2004 Rams vs. 2014 Rams

[tempests]

Holt and Bruce would've ate our secondary alive. And Quinn would be a non factor going against Pace.

 

[-X-]

Holt and Bruce would've ate our secondary alive. And Quinn would be a non factor going against Pace.

Even though Pace only played two games and that team was 25th in the league in points allowed and gave up a 91 QBR to opposing QBs while yielding 4.5 yards per carry on the ground? I mean, if a Jay Fielder-led team can beat them, why can't this one?

 

[tahoe]

The 14 would cause bulger to shell up and he would have a hard time getting the ball to holt and bruce. I think the 14 offense would do enough to win against the 04 team.

 

[12intheBox]

The 04 team gave up 50 sacks that season and never saw a pass rush even close to what the 14 team brings.

 

[Rmfnlt]

I liked Archuleta less and less every year. Then Washington paid him,and well, he retired at what 28-29?

His wife evened everything out!

The two teams might be very close... so I'd be looking at the competition then and now...

 

[tempests]

Even though Pace only played two games and that team was 25th in the league in points allowed and gave up a 91 QBR to opposing QBs while yielding 4.5 yards per carry on the ground?

? Pace played a 16 game schedule in 2004.

I mean, if a Jay Fielder-led team can beat them, why can't this one?

For the reasons I said. Can't stop the pass-04 Rams were top 5- and when Quinn doesn't get going, the Rams pass rush is a lot more ordinary.

 

[-X-]

? Pace played a 16 game schedule in 2004.

I was going off of this, and thought I remembered him having a shoulder issue, but I was mistaken. My bad.

For the reasons I said. Can't stop the pass-04 Rams were top 5- and when Quinn doesn't get going, the Rams pass rush is a lot more ordinary.

Yeah, but I gave you one instance at random where that wasn't the case. When they played the Dolphins and lost badly. Against Jay Fiedler and Sammy Morris. For comparison sake, I'm asking you if you think Bradford and Stacy wouldn't be able to duplicate that success. Particularly when you take into account that the Dolphins that year were 28th in the league in scoring and finished 4-12.

 

[tempests]

I was going off of this, and thought I remembered him having a shoulder issue, but I was mistaken. My bad.

Yeah, but I gave you one instance at random where that wasn't the case. When they played the Dolphins and lost badly. Against Jay Fiedler and Sammy Morris. For comparison sake, I'm asking you if you think Bradford and Stacy wouldn't be able to duplicate that success. Particularly when you take into account that the Dolphins that year were 28th in the league in scoring and finished 4-12.

If the Hyde portion of the 04 Rams show up, then they lose, yeah. If memory serves that game against Miami was one of Holt's worst as a pro.

 

[FRO]

The 04 has bigger names, but the guys were going on the downside of their careers. The 14 team is built with young guys, meaning this team could really step up this year and hit their stride.

 

[HometownBoy]

I say 2014 easy, while Holt and Bruce still had the potential to gash our secondary to all hell, we'd still destroy Bulger. Even if Pace could somehow completely shut out Quinn, do you really think Donald, Langford, Long, Hayes and co would look ordinary against ancient Timmerman, McCollum, Nutten and Williams? A line that mind you, let Bulger be sacked 41 times by lesser than ours.

Mean while you have a completely average and unintimidating defense that could only hold opponents under 20 points 5 times and despite big names, was easily gashed for 40 points 3 times, no Fisher lead team has had the honors of being that easy to destroy, despite us having some clunkers. Even a sophomore slumping Givens could probably beat Archuleta over the top at this point of his career.

I just don't see proof that 2004 have any ability to stop the 2014 Rams defense from feasting on them alive and Bradford and co continuing to feast on a less than stellar defense.

 

[thirteen28]

I think the 2014 teams wins easily.

First of all, you had a defense that was coached by Larry Marmie - a recipe to make any offense look good. Our DL that year was terrible against the run, a Girl Scout flag football team could have ran for 100 easily. For the 2014 Rams, this matchup would probably look much like the 2013 game against the Bears, with Stacy and Cunningham both putting up excellent numbers. I think it would be hard for our 2014 offense to *avoid* going over 200 yards rushing in this matchup, and 250 is the more likely figure.

As far as the 2004 Rams offense vs. the 2014 defense, I think the latter could pretty easily take the run away from the former given the performance down the stretch during the 2013 season. The 2004 WR's vs. the 2014 secondary certainly presents serious matchup problems for the latter, but I think the 2014 DL at worst holds its own against the 2004 OL. In fact, I'd give an edge to the former, I think the 2014 D gets at least 4 sacks and numerous pressures during the game. And I think the 2014 LB corps is more than just a bit better than the 2004 LB corps.

