Rams 13, 49ers 23, Seventh loss of the season.

[SJ76]

Retro that's crazy about Quinn, I wonder what happened?

And if Washington keeps losing, along with Jax, TB, ATL and Houston hopefullywinning... Things will get interesting come draft time.



I still keep shaking my head over Alshon Jeffrey. We traded that 45th pick for Pead and Rok Watkins.

 

[Retroram52]

SJ76. I know what you mean on the Jeffreys pick. What 259 total yards and 2TDs and the dude has hands of gold. Sort of like a bigger and faster Stedman Bailey. I'm right there thinking what on the freakin' planet did we trade that pick away for those two stiffs when we could have had this guy? I guess it was the same reasoning we used to take Quick way too early and he was supposed to be the next great WR for us. And Jeffreys is putting up those kind of numbers routinely. When have any of our WRs had a day like that? When? It is completely maddening the stupidity of this organization and the blown drafts we pissed away.

 

[Retroram52]

SJ76. Quinn had a bulging disc and is undergoing a disectomy which is sort of like a snipping of the outer membrane of a bulging disc to relieve pain and clean-up debris.

 

[SJ76]

Alshon has had 2 - 200 yard days this year and now he holds the Bears all time record for yards in a game. AND he's the #2 option!

Oh well. Just makes me drool over Sammy Watkins even more. But Alshon catches everything!!

 

[ksudodger]

Also Mike Evans also single handedly almost brought TAMU back against Mizzou... As much as I love Watkins, I have an even BIGGER man crush on Evans.

 

[BOSS429Mustang]

I don't know why everybody (although, not so much here) is all bent out of shape about. We all knew this was a very real possibility. I know it sucks, but people are going nuts on some media outlets. "FIRE SO-AND-SO!"... "CUT WHAT'S-HIS-FACE!", etc. Lol. It's okay, people. Losses happen. Chicago and Indy were fun, but we're just not a great football team yet.

Yeah... yesterday was a tough one. The defense actually played well enough to win, again. But, that offense... ugh. Just couldn't get the running game started with any consistency, which was a MUST in this one. And by the time it did work, it was too late. Breaking off chunks of yards is great, except when it's the 4th quarter and they're lettin' us do it.

And passing? Forget passing. Even though I kept waiting on Kellen Clemens' "Whodini-esque escapability", "world-class speed" and "Cam Newton/Michael Vick/RG3/Aaron Rodgers-like" playmaking abilities to kick in... you still couldn't put the blame for this one at his feet. Whatever it was that the WRs were using the last two games must've worn off, because all the dropped passes came back in full force. Cook and Givens couldn't catch a cold yesterday. And Austin couldn't get open.

This is also one of the few games this year where I'll say it... some of the coaching decisions were serious head-scratchers. Most notably being the fake punt from our own redzone. That play was pretty much the turning point that sucked whatever life we had at the time right out of us. Who's brain-child was that one?? They should have had to ride outside the plane for the trip back to St. Louis.

Oh well... it was a fun ride while it lasted. Now it's back to the drawing board, for Arizona. We've still got four more games to finish out.

You're right Caynine. Nobody should be surprised or disappointed in the result of this game because it was not improbable that the Rams would lose it. But the real disappointment comes from seeing how they just digressed back into the pathetic team we saw before the last two games. Many of us, myself included thought that maybe Fisher and his puppeteers, I mean staff had finally figured this thing called coaching out and they had the Rams on the right track. But of course we should have known better. That is Fisher's history for the most part. Tantalize us by beating some decent teams, but almost never rise above mediocrity. I have great fear what he and his coaches (I use the term coaches loosely) are going to do with the high pick they get from Washington. Probably draft Isaiah Peed himself's sister if she's available.

My other biggest fear is that the owner will no way fire Fisher (after the season) because it would be too much to ask for a new coach to come in and make an accurate assessment of the team and then be ready for the upcoming draft in a few months.

No, I'm very afraid that we'll be stuck with Donald Duck and his Looney Tunes gang next season again. Reminds me of the old saying "History teaches us that history teaches us nothing" That should be the motto of this franchise.

