Bernie: Rams' plight is a mix of bad luck, poor decisions

Bernie: Rams’ plight is a mix of bad luck, poor decisions
• Bernie Miklasz •

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bernie-miklasz/bernie-rams-plight-is-a-mix-of-bad-luck-poor/article_e0a06c08-e142-51cc-a495-4f2a13965a79.html

It’s already looking like a long season at Rams Park. It seems a bit dramatic to state that the Rams already are into crisis mode, but if the adversity fits, then they have to wear it.

In the third preseason game the Rams lost starting quarterback Sam Bradford to a season-ending knee injury. In their humiliating 28-point wipeout by the Vikings in Sunday’s dud of an opener, No. 2 quarterback Shaun Hill missed the second half with a thigh injury, and the Rams turned to No. 3 quarterback Austin Davis.

In the latest mad-dog blitz of turmoil, the Rams have lost one of their top defensive players, defensive end Chris Long, to a lower left-leg injury. After undergoing surgery, Long will miss at least six weeks and possibly longer.

Oh, yeah … and no one knows if team owner Stan Kroenke is plotting a franchise move to Los Angeles.

Isn’t it fantastic to be a Rams fan?

Are we having fun yet?

Plenty of good tickets remain for the final seven home games at the grim football house of horrors otherwise known as the Edward Jones Dome.

I feel sorry for the Rams on this point: The loss of Long really stinks. He’s a heck of a player, and a team leader, and a source of constant energy in even the worst of times. No one is saying he’s Deacon Jones, but Long is one of the few bright lights for a franchise that’s had too many dark Sundays.

You’d think this team was due to experience and enjoy good luck for a change. But it never seems to go the Rams’ way. This organization hasn’t had a winning season since 2003 and is 43-101-1 over the last nine-plus years, and there’s been little relief from the pain.

That said, the Rams also create a lot of this depressing juju by making unwise draft choices and unsuccessful free-agent signings, and by deploying a dull offense that only a Schottenheimer could love.

The regime of head coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead is into a third year, but the hamster wheel of losing continues. These guys didn’t create all of the problems, and their roster is better than the collection of talent left to them by former football leaders Billy Devaney and Steve Spagnuolo.

But it’s also true that Billy D and Spags were responsible for drafting three of the team’s best players: defensive end Robert Quinn, Long and middle linebacker James Laurinaitis.

The new bosses have made progress in upgrading the talent base, but they didn’t maximize the rare draft-pick haul gained when trading the draft rights to quarterback Robert Griffin III to Washington.

Fisher-Snead invested considerable free-agent cash in cornerback Cortland Finnegan (gone), tight end Jared Cook (underutilized), center Scott Wells (frequently injured) and offensive tackle Jake Long (hurt again last season). The Rams spent millions to re-sign offensive lineman Rodger Saffold, a player who can’t stay on the field for long without straining something.

Despite his obvious injury history, the Rams opted to continue pumping money into the Bradford Project. The bosses then neglected to to use a premium-round draft pick on a young quarterback, a legitimate QB prospect who could be developed as a successor to the hard-luck Bradford.

This year the Rams had the gift of the second overall pick in the draft and chose Auburn offensive lineman Greg Robinson. The big man may yet turn into Orlando Pace, but he could also turn into Jason Smith. Sorry, media apologists, but it isn’t an encouraging sign when when the No. 2 overall pick fails to crack the lineup on an offensive line that got its collective backside kicked by the Vikings.

The Rams had five of the first 100 selections in the 2014 draft. Two — running back Tre Mason and defensive back Maurice Alexander — weren’t even on the game-day roster Sunday and watched in street clothes. Robinson played nine snaps. Of the five draft picks, only defensive tackle Aaron Donald and slot cornerback Lamarcus Joyner saw meaningful action.

Tavon Austin, last year’s No. 8 overall pick, is still largely a non-factor in the Brian Schottenheimer offense. How can this be? Why is it that other teams can get immediate impact from smaller, elusive receivers — the latest example being Arizona rookie wideout John Brown — while Austin idles?

And let’s not even talk about using a second-round 2012 pick on running back Isaiah Pead (bust) or a fourth-round 2013 pick on center Barrett Jones, who has yet to dress for a regular-season NFL game. At least wide receiver Brian Quick – No. 33 overall in 2012 – seems to be coming on. I’ll give the Rams that. And it’s about time.

Ten players chosen in the 2012 and 2013 drafts have already been selected to a Pro Bowl.

None is a Ram.

For the third consecutive season, the Rams continue to field one of the league’s youngest teams. Granted, Fisher-Snead faced a massive rebuild when taking control in 2012.

Does it have to be a rebuild on an annual basis?

This is pretty sweet setup for a GM and a coach. Keep drafting players, keep churning the roster, keep talking about this collection of emerging young talent … and keep losing games.

Welcome to the first perpetual reconstruction project.

You can check into the Edward Jones Dome anytime you like, but only Kroenke can leave.

Last week I wrote that Fisher is the right coach to have in place for a weird season. And he is. My comment was misinterpreted by some to mean that I was praising Fisher for being a great coach.

Incorrect. My reference was to Fisher’s work at Tennessee, when he did an admirable job of overcoming a goofy owner, salary-cap hell and quarterback problems.

Fisher is an effective crisis manager, and I do I respect that about him.

Well, Coach Fisher has a crisis on his hands now. And part of this is his own doing. Sure, the Rams have had bad luck. But that’s no coverall excuse for bad football.