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znModeratorTen Takeaways From the Rams’ 19-16 Loss to the 49ers
Randy Karraker
http://www.101sports.com/2016/01/04/ten-takeaways-rams-19-16-loss-49ers/
Next up for the Rams is filing for relocation from St. Louis to Los Angeles, after the franchise wrapped up their ninth straight losing season with a 19-16 overtime loss to a bad 49ers team Sunday in Santa Clara.
Most teams with four straight losing seasons under the same coach would be ready to announce a change at that position, but obviously this organization has more pressing issues on its mind.
At the end of the football Cardinals’ stay here in St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch ran a series of articles entitled “A Futile Franchise.” I’m here to tell you, the St. Louis Football Cardinals couldn’t compete with the St. Louis Rams in terms of futility. It’s not even close.
And with that, ten takeaways from Sunday’s loss to San Francisco, where they fired coach Jim Tomsula after they BEAT the Rams…
1) The gold standard for St. Louis football was the Greatest Show on Turf, so it’s always fun to compare the exploits of current Rams teams to them. My fun fact for the day is that the 2015 Rams offense had nine games in which they scored zero or one touchdown, giving them seven games with more than one touchdown. In 2000, Marshall Faulk’s MVP season, he played fourteen games, and had seven games HIMSELF in which he scored more than one touchdown.
The 2015 offense did have more overall TD’s than Faulk did in 2000…27 to 26.
2) The 7-9 season is Jeff Fisher’s fourth losing campaign in four seasons as Rams coach. In the Super Bowl era…and this season will bring us Super Bowl 50…only one coach has started his career with a team with four losing seasons and then received a fifth. That was David Shula with the Bengals, who had years of 5-11, 3-13, 3-13 and 7-9 from 1992-1995. After a 1-6 start in 1996, Shula was fired. As an amazing aside, the Minnesota Vikings started play in 1961, and that franchise has NEVER had four straight losing seasons. The Steelers last run of four straight losing years was an eight year run from 1964-1971. Since then, they’ve had seven losing seasons in 45 years. The Rams have had nine losing seasons in their last nine years.
3) Sunday marked the fourth time this season that the Rams went over 200 yards passing in a game. The 49ers finished the season with 2,966 yards passing and were 31st in the league in that department. The Rams had 2,574 yards through the air, 32nd in the league and nearly 400 yards shy of second-to-last. Their passer rating of 73.9 was dead last. All season long, the passing game was the Rams nemesis, and until they fix that with a different philosophy, some receivers and a quarterback, they’ll continue to have losing seasons.
4) Remarkably, with all of the turnover on the offensive line, they allowed a league-low eighteen sacks. While Nick Foles had some games early in which he was under duress despite not going down, the offensive line improved immensely over the last five games. According to Pro Football Focus, rookie right tackle Rob Havenstein was the only starting tackle in the NFL not to allow a sack all season, and guard Cody Wichmann came on strong. With Jamon Brown returning from his broken leg, the Rams should have a good nucleus up front. Rodger Saffold’s salary becomes guaranteed if he’s on the roster as of March 11, so expect him to be released with a $3 million cap savings by then.
chris long-3A week five knee injury sidelined DE Chris Long for a portion of the 2015 season.
5) You may have seen former Pro Bowl offensive lineman LeCharles Bentley’s piece on Greg Robinson during the season. Bentley has a training facility in Scottsdale that’s utilized by many NFL offensive linemen during the off-season. I think Robinson would be well served to get in touch with him and head to Arizona for some training.
6) When considering what the defensive staff was able to accomplish despite the absence of Robert Quinn for the last half of the season, Alec Ogletree for the last three quarters of the season, and Tim McDonald, E.J. Gaines and Chris Long for varying amounts of time, they deserve kudos. The defense was terrific even with all of the injuries they incurred.
7) We often hear about too many voices being a distraction for players. Is it possible that the Rams have too many coaches? Fisher has 24 assistants, with three of those being strength coaches. Chris Weinke is the quarterbacks coach, and former NFL QB Jeff Garcia is an offensive assistant.
There are two offensive line coaches, two special teams guys, two, and perhaps three defensive backs coaches, two linebackers coaches, two defensive line coaches. I know in college we like to have a small student-to-teacher ratio. If a coaching staff is going to have to have that, they better be on exactly on the same page.
8) Trumaine Johnson and Janoris Jenkins are both headed toward free agency, and as D’Marco Farr has mentioned in The Fast Lane, both should be retained. It would make sense for the Rams to try to sign both, and if they can’t, at least sign one and franchise the other. Even with Gaines coming back, you can never have too many cornerbacks. It would be smart to keep your talent in house.
9) As it turned out, the Rams played eight games against playoff teams, winning three; two against Seattle and one at Arizona. They lost to Arizona at the Dome, and to Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Minnesota and Green Bay. They were 5-3 at home and 2-6 on the road. Few of the peripherals that fit the profile of a playoff team were achieved by the Rams. There were some positives, like finishing 11th in turnover ratio and fifth in yards per rush. But being last in passing, 29th in scoring, last in 3rd down conversions, last in yards per game and 26th in yards per play don’t translate to making the playoffs these days.
