Titles do not matter, at least not when a team is chasing titles. Allow me to explain this lame rhetorical device that I used to lead off an otherwise dull Tuesday morning edition of Random Ramsdom. The St. Louis Rams have a new general manager, Les Snead. He made a media faux pas, noting his excitement at working "for" Jeff Fisher, the Rams' new head coach. Everyone got a good guffaw out of Snead's slip.
Yuck, yuck, yuck ... Jeff Fisher is the real man in charge in St. Louis. Yeah, so what? Like Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin and others that have hosted Saturday Night Live more than five times, Fisher is one of the league's handful of coaches in another stratosphere. He is one of the few with the longevity, success and gravitas to do more than scheme Xs and Os. In fact, Fisher is less concerned with the specifics of the playbook than he is articulating a vision and keeping his staff on track. Commanding generals, CEOs and others who oversee the direction of such a large operation with moving parts and big budgets work the same way.
Leaders lead, they don't meddle in the minutia of things. They don't worry themselves with the business of the equipment manager or spend time managing the redecorating of a building.
Titles and the division of labor between Fisher and Snead are irrelevant. Bernie Miklasz tells you why in his Bytes bit from Monday. Go read it before you get hung up on whose runs what at Rams Park.
Let's do some more links, including a boat load of extra crunch for those hungry for the draft and free agency ... or a trip to Long John Silvers.
Hit the jump, maties!
PFF's Top 50 Free Agents | ProFootballFocus.com - Plenty of names on this list would help the Rams. In fact, several players in the top ten have already been mentioned as possibilities, including Cortland Finnegan and Vincent Jackson. We'll see what shakes out come March.
Rams should listen to offers for No. 2 pick, and take highest bidder - Plenty of teams are going to be hot after RGIII in the upcoming draft. But the Rams, who own the No. 2 pick, already have Sam Bradford. Clark Judge says they should trade the pick to the highest bidder, then reap the rewards.
2012 NFL Draft: Lack of Elite Pass Rushers Creates Problems - Pass rushers are a coveted group in the NFL. Teams do crazy things to get guys capable fo terrorizing quarterbacks, throwing oodles of money and moonlight serenades for them. This year's draft is short on pass rushers, pure pass rushers, and that will have an impact on the draft and how much money teams spend in free agency.
UNC DE Quinton Coples: The Importance of Pad Level - Then there's Quinton Coples. He looks like the top pass rusher available in the draft this year, but Coples is hardly the perfect prospect. Like most UNC players, he put it in cruise control during his final year of school. That isn't the problem so much as his technique is. The Rams got lucky to nab Robert Quinn in the draft last year, rather than look for pass rushing help this year.
2012 NFL Draft: Players That Will Be Drafted Sooner Than You Think - This is a good list of names to know for draftniks. Every year players surprise conventional wisdom in the weeks ahead of the draft with big shows at the Combine and pro day events. Some names here that could be of interest to the Rams include LSU receiver Rueben Randle, Oregon RB LaMichael James and Iowa OT Riley Reiff.
Vote Tevin! - St. Louis Rams fans, it's a call to action. One of our own needs your help. Let's get Tevin voted into the finals of this sports social media star contest, which would be like grad school for his future work at TST.
Happy Valentines Day! You know we love the St. Louis Rams fans!