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ZooeyModeratorAnd how did Alliser Thorne’s coaching career end?
ZooeyModeratorI’d put George Allen in the top three, at least in my lifetime. He helped turn a basement-dweller program into a league powerhouse. They had just one winning season in the ten years prior to his tenure, and were 4-10 before he took over. But Allen’s methods probably couldn’t work in one locale for long. He tended to tick off the FO. Kinda like Martz. Which makes me wonder how good that pairing might have been — if we could time-travel a bit: Allen as HC/Martz as his OC. Another thing to consider: McVay’s route to HC basically skipped over the usual process of spending years and years moving up the coaching ladder. Unlike any previous Rams coach, he didn’t log umpteen years as assistant/position/unit coordinator, etc. So he’s done a hell of a lot of OJT. The vast majority of coaches his age are still climbing that ladder, etc. But McVay likely won’t be coaching beyond, say, 40. Allen was 48 or so before he got the Rams’ job.
I thought about Allen, and what you say is true. I didn’t include him, so thanks for bringing him up.
Allen has the highest winning percentage of any Rams head coach (who coached more than one season) by far. It’s like .742. McVay is second at ~.650, or thereabouts.
I just thought…Allen was also kind of a short tenure, and also never made the Show. But he was an effective coach, for sure.
ZN makes a good point that Vermeil started with nothing, and built a champion in 2 years. McVay started with a fairly strong hand. Even Fisher might have won some games with it if he hadn’t been sacked when he was. There were 8 Pro Bowlers and 7 All Pros on that team.
Good draft that year, too, btw: Gerald Everett, Cooper Kupp, John Johnson, Josh Reynolds, Samson Ebukam. And Johnny Mundt as an undrafted FA. All 6 of those guys are still in the league in the 7th season of their career. That’s purty good.
ZooeyModerator“… How can you surround yourself with people that’ll tell you, ‘Hey, you’re messed up here, man.’ That’s a big thing, too. In a lot of instances, I still want to be coached. I still need to be coached. And so (I) want to always be open-minded, continuously learning. …”
You dont hear that a lot.
No, you don’t. And I think that’s kind of strange. That is the way I ran my theatre. I did it that way because it seemed practical. Like… when you see leaders or bosses who don’t acknowledge their mistakes and weaknesses, but try to hold their team accountable for mistakes and weaknesses… the only people they are fooling are themselves. The fact that you swagger around being the boss doesn’t conceal your errors from your team. May as well own up to it, and create a climate where people can own up to their own mistakes, and grow from it. That’s the difference between a leader and a boss. And it just seems so obvious to me that I don’t know why people let their egos make the wrong leadership decision in this regard. It’s self-defeating, ultimately.
Viva Leadership. Down with Bosses!
ZooeyModeratorSeattleRams@seattlerams_nflQ: What do these three players have in common?Isiah LikelyLuke MusgraveDallas GoedertA: All three are TE’s who had 50+ yards receiving against the Rams defense in 2023. Each time a TE has gone for 50+, the Rams have lost.Sam LaPorta’s injury status is massive this week.Okay, but this fails to take into account that the Rams defense has been saving up all of its turnover allotment for the playoffs. The Lions’ TE can get 50 + yards, but with 2 INTs and 2 fumble recoveries game-planned into this thing, the Rams will be fine.
ZooeyModeratorThis is another reason why I think it’s important for the Rams to get up on the Lions early. They need to score first, and score second, and fill that stadium with horror from the seats right down into Goff’s head. The Rams winning this game would be a NIGHTMARE for Detroit.
Bad post.
The reason I’m referring to is perhaps clear only if you watch the video. The reason is that the stadium is going to Kingdome/Superdome level of loud.
Detroit is absolutely starving to death to see the Lions win a playoff game, and they are believers in this team. If the Lions get out on top early, the Rams will have to go silent count the rest of the game. They haven’t had to do that all year.
I think it’s very important that the Rams shut that crowd up early, and make them sit there in fear, rather than get excited.
ZooeyModeratorJourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigueSean McVay walks into a packed-to-the-brim press room. “Oh, shit, the game must be important.”Is it safe to say now that McVay is the greatest coach in Rams’ history?
I think it is. Robinson, Vermeil, Knox…those are the only other guys to get in that discussion. While creating great runs for the Rams, neither Knox nor Robinson got to the Super Bowl, so I think they’re out, in spite of sustained success in the regular season.
Vermeil pulled a miracle, but then left.
McVay has been to the Super Bowl twice, winning once, and then did whatever the hell this year was/is.
I think it’s McVay.
ZooeyModeratorIf I recall there was an earlier thread that was more optimistic. Then we found out Kupp wouldn’t be playing for a while. Since we didn’t know about Nacua and Wms yet, at that point (very early) losing Kupp took some air out of people’s optimism.
Kupp was flying around the country, getting more medical opinions right before the season started. That’s weird. Guys don’t do that for conventional injuries.
And, frankly, Kupp hasn’t been the same this year. I wonder if he has some kind of problem that they aren’t disclosing.
