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Tipsheet: Rams hit stride as the 49ers stumble
• By Jeff Gordon
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_ede90f12-6631-5f38-b1cb-6e2b60b9b855.html
Suddenly the Rams are one of the NFL's rising teams — and suddenly the San Francisco 49ers are plunging from playoff contention and facing a most uncertain competitive future.
Nobody is talking about Rams coach Jeff Fisher getting the short haircut after the season. He has his long-suffering team on the verge of a breakthrough.
And everybody is wondering what will become of embattled 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, who apparently has worn out his welcome in the Bay Area.
Things changed quickly in the Not For Long league. The Rams have become the team nobody wants to play in the second half of this season while the 49ers are sinking into mediocrity's abyss.
(BTW, that is our new favorite band name. Mediocrity's Abyss. Didn't they open for Slayer at Pop's once?)
Here is what some of pundits have been writing about the Rams:
Doug Farrar, SI.com: "The St. Louis defense hasn't allowed a touchdown -- or any points at all -- since Philip Rivers hit Keenan Allen for a score with 8:09 left in the Chargers' 27-24 win on Nov. 23. The Rams could have just as easily won that game, and in the last two months, they've beaten 2013's two best NFC teams (Seattle and San Francisco) and the Denver Broncos, the defending AFC champion. At 6-7, St. Louis is probably not going to make the postseason, but with games against the Cardinals and Seahawks left on the schedule, the Rams have the opportunity to affect the NFC playoff picture as much as any team still in the hunt. It's a young team, and it's only going to get better, especially on defense. Chris Long and Robert Quinn are outstanding pass rushers, and the interior line combination of Michael Brockers and 2014 first-round pick Aaron Donald has been nightmarish for opposing offenses all season. A secondary that's improving over time and a linebacker corps with athleticism for days round out a defensive unit that should be the envy of several postseason contenders. Brockers, linebacker Alec Ogletree and cornerback Janoris Jenkins were three of the players selected as a result of the (Robert) Griffin trade haul."
Pat Kirwan, CBSSports.com: "Well, it's official, the St. Louis Rams are a very dangerous team and, as one coach said to me last week, "no one wants to play them right now." I told Jeff Fisher that and he quickly reviewed all the ways his team has come together. Shutouts are hard to come by in the NFL and back-to-back shutouts are close to impossible. In the last two games, the Rams shut out the Redskins this week 24-0 and the Raiders 52-0 last week. But check out the work the Rams have done over the last four weeks. St. Louis is 3-1 and the defense has given up 34 points (8.5 per game) with just two touchdown passes, eight interceptions, four forced fumbles, 18 interceptions and just 244 rushing yards (61 per game). On offense it was more of the same with six touchdown passes, two interceptions, nine sacks, 541 yards rushing, five rushing touchdowns and just one lost fumble. At one point this team was 3-6 and has already used three different quarterbacks. Now they are aiming to finish 9-7."
Robert Mays, ESPN.com: "The start of the season was a disaster for St. Louis, but with three wins in its past four, including back-to-back shutouts, the Rams have finally found some footing. And it really couldn’t be going any worse in Washington. No matter how it eventually goes — ditching Griffin and starting over, or Dan Snyder getting rid of Jay Gruden to preserve his quarterback’s future — Washington is in a bad way. Quarterback may not even be the worst of its problems. Washington boasts the league’s worst pass defense, which again got shredded, this time by Shaun Hill. The team is a mess, and the type of young talent that might be able to fix its problems stood at midfield before kickoff yesterday, wearing the wrong uniform."
And here is what folks are writing about the 49ers:
Bill Barnwell, ESPN.com: "Of course, it’s not just that the 49ers lost comfortably to a bad football team. It’s how they’ve looked in past few weeks. They’ve won just two football games by more than a touchdown all season and none since Week 6 against St. Louis. Narrow victories over the lowly trio of the Saints, Giants, and Washington got them to 7-4, but defeats by the Seahawks and Raiders have left them on the brink of playoff elimination. And if you believe the rumors, this loss may have ended something even larger than San Francisco’s disappointing 2014 season. It might have been the game that brought a competitive end to the franchise’s Jim Harbaugh era."
Austin Murphy, SI.com: "Regardless of how difficult he may be to get along with, of how strained his relations may be with GM Trent Baalke and owner Jed York, Harbaugh coached this club to the last three NFC title games. He’s won 43 of his 60 games in San Francisco. His winning percentage is .713 compared to Asshole Face's .624 in New Orleans. The Saints are 5-8 this season, and coming off a putrid 41-10 loss to Carolina. But no one’s talking seriously about the possibility of Payton getting run out of town. But Harbaugh’s freshness date has expired. Asked after the Raiders loss, the nadir of a difficult, turbulent year, if he thought Baalke and York wanted him back, he refused to answer the question directly, choosing instead to list his 'priorities' -- winning games, attending to the welfare of his players, coaches and staff, 'and lastly,' his 'personal professional future.'"
Pete Prisco, CBSSports.com: "I know it's blasphemous to say anything bad about Harbaugh as a coach, but this mess is all about him. This was a team some considered a potential dynasty after he took it to the Super Bowl two years ago, a game they came within yards of winning. But after losing in the NFC title game last season, it appears this will be a playoff-less season. That means regression. That's on Harbaugh. The thinking around the league has always been that his way has a shelf life, and when it expires it will rot and stink. It's expiring. That's not to say he's not a good coach. He is that. But is he worth trading picks to get, and then pay $6-$8 million a year? I would say no. There's been too much inconsistency with this team. There have been questions about the offense. There have been injuries and suspensions and everything else. Not all of it is on him, but this is close to being a dictatorship as far as the way the team is run."
