What two moves will have the greatest impact in turning around the Rams fortunes in 2012?

The good folks at NFL radio were asking a pretty simple question today.  They phrased it several different ways. 

1. What two things would you do to make you team more competitive?
2. What are the highest impact moves your team can make to change their status for the better?
3. What roster additions would make the greatest impact on your favorite team?

‘Tis a fair questions and the one that every dedicated fan is asking himself this time of year.  It’s business season, afterall.  So here are my answers:

1. We need two wide receivers, specifically Justin Blackmon and Vincent Jackson.  One via the draft and one via free agency.  {We also need to resign Brandon Llyod, but this is separate issues.}
2. We need two high quality outside linebackers.  Who those two gents are, I will leave open.  I would take Zach Brown of UNC at the top of the 2^nd round, and try to find the best OLB available in the upcoming bonanza of free agency.  If Gregg Williams would prefer to get two veterans he knows personally, I would have no objections.  I would also prefer that we do it this way.

As I see things, the Rams have only two devastating weaknesses:  Wide Receiver and Outside Linebacker.   We’re strong elsewhere.

We could also use a couple of young and strong running backs.  Steve Jackson is turning 30 this year.  This is the notorious age-wall that kills just about all NFL running backs.  However, this is a commodity position.  Let’s exploit this fact.

Our offensive line could use some upgrades, but this is the time and place for Coach Fisher to show us his magic.  Throughout his career at the Oilers/Titans, Jeff Fishers teams were usually amazing strong in the trenches.  Their front 9 were almost always among the 4 or 5 best in the leagues.  Yet, very, very few of the men who manned these positions were 1st-round draft picks.  { Jevon Kearse and Albert Haynesworth are two noteworthy exceptions, but these are only two men among many.}  Jeff Fisher’s staff excelled at finding men in the 3^rd through 5^th round, and developing those talents.  Some were even undrafted free rookie free-agents.

For Ram-fans, this is the very best news about the hiring of Jeff Fisher.  He does believe in being strong in the trenches.  He can find great men in the middle rounds.  His staff will grind & polish these diamonds in the rough.  He does not believe in the pure Darwinian philosophy of “throw ‘em in and cut ‘em if they don’t work out immediately, and without coaching.”  It is an odious, egregious & despicable fact that the Rams have held to this philosophy for many years now.  Good riddance to this bad ideology.  Let’s cultivate some players.

So, to restate my thesis point:  We need two killer receivers and two killer outside linebackers.  Those are our high priority items.  If we can do that much, the Rams can make the Playoffs in 2012.  Why would I say that?  Aren't we pretty far from the playoffs?  Let me give you a list of reasons I have sketched out before:

1. There is nothing wrong with the Rams defense that cannot be repaired by fixing our wretched offense.
2. I know the Ram defense showed pretty poor stats during the season, but I am telling you the stats lie. 
3. Time of possession in 2011 was crucial to the Rams failure, both offensively and defensively.   Top rarely favored us.  We frequently lost the TOP battle by 5 minutes or more.  It got worse as the season went on.
4. With our offense going three-and-out all the time, it is incredible that TOP was as close as it was.  The TOP figures should have been much more lopsided than they were.  This is testimony to how many punts our defense forced.
5. If we can simply hold the football, flipping the TOP figures 2012, our defense will be vastly better.
6. Scoring is a huge issue for the Rams.  For the second time in just 3 years, the Rams were rock bottom of the league in offense.  Incidentally, offense is measured by points scored, not yardage.  I don’t know who the fool was who established that yardage was the measure of offense, but it is time for this egregious error to be corrected.  Yardage doesn’t win the game.  Points do.
7. The Rams scored only 193 total points in 2011.  This is just 12.06 points per game.  I don’t care how good your defense is, this is not enough to win games in the NFL. 
8. It should be noted that the Rams scored only 175 points in 2009, averaging 10.9 points per game.
9. It is absolutely clear that the Rams need massive upgrades at the offensive skill positions.  We are dying because we have lousy skilled-players on offense.
10. Of those lousy skilled-players on our offense squad, our receivers are the worst of the bunch.
11. The Rams have had the worst receiver corp in the NFL two years running.  I’m talking about 32^nd out of 32 teams.  I am talking about a crew of guys with hands of stone.  Dudes who couldn’t catch a cold running barefoot and naked through an Alaskan blizzard… soaking wet.
12. This is not a question of availability or health issues, as Devaney tried to spin it.  No friends, the quality of our guys are pretty low.  I only want Danny Amendola and Brandon Lloyd to return.  The rest can go. 
13. The main reason we can't score is that our receivers can't catch.  
14. With that said, a couple of Outside Linebackers will help.