10) If indeed this game was the last one played by the Rams representing St. Louis, the team will have had four winning seasons in 21 years here. St. Louis has stepped up with, relative to other NFL situations, a workable stadium plan, and under the circumstances fans have supported the franchise as well as could be expected. Back in 2011, Rams COO Kevin Demoff told us in The Fast Lane that “We (the Rams) want a global solution. Not just what the Rams need, but what is needed to move St. Louis forward as a region and as a city. If we’re going to have a 65,000-seat stadium downtown, let’s make sure it works for all parties involved. If it works for everybody, it should work for us.”
Well, the Stadium Task Force’s plan seems to work for the St. Louis and Missouri Governments. Demoff said in the same interview that “I think the criteria need to be what makes St. Louis a better place for our citizens, and a better place for everybody long term. As long as we use that as our guiding principle, how we can work together, how we can build something meaningful for everybody involved, then it shouldn’t really matter where it ultimately ranks (against other NFL stadiums).” Those are the words of the Rams’ representative, laying out their own principles (a personal or specific basis of conduct or management, according to Dictonary.com).
As the team approaches filing for relocation, especially if reports that they have no interest in St. Louis’ stadium plan are true, it’ll be interesting to see if they are people of their words (to hold to one’s promises). Nobody knows how it’ll turn out, but the Rams actions sure are contradictory to their words, aren’t they?
znModeratorLack of passing attack again dooms Rams against 49ers
Nick WagonerEARTH CITY, Mo. — Looking back at how the St. Louis Rams fared in three key areas of Sunday’s 19-16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers:
1. Who runs it? As expected, the Rams played this game without the services of injured rookie running back Todd Gurley. Gurley sat out with a “mild turf toe,” coach Jeff Fisher said. That left the Rams leaning on backs Tre Mason, Benny Cunningham, Tavon Austin and even recently promoted Malcolm Brown.
As it turned out, the final numbers weren’t bad as the Rams rushed for 133 yards on 33 carries. The problem was consistency. The Rams gained 77 of those yards on four carries, which meant they had just 56 yards on their other 29 attempts, an average of 1.93 yards. That wasn’t enough to keep the chains moving consistently or get the Rams in the end zone other than the only time they did it following a takeaway and great field position from the defense.
2. Getting after Gabbert: The Rams were in San Francisco quarterback Blaine Gabbert’s face for most of the day, hitting him seven times. But they weren’t able to get enough pressure on him to keep him from lighting them up. Gabbert threw for 354 yards with a touchdown and an interception and repeatedly moved the pocket with his legs and made big plays down the field. When he wasn’t doing that, Gabbert was able to find checkdowns for easy yards.
The defense mostly did its job keeping the 49ers out of the end zone, but the big plays allowed Gabbert and Co. the chance to put the game away in overtime. They did.
Case Keenum aired it out frequently against the 49ers, but it wasn’t enough to boost the Rams. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
3. Adding to the aerial attack: With Gurley out, there was no doubt the Rams needed more from the passing game in this one, as evidenced by quarterback Case Keenum’s 37 attempts. Keenum had a couple of good moments, including an early strike on a deep ball to receiver Kenny Britt. Ultimately, Keenum’s 22-of-37 for 231 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions wasn’t enough to make up for Gurley’s absence and get the Rams in the end zone with any sort of frequency.To be fair, Keenum got little in the way of help from his receivers. A number of drops cost the Rams big plays but Keenum also misfired on third-down attempts that should have been pitch-and-catch for first downs.
January 4, 2016 at 9:52 am in reply to: Aaron Donald just broke J.J. Watt’s all-time grade record, and should be DPOY #36597znModeratorhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAoTRaor6AU
This sort of works
I swear, he deliberately tipped it to Sims. He didn’t just swat it down.
January 4, 2016 at 9:00 am in reply to: Aaron Donald just broke J.J. Watt’s all-time grade record, and should be DPOY #36595znModeratorThe play where he tipped the pass to Sims was one of the best defensive plays I’ve ever seen, by anybody.
znModeratorFive questions facing the St. Louis Rams this offseason
Nick Wagoner
The St. Louis Rams finished the 2015 season Sunday with a record of 7-9 after a 19-16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Here are five questions facing the Rams this offseason.
Where will the Rams play their home games in 2016? Before we get to the many offseason machinations involving free agency and the draft, we will likely (though not certainly) know which teams are relocating to Los Angeles. The Rams, San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders are all in the running. Teams can begin filing relocation papers Monday and key committees are expected to meet next week to discuss the home market proposals again. After that, there’s another round of owners meetings set for Houston on Jan. 12-13. There’s a real possibility that we’ll know after that meeting where the Rams’ future lies, at least for 2016. But until that’s decided, this is the cloud that looms over the rest of the team’s offseason business.
Will Jeff Fisher be retained as head coach? There are only a few coaches who have not had a winning season in their first four years with a team and were then brought back for a fifth. It has been exceedingly rare in today’s NFL, in which instant results are required. Fisher’s inability to put a consistently productive offense on the field has kept the Rams from taking the next step to a winning record or a postseason berth. But it looks unlikely that Fisher will be anything but the Rams coach again in 2015, unless he’s the one choosing otherwise. Owner Stan Kroenke seems more concerned with the move to Los Angeles than the product on the field and he doesn’t seem likely to pay Fisher nearly $7 million to not coach next season. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Fisher will get a short contract extension so that he doesn’t enter 2016 on the last year of his deal.