• By Jeff Gordon
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_ede90f12-6631-5f38-b1cb-6e2b60b9b855.html
Suddenly the Rams are one of the NFL's rising teams — and suddenly the San Francisco 49ers are plunging from playoff contention and facing a most uncertain competitive future.
Nobody is talking about Rams coach Jeff Fisher getting the short haircut after the season. He has his long-suffering team on the verge of a breakthrough.
And everybody is wondering what will become of embattled 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, who apparently has worn out his welcome in the Bay Area.
Things changed quickly in the Not For Long league. The Rams have become the team nobody wants to play in the second half of this season while the 49ers are sinking into mediocrity's abyss.
(BTW, that is our new favorite band name. Mediocrity's Abyss. Didn't they open for Slayer at Pop's once?)
Here is what some of pundits have been writing about the Rams:
Doug Farrar, SI.com: "The St. Louis defense hasn't allowed a touchdown -- or any points at all -- since Philip Rivers hit Keenan Allen for a score with 8:09 left in the Chargers' 27-24 win on Nov. 23. The Rams could have just as easily won that game, and in the last two months, they've beaten 2013's two best NFC teams (Seattle and San Francisco) and the Denver Broncos, the defending AFC champion. At 6-7, St. Louis is probably not going to make the postseason, but with games against the Cardinals and Seahawks left on the schedule, the Rams have the opportunity to affect the NFC playoff picture as much as any team still in the hunt. It's a young team, and it's only going to get better, especially on defense. Chris Long and Robert Quinn are outstanding pass rushers, and the interior line combination of Michael Brockers and 2014 first-round pick Aaron Donald has been nightmarish for opposing offenses all season. A secondary that's improving over time and a linebacker corps with athleticism for days round out a defensive unit that should be the envy of several postseason contenders. Brockers, linebacker Alec Ogletree and cornerback Janoris Jenkins were three of the players selected as a result of the (Robert) Griffin trade haul."
Pat Kirwan, CBSSports.com: "Well, it's official, the St. Louis Rams are a very dangerous team and, as one coach said to me last week, "no one wants to play them right now." I told Jeff Fisher that and he quickly reviewed all the ways his team has come together. Shutouts are hard to come by in the NFL and back-to-back shutouts are close to impossible. In the last two games, the Rams shut out the Redskins this week 24-0 and the Raiders 52-0 last week. But check out the work the Rams have done over the last four weeks. St. Louis is 3-1 and the defense has given up 34 points (8.5 per game) with just two touchdown passes, eight interceptions, four forced fumbles, 18 interceptions and just 244 rushing yards (61 per game). On offense it was more of the same with six touchdown passes, two interceptions, nine sacks, 541 yards rushing, five rushing touchdowns and just one lost fumble. At one point this team was 3-6 and has already used three different quarterbacks. Now they are aiming to finish 9-7."
Robert Mays, ESPN.com: "The start of the season was a disaster for St. Louis, but with three wins in its past four, including back-to-back shutouts, the Rams have finally found some footing. And it really couldn’t be going any worse in Washington. No matter how it eventually goes — ditching Griffin and starting over, or Dan Snyder getting rid of Jay Gruden to preserve his quarterback’s future — Washington is in a bad way. Quarterback may not even be the worst of its problems. Washington boasts the league’s worst pass defense, which again got shredded, this time by Shaun Hill. The team is a mess, and the type of young talent that might be able to fix its problems stood at midfield before kickoff yesterday, wearing the wrong uniform."
And here is what folks are writing about the 49ers:
Bill Barnwell, ESPN.com: "Of course, it’s not just that the 49ers lost comfortably to a bad football team. It’s how they’ve looked in past few weeks. They’ve won just two football games by more than a touchdown all season and none since Week 6 against St. Louis. Narrow victories over the lowly trio of the Saints, Giants, and Washington got them to 7-4, but defeats by the Seahawks and Raiders have left them on the brink of playoff elimination. And if you believe the rumors, this loss may have ended something even larger than San Francisco’s disappointing 2014 season. It might have been the game that brought a competitive end to the franchise’s Jim Harbaugh era."
Austin Murphy, SI.com: "Regardless of how difficult he may be to get along with, of how strained his relations may be with GM Trent Baalke and owner Jed York, Harbaugh coached this club to the last three NFC title games. He’s won 43 of his 60 games in San Francisco. His winning percentage is .713 compared to Asshole Face's .624 in New Orleans. The Saints are 5-8 this season, and coming off a putrid 41-10 loss to Carolina. But no one’s talking seriously about the possibility of Payton getting run out of town. But Harbaugh’s freshness date has expired. Asked after the Raiders loss, the nadir of a difficult, turbulent year, if he thought Baalke and York wanted him back, he refused to answer the question directly, choosing instead to list his 'priorities' -- winning games, attending to the welfare of his players, coaches and staff, 'and lastly,' his 'personal professional future.'"
Pete Prisco, CBSSports.com: "I know it's blasphemous to say anything bad about Harbaugh as a coach, but this mess is all about him. This was a team some considered a potential dynasty after he took it to the Super Bowl two years ago, a game they came within yards of winning. But after losing in the NFC title game last season, it appears this will be a playoff-less season. That means regression. That's on Harbaugh. The thinking around the league has always been that his way has a shelf life, and when it expires it will rot and stink. It's expiring. That's not to say he's not a good coach. He is that. But is he worth trading picks to get, and then pay $6-$8 million a year? I would say no. There's been too much inconsistency with this team. There have been questions about the offense. There have been injuries and suspensions and everything else. Not all of it is on him, but this is close to being a dictatorship as far as the way the team is run."