Fuck... that sure is news to me... and I though I was a connected guy. The mood on Bleecher Report is still guarded and somber. VanRam soft-pedals deeply disturbing news regarding Rodger Saffold, Jason Smith, and Greg Bell. Even our backups like Setterstrom are out for the season right now. My apartment manager, who is a 40 year Ram-fan, looked me dead in the eye and asked "what the fuck are we going to do with a quarterback this year?"
He said that laughing, in a grim, gallows-humor sort of way. That sounds like a bizarre statement to most football fans, unless you understand what's happening with the Rams. If you know what's up, this is actually a funny inside-joke.
He knew that I knew. I knew that he knew. He knew that I knew that he knew. I knew that he knew that I knew. We know each other. We know we know.
I will tell the rest of you non Ram-fans the ancient Chinese secret, which is no secret. I will give you the sacred piece of divine wisdom we are missing. There is an ancient piece of Chinese wisdom which Devaney and the Rams are sorely lacking. It the key to our failure. This bit of wisdom was written down by the ancient philosopher Confucius sometime around 490 BC.
Are you ready for this? A rough translation into English goes like this: You need to put some concrete and steel in your basement before you attempt to build your 2nd floor firmly in mid-air.
The Rams were poorly setup to receive a highly accurate passer like Sam Bradford before the injury bug began to strike down our offensive line (yet again). Only stupid fuck-heads ignore Confucius. You would do well not to, Devaney. Yep, I'm talking to you.
Drafting a QB with basically no line in front of him, a surgically repaired running back, and receivers that can't scare very small baby hamsters is exactly like attempting to build the 2nd floor with no foundation or ground level. Sorry bitches, that's just the way it is.
The last time we won the Super Bowl, which was the first time we won the Super Bowl, the entire teams was ready before we discovered we had a QB. It's funny how we got lucky just when everything else was prepared perfectly for a stroke of luck. Kinda reminds me of the old saying, "the harder I work the luckier I get." Kurt Warner was setup for success. Given those dazzling weapons and a superb OC, it would have been difficult for Kurt not to fall into the pit of success.
I am very sorry to say this, but 10 years later the story is entirely different. We are trying to go in absolute reverse. We are starting with a premium grade QB and we have nothing else. We have a shitty line, shitty receivers, an absolute turd of an offensive coordinator, and a surgically repaired RB. Believe me, my blood runs cold as I say this, but poor Sam is not setup for success as Kurt Warner was. That is an obvious and self-evident statement. No contest must be the plead.
This is my mood. This is the mood of the Ram-fans I know. I know of a few cheerleaders on the Bleecher Report who believe firmly in Devaney's actions and Sam's potential. Even these kiddies don't think Sam is a folk hero yet. They won't predict so much as a break-even record for the Rams in the 2010 season
Once again: This is not Sam's fault. I am not saying that he is to blame for any of this. I am not saying he is a failure already. I am telling you Devaney's rebuilding program is cracked. I am telling you that none of us expect a winning record or anything close to it in 2010. We are expecting hard times ahead. We hope Sam will survive this season uninjured. That is our first and best hope.
Where is the folk hero in that story? Where is the hero worship? Where is the adulation? Where is the adoration? I am sure he is getting some attention, but I think these statements are dramatically overblown. I haven't got the foggiest notion of what Sam Wyche is talking about. He is speaking of some other situation, certainly not the Rams.