Should Rob Boras become the full-time offensive coordinator? Considering that Boras was put in a difficult position by taking over play-calling duties with just four weeks to go, he did a commendable job. The Rams’ offense didn’t take off or turn into a dominant force; in fact, most of the numbers were about the same. But with Boras at the helm, turnovers were down and scoring was up a little. Boras and Fisher have said they weren’t thinking big picture as they prepared for those four games, but one would think Boras put himself in position to keep the job moving forward. If nothing else, it would be difficult for Fisher to hire a proven upgrade for the position considering that there are other NFL jobs with better quarterbacks and more job security available. If Fisher stays, don’t be surprised if Boras keeps the job while the Rams make other changes to the coaching staff.
How can the Rams fix their offense? To be sure, the Rams have a lot of needs and just improving at quarterback probably won’t be enough to get them back into the postseason. But it still starts at the game’s most important position. There’s no obvious solution for them at quarterback so they’ll likely bring restricted free agent Case Keenum back, but they should still look for, at minimum, someone who can push him for the job. They still have a serious need for a legitimate No. 1 receiver who can consistently create separation and open up the field. More help on the offensive line, especially at center, would also be welcome.
Can the Rams keep their defense intact? There is no shortage of roster questions heading into the offseason, but some of the biggest ones come on the side of the ball where the Rams are best: the defense. Starters such as end William Hayes, cornerbacks Trumaine Johnson and Janoris Jenkins, linebacker Mark Barron and safety Rodney McLeod are all scheduled to become unrestricted free agents. Key backups like end Eugene Sims and defensive tackle Nick Fairley are also set to hit the open market and the Rams have to make a decision on end Chris Long’s future as he holds a 2016 cap number in excess of $14 million. If they want to improve the offense and keep the defense together, they’re going to have to make tough decisions, many of which will probably result in defensive subtractions.
znModeratorbump
I don’t see today’s game.
znModeratorThere you go, Joe.
Enjoy the game.
.
znModeratorfrom off the net
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Flipper336
I’m the head of the Hackenberg apologist club 73
Still my #1 QB. Penn State was a clown show with drops and their protection this year. Switch him and Cook at Michigan State or Hogan at Stanford and Hack is probably the clear #1 pick in the draft and those guys might be UDFAs…and I say this liking those guys (Cook a bit less and Hogan more than most draftniks). The more I think about it, I actually like the stress he’s been under in the same way I usually prefer a RB prospect that didn’t have the luxury of huge holes his entire career.
I think he has cleaned up his short accuracy, and can easily zip any other throw. Will change speeds on his throw when needed and can change his arm angles without losing anything. Moves well in the pocket, rare is the sack (of which there are many) that I put on him. He shows frustration but often with himself and I think many guys his age and in his situation might lose their minds watching money fly out of their pockets with the lack of support. He’s certainly not flawless but he has elite upside and looks like a QB I’d want to build around.
Others will say I’m making excuses, and that may be true but as a freshman I was thinking he would be another Andrew Luck type prospect. I’m not there anymore but I also don’t forget what he was with some talent around him and before the coach he wanted to play for left him.
znModeratorznModeratorPrettymuch agree with all that.
But what are YOUR criticisms of Fisher?
“…With Fisher, I will defend him (and actually I don’t ever see the criticisms of him I myself have). But if they replace him, I won’t lament it, because the new guy—assuming he’s any good—inherits so much..”
w
vMy BIG criticism? He was too inconsistent in what they were doing because he gave too much rope to his coordinators.
So for example, he never should have let Schott talk him into running a spread offense in 2013 with those receivers and Richardson at RB.
They start that year with play action and a real back and they would have been strong.
It is true that he fixed things overnight in that case, with only Bradford’s injury tripping that up.
And letting GW run wild in 2014 from the get-go was not such a hot idea either. GW claimed to know the team and what they could do but he obviously didn’t. If they were just playing basic solid defense from the get-go in 2014 they would have won in spite of having a mash unit OL and Davis and Hill at qb.
I also do not like the mickey mouse stuff like the coin toss against Washington. And letting the team be so chippy and self-destructive early on in the Finnegan days. And of course he is way too loyal to his guys, like Cook. He believes he can right those guys, but then, he overestimates his power to do that sometimes.
BUT for me, that’s all alongside some very good things. And the criticisms do not overbalance the good things, for me.
IMO the worst Fisher attribute is bad luck.
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znModeratorI kinda see Case Keenum
as Radar O’Reilly.
Maybe thats just me though.No no no no NO!
In other words, I respectfully disagree.
Keenum is this driven competitive film junkie who has some cagey field smarts. He is exactly the kind of qb who later ends up being a top coach.
He has his limitations but he’s a maximizer too.
That’s not Radar.
Keenum is a MacGyver in a world full of Chuck Norrises.
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znModerator7 things to watch: Rams at 49ers
Jim Thomas
‘NINERS RUNNING ON EMPTY
Man, do the 49ers miss departed running back Frank Gore. The talented, but injury-prone Carlos Hyde made it through only seven games before a foot problem ended his season. Veteran Reggie Bush suffered a season-ending knee injury while stumbling out of bounds on the concrete edges of the Edward Jones Dome surface, in St. Louis, on Nov. 1. The ’Niners, who managed only 38 yards on 21 carries in that meeting with the Rams, will trot out some combination of former Australian rugby star Jarryd Hayne, retread DeJuan Harris, and rookie Kendall Gaskins.
ANQUAN THE GREAT
Anquan Boldin missed the first 49ers-Rams contest because of a hamstring injury but is to be on the field Sunday, one week after becoming the 13th player in NFL history with 1,000 career catches. He’s as tough and physical as they come at wide receiver and even with his skills starting to diminish at age 35, the Rams can’t afford to take him lightly. The ’Niners’ other top wideout, former Raven Torrey Smith, told Bay Area reporters recently that his 2015 season has been “terrible.” But his 602 yards receiving would lead the Rams, and his 21.5 yards per catch leads the league.
LIFE WITHOUT DAVIS
The day after the 27-6 loss to the Rams in what was Game 8 for the 49ers, the team traded veteran tight end Vernon Davis to Denver. Over the years, Davis has had some moments vs. the Rams, including five TD catches and a 118-yard game in 2011. So the Rams won’t miss his big frame running down the seam or in the red zone. His replacement, third-year man Vance McDonald, is coming off one of the most productive games of his young career — five catches for 61 yards and a TD vs. Detroit — but is nothing special.
GABBERT AT QB
QB Blaine Gabbert, the pride of Parkway West High and the University of Missouri, makes his eighth start for the 49ers in place of Colin Kaepernick. Gabbert is 2-5 in his starts and has thrown a modest six interceptions in 238 passes. But Gabbert has played it safe, throwing a lot of check-downs and underneath stuff, and the ’Niners are converting only 23.2 percent of their third downs with him under center. The Rams have been impressed by his improvisational skills and athleticism on scrambles.
HOLD THAT LINE
One of the biggest issues on San Francisco’s 31st ranked offense has been blocking, particularly pass-blocking. The ’Niners have yielded 52 sacks this season, a league-high total and just four short of a franchise record. A record, they’d obviously rather do without. Rookie Trent Brown made his first NFL start last week at right tackle, so this could be a matchup edge for Rams left defensive ends Williams Hayes (who had three sacks last week vs. Seattle) and Chris Long.
HOLD THAT LINE II
Meanwhile, the Rams’ offensive line has shown improvement over the past few weeks, and will start the same line combination for the fifth consecutive game in LT Greg Robinson, LG Garrett Reynolds, C Tim Barnes, RG Cody Wichmann and RT Rob Havenstein. Granted, the Rams don’t pass the ball a whole lot — in fact, they’re tied for the league low with Minnnesota (435 attempts). But they’ve yielded a league-low 18 sacks, an impressive accomplishment considering the inexperience and injuries on the O-line.
LIFE WITHOUT GURLEY
For the first time since Game 2, against Washington, the Rams will play a game without Todd Gurley (foot injury) at running back. In what has been a highly disappointing season for backup Tre Mason, this marks one last opportunity for the second-year pro to redeem himself. Benny Cunningham will figure into the mix, especially on passing downs. Rams coach Jeff Fisher also indicated undrafted rookie Malcolm Brown, promoted to the active roster from the practice squad this week, could see some action.
znModeratorRams are seeking 8-8 finish
Jim Thomas
SANTA CLARA, CALIF. • Even with a victory Sunday, the Rams may spend the offseason wondering about that blown 10-point lead in the fourth quarter in Baltimore. That dropped touchdown pass by Lance Kendricks against Pittsburgh. Or Jeff Fisher’s decision to go for 2 after that first touchdown in Minnesota.
Because when the dust settles on the 2015 season Sunday evening, the Rams could very well fall just one victory short of their first playoff berth since 2004.
No matter what happens in the season finale against San Francisco (4-11), the Rams’ late-season revival will be a case of too little too late in terms of postseason play. And in that sense 2015 can only be looked at as another disappointing season.
But however trivial it may seem to some fans and observers, the Rams still have some goals in mind. Such as a 5-1 finish in the NFC West, their first season sweep of the 49ers since 2004, a four-game winning streak to end the season. And an 8-8 finish.
The Rams haven’t gone 5-1 in division plays since ‘04. They haven’t had a four-game winning streak since 2003, their last division championship team. That 12-4 squad actually won seven in a row at one point, only to be upset by Carolina in the NFC playoff semifinals in double-overtime.
An 8-8 finish would be more meaningful, because it would represent the Rams’ best finish since 2006. That Scott Linehan-coached team overcame a 1-7 stretch in the middle of the season by winning its last three games — against Oakland, Washington, and Minnesota — to finish 8-8.
Eight straight losing seasons have followed, including the infamous 15-65 stretch from 2007 through 2011 — the worst five-year record by any team in NFL history. The eight consecutive losing seasons is the longest current streak in football. All 31 other teams have had at least one .500 finish, if not a winning record, since 2006.
So yes, there is a difference between 7-9 and 8-8 for the Rams. An 8-8 finish would have some meaning to the organization.
“Yeah, it does,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “You always want to finish up on a winning note. Once you get past this weekend, there’s only one team that ends on a winning note.”
And that’s the Super Bowl champion.
“And so this weekend’s important for those that don’t have a chance to get into the postseason, to win a football game and jump into the offseason and the (offseason) program with some momentum,” Fisher said. “Unfortunately, I’ve been there a couple times before and it paid dividends the next year.”
