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  • in reply to: How many more Wins? #11657
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    Do the Rams have a running game? Do they have a top defense? I’m not convinced that the Rams have the “established” components that will take the load off of a young quarterback. I certainly haven’t seen much this season that would indicate that this is the case. The Rams are one of the youngest teams in the league. They could have a couple more young offensive linemen in front of the quarterback, whoever he might be. I don’t believe that the Rams are in the position of those other teams that you mentioned who started young QBs and thrived. A lot can change between now and then, but as of now, color me dubious. I think a young QB plays like a young QB, and the progress of the team is likely to stagnate for a time while the youngster gets acclimated.

    in reply to: Losing my capacity for caring #11654
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    I feel ya, rfl. I know that my interest in the team will never go away. They don’t make a gum that I can chew to ween me off of a 45+ year habit. I’ve tried. I can only find other things to occupy myself during football season than following the Rams. But I still kinda look in on them, even though everything inside of me tells me to look away. The carnage is traumatic.

    in reply to: anyone here ever hurt their knee? #11653
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    Just look at Carson Palmer’s knee injury Sunday. He was being grabbed in the shoulder area, but his knee wasn’t hit. His leg wasn’t hit. It just buckled. We’ve seen it plenty of times before. I don’t understand how these things happen, sometimes it’s just an awkward step. Does it mean that a knee joint that is injured without contact is fragile? I haven’t the slightest clue. I fear for Bradford’s career. I think that having to draft a quarterback will set the team’s building efforts back at least a couple of years. I don’t relish the thought of a rookie quarterback. But I know that depending on Bradford’s twice injured knee is an enormous gamble. I’d say that the Rams are between a rock and a hard place with their quarterback position.

    in reply to: We need a QB. #11056
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    The defense gave up less than 270 yards of offense yesterday. That’ll land a defense in the top five every year. And, I agree, we need a quarterback. The offense was putrid. Less than 200 yards. That’ll land an offense last every year. The Rams benefited greatly from a turnover and awful punt, and seem to have little chance to recover from negative plays or penalties. This one belongs to the defense. The offense gets another week to figure it out. Good luck with that.

    in reply to: Rams beat SF celebration n discussion thread #11019
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    Gotta take my hat off to Gregg Williams and his defense. What a tremendous performance. I’ve been down hard on ’em but you have to give credit where credit is due. They got it done. What a great win, and let’s hope it’s a building block to better things.

    in reply to: Bernie: Another Rams coaching change not a good idea #10953
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    WV, that is kinda my gripe with Gregg Williams, right or wrong. Brockers was an emerging force during the latter parts of last season, and Ogletree was being hailed as a potential Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate, and suddenly this season they’re being talked about as huge disappointments and busts. What’s the difference between last season and this season? Gregg Williams. Robert Quinn ended last season being discussed as one of the top young players in the NFL, and is off to a very slow start this season. What’s the difference? Gregg Williams. I’m not one to assert that I’m right and everyone else is wrong, but the defense that we saw in the second half of last season and the defense that we’ve seen in the first half of this season is not the same quality by a wide margin despite pretty much the same cast of characters. The one difference is Gregg Williams. So, maybe the team is having trouble adjusting. I’d be able to swallow that a little more if not for the fact that half of the season is gone now. Is it wise to rely on a system that is so complicated that your defense might take half a season or more (not to mention OTAs, training camp, and preseason) to digest and execute? Williams is not out-thinking his opponents, he is out-thinking himself. It doesn’t matter how exotic and creative your system might be if it isn’t stopping the opposition. OK, I’m done with the Gregg Williams thing now. I just want the Rams playing competitive football.

