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ams tackle Greg Robinson (73) has "been a little slower to develop than we all would have liked. He's got some skills that we can make successful," Rams general manager Les Snead said. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Bonsignore: In a refreshing twist, Rams GM Les Snead opens up about team's woes
By VINCENT BONSIGNORE / STAFF COLUMNIST
Near the end of a 45-minute interview with reporters to end one of the toughest 14-day stretches in the new history of the Los Angles Rams, Les Snead, the club’s general manager, glanced toward Rams public relations man Artis Twyman.
Normally in these circumstances, the gesture would serve a very specific purpose.
As in: Hey man, get this wrapped up and get me the heck out of here.
Instead, Snead told Twyman to cool his heels and chill out.
Then he looked back at the reporters and urged them to keep asking away.
After going nearly a full season without officially talking to reporters while suffering through another season gone sideways and his head coach maybe, or maybe not, taking a shot at him while they both clung to whatever remains of the rope on their Rams career, Snead had plenty to say Friday.
And apparently all the time to say it while touching on everything from his relationship with Coach Jeff Fisher, who a source in the Rams front office described to reporter Albert Breer this week as “toxic,” the Rams inability to spring Todd Gurley free, the inevitable process of growing a team with a rookie quarterback to how his kids have taken to Google lately to figure out who else the the Rams could have drafted with the second overall in the 2014 draft .
Instead of the guy they did take: Left tackle Greg Robinson who, to date, has performed anything like anything a second overall pick.
(My) 15-year-old actually wants to get in my business. I (tell him), it doesn’t happen that way,” Snead said laughing. “With that said, we took Greg for a reason, and he’s been a little slower to develop than we all would have liked. He’s got some skills that we can make successful. We now have to go back to the drawing board and go, in our plan for success, where have we gone wrong? Where have we gone right? And keep getting him better. Greg, on the other hand, has got to meet us halfway, too.”
In between all of that, Snead gave his take on his long-term future in Los Angeles, which could hinge on how the Rams finish up over the last four games regardless of the two-year contract extension he signed. In the meantime, he’ll keep plugging away trying to get things right.
“Here’s what … We’re in that microscopic phase,” Snead said. “So, what I’m confident about is, I’m preparing to – We’re in draft meetings. And I’m doing that this week. That was on the schedule. I’m confident we’re playing Atlanta. And I think all of those decisions should and always be put off to the end of the season. So, I always say, that’s my confidence. And my passion is – hey, not where we want to be. And I’ve got a job to do, a role to do, lead a staff to do, to get us where we want to be. And that’s how you have to work in this league. That’s your focus.”
It was, to say the least, a no-holds-barred and frank, 45-minute conversation in which Snead took on all comers.
What it lacked in hard answers – Snead’s future with the Rams is essentially out of his hands, although he obviously hopes to be back – it certainly made up for in candidness.
As in Snead refuting reports that his relationship with Fisher is toxic. But did concede it’s troubling that someone else in the organization interprets it as such, and it’s on Snead and Fisher to fix that.
“I think what we need to work on is what’s been said. What are those frustrations? Why are those frustrations occurring?” he said. “Because what’s been said hasn’t been Jeff and I. It’s been other people within the building. And we have to accept responsibility. But I think the biggest thing is let’s fix those frustrations. And really fix what’s causing those frustrations. So I’m not going to sugarcoat any of that, but I can tell you the relationship is really, really good.”
Or that the Rams absolutely misfired on some personnel decisions and need to dig into why that happened and what they can do moving forward to make sure they minimize those mistakes in order to finally get going offensively.
“What bothers me is we’ve had some good decisions in personnel; we’ve had some not good decisions in personnel. My staff will tell you that is where I lose sleep at night, is on those ones we haven’t done so well on and what can we learn going forward,” he said “That’s how we learn, that’s how we evolve. We’ve got to look at that subset and how do we get better. How do we not repeat, if that’s a mistake, and also look this, because I think we all have to work together when you bring in players, be on the same page. You have a plan for success for each one, so those are the things that bother me is we haven’t got the results we wanted and the decisions that hadn’t gone well for us. How do we improve those?”
The frankness was refreshing, especially after spending the past 12 weeks listening to thinly veiled excuses for the Rams 4-8 record and empty promises to fix problems that linger week after week after week.
Snead, unlike Fisher, is owning his mistakes and laying out ideas and changes to limit them moving forward.
It might not be enough to save his job. Snead, like Fisher, has been on the scene for five years and while they lifted the product from morbid to competitive they haven’t been able to turn the corner from competitive to consistent winner.
He understands that. And no matter what the Rams do down the stretch, it won’t change the fact this has been an unacceptable season.
“You are who you are. Right? We’re 4-8 right now. Now we still have four games left but again however it ends, trust me, we want to go play good every single game and win every one, but no how matter good it is you’ll look at it and go, ‘That’s not where we want to be.’ And what do you gotta do to contend?” Snead said. “And we’ve been competitive, I think, that’s the first thing, probably, been competitive too long a stretch of competitive and that’s probably taking the last two games out. We weren’t competitive there, that’s obvious; the scoreboard said it. But I think we have been competitive, so we just have to go from there.”
It doesn’t make anything about this season all right.
But at least there is some accountability.
[www.ocregister.com]