The Rams haven’t won a season finale since that 2006 season under Linehan, a 41-21 victory over Minnesota. The energy was high in the locker room after that game; the players and coaches brimming with confidence about what lay ahead.
Alas, the Rams finished 3-13 in 2007, and after an 0-4 start in ‘08 Linehan was gone. So there are no guarantees.
Even so, the 2015 Rams are buying in. In part, because the prospect of 8-8 sure looks a lot better than what might have been. A month ago, a 5-11 or 4-12 finish seemed almost inevitable.
“We’re not going to the playoffs,” said defensive end Chris Long, the longest-tenured Ram. “But not everybody in this league plays it out to the end, and not everybody in this league cares when everybody says there’s nothing on the line. This locker room is totally different than that. So it’s a blessing to be in this room.”
To the point where some players wish they had a little more regular season left — to wedge their way into the postseason. Where’s that 18-game schedule when you need it?
“Oh man. Anything to get us in the playoffs,” wide receiver Kenny Britt said. “A couple more games to help us out, we sure would want to take those games. But now, we’re just gonna get ready for the next one.”
The last one for this season, and quite possibly the last one for the Rams as a St. Louis-based franchise. Tucked away in the semi-remote Napa Valley this week, far away from the flooding in St. Louis, the relocation topic didn’t come up this week.
But as the players have said all season, that’s out of their control. The only thing they can control is what’s in front of them. This week that happens to be how they perform at 3:25 p.m. (St. Louis time) at Levi’s Stadium against the 49ers.
“I believe it’s important from a confidence standpoint to be doing it right at the end of the year,” defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said. “I was pretty hard, pretty stern, about this last quarter of the season about being 4-0. We wouldn’t be in a position right now to go do that, to be 4-0 in this last quarter, had we not taken care of business the first three times — the first three games in this last quarter of the season.”
Meaning victories over Detroit, Tampa Bay, and playoff-bound Seattle. Williams, who spoke with reporters after Thursday’s practice, said he saw encouraging signs from the team this week.
“I haven’t had to really worry about them in the meetings and how focused they’ve been in the meetings,” Williams said. “They’ve really practiced well. You can see the tempo of the practices.
“You can see the communication of the practices, and you also see that these guys like being around each other. That’s the fun part of it, because it is a real tight-knit fraternity.”
Which makes you wonder. If only Williams had spoken with the team at midseason. About going, say, 6-2, over the second half of the season.
znModeratorMy view of Fisher is that if Foles had been what we thought he was based on 2014, then they win 2-3 more games.
But my view of the team is, if they replace him, the new guy inherits a lot. It would be similar to Harbaugh going to SF and inheriting a pro bowl team in terms of talent.
Still, I favor continuity. Plus of course unlike Linehan JF did not lose the team. The team believes in him. And also, GW is the best defensive coordinator the Rams have had (IMO) since Malavasi, Carson, and Shurmur. It would be a pity to lose THAT, I think.
I see the argument being made that Fisher has a primitive offense, but I never buy that take. My view is always this–if you have the personnel and can execute, you can win with a variety of different offenses in the NFL. The OL has to mature, they have to execute, and it would help if they had a consistently decent qb. But that kind of offense wins. Plus, I don’t think the critics are right about what that offense IS. The offense is supposed to do more than just pound it out and throw short. It’s supposed to set up a number of big plays per game, and not just passing and not just off of play action.
I also never count the record as a sole and absolute reason for anything. I always want to know WHY the record is the record. Is it a good team held back by this or that circumstances, or is it actually a weak team? Like I said, if Foles pans out the way he was supposed to (and he was not going to be Tom Brady, he was supposed to just be effective) then this team is ALREADY a winning team. There’s always contexts. For example, Linehan too had to deal with massive qb and OL injuries, and I acknowledged then that those kinds of injuries—to that extent—make it difficult to play. But I didn’t care, there were reasons I didn’t like Linehan as a HC anyway. To me Fisher is the opposite of Linehan. He has had to deal with the same bad circumstances but I actually think he IS an effective HC. Either way, to me, if you’re analyzing a head coach, contexts count. Otherwise, to me anyway, you’re not really accounting for what’s there.
Having said all that, this time in 99 I was very passionate about keeping Vermeil.
With Fisher, I will defend him (and actually I don’t ever see the criticisms of him I myself have). But if they replace him, I won’t lament it, because the new guy—assuming he’s any good—inherits so much that it has the chance of being one of those illusory quick turnarounds you see in the NFL. That’s where the new coach is supposed to be the absolute reason for the turnaround when the fact is a lot of it is because he inherited a team loaded with good talent.
I think the Fisher critics have a lot of passion invested in their position. I don’t agree with them, and the passion sometimes makes discussion go off the rails, but, I do believe the Rams are set up well no matter what happens with the coach next year. So to me there’s no such thing as a Fisher diehard. Most of the people I see defending Fisher would be okay with a good replacement, too. Either way.
znModeratorPlus the Rams probably have fewer pass attempts than most teams which amplifies how much Robinson is struggling
Though, on that. A lot of “review the 22” type observers say they see him improving. So I wonder how his qb hits would look if they were charted across the season.
