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In the years leading up to Jeff Fisher becoming the then St. Louis Rams head coach, the Rams were an unmitigated disaster. From 2007 through 2011, the Rams went 15-65 and were left with a roster mostly devoid of talent.
Fisher had the opportunity of a lifetime during his tenure with the Rams. he had what seemed like full control of roster decisions, an enormous amount of draft assets to work with, and a promising young QB in Sam Bradford.
These were the results:
Offense/Defense 2011 v 2016
| Offense | Defense | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | Defense | ||||
| 2011 | 2016 | 2011 | 2016 | ||
| YPG | 286.6 (32nd) | 262.7 (32nd) | YPG | 358.4 (22nd) | 337.0 (9th) |
| PPG | 12.1 (32nd) | 14.0 (32nd) | PPG | 25.4 (26th) | 24.6 (23rd) |
I’ll be blunt.... that’s pathetic. The Rams were stagnant in nearly every category save for defensive yards per game allowed. With 5 years and resources to spare, Jeff Fisher squandered this incredible opportunity.
While neither is the final full 53-man roster, I took the time to compile the bulk of the personnel from this season and the roster that Fisher inherited.
2011 Rams vs 2016 Rams
| 2011 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2016 | |
| QB | Sam Bradford | Jared Goff |
| Kellen Clemens | Case Keenum | |
| A.J. Feely | Sean Mannion | |
| RB | Steven Jackson | Todd Gurley |
| Cadillac Williams | Malcolm Brown | |
| Jerious Norwood | Chase Reynolds | |
| Brit Miller (FB) | Benny Cunningham | |
| Cory Harkey (FB) | ||
| WR/TE | Brandon Lloyd | Kenny Britt |
| Brandon Gibson | Tavon Austin | |
| Mark Clayton | Brian Quick | |
| Danny Amendola | Mike Thomas | |
| Danario Alexander | Bradley Marquez | |
| Austin Pettis | Nelson Spruce | |
| Lance Kendricks | Lance Kendricks | |
| Michael Hoomanawanui | Tyler Higbee | |
| Billy Bajema | Temarrick Hemmingway | |
| OL | Rodger Saffold | Greg Robinson |
| Jacob Bell | Rodger Saffold | |
| Tony Wragge | Tim Barnes | |
| Havey Dahl | Jamon Brown | |
| Jason Brown | Rob Havenstein | |
| Jason Smith | Cody Wichmann | |
| Adam Goldberg | Andrew Donnal | |
| DL | James Hall | Robert Quinn |
| Chris Long | Michael Brockers | |
| Fred Robbins | Aaron Donald | |
| Justin Bannan | William Hayes | |
| Robert Quinn | Dominique Easley | |
| C.J. Ah You | Eugene Sims | |
| Jermelle Cudjo | Ethan Westbrooks | |
| LB | James Laurinaitis | Mark Barron |
| Chris Chamberlain | Alec Ogletree | |
| Brady Popinga | Bryce Hager | |
| Ben Leber | Cory Littleton | |
| Josh Hull | Josh Forrest | |
| DB | Ronald Bartell | E.J. Gaines |
| Justin King | Troy Hill | |
| Josh Gordy | Trumaine Johnson | |
| Bradley Fletcher | Michael Jordan | |
| Al Harris | Lamarcus Joyner | |
| Jerome Murphy | Blake Countess | |
| Craig Dahl | Maurice Alexander | |
| Darian Stewart | Cody Davis | |
| Quintin Mikell | T.J. McDonald | |
| P | Donnie Jones | Johnny Hekker |
| K | Josh Brown | Greg Zuerlein |
| LS | Jacob McQuaide | Jacob McQuaide |
The Rams made these changes with an unprecedented amount of draft capital that they famously received for the Washington Redskins in exchange for the right to draft Robert Griffin III. They also had the luxury of inheriting a #1 overall pick (Sam Bradford) and drafting their own in 2016 (Jared Goff).
Unfortunately, it didn’t lead to more wins and the Rams are left languishing in the NFL’s cellar again after finishing 4-12 in 2016. They never won more than 7 games in Fisher’s tenure.
We will delve in further over the course of the next few weeks. Myself and the rest of the TST staff will be taking a look at each position group individually before taking a look at the Offense, Defense, and roster as a whole.