ZooeyModeratorIf Morris gets hired away from the Rams, how about Staley returning as HC? I think it’s unlikely he will get hired as a HC anywhere else for next year, and returning to the Rams as DC means he doesn’t have to move his family, and he knows McVay, and it’s a good gig.
ZooeyModeratorOne major Rams’ advantage this Sunday, the Rams’ coaching staff, specifically play calling in crucial moments. I’ve watched almost every Lions game since “The Trade” ….Dan Campbell takes foolish risks that cost the Lions a lot of games in the Goff era the past 3 seasons.
Holy shit! Tell us more about the Lions. Does Goff still make inexplicable throws to nobody from time-to-time? What do you think of the Lions’ D-line? Somebody was saying that their secondary is pretty bad except for one guy (Branch?), and that Sutton is particularly terrible. Does Sutton play a lot? How big of a blow is it to them if LaPorta can’t play? Is there anybody to keep a particular eye on?
ZooeyModeratorAnybody remember their pre-season prediction for this season ? I cant remember what i predicted. Pretty sure i didnt predict 10 wins, though. w v
ZooeyModeratorThis is another reason why I think it’s important for the Rams to get up on the Lions early. They need to score first, and score second, and fill that stadium with horror from the seats right down into Goff’s head. The Rams winning this game would be a NIGHTMARE for Detroit.
ZooeyModeratorZooeyModeratorNoteboom will be an interesting decision. How much is he really worth to the Rams? w v
His 2024 cap hit is 20 M. He ain’t worth 20 M.
He has been a valuable 6th guy. A very valuable 6th guy.
But they are paying him starter money, and so cap variables are going to decide his fate.
ZooeyModeratorWe were more pessimistic than i remembered. So many things emerged or came-together. The Oline, mainly, i guess. Always seems to start there. w v
I remember thinking they were an 8-9 or 9-8 team, and I recall zn thinking the same thing. I remember exchanges where we agreed they were not going to be in the “Caleb Williams Sweepstakes.” With Stafford, Kupp, and better luck on the injury front in the OL, I thought they would be middle of the pack.
On offense, they exceeded my expectations in that Williams is far superior to Akers, and Nacua…nobody saw Nacua coming.
On defense, they exceeded my expectations, too. I expected problems up front with the loss of Robinson, S J-D, and Gaines. I did not expect anything from Young or Turner. Oh, and, Jones HAS arrived. I expected more from Durant.
Special teams is worse than I could have imagined. I’ve never seen such terrible place-kicking in my life. I’ve always taken a PK for granted. Heck, the year they picked Sloman up from Hooters went better than this. It’s hard to believe there are not 32 people who can hit 75% of FGs, or whatever.
ZooeyModeratorAnybody remember their pre-season prediction for this season ? I cant remember what i predicted. Pretty sure i didnt predict 10 wins, though. w v
ZooeyModeratorDraft Utopia@DraftUtopiaRams have arguably healthiest depth chart in nfcFor teams playing this weekend, maybe.
The SF flagship station this morning said everyone on the 9ers is expected to be good to go except maybe Clelin Ferrell (DE), a guy the 9ers will be just fine without.
ZooeyModeratorUpdate: On the way home this evening, the SF flagship station agreed that the one thing you don’t want to face in the playoffs is a wizard QB, and the wizard QB in the NFC is Matthew Stafford.
The other thing they talked about was the accusation that Purdy is a “game manager” which is supposed to be a slight, but that’s literally the qb’s job, and all 9er fans have been watching him every week for over a year and a half, and…whatever…he does everything he’s supposed to do {sound familiar?}. They think he gets called that because he was the last guy picked in the draft, and they believe in him. These are sports nuts who have watched every game, and whose job is literally to talk about the 9ers, warriors, and SF giants.
ZooeyModeratorYou know as much about it as I do. I think it was Eisen that alleged that. I have not heard the talkers locally say so, and I didn’t watch much more of the 9ers than year than I did any other team (not named “Rams”), so it was new to me. It seems borne out statistically, but whether that’s a “thing” or not, I couldn’t say. I think it’s fair to say that Purdy has not established himself with the cool kids like Burrow, Stafford, Rodgers, Mahomes, as a guy who can bring the team back.
Since Sunday, the only chatter I have heard has been about basketball and the college thing during my 15-minute commute. The 9ers have not been “above-the-fold” news the past couple of days.
I think, generally speaking, that ALL teams are better out in front. Like…I hope the Rams get out in front of the Lions by double digits early because we know Goff isn’t as good when he is pressed.
ZooeyModeratorWe’re Here For It | Rams 2023 Playoff Trailer
The Los Angeles Rams are racing into the playoffs with their first stop set in The Motor City. Get ready for a Wild Card clash against the Detroit Lions on January 14th at 5 p.m. PT because it’s game time … and we’re here for it!
https://www.therams.com/video/rams-2023-playoff-trailer-were-here-for-it-wild-card-lions
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This reply was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by
Zooey.
