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ZooeyModeratorhttp://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000581729/article/rams-name-case-keenum-starting-qb-vs-ravens
Go to the link above if you want to see a video of Fisher’s announcement. He looks like he is announcing the death of his gramma.
Case Keenum to start for Rams; Nick Foles benched
By Gregg Rosenthal
Around The NFL Editor
Published: Nov. 16, 2015 at 06:06 p.m. Updated: Nov. 16, 2015 at 06:43 p.m.
Three months after giving Nick Foles a three-year contract, the St. Louis Rams have decided to bench him.Rams coach Jeff Fisher announced that Case Keenum will start at quarterback for the Rams at Baltimore this week. Foles has been removed as a starter after two straight losses by the 4-5 Rams.
“You know, Nick just needs a break,” Fisher said. “Nick just needs a break right now.”
Foles was acquired in a March trade between teams dealing starting quarterbacks when the Rams sent Sam Bradford to the Philadelphia Eagles for Nick Foles, a 2016 second-round pick and a move up in the middle rounds of last year’s draft. The pick is nice, but this benching is tantamount to admitting defeat in the deal. The Rams’ long-term contract doesn’t include true guaranteed money after this season, so the Rams can move on from Foles if they chose to. It would be a surprise at this point if Foles was even on the roster next year.
The timing of this move still is stunning. Keenum, who went undrafted out of college, has started 10 games in four seasons. All of those starts were with the Texans, although Keenum did spend time with the Rams and Texans last season. He’s been Foles’ backup throughout this season.
Every game, all season
Fisher said his offense needs a spark, which is clear to see. Foles has seven touchdowns, six interceptions and five fumbles. The Rams have very few sustainable features on offense. Their only success comes from Tavon Austin gadget plays and big runs by rookie Todd Gurley. Foles has a big arm and has connected on the occasional deep ball this season, but he has played particularly poorly over the last month.
Foles was 0-12 on passes thrown over 10 yards Sunday, which was the most attempts on such passes without a completion in the last 10 seasons, according to the Rams’ website. Fisher wasn’t making any promises about how long Keenum would start, but he clearly has the chance to keep the job. St. Louis has a playoff-ready defense, but plenty of challenging games remaining against Cincinnati, Arizona, and Seattle.
Foles might very well get another chance to start at quarterback for the Rams, but Fisher probably hopes it’s not necessary. The Rams are letting their Case Keenum flag fly.
ZooeyModeratorOkay, I’ve read a ton of Robinson-bashing for the holding calls.
I didn’t see the first one, but the second one looked completely bogus to me, and the third one was pretty freaking marginal. That third one gets overlooked more often than it is called, imo. It was one of those nanosecond deals that didn’t even affect the play.
November 15, 2015 at 9:01 pm in reply to: "While visiting family & friends I met a scout who did some work for the Rams" #34184ZooeyModeratorYeah, I though that when I read it. Scouts aren’t freelance contractors.
Sounds like a high school football coach who got asked about one of his players a year or two ago.
ZooeyModeratorWell, Foles is inaccurate. Over nine games now. It isn’t just a bad game here and there. This appears to be who he is. Inaccurate. Low, behind, high, out of bounds. He doesn’t lead receivers open enough. I think I’ve said “nice pass” maybe four times this year with him, and I wince at his accuracy that often every half.
And he often gets too much loft on his deeper throws.
That is not balanced by “making plays.” I don’t see him “make” plays.
I think he is worse than his statistics which look better because 80% of his targets seem to be within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. (That’s an eyeball statistic).
Keenum isn’t the answer, and Mannion is even ready to be tested yet. So…shit.
Honestly, I’d rather have Jaime Martin right now.
How can the Rams have Waterfield and Van Brocklin at the same time, Warner, Bulger, and Green overlapping, and spend so many, many years in total QB drought?
ZooeyModeratorYes, the belief that they were moving onto a new plateau has been shattered. We saw the defense implode on big plays again. We saw a bad loss against a beatable team. At home. After a week that stressed getting better at the most glaring weakness, and which showed no improvement. And injuries.
ZooeyModeratorFoles sucks. Really, he does. I see no improvement in him at all.
I don’t know how to evaluate the WR. I know I see them open a lot, and not getting the ball in a catchable place, and I also see them dropping catches they should make. So I dunno.
Brown and Saffold are out now, so the OL is in trouble.
I can’t see any way the offense becomes more productive.
So I don’t care what Fisher has to say.
ZooeyModeratorGonna say yes.
ZooeyModeratorYeah, I’m with WV. I don’t think he wastes those plays on the Bears. Trick plays are more effective the less they are used.
