Friday, February 19, 2010

Marshall Faulk is basically right


VanRam just took major exception to a few statements Marshall Faulk made in his recent Sporting News power-rankings piece. Specifically, Faulk said the following:
They've earned the No. 32 spot. It's well-deserved. The Rams are more worried about firing their trainer and their equipment manager than they are worried about the coaches responsible for their play on the field. That says a lot. When the first offseason move you make is to fire your trainer? Perfect. Maybe the draft will help. But at no point last season did I see anything that made me think they were turning the corner. It's painful to watch.
What is wrong with his statement? Let me think... ghee... I can't really find much if anything wrong with that statement.
  • Did we earn the 32 spot? Yep. We went 1-15
  • Did we fire our trainers? Yep.
  • Did we fire Pat Shurmer? Nope. I guess we are more concerned with firing the trainer than fixing the offense.
  • Did we show signs of turning the corner last season? Hell no.
  • Is our offensive line worse now than last season? Yes. Icognito is gone. Barron is sure to follow. Jacob Bell will likely return with a hell of a hamstring problem. Our OL is worse, not better.
  • Have we come off the bottom? Nope.
  • Was it painful to watch? Nope. It was beyond painful. It was excruciating as fuck.
So Marshall is right, isn't he? Yep. I will grant that VanRam is correct about our defense. Our defense is looking better and better. They have bought into Coach Spag's system. They are playing like a unit. They are trusting each other, working together, and covering their personal responsibilities. I like what I saw defensively most of the season. However, I doubt Marshall was ripping the defense.

Marshall is charter member of the Greatest Show on Turf. Watching that pathetic excuse for a Lombardi running offense must have just about killed him. God knows it just about killed me. I am certain that Marshall was thinking first and foremost about our offense, which was a hopeless basket case yesteryear. We need a major offensive overhaul, and that includes the Offensive Coordinator position.

I don't believe Marshall has any ax to grind, any grudge, or any hidden agenda. Also, I would love to see him back with the organization.

The off-season is young. We have some time to do some work. However, I must acknowledge that it is strange that our first move was to fire the training staff, rather than Pat Shurmer.