Are the Rams headed in the right direction?
by Ryan Van Bibber on Jan 6, 2010 9:39 AM CST
in 2009 St. Louis Rams regular season
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PrintThe dust is settling on the St. Louis Rams 2009 season, a rough slog through 17 weeks of football. When the season ended this time last year events created a renewed sense of optimism, something Rams fans hadn't experienced in several seasons. Jay Zygmunt was out; the experienced football man Billy Devaney was installed as GM by the children of the late Georgia Frontiere. A little later in the offseason, the team hired an outgoing rookie head coach, Steve Spagnuolo, who brought an impressive resume as the defensive coordinator of the Super Bowl Champion NY Giants and a long track record of success as a defensive coach with the Eagles.
Next came the cuts. Long-tenured veterans, big name players who once helped sell tickets were jettisoned along with their hefty contracts and replaced with players with their best years still ahead, some came through the draft, some were just replacement parts collected from practices squads and the ranks of the undrafted. The cuts, while somewhat draconian, and the new additions were needed for the franchise to rebuild. Of course, those cuts left the team vulnerable at key positions, giving us our first red flag that the going might get a little rough before it starts getting better.
The front office will be making some very important moves during this offseason, moves that should translate to more wins on the field in the season ahead. Of course, there isn't much room for error. A miss with a free agent or a high draft pick would be a huge hurdle for the Rams future. The team being for sale adds another wrinkle to the story. As much as 1-15 hurt to watch - and man were Sundays painful sometimes - the vision for the Rams still seems clear.
Let's take the pulse of Rams Nation and get a feel for we, the fans, are feeling about the team's overall direction.
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point well taken
what if they kept him as a backup?
Turf Show Times
by Ryan Van Bibber on Jan 6, 2010 11:09 AM CST up reply actions
this is another big thing, but
if the rams tender him (provided an uncapped year) – they could get him back for a low salary or draft pick compensation…
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My point is that, despite moderate skill, his attitude and behavior is a detriment to the team.
Probably Barron and Bulger are the two players most associated with our losing debacle of the last three years. They have to become disassociated with the team so as not to be a chronic reminder of futility to the new and younger players. Keeping either as a b/u just allows the wounds to fester…
I don't with agree with you
That Bulger is festering wound on the team…He definitely makes too much money to kept around, and I wouldn’t mind having him if he took a huge pay cut.
But Barron needs to go.
I believe in 2010
I guess I just don't hate Bulger as much as you do
I mean, Bulger HAS gone to the playoffs before.
I believe in 2010
I DON'T hate the man Rod...
After one season of 12-4 glory and a quick exit in the 1st round of the playoffs to Carolina, we’ve never been better than 8-8 with Bulger whether it’s Martz, Vitt, Linehan, Haslett or Spags doing the coaching. Bulger teams record a historical 1-2 playoff record, and a 6-42 record over the past three when he started each season as numero uno. I just can’t defend the guy. The coach(es) anf QB are the most culpable guys on a football team. Where am I wrong?
like it or not
QBs become the hero or the scapegoat for team. Bulger followed the very popular Kurt Warner, which doesn’t help your image when the team struggles. He also was under center as the rest of the team started to decline because of age, etc. Bulger himself, remember, played for too long behind that crappy OL which took some years off his career. The Rams need to move on from Bulger, for sure, but i don’t think he bears the full responsibility of the team’s decline.
Turf Show Times
by Ryan Van Bibber on Jan 6, 2010 1:57 PM CST up reply actions
I also think QBs get way too much of the blame for bad records
as well as way too much credit for winning records.
That’s why you don’t see W-L records on their stat lines. Often, some sources will cited W-L records in games started by said QB, but that’s just as unfair as just a strict W-L record.
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
I'm not saying you're wrong
about him not having any success, but he’s a veteran that gone to the playoffs, win or lose. He makes way to much money at this point in his career, but I don’t think him and Alex Barron are comparable. Alex Barron doesn’t give a crap what happens, but Bulger does. I gotta give the guy credit, he’s played through a lot of pain.
I believe in 2010
C'mon Ed
Cast your vote… don’t be Incognito. Ooops! DAMNIT sorry about that ;-)
"The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall." - Vince Lombardi
I'm glad Cogs is gone...
…but at least that headcase had some fire and emotion. Unlike some of our players that behave like pacifist Vulcans…
Let's put it this way, I don't see how it can get any worse
However, I have yet to develop much confidence that our current coaching/front office personnel and their schemes, most notably on offense, can get this team into playoff contention in the next 2-3 seasons.
not like we’re the Lions….
"Twin-headed infinite swirling vortex of grotesque suckitude known as Tony Clark and Eric Byrnes"
Even though our schedule is much easier, I think I would rejoice at 6-10 under these circumstances.
However, anything below 8-8 has always been a disappointment to me over the last 40+ years….
Haha... now that I understand your expectations...
I no longer see you as a curmudgeon. In fact, I pretty much agree with you on your suggestions.
by BruinHalo on Jan 6, 2010 1:38 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
The next 2-3 seasons?
I don’t know. Is rebuilding for the long term consistent with this? What should the timelines be. Where should we be in 2010, 2011, 2012? At what point should playoff contention be plausible? We are basically starting from scratch obviously, so 2-3 years seems a bit optimistic to me.
Gregatron is not responsible for any of the crap he just wrote.
St. Louis vegetarian blog
No, we actually started all over from scratch LAST year.
New GM, Coach, cut half the players, had a decent draft and acquired Brown & Butler as FA’s. We’re well into year 2 of the Spags experiment.
Not quite from scratch.
Almost.
We still have some “dead weight” to cut lose that we weren’t able to cut lose last year. Bulger, McMichael (although he’s a new addition to the list), Barron, and a few others.
Personally, I’m looking for an improvement in the roster this next season but I won’t look for true competition for the playoffs until 2011. Honestly, I don’t think this team will be ready (and I’m kinda looking at the QB position mostly when I say this) to really be able to compete in 2010. They should be improved, but “compete” might be a little bit of a reach.
But, once they start the season 2-1, I’m sure I’ll dump that “expectation” and expect nothing less than a SuperBowl appearance……….
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
Yes and No?
I’d say some aspects of the team, most notably defense, are definitely heading in the right direction. On the other hand, the offense doesn’t seem any better and may have gotten worse.
Of course our "D" gave up over 400 points too.
It’s hard to find real bright spots except for Lauranitis, Butler and a so-called “improving” Chris Long. Suh may be just what it takes to bring the “D” together. Especially if Otogwe, Fletcher, Gibson & Carriker (doubtful) make successful returns from IR. Ryan, Bartell, Dahl and Ah You probably round out the rest of the talent. Little, Hall and Adyenaju – take the train.
A solid D-line that stops the run and puts consistant pressure on the QB
does wonders for how a defensive backfield looks in the stat book.
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
going to be verrry interesting with the CBA
A lot of these players will be RFA’s. It’s going to be interesting if we let people snag them for picks.
I believe in 2010
I voted no
But I’m hopeful. We are still trying to stop the bleeding. As pointed out in other posts, we still have some dead money to lose. We’ve hit bottom I hope. We’ve made moves to support a relatively new business philosophy,(pillars,etc.)
Other than JL, I can’t think of any significant improvements personnel-wise; I would include Long and Smith, but they were high first rounders and are meeting, not exceeding expectations for first rounders. We have taken steps back( Spoon, Tinoisomoa), without replacing their respective productivity. We have increased our draft picks this year by 2, (a 5 and a 7), and have the first overall pick in each round. I’d like to say thats a step in the right direction but I just can’t, though obviously we benefit from it.
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