ZooeyModeratorI expect, as usual, that by the time California holds its primary, it will already be over, but I will probably vote for Sanders.
I read an article a day or two ago that argued that the DNC is deliberately suppressing the the debates (a debate on Saturday night? Really? How many viewers did THAT get?) in order to contain Bernie. Clinton is a lock as the nominee if nobody hears Sanders. Look at the ratings for the Rep debates vs. the Dems.
ZooeyModeratorThe Rams are different this year from past years. They are now in, I believe, the 3rd consecutive year of being the youngest team in the league. And in the past, they were erratic. Great stretches. Mind-boggling mistakes and blowups. They are more consistent this year than they have been the past two years. That, to me, is evidence of maturation. They are growing up. they are becoming more consistent.
In the past, I think, we might have seen strong performances in one area one week, and a cave-in in the areas in the next game. I’m not seeing that this year. We have seen playoff worthy play from the defense pretty consistently. And the offense, especially the passing game, has nowhere to go but up.
The team that beat Seattle, Arizona, Cleveland, and San Fran, and played well against Pittsburgh, Green Bay, and Minnesota, has enough to beat the Bears.
November 13, 2015 at 5:15 pm in reply to: "While visiting family & friends I met a scout who did some work for the Rams" #34074ZooeyModeratorSuper bowl?
Lost me there.
ZooeyModeratorThat’s kind of amazing—I have 16 categories and they rank top 10 in 12 of them.
Hope this lasts.
If it floats your boat.
Personally, I like the kind of defense that holds the Seahawks to -7 yards of total offense for an entire game.
ZooeyModeratorRams should win this thing as they “tweak” the offense just a bit. When Welker is in they’ll throw over the middle. When he isn’t they won’t. The defense will never catch on.
I think you’re onto something there. The Rams have been great at catching opposing defenses off guard with running Gurley up the gut, and Austin on end arounds, with an occasional screen pass. The limited play-calling just always keeps the defense guessing that on the NEXT play, the Rams will throw over the middle, and they will be ready for it. And the Rams just fool them again with one of their three plays. With Welker, they will be up to four plays on offense, and the defense will just go out of their minds.
ZooeyModeratorI wouldn’t do it if I had his concussion history.
So you wouldnt sacrifice your brain
for the Rams?And you call yourself a fan ?
w
vThat was in poor taste, wv, considering Nitwitany has already sacrificed his brain for something else.
ZooeyModeratorThe Bears will look back on this game, and think they should have spared themselves the trip to St. Louis.
November 11, 2015 at 11:04 am in reply to: RamView, 11/8/2015: Vikings 21, Rams 18 (OT) (Long) #33947ZooeyModeratorThe Rams were not likely to dominate the LOS this week. His receivers have been a problem a lot of the year but Foles missed some opportunities. This was never going to be a game the Rams would win with a game manager at QB. They needed Foles to be more.
What intrigues me that even with all that, they almost won it…and in fact for a lot of the game I thought they were going to win it.
Aren’t those a big set of problems to overcome? Yet they were in that game. It was a close tough game, when having that many problems on offense in the past (2007-2011) would mean that game would clearly be over long before the 4th quarter.
That fact is kind of interesting to me.
…
I copied that quote to my clipboard as I was reading this, and was going to give the glass half-empty interpretation. The Rams are solid enough all around that a game manager will be good enough to win a lot of games. But not good enough to beat the elite teams. I just don’t think Foles is good enough. Though I would like to see what he could do with a true #1 WR. Something I’ve been asking for now for 3 or 4 years.
ZooeyModeratorYes, well, if Welker makes two catches a game, he will double the number of third downs the Rams convert per game.
ZooeyModeratorThey have a shot at the playoffs. But they most likely aren’t going to make them, and at this point, I don’t much care anymore. The offense dooms this team.
My problem is I’m not sure how much better it gets.
I will just be watching, hoping to see the offense start converting some 3rd downs, and attack the middle of the field. If I just see that development, I’m fine.
If I don’t, I enter the off-season praying for a QB.
ZooeyModeratorFoles isn’t average.
At least not by any statistical measurement.
And my eyeballs confirm the Below Average designation that he has earned statistically.
His accuracy is inconsistent. He sometimes fails to see an open receiver. And he doesn’t make plays.
And I don’t see him under inordinate pressure. A more mature OL will help, though.
ZooeyModeratorI think it all just boils down to the Rams second string D battled the vikes for almost 5 quarters and fell 3pts. short.The wind was huge
Yeah, the thought has passed through my mind that with Quinn, Long, McDonald, and Havenstein, the Rams may very well have won.