And, poor Foles. In 2013 he is playing with Jason Peters at his best. Peters was considered one of the best LOTs in the biz. Then he ends up the Rams, playing with a young still struggling GR. Meanwhile, Bradford goes to Phil and brings the Rams curse with him…and Peters goes out with an injury, and the Phil OL struggles this year.
znModeratorSome older things on Boras.
Jan 8, 2015
Nick WagonerTight ends coach Rob Boras: There are others on the current staff with more experience in the league and more experience as a coordinator, but Boras is the one many around the league think has the brightest future as a play caller. In fact, had Vanderbilt hired Brian Schottenheimer as its head coach last year, it’s all but certain the Rams were going to promote Boras to coordinator. Boras has been in the NFL for 11 years, all as an assistant, but did spend three years as offensive coordinator at UNLV. Boras knows the system, he knows Fisher and he knows the personnel. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he got the job.
—
http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2012/5/26/3044741/st-louis-rams-tight-end-coach-rob-boras
Chicago tight end Desmond Clark, who showed a great appreciation for what Boras had done for him in his tenure there, said:
Rob Boras is a great coach, and I’ll be interested to see why they let him go…I think I just owe it to him to let people know what type of coach he was. He never stepped out in the media and said anything. He wasn’t a self promoter. He was a quiet guy who came in early in the morning and got his work done and left late at night…I don’t think it was a surprise to him. It was more of a surprise to me. I thought they knew what kind of coach they had in Rob Boras, and I thought they would go the extra mile with at least letting him interview for the coaching position once we got a new offensive coordinator.
znModeratorPersonally I am glad they’re not in the playoffs.
All the tension, all the uncertainty.
I hated 99. All 99 did was delay the calm resignation that follows the last game.
znModerator49ers are…
31st on offense
28th on defense28th defending the run
25th defending the pass
29th in sacksznModeratorPractice Report 12/31: Finishing Strong Defensively
By Myles Simmons
NAPA, Calif. — A few weeks ago, the Rams fell to 4-8, which was a record far from the expectations the club had set for itself coming into 2015. Despite the disappointment, the team continued to stay focused, and defensively, coordinator Gregg Williams set a high bar for the last four games.
“Gregg always talked about going 4-0 the last quarter of the season,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “That was a big goal of ours. We’re at 3-0, we can accomplish that. Do something we haven’t done here, win four in a row and kind of move on from that.”
“I believe it’s important for a confidence standpoint to be doing right at the end of the year,” Williams said. “I was pretty hard, pretty stern about this last quarter of the season, about being 4-0. And we wouldn’t be in position right now to go do that, to be 4-0 in this last quarter, had we not taken care of business in the first three games.”
Now at Week 17, having the opportunity to finish a season at .500 is still significant, given it’s a mark St. Louis has not reached since the 2006 season.
“It’s not where we want to be, and quite frankly, this team, we’re going to look back and be like, ‘Goodness, how aren’t we 10-6 or 11-5?’” Laurinaitis said. “But it feels better to be at 8-8 saying that than at 6-10.”
Even though the playoffs are not an option, multiple players have said the team has treated these last couple weeks as if they were the postseason.
“We always talked about, hey, if we do make the playoffs, we’re going to have to go up somewhere like Seattle and play in a playoff-type atmosphere,” Laurinaitis said. “So we treated that like a playoff game, and we got over that hump of not winning there in a decade. Hopefully, it spurs our franchise around like it did the Cardinals, when they went up there when nobody was winning at Seattle.”
“We’re treating this game like a playoff game,” cornerback Trumaine Johnson said. “We treated the Seattle game like a playoff game. That’s our mindset coming in. So I feel like if we do what we’ve got to do, we’ll come out with a victory.”
Last week, the defense played one of its best games against a Seattle offense that had been rolling. The multiple injuries to the unit, especially across the defensive line, made holding the Seahawks to just 17 points and 313 yards of offense that much more significant.
“The way our D-line played was remarkable. Really, the whole defense,” Laurinaitis said. “We were super physical with them, especially in that first half. I’m not sure a team has played them as physical as we did on Sunday. Anytime you can score on defense that early in the game, it really just lets you relax and play fast.”
Sunday’s victory also saw Johnson continue his run of strong play. He’s now intercepted a pass in each of his last four games, bringing his total to seven on the season.
“Finishing strong is the focal point,” Johnson said. “Our goal was to finish 4-0, and I’m doing everything possible to finish 4-0. So if anything, just finishing 4-0 and strong.”
“Tackling very well. Playing very smart. Jumping routes. Understanding route concepts, formations, splits, alignments and things like that. He’s doing a great job with that,” Fisher said of Johnson. “The hand-eye coordination is extraordinary. He can make plays on the ball.”
But this week presents another divisional challenge with the 49ers. While San Francisco has gone through its share of disappointments this year, it’s still a team with a noticeable identity on film.
“That’s their bread-and-butter right now, is keep the ball away from opposing offenses,” Fisher said. “They do a nice job of the conventional run game with the I-formation and stuff and the extra tight ends.”
“They do a great job of that,” Williams said of the Niners’ run game. “You take at those guys when their offensive linemen get off the bus, you say, well there’s some football players there. And they’re big, strong men. And we’ve got to play well in the run game.”