Onward to the draft

At great length, the terrible 2011 season has come to an end.  Now we move on to my favorite part of the year:  Draft and free-agency season.  This is the phase of the year where all hapless fans of hapless teams (read Ram-fans) can get a little hope that things just might be a little bit better next year.

Of course, when you have absolute fools like Devany & Zygmunt running the draft, you don't have much hope at all.  At the moment, the Rams' GM post is vacant, and we don't have a clue who may fill that slot.  It would appear that newly minted head-coach Jeff Fisher is functioning as the defacto guy, running this show.  Most noises made by the org lead our clan to believe that the next GM will be a younger and junior executive who will, more or less, be subordinate to Jeff Fisher.

For this reason, most of use are expecting Jeff Fisher to call the shots on the draft.

This viewpoint was seconded by none other than 6-time NFL Executive of the year, Bill Polian.   When asked if he had been contacted by the Rams, Polian gave an unequivocal "No, and I don't think they will contact me."  When asked if he would be willing help the Rams on a consulting basis, he gave an unequivocal "They don't need me, Jeff and his associates will handle the draft just fine."  Implication:  Jeff is going to run the draft.  When asked what he thought the Rams might do with that #2 pick, Polian replied "Knowing Jeff personally, I would say that he would use it draft a dominant defensive player, if such a player could be found."  Implication:  Jeff is going to run the draft.

What is my feeling about this?  I don't know... I am languid and listless.  I am looking forward to the combine and seeing the young men in action.  I hope this will light my fire and enthusiasm again.  Right now, I am pretty dang low about the way this season turned out.

I just don't have a good feeling about where this football team and organization stands today.  When you factor in all this noise about games in London, stadium issues, potential moves to Los Angeles in 2015, I think we are staring down the gun-barrel at some lost years whilst the firm reorganizes and situates under our new owner.

The fact that we have a true football man running the show is a good thing, or at least better than Devaney & Zygmunt, but I am concerned about his propensity to go defense when what we need is offense.

I have said it before and I will say it again.  There is nothing wrong with our defense that cannot be fixed by fixing our wretched offense.  If our goddamn offense could say on the field for more than 3 consecutive downs (via receivers not dropping passes) then they might accumulate more than 20 minutes of possession time per game.  If we could do that, perhaps our defense would not be fighting extreme exhaustion by the middle of the 3rd quarter.

Our defense showed pretty poor stats this past 2011 season, but I am telling you that the numbers lie.  With good health and an offense that can hold the ball and score, our defense will be a top-10 unit in 2012.

Frankly, I am profoundly uncertain of our prospects in this draft.  The one thing that gives me hope is continued murmurings and mutterings of a bidding war for the #2 draft pick, and the rights to select RGIII. When last I took stock of these rumors, there were potentially 5 bitters waiting in the wings.

However, I am skeptical that either the Seahawks or the Chiefs will join in the merry bidding war, as has been suggested.  I am not sure Kansas City is ready to do away with Matt Cassel.  I know we would stick a gun in Seattle's ribs if they came calling.  If I know that, they know it also.  I think this would discourage the phone call.

I also question the notion that Miami will be in the bidding war.  If the Colts do as they are expected to do (release Peyton Manning) then I would expect Miami to be one of his top-destination points.  The Dolphins have the best Left Tackle in football, the dirtiest left guard in the league, a young and budding center, Brandon Marshall, and Reggie Bush.  They also have a weak coaching situation, and an owner who is dying for star power.  In short, it could not be a better destination point for Peyton Manning.

Toss in warm weather and natural turf for a guy with neck problems, and you have bloody heaven.  I think he goes to Miami if the Colts release him.

