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These are selected questions and answers. To read the whole chat click the link below. Before you get too upset, our vent thread is not much different.
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http://sports.live.stltoday.com/Event/NFL_chat_with_Jim_Thomas_27?Page=0
Jim Thomas - NFL Chat
The LA trolls have been telling us since January that the Rams will be winners now that they're "back home where they belong." How'd that work out last night? it wasn't STL fans who made the Rams losers. Check with kroenke, Demoff, Snead and Fisher if you want to see the real losers
One game does not a season make. When San Francisco won its last Super Bowl, the 49ers lost an early season game 40-8. Obviously, the Rams aren't winning the Super Bowl this year. And obviously there are lots of issues with the team. Including lack of linebackers, a lack of talent at wide receiver, and lack of overall depth. Its amazing to me that the Rams thought coming back without major changes to the WR corps was a good idea.
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Out of curiosity I watched some of the Rams game. How in the blue heck do they think they are going to win with Britt, Austin, and Quick as their top 3 receivers? It's laughable. lol lol lol lol
Pretty amazing, isn't it.
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How many mistakes does Fisher get - with the draft, FA, etc. etc. - before he is canned?
Apparently, it's a bottomless pit.
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What do the Rams need to fix between now and Sunday to make it a close game?
1.) Sign or trade for a veteran linebacker. 2.) Put some vertical plays in next week's game play. 3) Put in some jet sweeps and runs with Tavon Austin. 4.) Cut penalties in half.
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What are the chances the Rams can accomplish any of those four items you listed?
Well, history tells us the penalty thing won't change. Don't know who's out there at linebacker. But usually if you can walk or chew gum at the same time, you're on a roster this time of year. As for the vertical plays, and stuff with Austin, they're in the playbook.
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That game was great last night please tell me all Rams games will be on St. Louis television? Better than best comedy show on TV.
The Seattle game will be televised next week by Fox 2. After that, I believe it depends on the ratings.
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How does releasing Ayers look today?
He looks like Ray Lewis in his prime.
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The Rams had 195 yards of offense. Late in the game they had 100+ penalty yards. How long will LA fans put up with that mediocraty?
I wouldn't call that mediocrity
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I'm not one to overreact to one game but rams in all phases look awful. Oline, receivers, and qb play is a mess. Hard to see them winning more then 4 games.
It's the NFL. You're allowed to overreact. It's part of the fun of the game. This Seattle game is huge, because after that the Rams are at Tampa Bay _ which looks like an emerging team _ and at Arizona. Lose to Seattle, and you could very well be staring at 0-4.
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Just a reminder for next Sunday, we have seen this before out of Fisher teams and just when we think they have no chance of ever winning again, they pull out a great game. The upcoming Seattle game qualifies as one of their upset specials. Remember, they did that here in STL too when we gave them no chance.
No doubt. Agreed.
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Boy, Hekker is really good. What a showcase last night.
He's the best.
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What is a typical shelf-life of an NFL coach in terms of:
1. How long do they stay at a team before the players get bored and stop listening?
2. Their ideas and methods become outdated an they stop getting hired?
Realistically, five years is a pretty good run. It takes sustained success for a coach to last 10 years, which is pretty rare. Usually as long as a team has some success, the players listen to the message. And Fisher remains popular with most of his players. As for question No. 2, teams that rely on the running game and strong defense can still win and win big in this league. Seattle is a great example of that. But the Rams have never really been that under Fisher.
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I didn't know if I could watch last night but I did and enjoyed every minute of it. The Rams offense is obviously bad but were you surprised at how the defense looked?
Yes, and no on the defense. There are missing 5 starters from last year's unit and that's a big turnover in any year. Laurinaitis, Long, Jenkins, McLeod, and Jenkins. When I saw that they were lining up with nickel personnel in the red zone against 2 TE sets _ on both of San Fran's first rushing TDs _ I almost fell out of my chair. They need LBs.
Also, there are depth issues at cornerback, particularly with E.J. Gaines sidelined. Sensabaugh looked overmatched in the preseason, and he looked overmatched Monday night against a less-than-stellar receiver corps.