ZooeyModeratorWorst team in the playoffs with this @Eagles
Yep. The 9ers are hoping the Lions beat the Rams, and the Eagles beat TB. Getting the Eagles at home would be a feast for the 9ers.
ZooeyModeratorThe special teams tanked just fine. At times, so did the secondary.
Last night, when insomnia nudged me awake for an hour at 3am (PST), and forced me think about the Rams, I wondered if Matt Gay and Jalen Ramsey would have made this team a Super Bowl champion.
ZooeyModeratorHere, at Le Huddle, there was a general consensus that (1) McV was the problem with Goff & Goff just had a confidence issue because of it, (2) yet there’s nothing wrong with the trade because if your qb and HC are not a good match one has to go and if the result is getting Stafford that’s good for the Rams and good for McV, and (3) it would be no surprise if Goff did well with the Lions, and (4) it would be no surprise when Stafford did well with the Rams.
I’m in accord with the accord on the board. The trade was a win-win in the end, and I wish Goff well.
Except for this coming Sunday.
Goff does not play for the Rams now, and I hope Matthew Stafford tears the Lions fans’ hearts right out of their chests as they gape in shock and horror as Stafford finally wins a playoff game in the city of Detroit.
Goff then has my permission to go ahead and win an MVP sometime down the road.
ZooeyModeratorOf course, that leaves out that Goff has played more games, and Stafford can make every throw Goff can make, but Goff cannot make throws Stafford makes, and that Stafford has a Lombardi.
ZooeyModeratorThis is crazy https://t.co/AYPcoDN6me
— JAKE ELLENBOGEN (@JKBOGEN) January 9, 2024
ZooeyModeratorI’m gonna guess that has more to do with how many points the Rams scored compared to their opponents rather than who the head referee was.
Well bad calls can limit your scoring relative to the other team and/or give the other team points relative to you. I don’t know if that ref is bad for the Rams but the basic premise that a bad ref can change your fortunes ain’t completely illogical. I’m not advocating that in this case per se, I have no opinion, just posting things that are out there.
I know how the dots are connected, and it isn’t without “logic.” It’s just without evidence.
And the fact is that the Head Referee isn’t the only guy out there with a yellow handkerchief in his pocket, anyway, so the logical insinuation is a bit rickety to begin with.
To suggest there is a possibly an anti-Rams bias at work here based on the Rams’ record implies that he single-handedly tilted multiple games against the Rams for some inexplicable reason.
I think the presence of “Logic” is stronger in the “That’s crap” camp than in the “anti-Rams bias” camp.
I don’t know how anybody finds out who refereed what games, but I’m gonna guess there are a few refs out there with something similar to a 6-3, or even 7-2 record in favor of the Rams, and I doubt anybody is going to suggest that is pro-Rams bias.
And I know that you know that, and I know that you know that I know that you know that, and so there’s no problem. You posted an interesting tidbit and I threw out something to counterbalance it.
I’m going to go to a staff meeting now because they are always more interesting than reading the Rams board leading up to an unexpected playoff game.
ZooeyModeratorJAKE ELLENBOGEN@JKBOGENThe Sean McVay #Rams are 3-6 when Craig Wrolstad officiates the game. They’ve lost their last 3 games with him as the head referee. He’s the official for the Rams and Lions game this Sunday.I’m gonna guess that has more to do with how many points the Rams scored compared to their opponents rather than who the head referee was.
ZooeyModeratorRams open as 3.5-point underdogs vs. Lions in wild-card round https://t.co/Qz3fNrB60f pic.twitter.com/J6jirPg1ht
— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) January 8, 2024
ZooeyModeratorbut they haven’t beat a team over .500 since that win over Kansas City…”
That’s interesting.
And, technically, since KC was Week One, they weren’t over .500, either.
They are now, but then, Detroit also beat TB, GB, and NO, all of whom ended up 9-8.
Those, by record, are the 4 best victories the Lions had all year.
ZooeyModeratorRams kept battling… and won at Levi…. It’s been five years… As noted, big plays by Yeast… Wentz literally “carried” the Rams with his legs.. with some very nice passes thrown in. RAMS WIN … BANG BANG!
It’s not really Levi.
It’s SoFi North.
ZooeyModeratorYes, Yeast broke up both of those passes. Guarantee the guy will get a game ball in the locker room. Great plays.
I feel good about it. Yes, it was the 2s, but as the 9ers just carved them up in the first half, my hatred for the 9ers flared up. I’m sick of losing to the 9ers. Sick of it. I don’t care how meaningless of a game it is, I’m sick of it.
And the game isn’t meaningless because Detroit is going to be an easier pathway to meeting SF again in 2 weeks than Dallas would be. And Detroit lost their stud TE and St. Brown has rib issues, and one other WR got knocked out.
Wentz threw some terrible passes, and I don’t know if it’s because he hasn’t played, or if that’s just a Wentz thing, but he also nailed some throws.
And Puca Nacua needs to win ROY. I don’t care about Stroud’s good year, and the fact that he’s a QB. Nacua just had the greatest season ever by a rookie at his position, and broke a 63-year old record, and that deserves the ROY or nothing does. C’mon.
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