That would diminish the bidding war to just one or two teams:  The Redskins and the Browns.  What if the Browns are unwilling to give up on Colt McCoy at this point?  Then we have just one bidder, and the Redskins might take their chances.

Catching up with the Rams

I've had a couple of funny nights and days (in a row) due to Bod Pod testing and dietary change.  For these reasons, I haven't had a lot of time to blog about what's up with my Rams.  There have been a lot of news bits flying around on the wire.  The purpose of this entry is to filter and condense them all here.

#1 Stan Kroenke and the Patriot-Way

Imagine my distress when I came across a piece in the Boston Herald declaring Stan Kroeneke's admiration of the Patriot-Way? You know how I feel about this subject.  The Patriot-Way is just a fig-leaf covering Bellichick's totalitarian approach to doing business.  It's another way of saying 'my way or the highway' from a Bellichick perspective.

Since this guy hasn't managed to win a playoff game since he was caught cheating, I see no real point in lionizing this little bastard.  He's easily the most over-rated coach of all time.  Furthermore, this guy has no coaching tree, as is often mistakenly alleged by the media.  His sycophants continue to flunk-out in both the Pro and the college ranks.  This guy is no Paul Brown.  He is no Bill Walsh.  He is no Tom Landry.  He is no master innovator, nor is he a coach of coaches.  Fuck Bellichick.  May he eat shit and die.

According to the quotes, Kroenke read "Inside the War Room", which is subtitled "Building the perfect football team".  Kroenke proclaimed that this book described a wonderful business culture in which there were clear-cut responsibilities, clear cut assignments of final authority, and no escape from final accountability.  No shit, eh?

This immediately raises question marks in my mind.  What the hell does Bellichick know about building the perfect football team?  At the the end of the day, this dude is famous for just one thing:  Never having had an undefeated season.  Yep, you read that right.  Straight word to the moe-foe there.  Furthermore, the purported 'defensive genius' has the last-ranked defense in the NFL.  What does he know about the perfect football team?

Stop licking this guy's ass, for Christ's sake.  It is most unseemly for for a weak-minded fool to apply the yardstick of his wretched intellect to the game of Pro Football.  It is disgraceful for the same wretched fools to be caught licking the arse of Bellichick in public.

With that said, I am all in favor of clear-cut responsibilities, final say, and unavoidable final accountability... just as long as it doesn't all end up in Bill Bellichick's hands at the end of the day.

#2 Kroenke releases Josh McDaniel's from his contract

And McDaniel's immediately rejoined the Patriots' staff.  Speaking of Bellichick sycophants who flunk-out all over the place... and speaking of the Patriot-Way..

If Stan Kroenke's vision lies in New England, you sure can't prove that by his #3 move.  After sacking GM Billy Devaney and HC Steve Spagnuolo, the only coach under contract with the Rams was Bellichick Sycophant Josh McDaniels.  For approximately 24 hours, I was sweating bullets over the question of whether Jeff Fisher or Josh McDaniels would become the next Rams-HC.  Knowing that:

1. The Rams were reluctant to change offensive coordinators and systems for a 3rd time in Sam Bradford's brief 2 year career.
2. That Kroenke was (is) in-love with the Patriot-Way.

It was somewhat logical to conclude that McDaniels had to be in the running for HC.  Then sigh not so, but let him go into hey nonny, nonny.  McDaniels was released from his contract either Friday or Saturday morning, and he resigned with the Patriots sometime Saturday afternoon.

Good riddance.  I never liked the guy in the first place.  I still blame him for the destruction of a pretty good Denver Bronco team.  As you know, I just don't like Bellichick sycophants.  

I regret the fact that Sam has to go through another offensive transition, but if we face the facts, we must realize that he had no chemistry with McDaniels in the first place.  Those two gave it a try, but they just didn't mesh well at all.  Sam never grasped McDaniels' passing scheme, and McDaniels seemed unable to help him master it. The lines of communication were down.  This is all the more curious since McDaniels runs a spread offensive not all that different from the one Bob Stoops runs at Oklahoma.

There's something wrong with that McDaniels kid.  He is a weird Taurus.  As a Virgo, I aught to love the guy.  I don't don't.  Furthermore, as a Taurus, he aught to have great chemistry with a Scorpio like Sam Bradford.  Clearly, he didn't.  Further, he aught to have good and cordial relations with an Aries like Bellichick, but he shouldn't worship at the guy's arse.

