Fisher on Penalties "it doesnt look good"

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RhodyRams

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Jeff Fisher on Rams' issues with penalties: 'It doesn't look good'
8:00 AM ET
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    Alden GonzalezESPN Staff Writer

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Will Hayes was in the locker room in the early stages of Sunday's second quarter, getting an injured ankle evaluated, when he saw fellow defensive lineman Eugene Sims enter, moments after being thrown out for unsportsmanlike conduct.

"I have to go out there," Hayes said then, as told by Los Angeles Rams coach Jeff Fisher late Monday afternoon. "I have to go."

Said Fisher: "There was no way Will should've returned."

The Rams are off to a 2-1 start, but coach Jeff Fisher wants his team to clean up its penalties, especially after having two defensive players ejected from games. Marc Piscotty/Icon Sportswire
The Rams' defensive line came up big once again during a 37-32 win on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, improving the team to 2-1 for the first time in 10 years.

Hayes, one of the Rams' starting defensive ends, is expected to be limited in practice this week and his status for this Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals could be in question. A deeper issue for Fisher is the amount of times his team continues to be penalized. It was a major point of emphasis during training camp, with his Rams among the eight most-penalized teams in the NFL in each of Fisher's previous four seasons as coach.

So far this year?

"It doesn't look good," Fisher said. "We've addressed it, and we'll continue to address it."

The Rams have been hit with the third-most penalty yards, 249, and two of their defensive players have already been ejected from games. It was Aaron Donald in Week 1 and then Sims in Week 3. Fisher wouldn't go into what sparked the unsportsmanlike conduct, which occurred after an extra point attempt, but said Sims was "remorseful" after the game, apologizing to him and his teammates.

"No place for it," Fisher said. "No place for it at all. ... It's going to be addressed [Tuesday]. It falls under that category of the pre-snap and post-snap penalties that you just can't have."

Gurley on his way: Fisher called Todd Gurley's season-long 16-yard run on Sunday "one of the better runs I’ve seen in the last 20 years." Gurley quickly found a hole to his right, exploded to the second level, got tripped up twice, spun around, and managed to stay on his feet for an extra seven yards or so. He scored two touchdowns, but finished the game with 85 yards on 27 carries, falling short of triple-digit rushing yards for the 10th time in his past 11 games.

"If you watch it, he’s really close," Fisher said. "He was even closer than really close. We’re fine there; we’ll be all right. ... The hundred-yard games and those kind of things, they’ll come."

Going for two: The Rams somewhat surprisingly went for a two-point conversion with an 11-point lead and 4:38 remaining. Taking the extra point to go up 12 would've at least forced the Bucs to require two touchdowns, while staying at 11 meant they could tie it with a touchdown, a two-point conversion and a field goal. Here was Fisher's explanation: "We were up by 11, which in my brain is three scores: it’s touchdown, two-point conversion and a field goal. What I want to do is, I want to try to get to 13. ... Because if I got to 13, then that’ll put pressure on their place kicker [Roberto Aguayo] for two scores, because he’d been struggling.”

Gaines closing in: Rams cornerback E.J. Gaines, who has been nursing an ailment in his left thigh since the third preseason game, has a "really good chance" of playing this Sunday, Fisher said. Gaines would replace Troy Hill as the second outside cornerback, opposite Trumaine Johnson. Hill played ahead of Coty Sensabaugh for most of Week 2 and all of Week 3.

Cooper, Spruce update: Rookie receivers Pharoh Cooper (shoulder) and Nelson Spruce (knee) will continue to practice this week, but Fisher is unsure about their status for this Sunday. If healthy, Cooper would be the No. 3 receiver and Spruce could be a weapon on third downs.


http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/...ams-issues-with-penalties-it-doesnt-look-good
 

kurtfaulk

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Fisher's explanation: "We were up by 11, which in my brain is three scores: it’s touchdown, two-point conversion and a field goal. What I want to do is, I want to try to get to 13. ... Because if I got to 13, then that’ll put pressure on their place kicker [Roberto Aguayo] for two scores, because he’d been struggling.”

I don't agree with that thinking at all. If you're dealing in hypotheticals and not trusting your d to defend 2 tds in the last 5 mins bad things happen. Sends the wrong message to the team.

.
 

Roman Snow

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Going for two: The Rams somewhat surprisingly went for a two-point conversion with an 11-point lead and 4:38 remaining. Taking the extra point to go up 12 would've at least forced the Bucs to require two touchdowns, while staying at 11 meant they could tie it with a touchdown, a two-point conversion and a field goal. Here was Fisher's explanation: "We were up by 11, which in my brain is three scores: it’s touchdown, two-point conversion and a field goal. What I want to do is, I want to try to get to 13. ... Because if I got to 13, then that’ll put pressure on their place kicker [Roberto Aguayo] for two scores, because he’d been struggling.”

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That's some tortured-ass thinking. Tell me he didn't say that out loud.
 