 

[SJ76]

The Rams just aren't built to go up against awesome defenses people. We need hard nosed, tough SOBs!

And give San Fran credit, they are tough! And Those refs did not help things early.

 

[BOSS429Mustang]

SJ,
To hear the Rams opponents tell it, they are tough. All the Rams do is run their mouths on the field, albeit without backing it up. If this were a debating contest, I'm sure the Rams would be undefeated.

 

[Caynine29]

You're right Caynine. Nobody should be surprised or disappointed in the result of this game because it was not improbable that the Rams would lose it. But the real disappointment comes from seeing how they just digressed back into the pathetic team we saw before the last two games. Many of us, myself included thought that maybe Fisher and his puppeteers, I mean staff had finally figured this thing called coaching out and they had the Rams on the right track. But of course we should have known better. That is Fisher's history for the most part. Tantalize us by beating some decent teams, but almost never rise above mediocrity. I have great fear what he and his coaches (I use the term coaches loosely) are going to do with the high pick they get from Washington. Probably draft Isaiah Peed himself's sister if she's available.

My other biggest fear is that the owner will no way fire Fisher (after the season) because it would be too much to ask for a new coach to come in and make an accurate assessment of the team and then be ready for the upcoming draft in a few months.

No, I'm very afraid that we'll be stuck with Donald Duck and his Looney Tunes gang next season again. Reminds me of the old saying "History teaches us that history teaches us nothing" That should be the motto of this franchise.

Well... to be honest... if that was your "biggest fear", you really should have spent the entire season shuddering in terror. Lol. Jeff Fisher's not going anywhere. Even if we'd finished the season 2-14, he wouldn't be. And why should he? I mean, we're merely one and three-quarter seasons into the Fisher era and we're a better team than we've been in over a decade. Think about it... how many of those "tantalizing" wins over decent teams did we have under Linehan/Spagnuolo? Two? ...Four? How many times were we anywhere near mediocre? If you think changing out coaches every couple years or so is a good idea, you should really ask the Cleveland Browns how that's workin' out for them (I see it every year. Trust me... it ain't pretty).

I understand people wanted to be atop the division, breezin' through the playoffs and headed for a Super Bowl by now. Hell... even I said, at the beginning of the season that anything less than 10-6 would be a major disappointment. Am I disappointed? Sure. But, kneejerk reactions aren't going to change that. We're just not that good of a football team right now. It takes time to build a winner. Especially considering just how colossally lousy this team has been. Shit-canning the guy less than 2 years into his tenure would be nothing but counter-productive.

 

[BOSS429Mustang]

Do we have more talent than KC? Do we have more talent than Arizona? Do we have more talent than Indianapolis? It's not a rhetorical question, because its very debatable that we do. There are a number of teams that seemed to have turned it around in a very short time. Now I understand that sometimes things take time, and it doesn't always happen that way. But I believe there aren't many that would argue that Fisher hasn't made more than his share of mistakes. For a coach that is supposed to be elite, and getting paid like one, I would expect that at the very least our team would have improved their discipline and penchant to take penalties over the last two seasons.

There are so many things that just give us a bit of insight to the mindset of this coaching staff, and it is rather alarming. A devotion to an average QB, a habit of reaching in the draft, questionable game management, a stubbornness to stick with things that don't work, even more questionable coaching hires, etc. Like I said before, I have no doubt that Fisher will eventually get us to mediocrity. But isn't that like kissing your sister? I'm not interested in average. If we're not contending every year like the New Englands and Pittsburghs, than we're settling for less, and what is the point of that? I am very tired of being patient while the rest of the league at least contends one in a while. Patience has it's virtues, until it becomes complacency. For crying out loud, haven't we all had enough of pathetic and at best mediocre teams at this point?

Every decision made is going to be subjective, and not everybody is going to agree. 3 or 4 years from now when Fisher gets fired nobody will remember this post, and I'll take no satisfaction in being right. I'll only be that much closer to death, aided by the frustration this franchise has brought me over the course of watching them for 41 years.