There is something bad-wrong about that Josh McDaniels kid.  He just ain't right.

#3 All signs are pointing towards Jeff Fisher

In the past 24 hours, a significant number of facts have become evident.

1. Most of the so-called 'coaching A-Listers' are not interested in returning to the job in 2012.
2. The pool of available Head-Coaching Candidates has never been thinner than it is today.
3. There aren't many hot coordinators in the league right now.
4. Stan Kroenke wants to end the coaching carousel in St. Louis by bring in a veteran head coach.
5. The only guy who fits the suit is Jeff Fisher.

We've seen many other news blurbs about the Rams having the edge because of Sam Bradford, the Dolphins loosing their grip on Jeff Fisher, Fisher being close to delivering his decision, etc. Jason La Canfora has been on the record for a week now declaring that Fisher would be the next coach of the Rams.  Chris Mortensen has certainly backed these claims up.

As you know, I am not particularly pleased by any of this.  I don't think we made a sufficient effort to bring Gruden out of retirement.  Money talks.  Let's buy him out of Monday Night Football.  If you made him a whopping offer, I bet you he would come along.

So why do I object to Jeff Fisher?

1. I already made my case about his mediocre record.  No need to cover this again.
2. I don't think he will go well with Bill Polian.
3. I don't think he will go well with Sam Bradford.
4. He comes from the defensive side of the field.  He was a DB with USC and Chicago.
5. Our problems are on offense.  We need an offensively-minded, point scoring head-coach.
6. Given the fact that the NFL has illegalized defense, and given the fact that you have to look around for a yellow flag every time you hear the pads pop, I am not sure you can even hire a head coach from the defensive side of the field anymore.  Believe me, I choke as I write this.  I am from the defensive side of the field.

I just don't think Jeff Fisher meets our most pressing needs.  It would be better to bring back Mike Martz as head coach.  I would favor that move.  I can't believe the Bears have released him from his contract.

#4 Gregg Williams for DC

A number of reports, particularly those from Adam Schefter, state that Gregg Williams will be the next defensive Coordinator of the Rams.  Why?

Greg got his start in Jeff Fisher's coaching tree.  Gregg Williams has no contract for the 2012 season.  He is a coaching free-agent.  Although some have mentioned him as a potential HC candidate, and although there are openings available, it seems increasingly unlikely that Gregg Williams will get an HC position this year.  Many dispute whether he has the demeanor of a head coach, and whether he can delegate authority.

Further, we know there are now issues surrounding the hiring of an aggressive defensive coach as your HC, thanks to the NFL Competition Committee.  Anytime the pads pop, you have to look around for the yellow flag.

I am not sure why Gregg Williams would want to leave New Orleans.  I am not sure why he would rather work with Jeff Fisher than Sean Payton.  I am not sure why he would leave a good thing when he's got one.

Still, Schefter is almost never wrong.  This report has to be taken seriously.

#5 Jeff Tedford for OC

If Fisher is the head coach, and Williams is our DC, who will be the man tasked with repairing our woeful offense?  This is the Achilles' heel of our football team, you know?  We suck because of our offense.

Some rumors are circulating--very underground--that Stan Kroenke wants Jeff Tedford, head coach of the Cal Berkeley Bears to fill this position.  I am not sure Tedford would be interested in semi-demotion from head coach to offensive coordinator, especially when some consider him worthy of a full NFL HC position.  Still, the rumor is circulating that Kroenke has reached out to Tedford.

If he will take the position, I am all for it.  Tedford is my homeboy.  He's from SoCal originally, but he went to Fresno State where he was a very memorable Bulldog QB during my High School years.  He became the OC of the Oregon Ducks, and then the head coach at Cal.  I happen to be a UCLA guy.  He's been a serious thorn in our Bruins' side for years now.  Let's fetch him out of there to coach the Rams.  He is responsible for the early development of a QB you may have heard of:  Aaron Rodgers.

Jeff also happens to be a November 2, 1961 Scorpio dude.  Sirius 1.1 claims he has extremely high synastry scores with Sam Bradford, something Josh McDaniels didn't have.  They should be very good together.

