Rams lose Bulger for the season
No, the sack totals haven't finally added up. That headline is my paraphrasing of what's probably the most under-reported aspect of Steven Jackson (latest) buzz generating interview, the one where he hammered the Rams for their decision to bench QB Marc Bulger.
The point he's making when he says the Rams have lost Bulger for the season is that head coach Scott Linehan can't effectively come back to Bulger and ask him to play again after what's happened, something that would seem to confirm the whispers that Bulger says he'll no longer play for Linehan.
In the video below, ESPN analyst Darren Woodson argues that benching Bulger and turning to Green, while not the best move, was the only way to shake up a locker room with low morale and the danger of that spreading even further. I honestly don't know how much further it could spread, or if it matters.
There's probably already too much friction between Linehan and some of his key players like Jackson, and obviously Bulger. We know Torry Holt's had his very public disagreements with Linehan in the past, and while he plays hard, I can't imagine he's a big Linehan guy. Nobody's saying this, but I suspect Fakhir Brown got cut because of a problem with the coach (or coaches); why else would a team struggling with pass defense and depth at CB release their top veteran player? Brown wasn't playing like their best CB, but there's plenty of reason to believe Brown's play wasn't just a rough start to the season. Check out what else Jackson had to say in his interview:
"We should be loose, we should be going out there playing football. But I think a lot of people right now are playing for their jobs. As far as fans listening, it's really hard to play for your jobs. We're not winning. Yes, it boils down to winning and losing in this business that we play in. But when you are playing not to lose your job, that is when you are not going to make plays."
The rift between Linehan and his players has passed the point where reconciliation is possible. You don't need to do much reading between the lines on this quote from LT Orlando Pace to get a sense of how players feel:
"Hopefully I do my job so I don’t get replaced."
That's just not the kind of thing Pace is know for saying. Nor is it what you want to hear from one of your core veterans. The players are near revolt and the team is in disarray. At this point, Sunday's outcome doesn't matter - just like the three wins last year - the Rams have to make changes. Firing Scott Linehan is the place to start. Just two weeks ago, I personally was willing to extend the grace period, but it's clear now the problem is irreconcilable.
Something may be afoot already, as the PD's Bill Coats reported this afternoon that Linehan jogged off the field without making himself available to the media in order to attend a meeting with GM Jay Zygmunt, a man synonymous with the franchise's overall decline. Burwell says can 'em both, and I have to say I agree 100%.
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Pace
Pace’s comment yesterday caught me off guard too. As I read it, my mind was jumping ahead predicting what it would say, and I have to admit, I didn’t expect those words to be coming from Pace.
Oh, and I’m not sure how familiar Woodson is with the situation around Rams Park, but his “analysis” seems to be a little un-educated of the reality. Sounds like typical “guy who knows players and other personnel and won’t say anything too derogative about anyone” to me.
Nothin'. A handful of nothin'. You stupid mullet head. He beat you with nothin'. Just like today when he kept comin' back at me......with nothin'.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Part of Linehan's credibility problem...
Has the coach ever called out Bulger for poor play after a game? Has he ever said anything to the effect of “Our offense requires a certain standard, and Bulger isn’t living up to it?” I can’t recall this ever being the case, not just for Bulger, but for nearly any individual player. It’s one thing to “shake up a locker room,” but to have any credibility you have to have established that you have some sort of vision for how to win games. You have to have a track record of not disciplining personalities, but disciplining performance. And Linehan hasn’t ever shown it, at least not publicly. And judging from the locker room discontent, he hasn’t ever shown it, period.
Woodson blows up his entire argument by leading off with “well, you can’t blame the coach…”
In this case, it’s where the blame starts.
"Attaway to stomp 'em. Stomp the piss out of 'em. Stomp 'em when they're down. Kick 'em and stomp 'em. Attaway to go boys. Pound that old Budweiser into you and go get them tomorrow." -- Joe Schultz
I don't think you can build credibility by calling out players in the media
If it’s to be done, you do it behind closed doors. Those guys have egos (much larger than you and I) and you’re really cutting off your face to spite your nose if you call them out in the media. But, I highly doubt he’s really done any of that, at least to the point that the players buy it, in the locker room or practice field.
Plus, it also becomes easier to do if they players agree with you or at the very least believe you know what your talking about. I don’t think he’s ever gotten that respect from the players where he could safely and realistically call out anyone on their performance.
Nothin'. A handful of nothin'. You stupid mullet head. He beat you with nothin'. Just like today when he kept comin' back at me......with nothin'.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
It depends on how you do it.
Parcells was never afraid to criticize performance after a bad game. He rarely called out players, per se, but he was never shy about calling out the team as a whole, or as individual units, for terrible play.
And of course, he would follow this up by trying to coach those players or units up to a higher level. If you clearly set a bar for a player, and try to help them reach that bar, it doesn’t matter who you tell about it.
"Attaway to stomp 'em. Stomp the piss out of 'em. Stomp 'em when they're down. Kick 'em and stomp 'em. Attaway to go boys. Pound that old Budweiser into you and go get them tomorrow." -- Joe Schultz
And now it's Holt
Here’s three quotes I though spoke volumes:
Rams receiver Torry Holt is trying to put aside what he calls the “madness” swirling at Rams Park after the team’s 0-3 start.
Madness, huh? That’s pretty descriptive.
I was shocked, man, I was really shocked
Hmm.
And here’s my favorite…
Coach did a good job of lightening things up for us and keeping us fresh to allow us to go out on Sunday and play at a Max Q level for four quarters
Max Q? That’s a Martz thing. Think that’s a bit of a shot? I think it might be.
Nothin'. A handful of nothin'. You stupid mullet head. He beat you with nothin'. Just like today when he kept comin' back at me......with nothin'.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Holt is smart
Holt is not saying much about all this , in fact for the last three weeks hes been saying that we need to move foward after each of our loses, he is too smart to get in the midle of this power strugle that the rams coauches are having and he surely knows that it will all soon blow over with major changes in the teams managment and coaching staff
i hope sunday every one that plays in this game with bufalo just sits on there ass the hole game, send a message now that no one will play for Linehan any more or for Zigmunt, they both have to go now, if thats not enugh we can add Shaw to the list
by james535 on Sep 27, 2008 4:45 AM CDT reply actions
GO BUFALO lol
Yes this is the first time in 50 years that im rooting for a team other then the Rams
i hope every team that play us now kicks our asses untill Linehan is gone, and that Fucking Zigmunt , that bitch is lucky i dont live in ST. Louis, i would have a lynching mob out side his house every day waiting to lynch is ass for what his done to this team
by james535 on Sep 27, 2008 4:49 AM CDT reply actions
As freaking crazy and ridiculous those statements are...
I can’t disagree much. I too am hoping for a coaching and GM change to be announced no later than Monday morning and I’m afraid a win or close game destroys those chances.
Sometime you gotta lose the battle to win the war.
Nothin'. A handful of nothin'. You stupid mullet head. He beat you with nothin'. Just like today when he kept comin' back at me......with nothin'.
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
So are you going to be outside of his house with rakes and torches, too?
crazy and ridiculous don’t start to cover those statements.
by Downing Rules on Sep 27, 2008 11:53 PM CDT up reply actions

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