    in reply to: Bernie: Another Rams coaching change not a good idea #10941
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    I didn’t read Bernie’s article, but I tend to agree with the premise that another coaching change is not what this team needs. At least not at the head coaching position. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I am pleased in any way with the state of the team under Fisher. That obviously not the case. But the constant upheaval of hiring all new staffs and bringing in all new philosophies has to end somewhere. A team cannot start over time and time again. All that said, he needs to do a better job of selecting his coordinators. Look, I might be wrong about Williams (I tend to believe his is badly overrated), maybe he’ll get the defense organized and playing some decent football. I’d love for that to be the case. We’ll see. I don’t really think that Shotty has much of a guiding philosophy to his planning and his in-game management of the offense. I wouldn’t mind seeing something done there to bring in someone who has demonstrated a concrete body of work that has brought some success. But I think Fisher is a good coach if not a great coach, and I don’t really see anyone on the horizon who I would want to replace him. I am not a fan of grabbing the latest hot coordinator. I just don’t think that the success rate of that ploy is high enough to make it worth firing an established NFL coach for. I think they need to gut it out with Fisher, painful as it may be. He is the most likely to bring them out of the fog.

    in reply to: are some folks bailing on the season? #10940
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    I don’t make any special effort to watch. I don’t subscribe to any cable or satellite service, so the Rams are pretty much never on here in Ohio. I don’t make the effort to watch them on the internet. Most of the internet sites seem to be riddled with pop up ads that never stop and are considered a risk to my computer that I am not willing to take. Now, if those things weren’t true would I watch? I probably would watch at least part of it, up to the point at which I can’t take anymore, wherever in the game that might occur. I tend to follow games on NFL.com’s or ESPN.com’s game tracker, again, until I can’t take it anymore. It’s kind of a weird feeling to have a favorite team and know that there really isn’t any expectation of success or that mediocrity would be considered a win. That enthusiasm for the new season was quickly extinguished in that season opening debacle that left me with that “Are you serious?” feeling, which I have become very accustomed to. It is what it is. Maybe it’ll be different some day. Maybe that passion for the team will be rekindled on day. Right now, they just leave me shaking my head.

    in reply to: what's wrong with the run defense #10788
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    There ‘are’ people out there
    who think the league has
    “figured out” GW. I dunno.

    Mike Martz was a great offensive coordinator at one time, but his ego got in the way. When the league caught on to him, he refused to adapt. He thought his system was bullet proof, and his stubbornness got him tossed on the scrap heap. Hopefully he is reserving a spot for Williams right beside him.

    in reply to: what's wrong with the run defense #10782
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    That’s cool, zn. He coordinated New Orleans’ defense for three seasons. One season at No. 24, one season at No. 25, and one at No. 4. In the season at No. 4, the Saints played twelve games against teams in the bottom fourteen of the NFL in offense, including two against the NFL’s worst offensive team, Carolina, and one vs. No. 31 (Arizona) And they did well against those teams. They faced exactly one top ten offense (Dallas). And then puking all over themselves in the playoffs against an offensively challenged 49er team. What would you expect? Color me dubious. I’m not a Gregg Williams fan. I don’t think he has proven anything. If he has proven anything it’s that he has a lot to prove. The bar is set high when you have a reputation as a defensive guru, and he is tripping all over it.

    • This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by HighPlainsDrifter.
    • This reply was modified 9 years, 5 months ago by zn.
    in reply to: what's wrong with the run defense #10776
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    I believe that Gregg Williams bears the lion’s share of the blame for the condition of this defense. It was a young, promising defense last season, and expected to be among the league’s best this season. The cast is largely the same, minus Chris Long (but add a talented Aaron Donald), and another year of experience under their belt. Enter Gregg Williams and they can’t find their asses with a mirror. I think we need to stop labeling the draft picks as mistakes and apply that label to Williams. He was a horrible hire and has set this defense back to where it was two or three years ago. I think he is an egomaniac who constantly feels the need to demonstrate his genius and has over-complicated everything. He needs to go. He has his own good in mind and not the good of the team. The season is essentially over, so I see no reason not to fire him now. Bring in someone who is driven to put his players in a position to succeed, not to put himself in a position to succeed.

