wv wrote:

Year Sixteen. Well ok then. I say give them
four more years, Tops.

w
v

I would set an ultimatum too, but…then what?

“I give them 3 more years! And if they haven’t done it by then, uh…I will ….um….”

wv wrote:

Wagoner cautions that reaching for a QB
can lead to problems:

2011
Jake Locker went 8th
Tyron smith 9th

Gabbert 10th
JJ Watt 11th

Christian Ponder 12th
Robert Quinn 14th

Yes but consider it in reverse.

2014, Rams take Aaron Donald.
Could have had Johnny Manziel.

Here’s the knock on Schotty.

His offense is brittle. It needs EVERYTHING and EVERYONE to be on point or it doesn’t work.

I don’t agree with that.

I think it works just fine when it has all the normal stuff you would expect an offense to have.

Like for example an interior line that isn’t banged up, together with a rookie OT.

Here’s an example of what I mean.

In 2007 Linehan’s offense were hit by multiple injuries in the OL. It was ranked 24th.

In 2014 his Dallas offense is ranked 7th.

The thing about Schott I like the most is that he is adaptable to personnel, and not a system first guy the way McD was. So I don’t think that offense is anything especially brittle or challenging. It’s just undermanned.

Just some speculations.

Barksdale kind of fell off in 2014. But my bet is, you can map his fading in conjunction with losing Long and Saffold getting hurt.

As many here have said, including notably RFL, no lineman can stand out and play well if the rest of the line is subpar. Everything about football teaches you that the OL is a sum, not parts. It is next to impossible for one player to stand out and be consistent when the rest of the line is struggling.

In the 2nd half of the season, Barksdale was the ROT on a line with a rookie LOT who was supposed to be a guard, an injured Saffold who was playing hurt, a banged up Wells, and Joseph–who was never supposed to start.

So I bet they try to keep JB, and count on a return to form. Letting him walk would just mean you have to replace 3 linemen, not 2. That doesn’t fix things, it makes them worse. And IMO there is no way in hell the Rams are going to start 3 rookie linemen together with a 2nd year Robinson. You might as well just light a giant bonfire and burn the entire season down in advance.

So my bet is that they make every effort to sign him. I also bet that typical of most signings of this kind, he will get more or less what the avg. is for starters at his position in their 2nd contract.

If as I expect they do sign JB, and replace the center and one guard, then the line as a whole will be fine and JB will return to form.

Gordon: Can Rams work their way out of this mess?

By Jeff Gordon

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/jeff-gordon/gordon-can-rams-work-their-way-out-of-this-mess/article_83b2adb4-cde3-5889-8fc5-917bd091d35b.html

After three years under coach Jeff Fisher and general manager Les Snead, the Rams have better talent and more competitive zeal than they exhibited during the final days of the sorry Steve Spagnuolo Era.

So there’s that.

But the Rams are still playing losing football 48 games into this misadventure, so Fisher must step back and reconsider everything the operation does every single day.

Why are the Rams such a sloppy mess? While can’t they line up correctly, block and tackle consistently well and take care of the football?

Why do they blow pass coverage, blow pass protections and mindlessly earn stupid penalties on top of stupid penalties?

Players come and go. Some assistant coaches come and go. And yet the familiar problems remain, cropping up at the most inopportune times.

Spagnuolo faced similar challenges and responded by firing blameless support staffers. Not surprisingly, that strategy failed and the losses mounted.

Fisher has been around the NFL forever so we assume he will come up with something better. Or will he?

In Year 3 under Fisher the Rams still could not play with discipline and precision. They couldn’t execute the simplest plays with the necessary consistency.

The Rams put the work in, day after day, month after month, and yet in Week 17 the quarterback misses the ground with a spike attempt, a running back fumbles away a touchdown reaching for the pylon, a tight end lets a pass squirt through his hands for a “pick six”, a cornerback wanders away from still another coverage assignment . . . on and on it went as another potential victory slipped away.

The team can’t just cut players who make big mistakes because there would be nobody left to play the games. The Rams served up penalty machine Ray Ray Armstrong as the Sacrificial Knucklehead but his dismissal did nothing to change things.

So Fisher must change the culture of failure at Rams Park, once and for all, or face the possibility of finishing out his excellent football career in a TV studio or broadcast booth.

Effort is not enough. Competitive heart is not enough. Physical toughness is not enough.

Those qualities have been evident under Fisher’s Rams, but they didn’t translate to success because they have remained a breakdown waiting to occur.

The Rams will have another opportunity to clear out spent veterans and free up salary cap space. They will have a every chance to upgrade their battered offensive line in the NFL Draft.

They could get better at quarterback by bringing injury-prone Sam Bradford back (with crossed fingers) and/or by seeking upgrades via free agency, a trade and the draft.

Perhaps they could toss offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer to the angry mobs and find somebody to draw more exotic Xs and Os.

But none of that will matter if the Rams don’t redouble, re-triple and re-quadruple their commitment to doing everything on the football field correctly, every single time. The Rams must develop a winning program, a strict way of operating that remains the same no matter which players get hurt or move on.