12intheBox

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He said he wanted to put pressure on the kicker by going for two which doesn't make sense to me.

TD, 2 point, and FG

Or

TD, XP, and FG

Which of those puts more pressure on a kicker?
 

kurtfaulk

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He said he wanted to put pressure on the kicker by going for two which doesn't make sense to me.

TD, 2 point, and FG

Or

TD, XP, and FG

Which of those puts more pressure on a kicker?

Nah, it was 2 tds and Fisher thought the kicker would miss both xps. Instead he gave them a chance to tie it up when his gamble failed. A qb sneak from 2 yards out with a shrimp qb? C'mon man.

.
 

Boston Ram

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Penalties have been a huge issue since Fisher has been here. Maybe he needs to stop addressing it and do something about it. The message is not getting through to this players. He must do a better job of coaching in this area. Im not bashing him here but he needs to fix this problem and based on history this is on him.
 

Elmgrovegnome

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Penalties have been a huge issue since Fisher has been here. Maybe he needs to stop addressing it and do something about it. The message is not getting through to this players. He must do a better job of coaching in this area. Im not bashing him here but he needs to fix this problem and based on history this is on him.

I think it is his lax coaching style. If I threaten the kids don't take it seriously. If I punish they wise up pretty fast. Being a players coach is too much like being their pal. You never expect that your pal will ever get really mad at you.
 

12intheBox

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I think it is his lax coaching style. If I threaten the kids don't take it seriously. If I punish they wise up pretty fast. Being a players coach is too much like being their pal. You never expect that your pal will ever get really mad at you.

Maybe. It seems to me it comes from having a young team as much as anything - you would think that the players would recognize what kind of impact it can have on the game if you let them extend drives, takes drives away from us, get ejected, etc. These guys want to win more than they want to avoid being punished.

On one hand - you want fire, you want teammates to stick up for each other, and generally to be loose enough to have fun out there. But more than that - you want them to win.

With 2 ejections is 3 games - one would think the team needs to back off a bit after the whistle. Do your talking between the whistles ... honestly though it never ceases to amaze me how much shoving after the whistle is allowed in this league - seemingly every play I see multiple potential 15 yard flags on both sides of the ball.

I don't think its something that sprints or punishments necessarily eliminate or even lessen - I think you have to find balance somewhere between intensity and insanity.
 

Elmgrovegnome

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Maybe. It seems to me it comes from having a young team as much as anything - you would think that the players would recognize what kind of impact it can have on the game if you let them extend drives, takes drives away from us, get ejected, etc. These guys want to win more than they want to avoid being punished.

On one hand - you want fire, you want teammates to stick up for each other, and generally to be loose enough to have fun out there. But more than that - you want them to win.

With 2 ejections is 3 games - one would think the team needs to back off a bit after the whistle. Do your talking between the whistles ... honestly though it never ceases to amaze me how much shoving after the whistle is allowed in this league - seemingly every play I see multiple potential 15 yard flags on both sides of the ball.

I don't think its something that sprints or punishments necessarily eliminate or even lessen - I think you have to find balance somewhere between intensity and insanity.

Disagree. Guys like Saban and Belichick don't put up with players screw ups. The team can't police itself, like you said, they are young. They need discipline. There are coaches, whose teams don't have many penalties, even in college and those teams are younger than the Rams. The pre-snap stuff stopped last year when Boras took over. Whatever brought that around has to happen again. I really wouldn't mind seeing a little yelling on the sideline when someone screws up, or make the entire unit pay for each players mistakes in practice. It needs to be fresh in these guys minds.

I have ways believed the old adage that says, ' you play like you practice '. In this case they must tolerate a lot of sloppy stuff in practice.
 

Boston Ram

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Maybe. It seems to me it comes from having a young team as much as anything - you would think that the players would recognize what kind of impact it can have on the game if you let them extend drives, takes drives away from us, get ejected, etc. These guys want to win more than they want to avoid being punished.

On one hand - you want fire, you want teammates to stick up for each other, and generally to be loose enough to have fun out there. But more than that - you want them to win.

With 2 ejections is 3 games - one would think the team needs to back off a bit after the whistle. Do your talking between the whistles ... honestly though it never ceases to amaze me how much shoving after the whistle is allowed in this league - seemingly every play I see multiple potential 15 yard flags on both sides of the ball.

I don't think its something that sprints or punishments necessarily eliminate or even lessen - I think you have to find balance somewhere between intensity and insanity.

I hear the age thing all the time but Im not buying that. I am buying leadership and having players pay attention to detail....which I dont think we do.

Least penalized team last year Vikings: Ave Age 25.58 5th youngest. Rams were 7th most penalized and were the youngest team with an Ave Age of 25.09.

Age is a factor but being top 5 in penalties is a habit for Fisher teams. You can play with fire and passion without holding, jumping offside and most importantly personal fouls.