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Been a rams fan for 38 years. I didn’t care when they moved to st. Louis and I don’t care that they have moved back to LA. I have loved them, followed them, set my families schedule around them regardless of what city they called home. what I do care about is the $40 I spent to subscribe to HBO for two months so I could watch the rams on Hard Knocks and the $300 I will, again, and have done so for 5 years, spend on the NFL ticket so I can watch the rams every Sunday.
After last night’s, uhhh, performance?, I am so upset with myself for investing any more time or money into these clowns. From kroenke to demoff to fisher and snead to the idiots wrecking go carts, throwing coaches in pools, setting and rising suns, and swimming with mermaids, they are clowns.
They must be clowns…they get laughed at each and every week. I am done. i’ve had it. I will gladly check in with your weekly chat, however. Your chat is amazing therapy for me, there are very few rams fans in these parts. Thank you for what you do!
This chat has kind of degenerated into group therapy, so we do what we can
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3 words, describe last nights Rams game...
That's way too easy. In the words of Dana Stubblefield from 1995. . .Same. . .Old. . .Rams. (That of course is the PG verson.)
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A smart football man a long time ago said "organizations win championships." So true. It was no accident that the Dallas Cowboys went from an expansion team in 1960 to the championship game against the Browns by 1964. Tex Shram, Gil Brandt and Tom Landry had an organizational plan and stuck to it. But, then again they weren't as interested in making money as much as, you know, winning football games.
Well said.
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The coaching staff will probably view last night's embarrassment as a failure to execute on the offensive side - but isn't it really because of a lack of a vertical game, as Steve Young kept saying, in between his laughter?
That's part of it. But there are other factors, such as, not using Tavon Austin in the running game at all. It wasn't a good night for the offensive line. And well, the receivers are the receivers.
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The defense was, as I feared, not very good last night, and the middle was wide open for Gabbert to run through. What happened there?
Yeah, those early runs were huge by Gabbert, who's more athletic than generally given credit for. He kept some early drives alive, and avoided sliding to get the necessary yardage. It's hard to say why the middle was wide open without (sorry, coach-speak alert) looking at game tape.
Perhaps the D-tackles had some kind of stunt going where they both went outside instead of inside. Also, there's often running room when the defense is in man coverage, because the defenders backs are to the QB. But it was strange how often the middle was open on those plays.
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The game was an embarrassment that became a disgrace - I was shocked at Donald's behavior. Ogletree though started it. No discipline, even among his best guys??
And don't forget Gurley, throwing the football at Tramaine Brock, drawing a taunting foul, and taking the Rams out of field goal range.
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I heard that Snead and Fisher were negotiating extensions of their contracts. Is $ilent $tan really thinking about retaining them despite their ineptitude? They have a free pass this season. LA is ecstatic to have their team back, but at some point $tan will have to sell tickets for his new football palace on 7-9 records and We'll get that fixed replies by Fisher to debacles like last night may have worked in St. Louis, but not in LA with all the recreation options available there?
Yes, I believe this extension talk is serious. Here's the thing. Stan really won't have to worry about selling tickets until the new stadium is open. Does that mean two or three more years of Fisher?
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Ray Ray looked pretty good. There's a linebacker we had on the roster a few years ago. Maybe he's available for a first rounder in 2018. #sarcasm
As you may recall, the Boom King was cut because of his lack of discipline. #sarcasm
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How much difference do you think not having laurenitis as the captain of that defense calling the signals make last night? 49ers are not a good team and should have been held to well under 28 points. Of course, if you cant score any points, it doesn't really matter I guess.
The Rams coaching staff didn't think much of Laurinaitis at the end. I'll just leave it at that.
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Keep in mind if you keep turning over your roster of older players, that point #1- players not listening- wont happen as you keep having the leagues youngest roster. There may be a method here to the madness of Fisher/Snead.
Perhaps, but at 27-37-1, do you think it's working?
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Meanwhile, New England tops AZ on the road with no Brady or Gronk and a makeshift front line. Seems they should be primed for another deep run with a well-rested Brady coming in at week 5, eh? They could easily be 4-0 when Brady steps back under center.
