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Ruutu15
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Rams

Post by Ruutu15 »

Last season I made the argument that Linehan should be fired. I'm not one to say that about coaches the way that most fans do, and I understand the 13 different offensive linemen and other injuries. I can deal with that, and it's a reasonable excuse. It's the playcalling...absolutely horrid. I have also never understood the manlove for Marc Bulger, both by Rams fans and the media. He's slower than molasses within the pocket, he stares at his receivers, he doesn't recognize a blitz until he's picking himself up off of the ground (let alone how to call out of the play if he ever did recognize one), he has absolutely NO sense of urgency...I'm not saying he has to be rah-rah, but show SOME emotion. Get mad sometimes. Randy McMichael is his favorite receiver, and he's a tight end...because the only thing he can consistently throw is check-down routes. For Torry Holt to essentially be a one-reception per game WR is inexcusable. I don't know if it's Linehan's super conservative playcalling, or the ineptitude of Marc Bulger, but I can understand why Holt won't sign an extension.
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Re: Rams

Post by BoxCar »

In previous years Bulger has been able to hit Holt consistently. I lay the entirety of this team's ineptitude on Scott Linehan. He refuses to commit to getting Steven Jackson involved, once he becomes a threat Bulger will have all day to find Holt and McMichael. I am not in love with Bulger, but he is still a good QB. He has an ultra-high completion percentage and, given a chance, can be among the elite pocket passers in the league.

Fire Linehan and you get more wins. Either promote Haslett (who in my mind has actually made the defense really good for them being on the field for 80% of the game) or go out and find someone. It says a lot about your coaching when a player like Torry Holt gets pissed at you for letting the team down. Granted, I didn't like the hiring of Linehan when it happened, he just looked like a guy with "loser" stamped on his forehead (which, btw, has become a fivehead due to the receding hairline).
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Re: Rams

Post by OS »

I'm all for firing Linehan but let's not forget one thing... Linehan doesn't call the plays anymore. Any complaints about that should be directed towards Al Saunders.

That said... as pathetic as the offense was today, the defense deserves more blame than the offense. These (franks) in the secondary couldn't cover their 3rd, 4th, or even 4th receivers. Had the defense held up their end of the deal, PERHAPS the offense could have established the run.
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Re: Rams

Post by Ruutu15 »

OS wrote:I'm all for firing Linehan but let's not forget one thing... Linehan doesn't call the plays anymore. Any complaints about that should be directed towards Al Saunders.

That said... as pathetic as the offense was today, the defense deserves more blame than the offense. These (franks) in the secondary couldn't cover their 3rd, 4th, or even 4th receivers. Had the defense held up their end of the deal, PERHAPS the offense could have established the run.
I understand that Linehan doesn't call the plays, but he knows what they are, and his job as the head coach is to call 'Bulls**t" when he sees/hears it over the headset.

I do agree with you about the defense, obviously, but when the offense goes 3 and out on every possession, those guys were worn out. Remember that it was still "only" (haha) a 21 point deficit at halftime, and the D had been on the field for the majority of the half at that point. I'm not arguing your point about the secondary, or even the defense at all, just a counter of sorts. It's not just the secondary, unfortunately. We've had ONE good linebacker since London Fletcher left (Witherspoon). And no, I don't count Tinoisamoa as an adequate linebacker. Not taking anything away from McNabb, but even Bulger looks like a HOF player when you give him that kind of time.
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Re: Rams

Post by STL JA »

This was by far the worst Rams game I've seen in a long, long time. I'm not sure the coaching staff even had a plan going into today's game. What the hell was the offense trying to do out there? I still can't figure it out. And for the record, I can't stand Marc Bulger anymore. Yes, the O-line is a total joke and he has no protection, but it is no excuse to play scared. You're a QB. You're eventually going to get hit. He wanted to get rid of the ball so fast he was throwing to guys who weren't even looking. He also looked shaky on simple hand offs. Our O-line is non-existent and it's a huge problem, but he's got to stay in the pocket and at least try to make something happen. Enough is enough. I'm not even going to go into a huge rant about our defense... ARGH

This team is atrocious.

