Moving Forward.

[Caynine29]

Well, the season is effectively over for our beloved St. Louis Rams. With the loss to San Francisco, our potential win total has been mathmatically capped at 9 and that's not going to get us anything but a middling pick in the draft, at best. (Thank God for Washington, right? ) And no... this isn't a piece on tanking the season. That's unacceptable as far as I'm concerned. This is just a small list of things I'd personally like to see in the final quarter of this, now defunct, 2013 season.

1. Kellen Clemens is the starter: ... Sorry... Nothing we can do about that. But, I would like to see more of Austin Davis. If games start getting out of hand (whether in our favor, or not) throw Davis in there and see how he does. Hell... I'd consider giving him a start (on a short leash) here and there. Why only put him up against garbage time defenses? We need to know what we've got going into 2014. Is he a worthy backup? Does he have enough to supplant Clemens at the #2 spot? Even more importantly... is he a guy we can groom behind Bradford to be his sucessor, some day? No better time than 5-7 to throw him to the wolves. With so many draft picks coming up, it might not be a bad idea to start looking at Bradford's heir-apparent.

2. Less Stacy... more Cunningham/Pead: Okay, now hear me out. I'm not insane. Lol. Zac Stacy is the man. We all know that. So why not keep a little more tread on his tires (and less cobwebs in his head) while feeling out the backups at the same time. I'm not calling for Satcy to be "benched". Just a little more balance in the carries. I'm still not 100% sold on "Bam-Bam", only because of the size of his body of work. If Isaiah Pead is going to have his last shot at a job in St. Louis, at least give him that shot. Shelving the guy doesn't allow him to prove (or disprove) anything. Let's see how he does playing for his job.

3. MORE STEADMAN BAILEY!: I cannot emphasize this enough! He should be starting from here on out. Chris Givens' head hasn't been in the game for a while now. At least not like last year. Bench Givens, put Brian Quick in the #1 spot (where we drafted him to be), make Bailey the #2 and keep Austin/Cook in the slot. These guys are the future of this team and it will at least give us a clearer picture of whether or not to keep Givens or Pettis (or even one of the guys who are "the future", for that matter) around next year.

4. Give Jake Long a breather: Again... I'm not talking about benching the guy for the season. I'd just like to see more line configurations. Plus, we've invested a LOT of money into this guy. Don't wanna burn him out in year one if we're just playing for pride. We've got to start thinking about where we can trim the fat for the upcoming draft. Do we need a lineman? Sure. Do we need one now? Perhaps. What's the story on this Mike Person, guy? And where is Graham Pocic? Is he even still a Ram? Or am I just way behind the information curve? Lol.

5. Cody Davis deserves a shot: He's been bustin' ass all year on special teams, I say throw this kid a bone. The drop off in talent level can't be that big of difference between he and Rodeny McLeod, or Matt Giordano.... can it? Maybe it can. I don't know.

I just think we have a golden opportunity here to develop the talent we have currently on the roster and be in a better position to make an informed decison on who gets to stay on board this rising young team and who's getting replaced in April. Why wait 'til preseason to pit these guys against other teams' scrubs? If these last four games only serve to round out the league schedule, at least make 'em worth something to us and to our future.

 

[Retroram52]

Excellent post Caynine and I like all five especially number three. That kid catches EVERYTHING thrown at him even though he made a couple of blunders yesterday. But he definitely needs to start ahead of Givens who has proven way too many times this year that he can't handle the pressure of a big catch. Also we need to find if Pead and Quick are going to emerge if at all. Otherwise, especially in Pead's case, we cut ties with the stiff and count it as another major draft screw-up.

 

[SJ76]

Our schedule gets tough. Would be great to see what Bailey has too. I know he has good hands.

 

[Retroram52]

Man do I wish we would have drafted Alshon Jeffreys. Yea I know, I am beating a dead horse here.

 

[SJ76]

I want to know who at Rams park was so high on Quick that year? Pead too.

 

[jacobarch]

I want to know who at Rams park was so high on Quick that year? Pead too.

It's called over thinking the draft pick. They reported that quick blew them away in the private work outs. So rather than relying on actually game tape and seeing hit actual body of work they went on 'potential' alone. You never know tho he could be the next Vincent Jackson

Who knows on Pead. The guy is not only a bust but a knuckle head to boot

 

[ksudodger]

Yup, sorry but Pead is done. I do agree on essentially going with a 60/40 split for Cunningham/Stacy. Let Stacy heal up.
I also agree with giving Long a bit of rest. This would be a chance for Saffold to earn his next contract. There are alot of options on the line right now.
I think a WR rotation of Autin,Bailey,Pettis,Givens and Quick (in that order) would be good. Obviously the coaches have not looked at alot of WVU film from last year when Bailey and Austin were on the field together almost EVERY play.
I also say, lets see what we really have with Davis... what do we have to lose??

 

[SJ76]

Some scout was high on Brian Quick. I would love to know who it was. He had good numbers at Appalchain St. Lol. Meanwhile, Alshon Jeffrey's were better as a sophomore than Julio his junior year.

It had to be more than his workout alone. But then again these are Rams scouts we are talking about.

And I give WRs 3 years, so he's got one more.