Yeah, I watched only a little of that game on replay, I was driving back from Kansas City. But it was a huge victory for the Patriots, no doubt, especially considering the rest of the AFC East lost their openers. I guess Garoppolo looked pretty good, eh? With their next three games at home _ Miami, Houston, Buffalo _ I would not be stunned if the Patriots did indeed start 4-0.
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They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. That's year five of the Fisher Regime on offensive philosophy. Doesn't matter who the OC is. So my question is, since you were at Rams park everyday, does Fisher influence the game planning on offense? This game, to me, had his fingerprints all over it.
It's not like Fisher was calling the plays. And on game days, he's generally not a meddler. But the overall philosophy of the offense _ of any offense _ comes from the head coach.
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I'm having misgivings about Jeff Fisher. He's obviously clueless about the offensive side of the ball. I think the Rams need an O-wizard and Fisher should just let him handle it. Do you think Rob Boras is that guy?
I think Fisher gives his coordinators a lot of leeway. If you hire someone to do a certain job, you let them do their job. I think Boras is a smart guy, a good coach. His background is the running game, and O-line play, however. And the players he has to work with are the players he has to work with. If you catch my drift.
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How does Jeff Fisher keep his job. John Fox had a 46-18 4 year record with the Broncos who let him go. At a winning pace of 7 wins a season, Fisher will have 46 wins in 6.5 years with a lot more losses than 18. Is the only reason Fisher is still around because $tanK thinks Fisher did such a great job when the Houston Oilers were moved to Tennessee?
Well, that's the question, isn't it? Marty Schottenheimer got fired after a 14-2 regular season in San Diego. The rest of the league doesn't operate the way the Rams do.
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For fans of NFL football in Los Angeles who may not have been paying much attention while they had no team, here is a primer on what you have:
1. You may be thinking that the 49ers are a great team that would do this to most opponents. No, they are average at best. Your Rams were slightly below average last year, lost 6 starters over the winter, and replaced them with players that were kept on the bench last year by the guys you lost. You added nobody (at least for the moment). Your Rams are in for a long, tough year.
2. You may be thinking that your Rams will win a couple of games that they should lose. They likely will. They will also likely lose a couple of games that they should win.
3. You may think that Jared Goff will save your franchise. He may, but the fact that he is third string is a tell. Note that Carson Wentz is starting. Unless you think that Case Keenum and Sean Mannion are both a lot better than Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel, you might have reason to be concerned.
4. You may think that next year will be better. Think again, you don’t have much for draft picks next year either.
5. You may think that things will get better eventually, that your hero Stan won’t put up with losing long-term. Take a look at the recent championship trophies of the Avalanche and the Nuggets.
Enjoy your team.
I will add this caveat. Even the Arizona Cardinals overcame Bill Bidwill, but it took nearly 20 years and his son taking over the franchise for that to happen.
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Will LA fans fill the Coliseum Sunday? How many season tickets did they sell?
Yes. It's a sellout, isn't it? So I think we'll see in the 80,000 to 90,000 range.
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How was Fisher ever successful with the Titans? It must have been the personnel he inherited. That is the only explanation.
Hard to do it without the players. Eddie George, Steve McNair and Jevon Kearse were great players to name a few.
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Jeff Fisher's agent is Martin Demoff, the father of Kevin Demoff, the only way Fisher gets fired is if Demoff gets fired and Demoff isnt going anywhere. Sorry LA, Fisher is your problem no, and not starting Goff is pure keeping your job strategy. If Goff starts and sucks that is Fisher's fault, however, but not starting Goff, Fisher can wait out another year.
Well, you have connected some dots
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How bad does the Rams record need to be before they start Goff at QB?
I'd say 0-1. But I'd also say that judging by what I saw in the preseason, he doesn't look ready.
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Will Donald face a suspension?
Don't think so. But he can expect about $40,000 in fines.
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when was the last time the Rams had a decent o-line?
Pace, Nutten, McCollum, Timmerman, Tucker.
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Jim, any idea on were Orlando Pace would be honored and receive his hall of fame ring? Maybe a Cardinals game or Ohio State football game? Since Rams ownership made it clear they want nothing to do with the last 21 years I can't imagine he would go to LA to be honored.
