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Bernie: Feel-good Fisher needs O-line help
• By Bernie Miklasz
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_3e67f0c4-a0a4-544d-b1b2-b0a7529f7f7e.html
The National Football League convenes its three-day draft Thursday night in Chicago, and presumably the Rams will show up and make their selections, though we can’t be entirely certain of that given the team’s eerily quiet offseason.
I mean, the Rams aren’t obligated to make any picks, are they? Can’t the franchise just shut down and continue to do as little as possible to generate local interest while waiting to see if owner Stan Kroenke receives league permission to order the moving vans?
Given the club’s scant activity in upgrading the roster or promoting ticket sales, suspicious minds would accuse the Rams of trying to sabotage the market.
Admittedly, the Rams’ swap of quarterbacks was a big deal. Sending Sam Bradford’s formidable 2015 salary and his fragile left knee to Philadelphia in exchange for Nick Foles was a trade that had the NFL pundit class buzzing.
And it’s a switch that could actually benefit the Rams if the dynamic 2013 version of Foles shows up instead of the battered and mediocre Foles of 2014.
I also liked the Rams’ free-agent signings of the trimmer and presumably more motivated defensive tackle Nick Fairley and outside linebacker Akeem Ayers.
All of that is fine, but this team still doesn’t have a true playmaker on offense. And then there’s the big problem with the offensive line: The Rams don’t have one. The Rams did sign tackle-guard Garrett Reynolds for depth, but as of now they’re still in need of multiple starters up front.
Where have you gone, Tootie Robbins?
The Rams figure to use this draft to strengthen a barren O-line, but considering coach Jeff Fisher’s passion for defense you can never be certain.
The Rams’ lack of urgency in suturing a broken offensive line is startling. When quizzed about the weakest part of the roster Tuesday, Fisher replied, “I feel good about it.”
Are we supposed to draw comfort from that?
From what we can tell, Fisher feels good about everything, including his three-season 20-27-1 record as Rams coach that includes last season’s step-back 6-10 mark in what was supposed to be a breakthrough year.
Understand that Fisher is that rare pro coach/manager who has little to worry about, especially job security.
NFL.com recently placed Fisher on a five-name list of “the untouchables,” among NFL head coaches.
Really?
I work in a sports town where future Hall of Fame hockey coach Ken Hitchcock faces a possible dismissal after leading the Blues to the NHL’s best regular-season record since being hired Nov. 7, 2011. His Blues flopped in the postseason — but at least they got there.
And an outraged percentage of fans seriously wondered if manager Mike Matheny was in danger of losing his job after the Cardinals lost the 2014 National League championship series to San Francisco — that, after he’d guided the team to the NLCS in each of his three seasons in the job.
And Fisher is untouchable?
Evidently. Different standards for different franchises. And for some reason Fisher carries the largest free pass of any coach or manager in North American pro team sports.
In his last 150 games as an NFL head coach, Fisher has a .430 winning percentage. He has posted only two winning records over his last 10 seasons. In 19 full seasons as an NFL head coach, Fisher has cranked out six winning seasons.
Fisher has coached 310 games in the NFL, which ranks 11th in league history for longevity. (With 16 games, he’ll crack the Top 10 this season.) The 10 NFL coaches who have coached more games than Fisher have combined for 31 league championships and 25 conference championships, and seven of the 10 own career winning percentages above .600.
Fisher’s career winning percentage is .524. His grandest accomplishment was a lone conference title, claimed by the 1999 Tennessee Titans squad that lost the Super Bowl to the “Greatest Show” Rams.
That was so long ago, the Edward Jones Dome was still being touted as an extravagant profit center and the noisiest, most imposing home-field venue in the NFL. Sweet memories.
Kroenke is paying Fisher $7 million a season. As they say: Nice work if you can get it.
And you wonder why Fisher feels pretty good? The man is the NFL head-coaching equivalent of a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
If, however, Fisher and GM Les Snead have designs to improve the team in a significant manner, I hope they’ll get the offense up to speed.
Fisher-Snead have done an effective job of constructing a playoff-caliber defense, but the Rams won’t end a 10-year postseason absence unless Fisher-Snead can get their team into the end zone more frequently.
In the first three seasons of Fisher ball, the Rams ranked 27th among 32 teams in touchdowns from scrimmage and were 29th in yards. In points by the offense — which excludes touchdowns that came on returns by the STL defense and special teams — the Rams have ranked 28th, 22nd and 23rd in scoring (respectively) in his three years.
Big plays? No. Over the past three seasons only four teams had fewer pass plays of 25 yards or longer, and the Rams’ average yards per passing attempt ranked 21st.
What about a bullying rushing attack? Well, no. Under Fisher the Rams are 19th in rushing yards per game and 28th in rushing touchdowns.
Nasty football was supposed to be Fisher’s speciality. Fisher put together a physical, imposing ground game during his years in Tennessee, but there hasn’t been much Rambo in his Rams. At least not on the offensive side of these skirmishes.
Hey, at least the Fisher-coached Rams committed the most penalties in the NFL between 2012 and ’14, getting flagged for 376 infractions for 3,126 yards. So there’s that.
Perhaps the 2015 draft will bring in the talent to push the Rams through to the winning side. If so, at least Fisher would have a legitimate reason to feel good about his work here.
