Week 12 - hasty, emotional reaction

by VanRam on Nov 26, 2007 9:36 AM CST in Events Comment 4 comments

Why Frerotte?

That's the question I keep asking myself in the wake of yesterday's oh-so-close loss to the heavily favored Seahawks. He's experienced, oh is he experienced. In the league since 1994, he owns a career passer rating of 74.3 and 99/88 TD/INT ration through his career, i.e. he's never been very good for an extended period of time. There's also the fact that at 2 million bucks he's better paid than some of the starters on the team.

It's not like he was making a Hail Mary that got intercepted...or a tricky play to confound the defense. No, he threw cold water on a pretty straight forward power run, muffing the snap before the line even had a chance to let the Seahawks defenders leak into the backfield.

Nevertheless, he could be our guy for the rest of the season...and as much as it pains me to say it, he probably should be. Given the awful state of the O-line and the rather sizeable investment the team has poured into Marc Bulger, it's probably best to hold him and his broken ribs and concussion out for the rest of the season. You don't argue with a concussion, just ask Pat LaFontaine or Jim Edmonds.

Oh, and it's now obvious where the red zone troubles really stem from, Scott Linehan's milquetoast offense. There's a reason they call this guy "cheese pizza."

This game was a sell out, but I'll wager you an icy cold Coca Cola that there won't be anymore EJD sellouts this season. That puts Linehan's future in jeopardy once again, and the needle on the TST Linehan Ax Watch meter has officially moved to the grey area between "somewhat likely" and "very likely" on the firing side of the dial.

Ah, but the defense, they kept them in it the whole game...well, at least until that ill-fated last drive by the offense, but there wasn't anything they could have done short of bring Carriker et al in and replaced the o-line with them. Did you really think this was possible without Leonard Little in the lineup? At one point in time we talked about the possibility of Haslett replacing Linehan. Well, I hate to be selfish, but I hope that Haslett remains our defensive coordinator for at least another season. Especially if Linehan stays around for another season, we may need something positive to watch week in and week out.

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When Frerotte fumbled the game away

my buddies just turned to each other and gave it one of those 'I told ya so' type laughs. We were all talking about how many ways the Rams would choke this one away and it happened just as one of the guys called it. Hell, we were not suprised or even disappointed by the outcome because we were betting on a huge eff-up. What have things become when we know that this team is one disaster after another at the worst times in the games? I have to lay this one at Linehan's feet...during the lengthy timeout, he should have talked to the 11 players and gone over scenarios and how/what to avoid mistakes. Didn't happen.

Gotta stop the run, dammit!

by Austin Idol on Nov 26, 2007 1:12 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Disagree about Linehan

This isn't pee-wee football where you have to remind guys to snap up their chinstraps and to wait for the snap before they move.

These guys are professionals. Gus Frerotte is a professional. He knows he's not supposed to fumble the ball there. The guys know what they're supposed to do. The good ones succeed. The bad one's f up.

Gus is one of the bad ones. Gus f'd up.

But I have to say, I wasn't one of the ones laughing. If I had been home, there would have been loud four letter words flying. But I was in a public place and just could sit and stew.

I was pissed. I felt betrayed by an incompetent quarterback and an incompitent team.

There's so many good players on this team, it upsets me. Marc, Ike, Torry, Jackson, Pisa, Witherspoon, Carriker, and a few more. But, it starts and ends on the line and our O-line stinks. Once again, I like some of the guys, but they need to become a unit.

Our line is young and oft-injured, but I still like the actual starters. I also like the young guys. Barron, Incognito, Rohmberg. They need time together.

I think about drafting Pace's eventual replacement and my thoughts turn to the New England Patriots. Every offensive line starter on the Patriots are guys they drafted and developed. I have the same hopes for our young linemen.

I haven't made up my mind if I'm going to watch the game this weekend. I'm still pissed. But, I've been extremely busy this football season and haven't had the chance to see many games. I want to still. I want to see guys like Carriker, Hill, Atogwe, McMichael, Pittman, Leonard, Adeyanju, Chillar and some others. I want to see these guys play football.

Sorry about the rant. I don't blame anyone if they don't read this far. I just felt like it was time for a rant.

by Big Red on Nov 26, 2007 8:46 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Linehan

Gus gets blame for fumbling, but why on earth was linehan calling on him to throw the ball on 1st and goal with 4 yards to go? That's Steven Jackson territory...definitely on first down.

by VanRam on Nov 26, 2007 9:13 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Agree

In reading Bernie's column, he said Ike was the 4th option on the play and Torry was the 5th option, however Olsen said Torry was the 1st option while Ike was the 5th.

Not sure who I believe here, but Torry was WIDE open. If he was the 1st option, why didn't he get the ball?

Anyway, you're right. Strange call, but to Linehan's defense, the call worked. There were TWO guys wide open on a play that originated on the 4 yard line. Definatley caught the Seahawks off guard. But unfortunately Gus thought he was playing basketball and threw a bounce pass.

Still. Two trips to the 1 yard line and 0 touchdowns. And to look more at Gus, yes he fumbled on the last play, but he also got a delay of game penalty on the first trip to the goalline.

Unacceptable.

by Big Red on Nov 26, 2007 11:10 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs