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Jeff Fisher exposed for who he is, has been
Jeff Fisher exposed for who he is, has been
By: Will Reeve | 12 hours agoThroughout history, few are the stories that end in greatness when the leader of the narrative chooses paths of stubborn mediocrity.
If the 2016 Los Angeles Rams season is any indicator, absolutely no one should expect Jeff Fisher to be the man who changes history–not overall, and certainly not his own.
Over the course of his 22-year career, Fisher’s teams rank in the 54th percentile in rushing (yards per attempt), in the 33rd percentile in passing attempts, in the 38th percentile in passing yards, in the 52nd percentile in defense (both overall yards, as well as points), and in the dismal 43rd percentile in defensive passing yards.
With Sunday’s turnover-laden loss to the New York Giants (4-3) in London, the Rams fell to a record of 3-4 on the year and have lost three in a row. Fisher’s career head coaching record also dropped to 172-160 (.515) overall–a decidedly average mark for a coach who’s name is bordering on being used as an adjective in place of “mediocrity” by many local millennials.
Fisher’s abominable choice to continue to start Case Keenum as the Rams’ quarterback is finally starting to get the recognition for the embarrassment that it is after Sunday’s nationally televised debacle in London. Per ESPN Stats & Info, Keenum went 9 of 10 with a touchdown in the first three quarters Sunday.
Not bad.
However, with a right arm made of angel hair pasta, Keenum proceeded to fling four interceptions on 53.5 percent (23 of 43) passing in the decisive final quarter.
Keenum’s felonious fourth quarter output isn’t something that should be considered a surprise. After all, in 2016 Keenum boasts a fourth quarter rating of 52 (last) on 50.7 percent passing while dinking the ball an average of 5.6 yards per attempt (also last) per NFL.com.
The 28 year old has also never started more than eight games (2013 in Houston) in a season over the course of his career. Lastly, his quarterback rating of 20.3 (completing 45.8 percent of passes) when his team is behind by more than one score, is also a league-worst mark.
Flashing back to the draft: the Rams traded six picks with the Tennessee Titans to get Jared Goff. In so doing, Los Angeles deemed the 22-year-old quarterback the future of the franchise.
Picks given up included four from 2016–a first-round pick (15th overall), two second-round picks (43rd and 45th overall), and a third-round pick (76th overall)–as well as their 2017 first-round and third-round picks. A hefty price tag that serves to expose Fisher’s stubbornness in continuing to play Keenum as borderline negligent.
In addition to bad quarterback decisions, Fisher’s track record for getting production out of the running game is far worse than most realize. One doesn’t have to look much further than this season to realize just how bad Fisher is in this area of the game.
Todd Gurley has disappeared behind Fisher’s scheme and quarterback. In fact, the second-year running back is currently on pace to have the second-worst rushing season for a bell-cow back (defined as a minimum of 300 carries in a season) in the history of the NFL.
Through seven games Gurley is averaging 19 carries per game, 3.0 yards per carry and has amassed 403 yards. Those numbers translate to a hefty 306 carries over 16 games but just a paltry 921 yards. Since 1920, no running back has averaged fewer yards per carry than Gurley apart from Eddie George, who posted a 2.8 average in 2001.
George’s coach that season? You guessed it–Jeff Fisher.
In fact, George went on to have the eighth-worst season in history the following year (2002), followed by the sixth-worst season ever in 2003. Again, all under Fisher.
After Sunday’s demoralizing loss to the Giants, the Rams rank 29th in rushing yards per game (79.9), 30th in overall offensive yards per game (307.6) and 30th in points per game (17.1). Meanwhile their extremely talented defense has borne Fisher’s trademark of being patently medicore to boot; they rank 15th in points allowed per game (22.1), 14th in passing yards allowed (239) and 15th in rushing yards allowed (104.3).
In the National Football League, almost all players expect their careers to be short. A quick glance at most coach’s resumes will reveal upwards of eight stops in their careers. Yet somehow, Fisher continues to successfully rebuke his overwhelmingly poor stats and maintain a head coaching position.
Indeed, the NFL is widely known to stand for “not for long” by players and coaches alike. However, in Fisher’s case, no acronym is needed. If this team is ever to walk in the talent it possesses on its roster, Fisher’s time must come to an end.
Perpetual mediocrity and disappointment is not what Los Angeles fans signed up for after losing the country’s most popular sport for 21 years. However, it’s exactly what they’ll continue to get until front offices finally see Fisher’s track record for what it is and cast aside any illusions of something great.
History, both recent and past, has a story to tell the Rams’ front office regarding Fisher. The question now is, will they finally listen?
I was fine with Keenum this season. I thought he was good enough to QB this team to the playoffs. He has played better than I expected. But, with this team now, I think the playoffs are a dream. Fisher doesn’t, he really can’t think that way. He has to think that Goff gives the Rams the best chance to win before he plays him. I don’t think Keenum will be with the team next year, although he could be. So, I want to play Goff. If not, then I want to play Mannion. It seems we are in a pretty bad division this year, so maybe, we can win the division.
Agamemnon
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