But they didn’t. And they didn’t.
ZooeyModeratorI cannot think of a player off the top of my head less entitled to call someone else out for playing dirty than Rodney Harrison.
ZooeyModeratorI agree with wv. It was not a dirty hit, but he could have made a greater effort to avoid the contact. It would have actually required contorting to avoid the contact, but he could have done it. It looked mostly like a natural hit. He could have contorted to avoid it, and he could have laid into him and knocked him into Tuesday.
20 years ago it wouldn’t have been a penalty at all. It was not egregious.
ZooeyModeratorShit.
November 8, 2015 at 10:18 am in reply to: catch percentage, drops, and other bad things from the dark side #33737ZooeyModeratorI don’t think it’s just Foles
Nor do I think it’s just the receivers.
I think a lot of it is the Baby OL.
My bet is there’s certain things they’re not even trying with this OL, until it stabilizes..My own view is its almost all the OLine.
I think the OLine has affected
Foles and the OC/Fisher.Cook is cook. I dont see much difference.
Kendricks is hurt.
Tavon looks better.Britt is the only one that seems ‘off’
somehow. Maybe he’s injured.w
vI don’t see how a young OL means it’s harder to run slants, or mid-range stuff over the middle. They run post patterns. I get that a young OL could mean they don’t run the Run and Shoot, and throw it all the time, but the run/pass balance is conservative.
Quick is also “off.”
ZooeyModeratorFisher said the Rams have not heard back from NFL operations “to my knowledge” about possible solutions to visiting players slipping on the concrete flooring in front of the stands.
Okay, the defense is good, and all that, but what about this story? I don’t understand why they are appealing to the NFL in the first place. Put down some heavy rubber mats. Or extend the turf.
ZooeyModeratorThe most embarrassing part of that commercial is the voiceover.
ZooeyModeratorHuzzah!
November 6, 2015 at 12:14 am in reply to: Prediction thread – Minnesota Vikings – out of doors #33613ZooeyModeratorI’ve been watching all the Vikings games reading their boards and some stuff that sticks out. Vikes fans in general regard both defenses equal,giving the DL some respect and with it a near constant “their secondary doesn’t scare me’ and generally claiming superiority in that area. I have no idea why, other than they have not seen a Rams game this season I mean we did pick off Rodgers twice ,Palmer ,Wilson etc. our cb’s have 4 picks theirs have a big fat goose egg and it’s not like they’ve played Rodgers at home either. They don’t seem to understand or maybe it’s accept that red zone defense and points allowed are different stats. The one thing they do have is they can come back because they’ve had to for the last 3 games at least. Of course this is just fans talking so it all means very little.My feeling is these fans have a new understanding of tough defense after this game. https://vimeo.com/10815350
Vikings fans, in my experience, are not the most well-informed and objective fans one finds on the net. I have not seen the Vikings play in a long time, so I am not familiar with them, but they have played are far softer schedule than the Rams have. One would think – if the defenses were equal – that the Vikings would be ranked significantly higher statistically than the Rams.
None of that means much, though. Let’s play ball.
November 5, 2015 at 7:08 pm in reply to: Prediction thread – Minnesota Vikings – out of doors #33596ZooeyModeratorThe loss did not sit well with me, especially since it came from the Vikings….
Plus I was younger, and still believed in the power of prayer. So the Vikings not only stole the games, they stole my belief in a benevolent deity, and set me on the pathway to reckless despair that you see me on today.
So your blaming Jesus for the playoff
losses to the Vikings?Its a well-known fact Jesus is a Raider fan,
so I dont think he’d even play dice
with a Viking-Ram game.w
vThat is such BS. You must have been raised a Catholic.
Listen, if God is all-loving, all-knowing, and all-powerful, he has to be a Rams fan. Therefore I have run circles around you logically.
November 5, 2015 at 1:59 pm in reply to: Prediction thread – Minnesota Vikings – out of doors #33576ZooeyModeratorThat loss didn’t bother me so much because the Rams had rebounded to 10-6 after going 6-9 in the previous strike-shortened season. Plus it looked like the Rams *finally* had an elite passer and a solid defense under Fritz Shurmer. The future looked bright and I was looking forward to all the playoff victories to come.
Sigh…
Me, too. The loss did not sit well with me, especially since it came from the Vikings, but the expectations were MUCH higher in the 70s, and there was always an element of terrible mischance that made the losses feel like the victory was stolen from the Rams in the 70s.
Plus I was younger, and still believed in the power of prayer. So the Vikings not only stole the games, they stole my belief in a benevolent deity, and set me on the pathway to reckless despair that you see me on today.
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