One example that sticks out to me was opening night against SF. Gurley had that penalty, I want to say taunting or something and thought they should of pulled him out of the game for a play or two. Start pulling players when they do something stupid to make a statement and to get their heads back on right. There is no real downside to holding your players accountable.
 

DaveFan'51

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, improving the team to 2-1 for the first time in 10 years.
Wow! this being the case, can anyone tell me, off the top of there head, when was the last time the Rams went 3-1 to start the season, or had 3 straight Wins! IDK, and I'm too lazy to look it up right now!!:D
Rams cornerback E.J. Gaines, who has been nursing an ailment in his left thigh since the third preseason game, has a "really good chance" of playing this Sunday, Fisher said
This is great News!!(y):D
Going for two: The Rams somewhat surprisingly went for a two-point conversion with an 11-point lead and 4:38 remaining. Taking the extra point to go up 12 would've at least forced the Bucs to require two touchdowns, while staying at 11 meant they could tie it with a touchdown, a two-point conversion and a field goal. Here was Fisher's explanation: "We were up by 11, which in my brain is three scores: it’s touchdown, two-point conversion and a field goal. What I want to do is, I want to try to get to 13. ... Because if I got to 13, then that’ll put pressure on their place kicker [Roberto Aguayo] for two scores, because he’d been struggling.”
This^ answers a Big question on some peoples mind! Not mine!
 

BonifayRam

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I had no ideal that Wm Hayes went to the locker room with an injury. Sure lead to Ethan Westbrooks getting some serious time on the field. In the Chat Room we were commenting on the lack of pass rush often & with your #2 & # 3 DE's off the field Quinn & Westbrooks would have got tired out very early. I did see DT Aaron Donald playing Hayes post often. & NT Cam Thomas playing a ton inside but he only had 1 tackle.

It may be a good time to break out DE Matt Longacre & put one of the three UN used LB'ers in shorts for a change. Matt has the best pre season of all our DE's. Reserve Sims & Westbrook have not been getting much pressure on the QB at all they have few tackles & zero sacks. Why do I think that Matt Longacre may do much better than Eugene Sims?
 

12intheBox

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@Elmgrovegnome @Boston Ram - I hear you guys and you very well may be right. It would be interesting to know what - if any - consequences Sims suffers this week.

I think Ogletree's personal foul on the Winston sack was a garbage call. He wasn't down yet.

I think the Rams get lots of garbage calls called against them. Some of that is reputation based - some of it is bad luck - and some of it is just part of the game.

Still, it has been a problem under Fisher - moreso even than in regimes past. 2 ejections in 3 games doesn't seem like te arrow is pointing the right way - but somehow I think it is. This team does seem - despite those - a bit more disiplined than years past.
 

LACHAMP46

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Gaines closing in: Rams cornerback E.J. Gaines, who has been nursing an ailment in his left thigh since the third preseason game, has a "really good chance" of playing this Sunday, Fisher said. Gaines would replace Troy Hill as the second outside cornerback, opposite Trumaine Johnson. Hill played ahead of Coty Sensabaugh for most of Week 2 and all of Week 3.
And I hope Troy HIll goes into Joyners role...
 

Fatbot

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I think it is his lax coaching style. If I threaten the kids don't take it seriously. If I punish they wise up pretty fast. Being a players coach is too much like being their pal. You never expect that your pal will ever get really mad at you.
But.. but.. Fisher totally cut that one guy just for having a girl in his room! All the players were afraid after that!
 

Picked4td

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He said he wanted to put pressure on the kicker by going for two which doesn't make sense to me.

TD, 2 point, and FG

Or

TD, XP, and FG

Which of those puts more pressure on a kicker?

well seeing how option 2 includes 2 kicks, option 2 would put more pressure on a kicker


Idk about rightly. Wilson slide late, which there is a new rule against, and the call vs the Bucs was about as bad as it gets. Winston wasnt even down so not sure how he cant hit him
 

Boston Ram

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@Elmgrovegnome @Boston Ram - I hear you guys and you very well may be right. It would be interesting to know what - if any - consequences Sims suffers this week.

I think Ogletree's personal foul on the Winston sack was a garbage call. He wasn't down yet.

I think the Rams get lots of garbage calls called against them. Some of that is reputation based - some of it is bad luck - and some of it is just part of the game.

Still, it has been a problem under Fisher - moreso even than in regimes past. 2 ejections in 3 games doesn't seem like te arrow is pointing the right way - but somehow I think it is. This team does seem - despite those - a bit more disiplined than years past.

I agree that sometimes there is bad luck and ticky tack calls. I still dont know what Donald did in the SF game before brushing up against the official.

And dont get me wrong, Im not saying cut players or bench them. All I want is Fisher to have a feel for the game. Sometimes a players needs to be pulled for a snap or series to get his head on straight and be reminded of the way things are supposed to be done. Its an emotional game and they are human. That Gurley play really stood out for me as an example, not to keep rehashing it lol.

I hope you are right on your last paragraph!