Dear Coach Fisher,
After the success of my letter to you last year, I feel that I truly must - once again - offer my help in the interests of both the players and the fans.
The sense of deju vu is palpable here. Oh hell! Decidedly that! You could cut the deju vu with a ginsu. Last year, it was the first loss to San Fransisco that prompted me to write you. This year, it's in hopes of averting another tragedy like that one. (Just a reminder, they are division rivals and we are playing them this coming Monday night...I think it's televised too)
Coach, don't get me wrong, we fans love what you have been building. This team has more talent...a lot more...than it has had since the halcyon days of the Greatest Show on Turf. That talent has come through in players like E. J. Gaines and T. J. McDonald, Aaron Donald and do I even have to mention Austin Davis? (Strange how it is the rookies leading, isn't it?) On paper, this is a serious contender.
But Coach, where are the wins?
Individual talent is a great thing, but on a team sport, all the talent in the world doesn't win without teamwork. Just ask Michael Jordan. I imagine that if the Rams simply went out of business today, most of the roster would be signed immediately to other teams (not you Davin). But where is the team?
Let's look at some specifics...
The Offensive Line.
Usually, when building an offensive line, the goal is to get sports writers to use adjectives like dominating, hard-hitting, aggressive, etc. For this OL, I will use the word: sieve. Austin Davis' stats become all the more phenomenal when one realizes he is running for his life more often than not. Same with Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham. Their solid contributions have come in spite of - not because of - the offensive line play. Please, please, please put Greg Robinson in. No way he can be worse than Davin Joseph. Impossible. The looming contest against San Fransisco should be a perfect time for this, since the run game will be critical to getting that 'W'.
The Defensive Line
This is a puzzler. The most talented defensive line in the league and almost no pressure and only one sack. Oh, they are also giving up huge chunks of yardage on the ground. It is a strange thing to miss the days of Tim Walton. I have seen the numbers and do realize that quarterbacks are releasing the ball quicker against us...still. That just doesn't complete the equation for me. Both yourself and Robert Quinn have assured us that the sacks will come, but like Gene Wilder in Blazing Saddles, when he is told by Cleavon Little that he will die by drinking so heavily, I ask wearily...When?
The Rest of the Defense
As I am sure you know, the Rams rank #1 against the pass. An outstanding accomplishment indeed! The problem is those 152.5 yards per game on the ground that they are giving up. May I humbly suggest some balance? Excepting the Eagles, teams have relied on the run to beat us and hell, why not? Have you noticed that the 49ers have a pretty decent running game? This might be a good time to address that issue.
Mental Issues
Oh geez! Where to start? Dropped passes when the game is on the line, blown coverage, stupid penalties...uhg. Coach, we have got to get these guys some discipline. Message received, I think (hope) with the release of Ray Ray Armstrong. From my time in the Marines, I think I could offer a few suggestions here on discipline. That is probably best worked out with no microphones privately..
Here we are again, not expecting a trip to Glendale, but we fans were most certainly expecting some wins against division rivals and maybe even a playoff berth. That hope is directly your responsibility coach. You have given us hope that's waining. Now it is time to put some fire and disciple into this franchise and get them working together. Do that and the wins will follow.
So, in closing, let me just once again say that my life is pretty busy, but we should definitely have a sit down, and hash some of these issues out. Have your people, call mine...
Sincerely,
Charles