 

[Retroram52]

I hear you Boss429. I have been saying similar things for awhile now but have given up for the most part for a number of reasons. You have to wonder what is going on where we continually do these things and the deep disappointment is registered on the faces of guys like C. Long when the camera panned over on the sidelines at the end of the Niners whoppin'.

Fred Dryer and Jack Youngblood on separate occasions when the Queen Idiot was still around stated similar things and they tried to put together a pack of investors to buy the team when she died and move it back to LA. When you compare the Rams to other teams, except for a 5 year period when Dick Vermeil's influence changed the course of this franchise, it just seems to have a need to do things under the surface in a ho-hum, mediocre fashion like that craziness that goes on each year in the draft.

I get that teams have reaches now and then but we consistently whiff on players that go on to have great careers for some stiff that we all have to have patience with as the selling point. The pattern is getting more blatant every year. I don't know when this is all going to change because Kroneke was a minority owner with the Queen Idiot when they moved from LA, so I am not sure that cancer has been entirely eradicated. Oh well.

 

[SJ76]

Boss,

KC's schedule has been I believe the easiest in football. AZ has a good D too, similar running game, and way better WRs. Indy has Luck so he makes everyone around him better. It's not about overall talent, it's what you do with it. For some reason, our QBs cannot or have not been in sync with these WRs - for whatever reason. Sorry garbage time doesn't count in my book.

We need a #1 WR and we need to focus on offense in this draft.

I know some of you want a safety bad and blame the coaches... I'm not saying the coaching has been great, but we have no Finnegan, and two 2-year CBs that are neither locked down CBs in this league. You saw it versus ATL, Dallas, San Fran. Their WRs were too big and too physical.

Honestly,I would rather see us take a lock down CB over a safety early. But overall we need to stop pussy footin around and upgrade our offense bigtime! Then you all can see what we really have. I already know.

But to judge every team by talent alone is not comparing apples to apples.

Now if we had drafted Alshon Jeffrey in 2012 with the 45th overall pick, maybe we could go OT, then OLB or CB in the first. But we cannot pass on Sammy Watkins if he's there. He's a game changer with size, speed and agility. A smaller Julio and a faster Boldin.

 

[Caynine29]

BOSS...

Fact remains that we're less than 2 years into this new regime, in St. Louis. How can anybody be talking about complacency in less than two years?? Taking everything into account, changing out the coach in St. Louis would be equally ridiculous.

The irony of all this is that the last time I heard doubts like these, regarding the Rams' coaching, was back in '97... when we hired one Dick Vermeil. Stop me if you've heard this one before; He's old and out of touch with today's game. He's too soft. He's mediocre at best. When has he ever won anything??? He'll never get us to a Super Bowl! And don't even get me started on the critics after year 2. There were guys just like you, calling for him to be tied to the first thing smokin' out of St. Louis. Now, I should go ahead and let you know now... if you're gonna sit here and try tellin' me you were the one, sole voice of reason crying out to save Vermeil's job back in '98... I'm simply not going to believe you. Not with the impatience you're showing here.

Personally, in 1998, I was feeling just about the same way I am right now. Was I happy with 4-12 the previous season? Hell no! But I was a fan all through the '90s. I KNEW just how bad we were and I knew Rome wasn't built in a day. Of course, '99 turned out to be a VERY pleasant surprise for all of us. No, I didn't "call it". Nobody did. But, had the front office catered to the knee-jerk reaction of the fans and canned Vermeil and his staff in '98... then there's no Kurt Warner... there's no "Greatest show on Turf"... and there's no Super Bowl Championship in St. Louis... period.

Now, I'm not clairvoyant. I'm not going to tell you that Fisher will be leading us to the promised land next year and the next and the next. But, I do know this... as sad as it sounds, this team is in the best shape it's been in, in years. That's not "arguable". It simply cannot be denied. Jeff Fisher's history is no more spotted than Vermeil's. (In fact, they're nearly identical, to be honest). I'm not saying you gotta love the guy. Just give him more than 28 games of football to do his work.

You're right... In 3 years, IF Fisher is fired, no one will remember this thread. It won't matter, though... because as sure as water's wet and days are long, a new one will be created just like this one within the next 18 months following his dismissal, by some fan calling for his replacement to get the axe too, and the cycle will continue.