Plus, quarterback Blaine Gabbert has played well since taking over for Colin Kaepernick. The St. Louis native and Mizzou product has completed 63 percent of his passes for 1,677 yards with nine touchdowns and six interceptions. And while he may not be known as much for running as Kaepernick, Gabbert has rushed for 178 yards and a touchdown on 25 attempts in 2015.
“For the most part, they’re still the same 49ers — the same structure, the same play concepts,” Williams said. “There’s a few other tendencies that Blaine does better and is able to do some things.”
“Colin, he had the zone-read style runs that were built in for him, they don’t do that as much with Blaine,” Laurinaitis said. “But it seems like on third-and-whatever, if Blaine’s first two options aren’t there, he’s running it.”
Shutting the offense down will be a challenge, considering the two teams are division rivals and thus know one another quite well.
“We’re going to have to be ready to go,” Williams said. “This division is a strong division. They know us, we know them. So it’ll come down to who’s prepared the best.”
“We expect everything from them,” Laurinaitis said. “It’s the NFC West. There’s no motivation [needed] for either team other than division game, cap it off. We’ve got all offseason to heal up.”
znModeratorI’ll admit that I’m very ignorant on the rules about relocation. I have little interest in it. But what’s to keep Kroenke from moving his team to LA regardless of the results of the vote? Didn’t Al Davis move the Raiders to LA against the league’s wishes? I would think other owners could envision themselves in a situation where they would want to move and they wouldn’t want the league to block it, so I can’t believe they would come down too hard on Kroenke if he moved without league approval.
From what I understand, the league put in new rules since the Raiders situation empowering them to levy penalty fines and to exclude rogue teams from their share of tv revenue etc.
znModeratorI think any future apocalypse would likely involve a “The Stand”-like scenario where a brave and true leader would lead his good followers west from Portland, Maine and confront Satan and his minions in his Morgantown lair in an ultimate battle for the future of humanity.
Enh. That’s a lot of trouble to go to, don’t you think?
znModeratorI think CoachO makes a good point, though still, none of that is an argument against drafting or signing a WR for 2016.
They probably lost Bailey, and Quick may never recover to the point of being effective.
That leaves them with Welker, Britt, Tavon (who I don’t really count as a pure receiver), and Marquez.
They need to add a guy
znModeratorznModeratorPractice Report 1/1: Gurley Doubtful for Season Finale
Myles Simmons
NAPA, Calif. — Like all teams, the Rams have suffered their share of injuries throughout the season. But one from this week will be particularly significant, as it looks like running back Todd Gurley may not play in the season finale against the 49ers with a foot injury.
“We’ve listed Todd today as doubtful, so you can read between the lines there,” Fisher said. “We’re just thinking about the long-term future. He’s got an issue he’s dealing with, and we’re still doing tests. But the difference between him playing and making things worse can be the difference between six-to-eight weeks of rehab during the offseason.”
If Gurley has indeed played his last snap of the 2015 season, he’ll have reached a number of milestones in only 12 starts. He’s rushed for 1,106 yards and 10 touchdowns in 13 total games, including five games of at least 125 yards rushing, and three with at least 140. With his rushing touchdown last week, he joined Eric Dickerson as the second running back in franchise history to rush for at least 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns.
What makes Gurley’s season all the more remarkable is how that he didn’t move into the starting lineup until Week 4 and was coming off a torn ACL. Because of the injury, Fisher said he thinks the running back should be even better in 2016.
“As I said early on when he got started, just wait another year. He’s not 100 percent,” Fisher said. “He’s had a little setback with the foot, so I just don’t want to set him back any more. It just makes sense for the organization, the future of the organization.”
And so Gurley should be fine with a few weeks of rest. Keeping him on the sidelines this week should allow him to not suffer any setbacks and go into the offseason strong.
“Right now we’ve got really good news, and good results, but it’s doubtful that he plays,” Fisher said. “It’s rest for a couple of weeks, and he’ll be fine.”
If there is a silver lining to Gurley’s injury, it’s that running back Tre Mason should get a chance to show his considerable skill set against the 49ers.
“It’s a blessing to be able to start again,” Mason said. “I wish ‘TG’ was out there with me to give us some more power, but I’m willing to take on the role.”
Fisher said the initial plan this season was to balance the carries between Gurley and Mason much more. But, because of the general lack of offensive production, that did not work out.
“Unfortunately, if you look back through the year, our perfect world was 15 and 12 carries apiece [for Gurley and Mason],” Fisher said. “We wanted to carry at least 25 times, 27 times, and split them. We were unable to do that because we just struggled either getting the ball back, or struggled on third down, struggled with opportunities.”
“When you love the game, I know I put my teammates first,” Mason said. “Whatever’s going to put my team first, we’ve got to do it.”
Last year, Mason led the Rams with 765 yards rushing as a rookie, also making 16 receptions for 148 yards. He dealt with a hamstring injury early in the season, which kept him out of the Week 1 matchup with Seattle and may have hampered some early production. But the Auburn product still has confidence he can play.
“I’m a positive person,” Mason said. “I always think positive and just try to be great.”
And while his season has not been what he’d hoped, Mason said he’s enjoyed watching his teammate Gurley have his success.
“We learn from each other,” Mason said. “We take things from each other’s game. We criticize each other’s game to help each other get better.”
If he gets the opportunity, Mason plans to make the most of it against the Niners to cap the season.
“Tre’s in great shape right now,” Fisher said. “He’s fresh and he’ll go.”