#6 No sign of Bill Polian

At the moment, there is no sign of the Rams or Kroenke communicating with Bill Polian. The only word published on Bill Polian all week long stated that he was interested in the vacant Chicago Bears' position.

As you may imagine, my outlook is glum. I really, really, really want to see Bill Polian take over this organization. Bring Chris along with you.  There is nothing wrong with the way the Rams do things that cannot be addressed and corrected by hiring Bill Polian.  I am sure this guy can fix the organization.  He's fixed every organization he's ever been in, no matter how dysfunctional.

At the moment, all reports state that the Rams want to pair an experienced veteran HC (read: Fisher) with a young and hungry GM (read:  somebody Fisher would select).  Given the notion that Fisher is doing the selection, can you guess who we are talking too?  Titans VP of Operations Lake Dawson and VP of player personnel Ruston Webster.

So we are going to be the Titans-West instead of the Giants-West now, eh?  I am not too pleased by that.  I would sooner be the Colts-West.

The 2011 NFL Season is over... mercifully enough!

So the regular season ended yesterday.  Thank God!  Not a moment too soon if you ask me.  You may be experiencing a sense of loss, but not me.  If you are a Ram-fan, you have been waiting for the end of this nightmare for sometime now.  It couldn't end soon enough.  You are glad you finally woke up from a long and tormented sleep.

The deed has been done.  Steve Spagnuolo and Billy Devaney have been fired.  You can read about it here. As you know, I have been gunning for Devaney for the better part of two years.  His poor eye for talent and his sub-par drafts are what got us here.  You can seriously question his priority list also.  I am less keen to see Spags go.

Now it is time for the real work to begin.  Now we have to begin the rebuild in earnest.

I will be out of my mind with rage if we hire Jeff Fisher.  I won't have it.  That just might be the end of my 31 years as a Ram-fan.  I don't care what anybody says, Jeff Fisher is not a coaching A-Lister.  His record with the Oilers/Titans was very mediocre.  He never won the Super Bowl, we beat him in the Super Bowl, and his Titans often failed to make the playoffs. He was the most over-rated coach in the league during his long tenure with the Oilers/Titans.

The only big credit to Jeff Fisher's his name is the fact that he knows how to last in a Bush-League organization.  I want Stan Kroenke to know that if he hires Jeff Fisher, he's sending the wrong message.  He's sending the message that he wants a coach who can last in a Bush-League organization... like the Rams.

Furthermore, I am hoping and praying the Chargers will not fire A.J. Smith.  I am hoping and praying he will not  even be available for the Rams' candidate list.  Hiring A.J. will certainly be the end of my 31 years as a Ram fan.  I hate that guy with a passion.  He is an A-Lister on the ass-hole list.  He is one of the few 100% pure, unrefined, unadulterated assholes in the NFL.  Most assholes have at least a few trace quantities of impurities in their asshole nature.  Not A.J. Smith.  He is 100% pure asshole.

Two terrible suggestions for the Rams

Lately, two terrible suggestions for future moves have being sloshed about loosely in public.

Some have suggested that the Rams should select Andrew Luck if we should be so fortunate as to win the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes. The second terrible suggestion is that we can or will use EVP Kevin Demoff's family connections to get former Titans coach Jeff Fisher in the building.

I shit upon both suggestions, straight-up and no chaser. Shakes, nates, bollocks, nay, no, never, forget about it!

Fortunately, I think both propositions are completely irrelevant to the true situation. We have two victories, the Colts have none. I think the Colts will cruise to the #1 slot. We may well win the #2 slot. This is more than fine with me. It spares us from the morons who would give up on Sam Bradford already. Further, it gives us plenty of picking power to grab Justin Blackmon, the proper target of our draft.

I think Kevin Demoff is on his way out, ergo there is little chance his family connections will be involved in the new coaching search. Rule out Jeff Fisher. He's going to San Diego where he will enjoy a perfect Gemini/Sagittarius alliance with Philip Rivers.

If we are going after one of the so-called 'top coaching candidates', I would like that to be John Gruden. This would entail a reversion to the WCO, but worse things have happened. Gruden is the only so-called A-Lister that I would endorse.