• By Bernie Miklasz
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_3e67f0c4-a0a4-544d-b1b2-b0a7529f7f7e.html
The National Football League convenes its three-day draft Thursday night in Chicago, and presumably the Rams will show up and make their selections, though we can’t be entirely certain of that given the team’s eerily quiet offseason.
I mean, the Rams aren’t obligated to make any picks, are they? Can’t the franchise just shut down and continue to do as little as possible to generate local interest while waiting to see if owner Stan Kroenke receives league permission to order the moving vans?
Given the club’s scant activity in upgrading the roster or promoting ticket sales, suspicious minds would accuse the Rams of trying to sabotage the market.
Admittedly, the Rams’ swap of quarterbacks was a big deal. Sending Sam Bradford’s formidable 2015 salary and his fragile left knee to Philadelphia in exchange for Nick Foles was a trade that had the NFL pundit class buzzing.
And it’s a switch that could actually benefit the Rams if the dynamic 2013 version of Foles shows up instead of the battered and mediocre Foles of 2014.
I also liked the Rams’ free-agent signings of the trimmer and presumably more motivated defensive tackle Nick Fairley and outside linebacker Akeem Ayers.
All of that is fine, but this team still doesn’t have a true playmaker on offense. And then there’s the big problem with the offensive line: The Rams don’t have one. The Rams did sign tackle-guard Garrett Reynolds for depth, but as of now they’re still in need of multiple starters up front.
Where have you gone, Tootie Robbins?
The Rams figure to use this draft to strengthen a barren O-line, but considering coach Jeff Fisher’s passion for defense you can never be certain.
The Rams’ lack of urgency in suturing a broken offensive line is startling. When quizzed about the weakest part of the roster Tuesday, Fisher replied, “I feel good about it.”
Are we supposed to draw comfort from that?
From what we can tell, Fisher feels good about everything, including his three-season 20-27-1 record as Rams coach that includes last season’s step-back 6-10 mark in what was supposed to be a breakthrough year.
Understand that Fisher is that rare pro coach/manager who has little to worry about, especially job security.
NFL.com recently placed Fisher on a five-name list of “the untouchables,” among NFL head coaches.
Really?
I work in a sports town where future Hall of Fame hockey coach Ken Hitchcock faces a possible dismissal after leading the Blues to the NHL’s best regular-season record since being hired Nov. 7, 2011. His Blues flopped in the postseason — but at least they got there.
And an outraged percentage of fans seriously wondered if manager Mike Matheny was in danger of losing his job after the Cardinals lost the 2014 National League championship series to San Francisco — that, after he’d guided the team to the NLCS in each of his three seasons in the job.
And Fisher is untouchable?
Evidently. Different standards for different franchises. And for some reason Fisher carries the largest free pass of any coach or manager in North American pro team sports.
In his last 150 games as an NFL head coach, Fisher has a .430 winning percentage. He has posted only two winning records over his last 10 seasons. In 19 full seasons as an NFL head coach, Fisher has cranked out six winning seasons.
Fisher has coached 310 games in the NFL, which ranks 11th in league history for longevity. (With 16 games, he’ll crack the Top 10 this season.) The 10 NFL coaches who have coached more games than Fisher have combined for 31 league championships and 25 conference championships, and seven of the 10 own career winning percentages above .600.
Fisher’s career winning percentage is .524. His grandest accomplishment was a lone conference title, claimed by the 1999 Tennessee Titans squad that lost the Super Bowl to the “Greatest Show” Rams.
That was so long ago, the Edward Jones Dome was still being touted as an extravagant profit center and the noisiest, most imposing home-field venue in the NFL. Sweet memories.
Kroenke is paying Fisher $7 million a season. As they say: Nice work if you can get it.
And you wonder why Fisher feels pretty good? The man is the NFL head-coaching equivalent of a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
If, however, Fisher and GM Les Snead have designs to improve the team in a significant manner, I hope they’ll get the offense up to speed.
Fisher-Snead have done an effective job of constructing a playoff-caliber defense, but the Rams won’t end a 10-year postseason absence unless Fisher-Snead can get their team into the end zone more frequently.
In the first three seasons of Fisher ball, the Rams ranked 27th among 32 teams in touchdowns from scrimmage and were 29th in yards. In points by the offense — which excludes touchdowns that came on returns by the STL defense and special teams — the Rams have ranked 28th, 22nd and 23rd in scoring (respectively) in his three years.
Big plays? No. Over the past three seasons only four teams had fewer pass plays of 25 yards or longer, and the Rams’ average yards per passing attempt ranked 21st.
What about a bullying rushing attack? Well, no. Under Fisher the Rams are 19th in rushing yards per game and 28th in rushing touchdowns.
Nasty football was supposed to be Fisher’s speciality. Fisher put together a physical, imposing ground game during his years in Tennessee, but there hasn’t been much Rambo in his Rams. At least not on the offensive side of these skirmishes.
Hey, at least the Fisher-coached Rams committed the most penalties in the NFL between 2012 and ’14, getting flagged for 376 infractions for 3,126 yards. So there’s that.
Perhaps the 2015 draft will bring in the talent to push the Rams through to the winning side. If so, at least Fisher would have a legitimate reason to feel good about his work here.