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Re: Rams

Post by Leedog »

Does that REALLY only count for 1 loss?
How much did the Eagles regulars play in the preseason? I know for a third year in a row, the Rams were played sparingly. It sure looked like the Eagles were in regular season form and the Rams were not. False starts by 4 of 5 o linemen by halftime? Inexcusable. I mean who gives a flying (Frank) if any of these guys gets hurt in the preseason? If they suck this bad, no one is unreplaceable.
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Re: Rams

Post by Blue Beagle »

Ruutu15 wrote:I do agree with you about the defense, obviously, but when the offense goes 3 and out on every possession, those guys were worn out. Remember that it was still "only" (haha) a 21 point deficit at halftime, and the D had been on the field for the majority of the half at that point. I'm not arguing your point about the secondary, or even the defense at all, just a counter of sorts. It's not just the secondary, unfortunately. We've had ONE good linebacker since London Fletcher left (Witherspoon). And no, I don't count Tinoisamoa as an adequate linebacker. Not taking anything away from McNabb, but even Bulger looks like a HOF player when you give him that kind of time.
The defense just looked unprepared as usual. I agree with the premise that you shouldn't over-expose your defense or wear them out, but the Eagles they scored on their first two possessions? I don't expect them to turn it around against the Giants next week either.

Don't forget how the special teams gave up it's obligatory big play. Add that the Rams looked pretty comfortable out there with the 3 and punt strategy and it's comical. Pace is out indefinitely as well, right? I think it's going to be another long year of football in St. Louis.

Did anyone notice the pigeon lining up on the punt return? He looked more attentive and ambitious than some out there ;)
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Re: Rams

Post by STL JA »

Another pathetic, embarrassing, disgusting loss.

This team/organization is dog shit.

Really sad...

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Re: Rams

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Re: Rams

Post by Leedog »

Wow, Vegas really is high on the Rams. The early line on next Sunday is Seattle by 10.5 pts. Seattle is also 0 - 2, no WR, and one of those losses was to 49 ers.
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Re: Rams

Post by STL JA »

OS wrote:Image
:plusplus:

I'd be thrilled if he came to St. Louis. He's exactly the kind of head coach this team desperately needs.

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Re: Rams

Post by Mellanby_equals_grit »

As someone who is indifferent to the Rams' success I have to say Linehan is pretty damn hilarious.. Him coming out after both atrocious games so far and "taking responsibility" and acting like these were going to be rare occurrences. It's gonna be a long season if he "takes the blame" 16 times. :lol:
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Re: Rams

Post by StillBleedingBlue »

STL JA wrote:
OS wrote:Image
:plusplus:

I'd be thrilled if he came to St. Louis. He's exactly the kind of head coach this team desperately needs.
Too bad he'd have to be a damned idiot to even come within 150 miles of St. Louis. No one can save this team. It needs to be gutted, and a full rebuild needs to happen. That will probably happen in L.A.
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Re: Rams

Post by STL JA »

StillBleedingBlue wrote:
STL JA wrote:
OS wrote:Image
:plusplus:

I'd be thrilled if he came to St. Louis. He's exactly the kind of head coach this team desperately needs.
Too bad he'd have to be a damned idiot to even come within 150 miles of St. Louis. No one can save this team. It needs to be gutted, and a full rebuild needs to happen. That will probably happen in L.A.
It needs to be blown up, for sure. I want Cowher in the mix though.

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Re: Rams

Post by BF44 »

This from JC Corcoran's show this morning.... (recap from his blog)
JC wrote:A football web site called Football Outsiders employs a Value Over Average (VOA) scale as a measure of a player’s performance per play. VOA breaks down every single play of the NFL season to see how much success offensive players achieved in each specific situation compared to the league average.

Here is their commentary after Week 2:
“Actually, what stands out after two weeks is not how good the Giants have been (or the Cowboys, or surprising Bills) but rather how bad the Rams have been. They've been monumentally, historically bad, only the second team since 1995 to have a VOA rating below -100% after Week 2. The other was the expansion Browns in 1999.

"The Rams had a VOA below -100% in both Week 1 and Week 2…

“One of the reasons we have not yet been able to update the Premium section with the 2008 stats is that the macro crashed while we were running the data output. Why the crash? Because the Rams have not had a single play in the red zone yet this year. That's right: The Rams suck so bad that they broke our programs.”
I find that downright (frank)ing hilarious.....

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Re: Rams

Post by Mellanby_equals_grit »

By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/16/2008

When Chip Rosenbloom took over the Rams franchise in January after the death of his mother, Georgia Frontiere, he made it clear that he wouldn't rush into things. He wanted to get the lay of the land; he wanted to avoid hasty judgments.

But two lopsided, demoralizing losses into the 2008 season, Rosenbloom has put everyone on notice at Rams Park.