    in reply to: Shellshock #10636
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    I feel your pain, Zooey. I need to experience a football season in which the team I support is relevant again before I die, and with each year that passes in which that is not the case just makes the frustration that much more intense. And I do consider this a “bad” team. An awful team, in fact. Not that there isn’t a fair amount of individual talent on the roster, but they have no clue how to bring those talents together for the team’s benefit. And their coaches don’t seem to be able to bring them together. And I am losing my inclination to spend much time on them. If it doesn’t mean enough to them to learn to play the game on a professional level, why should mean that much to me? I can find other games to watch involving teams that get it. I saw a local meteorologist give his weather forecast last night from a maze cut through a cornfield. He wandered around cluelessly for about an hour and a half before someone came in and got him out. Naturally, the Rams came to mind. I just wonder who’s going to come into the maze and bring them out. “Career suicide” comes to mind. I don’t know. They’ve worn me out. I can’t stand to look at them.

    in reply to: posters lament the Chiefs game #10491
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    They’re the Washington Generals of the NFL. Seriously, I’m all for just blowing the whole thing up. Just pull the plug. Burn it all to the ground and maybe a real franchise will grow up in its place. (disclaimer: all references to pyrotechnics are metaphorical. I am not advocating arson.)

    in reply to: posters lament the Chiefs game #10489
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    There’s always a handful of cars at the tail end of a NASCAR field that everyone knows has zero chance of actually winning a race. They only exist to fill out the field. That’s what the Rams have become. Field fillers. They only exist so that the NFL will have an even number of teams.

    in reply to: posters lament the Chiefs game #10476
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    again. I don’t know if they’ve quit or not today, but I don’t think it could be much easier on the Chiefs if they did. Please, before you sully the legacy of those who came before you, fold up the tents and call it a millennium. You’re just wasting money and embarrassing yourselves.

    • This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by HighPlainsDrifter.
    • This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by zn.
    in reply to: the Rams beat Seattle post-game thread #10037
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    What do you suppose was going through the mind of Gregg Williams when Fisher called for the fake punt? Was there a feeling of ‘no confidence’? Was he a bit humiliated? A slap in the face? Only six games into the season and Fisher is gambling deep in his own territory rather than turn the game over to Williams’ defensive unit. Where do they go from here?

    in reply to: the Rams beat Seattle post-game thread #9950
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    It also seemed to be a strategy to wear down the Seahawk offense by letting them run up and down the field. Shrewd.

    in reply to: the Rams beat Seattle post-game thread #9944
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    I’m pleased. Not overwhelmed. But pleased.

    in reply to: The Big Bang Theory #9821
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    Yeah, that’s the one.

    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    Grits, I’m just concerned that if the team doesn’t get a big win in the next couple of weeks that the attitude of the group will begin to come undone. They’ve got be getting frayed. This was supposed to be a breakout year for them and it has unraveled very quickly. Their heads have to be swimming. I’ll have a ton of respect for them if they can hold it together through all of this.

    in reply to: Beyond freaking belief…9ers game reactions thread #9626
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    It’s sad, but the game was pretty much what I expected. I didn’t watch it, I just looked at the box score this morning. I can’t bring myself to stay up late on a Monday night for what I anticipate being just another ridiculous train wreck. I know Rams’ fans have a deep seeded hatred for the 49ers, but you have to admire the fact that they are ‘in’ every single game, no matter the opponent. Unless the Rams are playing a very mediocre or lousy football team, I have little reason to believe that they are going to compete for four quarters. Or even three. If not for the numerous really good football games that I have been able to watch this season (none of which included the Rams), my interest in the NFL would be just about gone. The Cleveland Browns, for crying out loud, are competitive and even fun to watch. St. Louis has become a football black hole. Being a fan of this franchise has almost become a curse that ruins five months of the year. I need a diversion program to rid myself of them.

