good and bad coaching makes at every level of sports. Some CYC recreation teams run like clockwork while some big budget select squads sputter.
Some small high schools with modest means maximize their meager talent while some big high schools with athletic armies flounder.
Some college coaches succeed at every level, regardless of circumstances, while others manage to waste prime talent and opportunities.
The Seattle Seahawks keep developing middle-round picks into effective players while winning year after year. Meanwhile, the Rams convert a mother lode of prime draft picks into steady underachievement.
There is no easy fix here. Superficial change won't help. Fundamental change will take persistent and focused effort.
The Rams must concentrate on doing EVERY SINGLE THING correctly in physical conditioning, skill development, team drills, tactical preparation and game execution.
There is no short-cut out of this morass, just lots of work and tremendous attention to detail. Rams fans can only hope Fisher and his people will finally be up to the daunting challenge.
• By Jeff Gordon
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_83b2adb4-cde3-5889-8fc5-917bd091d35b.html
After three years under coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead, the Rams have better talent and more competitive zeal than they exhibited during the final days of the sorry Steve Spagnuolo Era.
So there's that.
But the Rams are still playing losing football 48 games into this misadventure, so Fisher must step back and reconsider everything the operation does every single day.
Why are the Rams such a sloppy mess? While can't they line up correctly, block and tackle consistently well and take care of the football?
Why do they blow pass coverage, blow pass protections and mindlessly earn stupid penalties on top of stupid penalties?
Players come and go. Some assistant coaches come and go. And yet the familiar problems remain, cropping up at the most inopportune times.
Spagnuolo faced similar challenges and responded by firing blameless support staffers. Not surprisingly, that strategy failed and the losses mounted.
Fisher has been around the NFL forever so we assume he will come up with something better. Or will he?
In Year 3 under Fisher the Rams still could not play with discipline and precision. They couldn't execute the simplest plays with the necessary consistency.
The Rams put the work in, day after day, month after month, and yet in Week 17 the quarterback misses the ground with a spike attempt, a running back fumbles away a touchdown reaching for the pylon, a tight end lets a pass squirt through his hands for a "pick six", a cornerback wanders away from still another coverage assignment . . . on and on it went as another potential victory slipped away.
The team can't just cut players who make big mistakes because there would be nobody left to play the games. The Rams served up penalty machine Ray Ray Armstrong as the Sacrificial Knucklehead but his dismissal did nothing to change things.
So Fisher must change the culture of failure at Rams Park, once and for all, or face the possibility of finishing out his excellent football career in a TV studio or broadcast booth.
Effort is not enough. Competitive heart is not enough. Physical toughness is not enough.
Those qualities have been evident under Fisher's Rams, but they didn't translate to success because they have remained a breakdown waiting to occur.
The Rams will have another opportunity to clear out spent veterans and free up salary cap space. They will have a every chance to upgrade their battered offensive line in the NFL Draft.
They could get better at quarterback by bringing injury-prone Sam Bradford back (with crossed fingers) and/or by seeking upgrades via free agency, a trade and the draft.
Perhaps they could toss offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to the angry mobs and find somebody to draw more exotic Xs and Os.
But none of that will matter if the Rams don't redouble, re-triple and re-quadruple their commitment to doing everything on the football field correctly, every single time. The Rams must develop a winning program, a strict way of operating that remains the same no matter which players get hurt or move on.
Some how, some way they must shed the sloppiness that has become the franchise trademark, replacing the far more entertaining "Greatest Show on Turf" persona.
You see the impact good and bad coaching makes at every level of sports. Some CYC recreation teams run like clockwork while some big budget select squads sputter.
Some small high schools with modest means maximize their meager talent while some big high schools with athletic armies flounder.
Some college coaches succeed at every level, regardless of circumstances, while others manage to waste prime talent and opportunities.
The Seattle Seahawks keep developing middle-round picks into effective players while winning year after year. Meanwhile, the Rams convert a mother lode of prime draft picks into steady underachievement.
There is no easy fix here. Superficial change won't help. Fundamental change will take persistent and focused effort.
The Rams must concentrate on doing EVERY SINGLE THING correctly in physical conditioning, skill development, team drills, tactical preparation and game execution.
There is no short-cut out of this morass, just lots of work and tremendous attention to detail. Rams fans can only hope Fisher and his people will finally be up to the daunting challenge.