Some how, some way they must shed the sloppiness that has become the franchise trademark, replacing the far more entertaining “Greatest Show on Turf” persona.

You see the impact good and bad coaching makes at every level of sports. Some CYC recreation teams run like clockwork while some big budget select squads sputter.

Some small high schools with modest means maximize their meager talent while some big high schools with athletic armies flounder.

Some college coaches succeed at every level, regardless of circumstances, while others manage to waste prime talent and opportunities.

The Seattle Seahawks keep developing middle-round picks into effective players while winning year after year. Meanwhile, the Rams convert a mother lode of prime draft picks into steady underachievement.

There is no easy fix here. Superficial change won’t help. Fundamental change will take persistent and focused effort.

The Rams must concentrate on doing EVERY SINGLE THING correctly in physical conditioning, skill development, team drills, tactical preparation and game execution.

There is no short-cut out of this morass, just lots of work and tremendous attention to detail. Rams fans can only hope Fisher and his people will finally be up to the daunting challenge.

GreatRamNTheSky wrote:

I think your partially right ZN. But Schotty is not going to make anyone forget Mike Martz or Sid Gilman as a play caller. I don’t think he knows how to utilize the talent he has in Austin and Bailey etc.

I hope they replace him. He’s had three years to show what he has as a play caller. And even executing the plays still comes down to coaching.

Grits

We just disagree. Way I see it, I think he’s very solid and I actually had issues with Martz. I think he does know how to utilize talent. I think it’s the learning curve issue with those players. And no not all execution issues come down to coaching.

bnw wrote:

Did he play in the last half?

Yes. Let me look at the play by play —

He had 4-5 targets/attempts in the 2nd half, according to the play by play.

wv wrote:

131 Shane Carden QB 7 East Carolina 6-2 221 4

from off the net

==

jrry32

Round 3 – Shane Carden QB ECU
Analysis: Well guys, here is the QB I draft. I’m not in favor of forcing a QB pick because it’s a need so I needed a QB I liked. After watching Carden, I think he’s the best guy after Winston and Mariota unless someone unexpected declares. Carden plays in a spread offense right now and exclusively takes snaps out of the shotgun so there will be an adjustment period. Carden will be playing UF’s strong defense in a bowl game so that should give us a good look at him if you haven’t seen him(January 3rd). When I turned on the film, I saw a guy who dealt with a leaky OL and managed. The biggest issues I saw with him are that he doesn’t seem to do a good job of feeling pressure off the edge(especially blind-side pressure) and he needs to improve his internal clock as he’ll hold onto the ball too long looking to make a play. That all said, I think he showed of a NFL caliber arm with solid mobility and threw the ball with accuracy. His deep accuracy was the biggest weakness I noticed as he tended to under-throw guys and at times, he put too much air under the ball. But he was forced to make a lot of throws into tight windows in the game I watched and never shied away from throwing the ball to his WRs in 1 on 1 match-ups even when they were well guarded. His WRs were not getting a tremendous amount of separation in some of the games but I noticed him making good timing throws and putting the ball where it needed to be. He was also willing to take chances which did hurt him at times but all around, he was a solid decision maker. On his arm strength, I saw him make 10-25 yard throws from the pocket to the opposite sideline with requisite zip. I think his arm strength is more than adequate. He’s an extremely tough and competitive player as I saw him take a number of hits due to his OL and he kept getting right back up. Not afraid to stand in under pressure and pull the trigger. A couple other small issues I had were that he tends to be overconfident in his athleticism and he needs to protect himself better when running. There were times where he tried to outrun the defense instead of throwing the ball away and he didn’t do it. He has solid mobility but he’s not Mike Vick. He needs to be smart about getting the ball out. And when he does run, he needs to slide or get out of bounds. He has a tendency to fight for yardage and try to make people miss or run over defenders. On a final note, while his footwork was generally good, there were some plays where he needed to set his feet as he rushed the throw and it hurt his accuracy. I also think his decision making was at its worst when he was on the run. He throws well on the run but he tends to try to be a hero and will force balls at times or throw late. He needs to do a better job of taking what the defense gives him. Still, this is the guy I’d take a shot on developing behind Hill and Sam as I think he has starter potential.

wv wrote:

i believe this is the year
to draft a Goalie high.

I thought Goalie High was a slasher film about this guy in a Dick Cheney mask who stalks and kills members of the high school hockey team by shooting them in the face. The twist is…well if you haven’t seen it, I won’t give it away.

Zooey wrote:

Kendricks. Not Cook.

Can’t seem to edit above post.

Done

Mackeyser wrote:

Book it. Write it down. I don’t care how much guys want to believe in him… he’s not going to be any “comeback player of the year” type… he’s not going to get any stronger.

Well it’s probably time to move on from Wells and they can draft or sign an upgrade.

But to be fair, he’s listed with elbow and back injuries.

With those kinds of injuries, it might not be strength at all–it could just be hindered technique.

Now don’t maul me over that or nothin. Just a thought.

I’ll be over here playing with the adorable puppies. And kittens. You know innocent little harmless animals.