"It is the job of the head coach, Scott Linehan, to figure out how to motivate and give some urgency to this team," Rosenbloom told the Post-Dispatch on Monday. "I believe in these players and I believe in this coach."

But there is a bottom line in every business. Rosenbloom knows what that bottom line is in the National Football League, and knows that his Rams have fallen far short of it thus far this season.

"Obviously, the game of football is about winning," Rosenbloom said. "The level of play is not acceptable to me or anybody in the organization."

Rosenbloom, who attended Sunday's home opener against the New York Giants, then made a plea for fans to stick with the team.

"I am happy for this team to be in St. Louis, where we have an appreciative fan base," he said. "And I hope that the fans will not waver in support of their team — even when times are a little tough."

Then came the hammer.

"Things will get better," Rosenbloom said. "And if they don't, changes will be made."

Rosenbloom declined to elaborate. In fact, he declined to comment any further. But the implication seemed clear. Linehan is on a short leash. If the team doesn't show marked improvement, it now seems possible that a coaching change could be made before the 2008 season ends.

Nothing like that has happened in the Rams organization in nearly a half-century. In 1962, Rams coach Bob Waterfield — once a Hall of Fame quarterback with the team — resigned eight games into the season (after a 1-7 start).

That's the last in-season change for the franchise. In 2005, assistant coach Joe Vitt replaced Mike Martz, who was ill, for the final 11 games of the season. Martz was fired at the end of the season.

Rosenbloom was back in Los Angeles when reached Monday by the Post-Dispatch. Meanwhile, at Rams Park, Linehan was asked about his job security for the first time during his head-coaching tenure at a news conference setting.

"I've been concerned about my job security since I started coaching," Linehan said. "I'm scared to death to lose, OK? Losing is a bad thing as a coach. If you lose, you're worried about everything. … At this point, we're not winning enough games. So when you don't win games, people are going to want the head coach's head.

"It's the way it works. I've told you that from the beginning. I've accepted that — only as part of the job, but not as part of where we're going. In my mind we're going to beat Seattle. I'm not making any guarantees — you can call it what it is — but in my mind we're going to beat Seattle and we're going to right this ship. Because we don't have a choice. I don't have a choice, and neither does anybody else around here."

It will take more than an upset victory in Seattle — the Rams are 10-point underdogs — to right the ship. Linehan is 11-23 as Rams head coach. The team ranks dead last in the NFL in total offense and total defense.

"I would think that over the last six months that we've done nothing but try to make adjustments and make improvements," Linehan said. "We have a new offensive system basically. We've got new defensive players. We've got some adjustments we've made within the staff, and we've got a few new offensive players."

Linehan even adjusted the practice schedule last week to accommodate the players. They didn't have to show up last Thursday until 11 a.m., a few hours later than normal. In theory, it allowed them to maybe sleep in a little, or just get away from football a little after the 38-3 season-opening loss to Philadelphia. But it didn't pay dividends Sunday against the Giants.

With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, the Rams collapsed down the stretch in a 41-13 loss.

"There's no solution other than going out and doing it on Sunday against Seattle on the road," Linehan said. "We could change more schedules. I tell you what — we could flip-flop. Practice at midnight and sleep during the day.

"We could eat baloney sandwiches on Wednesday. Penalize the team for not playing very good. We could try all that stuff. But the bottom line is how we play on Sunday, and what we do when we get in those moments in the game that are going to decide our fate."

And if the results don't change, it now seems obvious that Linehan's fate will be sealed.
I give it 1 maybe 2 more losses (which are inevitable with this team) and Linehan is done. Wasted years for the franchise IMO.
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Re: Rams

Post by StillBleedingBlue »

Mellanby_equals_grit wrote:
I give it 1 maybe 2 more losses (which are inevitable with this team) and Linehan is done. Wasted years for the franchise IMO.
Given the sorry state of the Seahawks team this year, I say that if the Rams get shelled this weekend, Linehan is done by Tuesday morning. At least if the Rams are awful this year, the Blues will get more coverage.

And for my own personal edification, a post from the last Rams thread in March:
StillBleedingBlue wrote:
tsblue wrote:Can he play Lb? Can he rush the passer? Can he block? This team is about 7 or 8 players away.
Not to mention a head coach away...
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Re: Rams

Post by STL JA »

I'm pretty sure we're going to win on Sunday.

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Re: Rams

Post by Mellanby_equals_grit »

All I know is I have Sunday Ticket now so I can watch the Chiefs lose instead of the Rams. :grin:
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Re: Rams

Post by STL JA »

This is ugly.

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