However... if Fisher IS still around then, signing a contract extension with a Lombardi under his arm, would you remind us all of your post here today?

 

[BOSS429Mustang]

I'd be the first to admit I'm wrong Caynine, and very glad to do it. Pride in being correct in these blogs means nothing. If I have to eat crow because we win a championship, what would I rather have, that or be proven right in my opinions? Hmm, that's a tough one. But I try to be objective in my observations without letting "wishful thinking" interfere with my evaluations. I'd also like to see Bradford come back and play lights out like so many expected in the first place and prove me a complete buffoon, but realistically, objectively I would bet heavily against that happening. And even if I'm right as I said earlier, I'll take no satisfaction in 3-4 more wasted years for this franchise.

To compare Fisher to Vermeil is a mockery. Vermeil DID win a championship, defeating Fisher head-to-head if I recall correctly. And Vermeil had the wisdom and sound judgment to himself with excellent coaches--not idiots like Fisher has hired and puts so much faith in. So don't even go there because you'll get pounded into dried dog dirt trying to make that comparison. Sometimes I wonder if Fisher could find his thumb on game day because it's so far up his #@$

Retro also summarized it pretty well---this franchise just has a history of this. Your expectations are formed by the experiences you have, and if that's all you have experienced, than that is exactly what you come to expect. I was a Fisher advocate when he first was hired as well. I thought, "Now we have a real coach who knows what he's doing" But specifically this year, after all the things I've seen, I've been forced to objectively change my mind. You might be one of the few who won't admit that Fisher's reputation has been significantly tarnished this year. He has failed miserably on OC and DC selection, team discipline, yada yada. It's just one man's opinion. If any of us knew more about football than we presently do, we'd be working in the NFL.

So with that in mind I'm hoping I'm wrong just as much as you are. I'm hoping Fisher and Snead are these mad geniuses that have us and the rest of the league all fooled, and that behind closed doors they are evilly tooling a championship team that they will spring on us when the time is right. But being as dumb as I am, and near-sighted, and impatient (which, truth be known is really the antithesis of a Rams fan) Well, sorry. Right now I just don't see it.

 

[Caynine29]

Whoa, whoa, whoa there, BOSS. Relax man. Never called ya "dumb" or "short-sighted" (I did call you impatient, though. ) I just provided a counter-point to your "fire Fisher" solution. Wishful thinking has nothing to do with it. If it were 2016 and we'd been finishing at or around 8-8 year in and year out, I'd be more inclined to agree with you. But, you don't replace a coach who's improving a team. I mean... are the Rams improved from 2011, when Fisher took over, or aren't they?

Secondly... I didn't compare "Fisher to Vermeil". I compared the Rams' coaching situation in '97 to the coaching situation today. Jeff Fisher is in the same spot that Vermeil was back in 1998, is he not? Dick Vermeil hadn't won a championship prior to '99, if I'm not mistaken. (I'm not 100% certain how I'm supposed to address the "pounded into dried dog dirt" statement. Lol) And what the hell was a "mediocre" coach like Jeff Fisher doing in the Super Bowl, anyway?

And I agree that expectations are (largely) formed by experience. But, if that's the case... and we're so sure history is going to repeat itself, then we should be dancing in the streets right about now, dont'cha think?

 

[BOSS429Mustang]

Didn't mean to suggest that you were name-calling Caynine. I was more or less admitting my own short-comings there. Hope I don't rile anybody for insulting myself

I guess we'll just agree to disagree on Fisher then. I generally try to see the light at the end of the tunnel (while still paying most attention to the tunnel mind you) and even though I'm resigned to having Bradford and Fisher (and by extension Shottenheimer in all probability) back again next year, I do console myself with the fact that we will have two high picks in the first round that hopefully will result in something other than an misused weapon (Austin) or a reach and then pray selection (Quick, Pead himself)

As far as history repeating itself, we'd stand a much better chance if Vermeil and his crew replaced Fisher, even if some of Vermeil's crew are now senile!