Martz inherited a historically bad defense . Vermeil has said one of the reasons he retired was he didn’t want to cut those players so that problem fell to Martz who responded with rebuilding the worst defense in the NFL into a top 5 Defense in one freaking season!

I see that differently. Martz inherited the number 7 defense from Vermeil and he helped make it historically bad. After the Superbowl victory, Vermeil said the defense had to get tougher because he watched them wilt away in the 4th quarter against Tennessee. Their lack of conditioning almost cost them the game. When Martz became head coach he was asked about Vermeil’s comment about the defense and he openly disagreed with it. His practices were about tempo and efficiency…not about building toughness or conditioning. And that translated to the field. Also, Martz was convinced that the two-headed DC system with Guinta and Bunting that worked effectively under Vermeil was no good after the Lions game because a miscommunication led to an improper defensive call that allowed Detroit to complete that long pass to win the game. Martz said one man should be accountable. So when Martz became HC he got rid of Bunting and kept Giunta who as it turns out was in way over his head when given complete control. They had to bring in a dying Bud Carson who had been Giunta’s mentor to try and fix his mess. One of the things Carson would complain about is that the defense lacked toughness.

Now, Martz does get credit for rebuilding the defense in 2001, but he helped destroy it after Vermeil retired. That mess in 2000 was all on him.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 9 months ago by nittany ram.

wv wrote:

Good. I think thats a good fit for them. I usually dont much like moves, but I’d actually like to see this one.

w
v

A move to Vegas means they aren’t moving to LA so I’m good with it.

Now we just got to make sure the Chargers either stay in San Diego or move somewhere other than LA.

I don’t want the Rams to share a city, let alone a stadium with some other team.

sanbagger wrote:

nittany ram wrote:

Although I’ve seen things I like I’m not sold on the Groh, Boras offense yet or on their ability to run it.

I won’t be sold until the Rams no longer field the worst offense in the league (and yes, I’m aware they aren’t statistically the worst if you eliminate the 9’ers game).

Fix the running game…then I’ll start to believe.

I would say the blocking schemes and responsibilities sit squarely on Boras and Boo.

Right now, the Rams O-line is just flat getting beat. I thought it was stacked lines, but apparently that’s not the case. The defenders are still close in but the line really isn’t helping TG out

Yeah, the Rams o-line is not getting it done in the running game going back 13 games. It’s frustrating because the talent level (at least on paper) seems to be much better than the performances we’re seeing.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 9 months ago by nittany ram.

Although I’ve seen things I like I’m not sold on the Groh, Boras offense yet or on their ability to run it.

I won’t be sold until the Rams no longer field the worst offense in the league (and yes, I’m aware they aren’t statistically the worst if you eliminate the 9’ers game).

Fix the running game…then I’ll start to believe.

wv wrote:

“It seems to me that like Gurley, and like the OL, this CK/TA disconnect is a function of starting the season off out of sync. I am starting to get a theory in my head about why that is.”

The move? Hard Knocks? A change of scheme? Immigrants? Lizard People?

w
v

No, not Hard Knocks.

Gurley has faced eight or more men in the box on 11 of his rushes, fewer than nine other running backs. Melvin Gordon of San Diego (39 rushes with eight or more defenders in the box), LeGarrette Blount of New England and Devonta Freeman of Atlanta (33 each) have faced it a lot more frequently.

The bigger problem appears to be defensive linemen penetrating the line of scrimmage.

Ok, so it’s not just a matter of the Rams’ o-line being out-manned by 8 and 9 man fronts. They simply can’t run block. And this isn’t new, it goes back 13 games – well into last season.

I always thought the excuse that the Rams can’t run because defenses are stacking the box because they don’t fear the passing game was a little weak. Sure it has something to do with it, but good running teams still find ways to run effectively.

Look at the Rams in Dickerson’s heyday – 83-86. They didn’t have a passing attack that defenses had to respect. A past his prime Vince Ferragamo, Jeff Kemp, Steve Dils and Dieter Brock didn’t force defenses to back off the LOS. But the Rams ran the ball better than any other team. If you have a good run blocking line and a superlative back you can run against anyone. The current Rams have the RB but lack the o-line.

That’s most certainly true.

But neither does Trump.

In fact, I would say that they both probably have actual disdain for the middle class and poor folks.

But this is what our great two party system has given us to choose from.

My second post was in response to a link to an article with Trump assault allegations women in the address with a BS intro of “Why is society so dismissive of sexual assault, our rape culture and women in general?”. Guilt by association and slander. Such hypocrisy. So I responded with truth, the inconvenient truth.

If you read the article you would see that the article wasn’t really about Trump. It used the Trump allegations to ask bigger questions like why we as a society minimize assaults on women and why do we make it so difficult for women who have been assaulted to come forward?

By the way, we have Trump on tape bragging about sexually assaulting women when he talks about kissing them and grabbing their genitals without consent. The inconvenient truth is that’s the definition of sexual assault.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 9 months ago by nittany ram.

In a lot of ways men and women don’t even live in the same world. Their experiences and perceptions are just so different. For example, if a man is set up on a blind date his biggest worry is that the women will be unattractive. The women’s biggest worry is that she’ll be raped.

JackPMiller wrote:

Fisher has been here for 5 years, it has not worked. It is time for a change, and to get a new voice. I have not seen any improvement from this team. We are still no where near a .500 type team, which is embarrassing. At this stage we should be contending for a Super Bowl, not 8-8.

Jack, how can you be sure the Rams aren’t even a 0.500 team when they are currently a 0.600 team (3-2)? They could be 5-2 at the bye.

Isiah58 wrote:

Well, here is the next question: Who do you replace Fisher with?

Jeff Fisher has 22 years of head coaching experience. He has taken a team to a Super Bowl. He has won 177 NFL games including playoffs. So, who have you got who is going to do better?

People mostly assume that the next person will automatically have all of Fisher’s positive attributes and fix all of the negatives. Or just want change for change’s sake. Well, it would be good if you are advocating a new coach to hear your plan for succession.

And let’s not have the same tired retreads like Jimmy Johnson and Bill Cower. Those guys are done. There are not a bunch of Super Bowl winning coaches just sitting on the sidewalk just waiting for the Rams to call. If the you think the hot new assistant coach is the proper path, just harken back to Scott Linehan and Steve Spagnuolu for the last time the Rams tried that avenue. So yes, Fisher and Snead have taken the long path but they have built a team that can beat anyone in the league right now and they are the youngest team in the league. They will get better. The best approach is to maintain continuity and keep the train on the path, IMHO.
Isiah 58

I agree with that for the most part. There does come a time though when it becomes obvious the current coach isn’t going to get it done. When that time arrives is open for debate but that time does come. And at that point you have to make a change even if the next Lombardi isn’t immediately apparent or available.

Fisher hasn’t reached that point yet although it can be seen when the sky is clear and the sun is just right.

A home loss to the Bills didn’t affect the Rams’ rankings much. I guess the media has some respect for them.

Did you edit out the emotional anti-Rams rants? That was actually a joy to read.

wv wrote:

I could be confused — are we talking hair extension ?

w
v

Been there done that.

Coach Fishair.