I see the 2014 team running the ball down the throats of the 2004 team, keeping the latter's O off the field for long stretches while wearing down their D. The 2004 team has a few flashes on O, but not enough to overcome the physical manhandling. In the end, I think the 2014 team wins by a score of something like 30-14, racking up at least 250 yards on the ground and controlling the clock for close to 40 minutes.

 

[Faceplant]

Defense:

04 DL- Leonard Little-Jamie Kennedy-Damione Lewis-Tyoka Jackson
14 DL- Robert Quinn-Michael Brockers-Aaron Donald-Chris Long

Advantage 14- 2014 D line would mop the floor with the 2004 D line. There are better backups on this team that would start for that team.

Damn son, our 04 DL musta been soft with this guy at DT......

 

[PrometheusFaulk]

That '04 team had a real issue stopping the run. They threw to get out of it. In a way, they're pretty similar to the Bears team the Rams whipped last season. With this in mind, and considering I'd project this '14 squad to be better than last year's, I'd take the '14 team over the '04 team.

 

[Noregar]

Nice thought-provoking post. On the surface and on paper I could see where the perception is that 04 Rams team might be comparable to the current 2014 Rams team or even the 2013 Rams, but if you dig a little deeper I think the 2013 team was as good as and the 2014 team will prove to be superior to the 04 team that went 8-8 but was in obvious decline even with 1 HOF and 3 potential HOF players still on the roster. For me there is really no comparison on which defense is better even if the 2014 team has yet to play a down. The 2014 defense is far superior in talent and coaching and that will ultimately be reflected as this year plays out.

Note: Some of the starters that are listed in the OP for the 04 team were not starters at all or were not the predominant starters for most of the season.
See link: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/ram/2004.htm:

• Kyle Turley and Tyoka Jackson never started for the Rams in 2004 and Turley never even played a down that season.

• AT RT the aging Grant Williams started for 11 games and the legendary Blaine Saipaia started the other 5.

• AT DE Bryce Fisher was the starter while Jackson was the main rotational guy off the bench who did not have one start to his credit.

• At left guard Nutten in his 10th season was breaking down, and only started 6 games. Other notable starters at LG for the Rams in 2004 included Chris Dishman, Scott Tercero, and Larry Turner.

• At DT You also missed Ryan Picket as a starter and one of the better players on the Rams 25th (points allowed) ranked defense. Jimmie Kennedy did start 5 games but that was in place of Lewis.

• At SLB Tommy Polley was the starter for 11 games and Chillar only filled-in for 5 games with 2 as official the starter.

Other thoughts:
Although Faulk and Jackson on paper sound great, I would take the 2014 Rams RB's over them (close call). Faulk is one of my all-time favorites but if you are looking exclusively at 2004 as a snapshot, he was clearly in decline and it was essentially his last season contributing to the Rams offense. Faulk still had respectable numbers with 774 yards rushing, 4 TD's and 50 catches for 310 yards but that was a drop-off from the HOF player we all remember and he was splitting time with Jackson who added 673 rushing yards and 19 receptions for 189 yards as a rookie. I really appreciate Jackson's warrior spirit in his years as a Ram but I actually think Stacy is already better than Jackson at consistently helping the offense move the chains and especially at getting in the end zone. If you combine Stacy with Cunningham's and Mason's explosiveness I think the Rams 2014 backfield will be a very effective trio and fits the team’s run-first mentality perfectly.

I disagree with the OP about Robert Thomas being undervalued. He was a below average undersized injury-prone MLB and essentially a first round draft bust. He only started 11 games that season and he only lasted 6 years in the league with just 50 starts. To me, the 04 LBs and the Rams Current LB are not even close as the 2014 Rams LBs win hands down.

The Rams passing offense did put up 4253 yards, was ranked 5th in the league, and was the only part of the 2004 team that to me would be considered superior to the 2014 Rams. Even that is somewhat misleading because it was an aging offense often racking up yards trying to play catch-up. Holt, Bruce, Faulk, and Pace are irreplaceable legends and along with aging vets like Timmerman, McCollum, and the injury-plagued Nutten they were really all that was left of the GSOT by 2004 but none were still in their prime except Holt.

I know I may be in the minority but would actually take Bradford and the Rams 2014 offensive line with their unrealized potential over Bulger and the 2004 Ram’s aging O-line.

For the record I am a Mike Martz fan and will always appreciate the entertainment his aerial offense produced. Even though I think a good part of Martz’s downfall with the Rams was related to the dysfunctional team management around him, at this place in time, I would pick Jeff Fisher as the better head coach for the Rams.
And it is a no-brainer that the Rams current front office and ownership is far Superior to the 2004 Rams.

 

[SteveBrown]

Damn son, our 04 DL musta been soft with this guy at DT......

I think ryan pickett was starting....