will the Rams defense be "fixed" enough for the Dallas game?

That team was SO devoid of talent that within just TWO years (and we thought the Linehan teams were bereft of talent…which they were…) that of the 53 on the active roster in 2011, not including the injury subs, more than 40 weren’t just off the Rams roster by 2013…they were out of the entire NFL.

I’ve actually explored those numbers. They get repeated a lot so taken on faith. If you look at them, they’re not accurate. Or they’re misleading.

Bear in mind that the 2011 Rams was mostly the product of massive injuries. LIke, 10 CBs and (according to Football Outsiders), the single most injured offense since 2002.

Under those conditions they were forced to sign a lot of guys out on the street who were already out of football. For example, they didn’t even carry 10 CBs…losing 10 to injury meant having to replace more than they ever had on the roster.

As a rule, in-season injury replacements don’t get kept after the season. That’s true even if it;s the same coaching staff.

The number I heard no longer in football who were on the 2011 roster is 30 something (you hear a slightly different number every time). Of those–and I broke it all down once–several were driven out of the game by injuries (Clayton, Harris, a couple of others), 2 had offers but left the game (Brown, Bell) and 16 are out of the game or were by 2013 (16 or so, this is memory–meaning, remembering who was on the roster originally and who were in-season injury replacements.)

So how many players were there who were on the original week 1 53 and were still in football at least through 2013, with the Rams or anyone else?

This is hard to do. The 2011 roster lists 71 guys. Many of those were in-season injury replacements, and I don’t count those. Rarely if ever do in-season injury replacements stick around. They’re already out of football when you sign them, or they would not be available.

By my quick count–it’s about 29. That’s 29 of the original week 1 53.

How many left the game because of injuries or (like Bell and Brown) had offers but did not return to fooball? 6.

So of the original 53, I count 35 who were either (1) still in football as of 2013, or (2) (a) out of the game cause of career-ending injuries, or (2)(b) left the game in spite of offers.

That leaves about 18 who were on the original 53 (I think) but were no longer in football as of 2013.

So by my quick count, if you leave out in-season injury replacements, of the original 53 from the week 1 roster, 29 are still in football, 6 (like Clayton or Harris) are out cause of career-ending injuries…or left the game in spite of having offers. 18 of the original 53 were just out of football as of 2013 (and earlier–2011 in fact).

So in fact if you just look at the original week 1 53-man roster, the number who were just cut and out of football–without career ending injuries–is 18.

More are still IN football (29).

So, there are 29 guys from that 53 man 2011 roster still in football…now?

Cuz…that just doesn’t make sense. May be true, but doesn’t make sense.

I don;t know about NOW. I did it through 2013. And, it’s not 29 starters.

I went over it again and corrected a mistake. Of what I take to the be original 53–it’s now 28 in football, 7 who left either because of injury or walking away from the game in spite of offers.

Okay. Here are the 28 guys still in football as of 2013, compiled from (my best estimate of) the 2011 week 1 53-man roster…based on this source http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/ram/2011_roster.htm (which lists 71, including the in-season injury replacements). Present starters or key role players bolded (I also count them as starters if they WERE starters in 2013 but got injured).

Amendola
Bajema
Bannan
Bradford
Brown, Josh
Chamberlain
Dahl, Craig
Dahl, Harvey (original starter, injured during the season in 2013)
Fletcher
Gibson, Brandon
Gibson, Gary (2013 back-up, Tampa)
Gordy
Hoomanawanui
Hull (2013 back-up, Washington)
Jackson
Jones, Donnie
Kehl (2013 back-up, Washington)
Kendricks
Laurinaitis
Long
McQuaide
Mikkel
Pettis
Quinn
Saffold
Salas (Eagles 2013, Jets 2014)
Sims
Stewart
Welch (back-up, Bills)

7 who left either because of career-ending injury or because they walked away from the game in spite of having offers:

Alexander
Bartell
Bell
Brown, Josh
Clayton
Harris
Robbins

***

Of the 71, the way I read it, that leaves:

18 of the original week 1 53 who were out of football as early as 2011, though sometimes 2012.

Some of these are gray area guys. So for example, the Rams originally kept Jabarra Williams in 2011. They then cut him. He went to Chicago, who later cut him, and the Fisher Rams picked him up in 2012. They then cut him in 2013. I count him as out of football.

18 in-season injury replacements who, basically, were out of football already when they were signed during the season. As a rule this type isn’t going to stick around. One example of that is 2007. The Rams signed several OL that year who were out of football when the season began, and then out again after the season ended…even Linehan didn’t want them back.

—-

wv wrote:

Well if Spags won Seven games
with No talent,
and Fisher only wins Seven games
with lots of talent…
what does that mean?

w
v

Except they did have some talent in 2010. Not as much as 2013, but they did have some. That includes some guys who were injured or tanked in 2011.

This “Rams had no talent in 2011” thing is only partly true. That is, they certainly weren’t THERE yet–they were not a formidable contender. But they started the year with enough to compete with. Some guys just completely tanked and were no longer really interested in football (Bell, Brown). Some guys got hurt and it drove them out of the game (Clayton could not come back from a previous injury; Al Harris and Robbins got beat up that year; James Hall was still functional but beat up and on the old side; etc.) Some were just young (Quinn for example). There were the legendary 2011 injuries. Also, of course, there was the combination of McD and no off-season.

In week 1 the 2011 roster was better than later conversations would have you believe. I think part of the “they had no one in 2011” line comes from the present regime, who of course has an interest in believing that when they took over, they had nothing and were starting over from scratch.