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Firing offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti solves nothing for Rams
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...inator-frank-cignetti-solves-nothing-for-rams
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Apparently the deck chair wearing the offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti costume just didn't match the decor on the U.S.S. St. Louis Rams as it sinks into further despair.
Less than a day after Rams coach Jeff Fisher said that he was "almost out of answers" to try to fix the team's offensive woes, he submitted something that some might consider a response by firing Cignetti and promoting Rob Boras to offensive coordinator. But that doesn't mean it's the right one.
Did Cignetti do a good job with the Rams offense? A simple look at the numbers would offer a resounding no.
Three quarters of the way through the season, the Rams are 31st in the NFL in yards per game (296.3) and offensive points per game (14.4) and last in passing yards per game (178) and first downs (175). Undoubtedly, those are numbers that scream for a change.
That also doesn't mean it was all Cignetti's fault, either.
No, once again, the blame here is going to the wrong place. It was Fisher who hired Brian Schottenheimer as the coordinator when he arrived in 2012. After three seasons of poor offensive output, Fisher had a chance to re-invent the offense last offseason with a creative hire from outside the ranks. He decided to hire from within, going with Cignetti, though it sure seemed like any proven outside commodity looked at the situation in St. Louis and thought better of pursuing the job.
It was also Fisher who mostly neglected the offense and the quarterback position until this offseason. There was that moment he attempted to stray outside of his comfort zone in 2013 with a spread offense intended to throw it all over the yard, but that was no more than a passing fancy that last just four games before it was scrapped. And it was Fisher who picked the players, including the quarterbacks, offensive linemen and wide receivers, who represent the NFL's 31st-ranked offense.
So what, exactly, does firing Cignetti now, with four games to go, accomplish? Theoretically, it gives Fisher a chance to evaluate Boras as his offensive coordinator if indeed Fisher is back for the 2016 season, which is still a possibility. What it doesn't do is offer any sort of a cure for an ailing offense.
But remember, whether the coordinator is Boras or Bill Walsh in his prime, the job is to execute the run-first philosophy that Fisher desires. To this point, that hasn't gotten the Rams anywhere.
In Fisher's first three seasons in St. Louis, the Rams have finished 23rd, 30th and 28th in the NFL in yards per game. They've ranked 28th, 22nd and 23rd in offensive points scored per game, though never with an average higher than 19.
Boras takes over an offense that has Nick Foles and Case Keenum as quarterback options and an offensive line that already struggled mightily before a rash of injuries has left it to bottom out. It's an offense that has Kenny Britt, he of the 445 receiving yards, leading the team in that category. By way of comparison, last week's opponent, the Arizona Cardinals, have three wideouts with at least 550 receiving yards.
So Boras, like Cignetti before him, isn't exactly going to be playing with a stacked deck. In fact, one could argue that it's stacked against him. Firing Cignetti now, 12 games into his first season as coordinator, only generates more questions.
If the offense doesn't improve over the final four weeks, will it then somehow be Boras' fault? Will the search for a fourth offensive coordinator in about a year then begin anew? Will Fisher again get to make the call?
And perhaps most important: At some point, don't you think we'll run out of sacrificial Rams?
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...inator-frank-cignetti-solves-nothing-for-rams
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Apparently the deck chair wearing the offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti costume just didn't match the decor on the U.S.S. St. Louis Rams as it sinks into further despair.
Less than a day after Rams coach Jeff Fisher said that he was "almost out of answers" to try to fix the team's offensive woes, he submitted something that some might consider a response by firing Cignetti and promoting Rob Boras to offensive coordinator. But that doesn't mean it's the right one.
Did Cignetti do a good job with the Rams offense? A simple look at the numbers would offer a resounding no.
Three quarters of the way through the season, the Rams are 31st in the NFL in yards per game (296.3) and offensive points per game (14.4) and last in passing yards per game (178) and first downs (175). Undoubtedly, those are numbers that scream for a change.
That also doesn't mean it was all Cignetti's fault, either.
No, once again, the blame here is going to the wrong place. It was Fisher who hired Brian Schottenheimer as the coordinator when he arrived in 2012. After three seasons of poor offensive output, Fisher had a chance to re-invent the offense last offseason with a creative hire from outside the ranks. He decided to hire from within, going with Cignetti, though it sure seemed like any proven outside commodity looked at the situation in St. Louis and thought better of pursuing the job.
It was also Fisher who mostly neglected the offense and the quarterback position until this offseason. There was that moment he attempted to stray outside of his comfort zone in 2013 with a spread offense intended to throw it all over the yard, but that was no more than a passing fancy that last just four games before it was scrapped. And it was Fisher who picked the players, including the quarterbacks, offensive linemen and wide receivers, who represent the NFL's 31st-ranked offense.
So what, exactly, does firing Cignetti now, with four games to go, accomplish? Theoretically, it gives Fisher a chance to evaluate Boras as his offensive coordinator if indeed Fisher is back for the 2016 season, which is still a possibility. What it doesn't do is offer any sort of a cure for an ailing offense.
But remember, whether the coordinator is Boras or Bill Walsh in his prime, the job is to execute the run-first philosophy that Fisher desires. To this point, that hasn't gotten the Rams anywhere.
In Fisher's first three seasons in St. Louis, the Rams have finished 23rd, 30th and 28th in the NFL in yards per game. They've ranked 28th, 22nd and 23rd in offensive points scored per game, though never with an average higher than 19.
Boras takes over an offense that has Nick Foles and Case Keenum as quarterback options and an offensive line that already struggled mightily before a rash of injuries has left it to bottom out. It's an offense that has Kenny Britt, he of the 445 receiving yards, leading the team in that category. By way of comparison, last week's opponent, the Arizona Cardinals, have three wideouts with at least 550 receiving yards.
So Boras, like Cignetti before him, isn't exactly going to be playing with a stacked deck. In fact, one could argue that it's stacked against him. Firing Cignetti now, 12 games into his first season as coordinator, only generates more questions.
If the offense doesn't improve over the final four weeks, will it then somehow be Boras' fault? Will the search for a fourth offensive coordinator in about a year then begin anew? Will Fisher again get to make the call?
And perhaps most important: At some point, don't you think we'll run out of sacrificial Rams?