“I feel like we’ve got a good plan this week, and we’re ready to attack,” Mason said.
“I love the game,” Mason added, “so every time I step foot out there it’s like I’m playing my last game.”
ROSTER MOVES & INJURY REPORT
The Rams have made another roster move in advance of Sunday’s matchup with San Francisco. Cornerback Eric Patterson has been placed on injured reserve, and the Rams promoted wide receiver Nick Toon to the active roster.
On Thursday, the club claimed cornerback Troy Hill, who arrived in Napa on Friday. Fisher said the Rams became intrigued with the defensive back when they went to work out quarterback Marcus Mariota in the pre-draft process.
“We had worked him out in Eugene when we went out to visit Mariota, and he had a really good workout,” Fisher said of Hill. “Coaches liked him, and for some reason he was waived yesterday [on Thursday], so we thought, let’s take advantage of the opportunity. So, we’ll have him in the offseason program.”
While Hill is with the team, Fisher said it’s likely the corner will be inactive on Sunday given the timing of his arrival.
Elsewhere on the injury report, safety Mark Barron (concussion), defensive lineman Ethan Westbrooks (concussion), and defensive tackle Michael Brockers (thigh) are all probable. Offensive lineman Andrew Donnal (knee) is questionable. And, as previously mentioned, Gurley (foot) is doubtful for Sunday.
znModeratorJason La Canfora@JasonLaCanfora
League continuing to seek ways to end stalemate on LA and secure 24 votes for one of the projects (Carson has far more votes right now)…
znModeratorOn 49ers: Miscalculations helped sink offense
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/nfl/san-francisco-49ers/article52479580.html
BY MATT BARROWS
mbarrows@sacbee.com
SANTA CLARA
The Battle for the Bottom begins Sunday.In one corner we have the 31st-ranked 49ers offense, which averages 293.5 yards a game. San Francisco has scored fewer points – by far – than any team in the league (14.6 per game) and has allowed the most sacks (52). The 49ers are four sacks from setting a franchise record in that category.
14.6 49ers’ points per game, by far the fewest in the NFL
In the other corner is the 32nd-ranked Rams offense, which averages 293.1 yards. St. Louis has the NFL’s worst passing offense and also is 32nd in first downs (220) and third-down-conversion percentage (26.1 percent). The 49ers are 31st in those two categories.
How did we get here?
At their end-of-year news conference, the 49ers might say that their ship was wracked by unforeseen squalls and punctured by hidden reefs, and in some cases that’s true.
It’s also important to remember that the 49ers haven’t had a high-revving, high-scoring offense since Steve Mariucci was the coach. Last year, for example, the team was 25th in points per game.
But the 49ers’ brass largely is being paid for its foresight. The job is to analyze, anticipate problems and provide options B and C if option A is unavailable. And in these ways, those who run the 49ers have failed:
1. Running back woes
At one point, Carlos Hyde – remember him? – was the NFL’s leading rusher. He came out of the chute in Week 1 with the aggression of a Brahma bull. But he could not sustain that style. He suffered a head injury in Week 2 that kept him out of the second half. He broke his foot in Week 5, eventually knocking him out for the season.
Asked if Hyde needs to alter his approach, coach Jim Tomsula said the 49ers drafted him for his hard-charging style and won’t ask him to change. Still, it’s hard to see Hyde lasting a full season as a workhorse runner.
He missed two games in 2014 because of an ankle injury when he was Frank Gore’s backup. He missed at least two games each season he was at Ohio State for reasons ranging from suspension to an MCL sprain.
Reggie Bush, who sat out five games because of injuries while playing for Detroit in 2014, played only 48 offensive snaps for the 49ers this year, and Mike Davis (hand) and Shaun Draughn (knee) also missed extended periods.
2. Offensive line issues
Tackle Anthony Davis didn’t do the team any favors when he announced in June that he wouldn’t play in 2015. Had he decided that in March or April, the 49ers could have made a move earlier in the draft instead of waiting until the sixth round to select an offensive lineman.
Still, the 49ers allowed one of the top guards in the league, Mike Iupati, to depart as a free agent with the thought that one of several young linemen drafted by general manager Trent Baalke would rise in his place.
That didn’t happen. Marcus Martin was forced to play center, where he was the lowest-rated player in the NFL. Brandon Thomas and Ian Silberman didn’t take a snap. The 49ers instead relied on two players, Jordan Devey and Andrew Tiller, who were not drafted by Baalke.
3. Tight end trouble
The 49ers entered the season thinking tight end was a strength. That struck the ear as odd when it was iterated in the summer. It now seems laughable.
One of those tight ends, Vernon Davis, seemed indifferent during the 2014 season while another, Vance McDonald, seemed unreliable. Neither did anything to change those notions this year. The 49ers’ best – or at least most consistent – tight end was Garrett Celek, and he ended the season on injured reserve for the second straight year.
The 49ers affirmed their miscalculation at midseason by trading Davis, one of three tight ends they dealt in 2015. Their tight end corps to end the year: McDonald, Blake Bell, Brian Leonhardt and Je’Ron Hamm.
znModeratorznModeratorI don’t want CK.
As Cosell always says, sooner or later you have to drop back in the pocket and pass.
CK isn’t very good at that, and, there’s no reason to believe he will be any better at it this year.
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