 

[Retroram52]

I agree SJ76. If somebody was high on Quick, let it ride to at least the third and take BPA in the second. That is how you build a stellar team and bench and you may get a starter or two. But not picking Jeffreys in favor of the two stiffs we took is a colossal blunder this organization can not seem to rid itself of. And I have this gut feeling they are going to do it again this year when they'll be in a position to pick-up some major talent in need areas and I just think they are going to overthink and eff it up AGAIN just as you stated jacobarch.

KSUDodgers and Caynine are spot on the WR rotation going forward. There is absolutely no good and legitimate reason for Shottenheimer to keep Bailey off the field when Tavon is out there and Bailey should be starting ahead of Givens because Givens has proven numerous times, HE needs a couple more years of seasoning before the guy is ready to play prime time.

Like I said yesterday, the continued stupidity of this franchise is the reason we are the perennial laughingstock of the rest of the league. That move by Fisher or whomever called that fake punt BS is a glaring example of what I am referring to. Damn idiots ought to be bitch-slapped until they don't know what day it is.

 

[SJ76]

I agree the fake punt call was at a bad time. But did we even get to their 40 yard line more than once until that happened? And if the dude hands it off, Bailey was going to get 10 yards or so. I don't know... I think fisher was frustrated and was trying to make something happen. Problem is that D and ST is pretty good.

But that play didn't bother me. We weren't moving the ball anyway and it definitely was not our day.

 

[Caynine29]

I agree the fake punt call was at a bad time. But did we even get to their 40 yard line more than once until that happened? And if the dude hands it off, Bailey was going to get 10 yards or so. I don't know... I think fisher was frustrated and was trying to make something happen. Problem is that D and ST is pretty good.

But that play didn't bother me. We weren't moving the ball anyway and it definitely was not our day.

Had the play worked the way it was designed, Bailey would have had running room for days. The blocking was phenomenal on the right side, where the play was designed to go. Now, I'm not going to rehash my catchphrase here. Lol. Because, sometimes things just don't go as planned.

Ray Ray Armstrong got blown up on his block and was pushed back into Giordano... who was supposed to pitch the ball to Bailey for the end-around, but had to hold on to it instead. It got botched. It happens.

My point of contention is, that with as well as the defense had been playing, we really should have punted it away and put it back on their shoulders. We'd held them to FGs so far. Instead, we gave them the short field, which turned into a 7 point swing that pretty much broke the game wide open for the 'Niners.

But, in fairness... I can absolutely see your point. The offense was stagnant to that point (we had just 3-and-outted beforehand). The fake could have breathed new life into the offense and provided excellent field position to work with (maybe even a score, as good as the blocking was) And had it worked, I'd likely be sittin' here singing a different tune. Lol.

 

[BOSS429Mustang]

C'mon guys! Whether that play worked or not is not the point. You just don't do things like that when the game is still close and our defense has been keeping us in the game! Anything could have happened yet--a fumbled punt return, interception, sack fumble, etc. It was just an impulsive move by Fisher, made out of emotion instead of clear thinking. Even if we would have got the first down, chances are that Clemens and Shottenheimer would have continued to drag their butts on the field like a cat in heat. One mistake doesn't condemn a coach--even Belicheat makes them from time to time. But the body of work does begin to add up and Fisher is building quite a collection.

 

[SJ76]

I didn't think it was close. And we sure as he'll weren't moving the ball on offense. Not saying it was a good call either, it's a risk... But the fact is we were doing nothing on offense.

 

[jacobarch]

C'mon guys! Whether that play worked or not is not the point. You just don't do things like that when the game is still close and our defense has been keeping us in the game! Anything could have happened yet--a fumbled punt return, interception, sack fumble, etc. It was just an impulsive move by Fisher, made out of emotion instead of clear thinking. Even if we would have got the first down, chances are that Clemens and Shottenheimer would have continued to drag their butts on the field like a cat in heat. One mistake doesn't condemn a coach--even Belicheat makes them from time to time. But the body of work does begin to add up and Fisher is building quite a collection.

if it would have worked we wouldn't be sitting here calling out fisher. hindsight is 20/20

 

[ozarkram]

So what your saying is we should not discuss good plays or bad because its all in hindsight?

 

[jacobarch]

No I'm just saying that Fisher did what he did because we needed a spark and if we didn't get that 1st down we would have lost the game anyways. I commend him for trying. It's not his fault that Armstrong plays poorly more than he plays good.
I can also tell you this, when i saw our very first drive I knew we were going to lose that game. We came out flat and not being able to at least score FG's against a good D is a death sentence.

 

[ozarkram]

I see. Thank you.

 

[Jermaine133]

at the time of the fake punt I believe the score was 16-6? So if we would have held them and possibly got a FG on our next possession we are within a TD, but after fishers stupidity they scored on that drive making it 23-6. Correct me if i'm wrong?

 

[Retroram52]

Nope, you are absolutely correct Jermaine. In my mind, the momentum we were building that is described in the scenario you stated was completely sucked right out of us because on the very next play, the Niners scored because we were on our 17 yardline when Fisher or whomever pulled that boner out of their shorts. That is why it was completely a boneheaded decision that accomplished only one thing-a guaranteed loss!!

 

[LTR1961]

Our schedule gets tough. Would be great to see what Bailey has too. I know he has good hands.

Well then he's the only receiver on this team with good hands.

I don't think I've ever seen a team drop more footballs.