Jeff Fisher seeks 'culture change' in terms of penalties for Rams

Jeff Fisher seeks ‘culture change’ in terms of penalties for Rams

Alden Gonzalez
ESPN Staff Writer

http://www.espn.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/30110/jeff-fisher-seeks-culture-change-in-terms-of-penalties-for-rams

IRVINE, Calif. — Center Tim Barnes was whistled for a false start two minutes into the game, defensive tackle Aaron Donald was called for leverage midway thru the first quarter and defensive lineman Ian Seau was caught offside with 8:52 remaining in the third.

That’s it.

The Los Angeles Rams drew only three penalties in their 28-24 win against the Dallas Cowboys in Saturday’s preseason opener, a welcomed sign for coach Jeff Fisher, who has overseen one of the league’s most penalized teams over the last four years.

“Penalties have been an issue for us since we got here,” Fisher said, “and I really want to keep the numbers down.”

The Rams have ranked within the bottom eight in the NFL in penalty yards per game in each of Fisher’s four seasons as coach. They were 25th in 2015, 32nd in 2014, 29th in 2013, and 30th in 2012. Last season, the Rams had as many as 12 penalties in a game (twice) and never less than four (once).

“It’s a culture change,” Fisher said. “We just have to keep the penalties down.”

Fisher put his players through extra running at the end of Monday’s practice from UC Irvine. It was procedural, but also somewhat punitive. Fisher and his staff singled out the players who committed penalties in the previous game and scheduled them for additional suicides. The rest of their teammates joined in, as they’re prone to do.

“Fortunately, for them, we had [three] penalties in the game,” Fisher said. “We were the least-penalized team in the preseason this weekend. It’s been a point of emphasis for us; we have to continue with it.”

Some additional notes from Monday’s practice, with stories on Jared Goff’s evolution at quarterback and the pursuit of a better rushing attack posted earlier …
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Cornerback E.J. Gaines was sidelined against the Cowboys because of a hamstring injury, but is on track to return for Week 2 of the preseason against the Chiefs, Fisher said. That would mark Gaines’ first game action since 2014. The 24-year-old suffered a season-ending foot injury during training camp last season.

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The Rams waived injured safety Brian Randolph, who suffered a torn ACL on Saturday, and signed safety Michael Caputo, an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin. Fisher said Sunday that the team would eventually place Randolph on injured reserve and give him a chance to compete next season.

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The Rams will practice with full pads on Tuesday and Wednesday. Both workouts begin at 3:30 p.m. PT and will be open to the public. Quarterbacks and tight ends will sign autographs after practice on Tuesday. Running backs and wide receivers will follow on Wednesday.