    in reply to: Reaction to the Eagles game thread #9153
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    I know what some others think, but I just don’t think that this is a good team. I’m not sure this is even a team. I don’t think they know how to play with each other and for each other. I don’t think that good teams make the kinds of mistakes that the Rams make over and over again. Sure, there seems to be some individual talent. Maybe lots of it. But that isn’t what makes a good team. Individual talent won’t take a team very far if they can’t find a way to mesh all of that individual talent into cohesive units. Sometimes I marvel over just how incredibly awful the Rams can look at just about any given time. How unbelievably chaotic they can look. I think the coaching staff is failing them to some extent, but I think that they are failing themselves more. These players know what they’re supposed to do. Sometimes I wonder if they really understand the value of winning. Is it truly important to them to win football games? There doesn’t seem to be any leaders out there on the field who will hold their teammates’ feet to the fire for bonehead moves and lapses of judgement or concentration. They’re just rudderless. They’re clueless about what it takes. While it might not be a popular opinion, a guy like Ray Lewis would do wonders this group. They’re desperate for mentoring and there is none to be had. A lot of precious football-playing days are going to waste on wandering in the desert. It’s sad and very difficult to watch as a fan.

    in reply to: MMQB Peter King #6728
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    “Easy” was used in a relative sense in regards to the rest of the games, not in it’s strictest literal sense. The point being, if the Rams can’t deal with Minnesota, how are they going to deal with the like of the Niners, Seahawks, Broncos, etc.? Just very discouraging as a fan to have such a harsh reality shoved into your face so early in a season that you’ve looked forward to for a while. It’s the same as it’s been for several years now. The loss isn’t the hardest aspect of the opener to deal with. It’s the utter lack of competitiveness. And I’m not interested in reading how they were doing OK until……football is a four quarter game and doing OK for about a quarter and a half is not doing OK. I hate believing that they are incapable, but they’re going to have to show me otherwise. Game one was not it. Game one was business as usual.

    in reply to: MMQB Peter King #6658
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    Only time will tell, but we disagree. I think the Rams will have to score a lot of points to beat Dallas, and I have a hard time believing that their offense is capable. I doubt Romo will be quite so generous as he was yesterday.

    in reply to: MMQB Peter King #6649
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    I thought the Minnesota game was the “easy” one among the first ten games. And they got crushed. I honestly believe that they have a real shot at an 0-10 start and I believe it has a real chance to get real ugly along the way. I guess if I see something positive, it’s that the Rams might find themselves in the Jameis Winston sweepstakes. Of course, if Winston thinks he might be sentenced to a career in St. Louis, he might just stay in college.

    in reply to: Shall we talk draft? The vikes game post-mortem #6408
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    My enthusiasm for football lasted all of one half. I’d say see ya in 2015, but I’m just not sure. I might be all Rammed out.

    in reply to: Browns cut Connor Shaw #5784
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    I think I know where the “dumber than a box of rocks” came from. I think Pryor has been judged in an unduly harsh manner. I don’t think he was given the credit he deserved for his improvements as a passer when he was in college. If you watch some of his last season at Ohio State, the kid made some big time throws. He’s better when he is throwing the ball down field. He tends to short-arm the short stuff. I tend to believe that his biggest problem is that he was such a freak athletically that he was never required to learn the positional nuances. He was never required to refine his technique. He lived on his athletic superiority and his coaches let it happen. Now he’s playing a game of catch-up that he might not win. Am I advocating signing him? No. But I’m not totally against it either. Strong coaching and leadership could make all the difference, and we just happen to have a starting quarterback who will be watching from the sidelines this season who could give Pryor some much needed insight, both in the film room and on the field. But he may never take that next step. I would say at this point that the chances are much better that he won’t than he will. But, at his age, I think he might still be worth a shot. But his next one will likely be his last.

    in reply to: Browns cut Connor Shaw #5714
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    He thinks a lot more highly of Connor Shaw than I ever did. Good college quarterback. Not great. Good. College quarterback. Cut by the Browns in favor of Rex Grossman, who was subsequently cut himself. I’m not a scout. I could be wrong. But Connor Shaw does not excite me at all.

    in reply to: Bradford is done for the year #4840
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    I think we can be relatively certain Tebow won’t get hurt.

    in reply to: Bradford is done for the year #4824
    HighPlainsDrifter
    Participant

    Shaun might play some good football, but the field just shrunk considerably. Running the ball is going to be a real challenge, as I suspect defenses are going to dare Hill to throw it over top of them.

Viewing 30 posts - 31 through 60 (of 63 total)