I believe it's this weekend at halftime of the Rams-Seahawiks game.
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Did Chris Berman make some pro stlouis comments?
Yes, he did. I'm paraphrasing here, but it was just kind of shout out to St. Louis fans, realizing they're hurting over the loss of the team. And also realizing that many who were watching from the StL may be rooting for the team to lose.
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Chris Long had a good game!!! Good things happen to good people! Hope he gets a Superbowl win!!!
Yeah, it was good to see Chris Long getting after it. Hope he stays healthy.
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Would love to find out from Chris Long what he sees as the significant differences between the Rams and Pats in terms of organizational approach, philosophies, etc. Obviously, Bill B vs Jeff is the big one. But beyond the coach. Any chance you'll get to interview him about that?
Don't know if Chris Long will nibble on that one. But I do hope to catch up with him at some point this season.
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I was just looking at the schedule and from my perspective there is a legitimate chance the Rams go 0-16. There isn't one team they play that I feel confident they can beat.
I'm gonna say 5-11, 6-10.
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Any thoughts on what Martz thinks about this Rams regime and ownership? You and him should get together and write a book! I don't miss the Rams, but I miss that era in the early 2000s. Even when the team wasn't great, his press conferences were pretty entertaining sometimes.
Mike was always great copy, and he had a true appreciation for the local media and what our jobs were. He took the time to try to get to know us. I'll just put it this way: He's not a huge fan of John Shaw and Jay Zygmunt. Don't think that's a big secret. But he was long gone by the time Demoff arrived, and I could be wrong, but I don't think he had much of a relationship with Kroenke. It was interesting to see him shake Jay's hand at the Pace induction ceremonies in Canton.
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What is your opinion on Gurly? I don't remember where I read about it this morning but I saw some stats that showed Gurly's last 9 games have been remarkably worse than his first 4 games. To steal a baseball reference are we still in "too small a sample size" phase with him?
There's no doubt he's a very talented back. He just wasn't breaking off the long runs late last season like he did earlier in the year. The great backs, like Barry Sanders, could be held in check for most of the game, and then rip off a big run or two that helped changed the balance of a game. There's no doubt that Gurley isn't being helped by the fact that the Rams have a non-existent passing game.
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Can you give a brief update on how the ex-ram players are doing? The ones from last year?
Glad you asked. We will try to provide of rundown of how the ex-St. Louis Rams are doing from time to time on line. We did an update of all St. Louis area players (who played their high school ball here or are from StL) that's currently onlilne now, and will follow that up with Mizzou players next week. And all ex-StL Rams in a couple weeks.
Laurinaitis is starting and is a team captain in New Orleans. You probably saw that Long had a good game against Arizona. Talked to McLeod a couple of weeks ago when the Eagles played in Indy and he's starting and seems to be doing well.
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Is Carson Wentz that much more "NFL Ready" than Jared Goff? To be fair, I doubt Wentz would be able to make it behind the offensive line and with the receivers of the Rams, but would Goff have been as good as Wentz if he were wearing an Eagles uniform?
Out front, I'll tell you that I liked Wentz better as a prospect coming out than Goff. But let's not get too carried away on Wentz. He did it against Cleveland.
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Something I can't remember about the GSOT days was what happened to Charlie Armey? Was he pushed out or did he retire on his own? Seems like the architect of one of the best teams of all time (i don't think that's over the top) would be given some leeway. Then, you have the current HC/GM....all they have is leeway....with ZERO results.
Charley was pushed out. He's retired and living in Phoenix. I still talk to him a few times a year, I believe he'll be in town in about a week for a charity golf tourney.
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http://sports.live.stltoday.com/Event/NFL_chat_with_Jim_Thomas_27?Page=0
Jim Thomas - NFL Chat
The LA trolls have been telling us since January that the Rams will be winners now that they're "back home where they belong." How'd that work out last night? it wasn't STL fans who made the Rams losers. Check with kroenke, Demoff, Snead and Fisher if you want to see the real losers
One game does not a season make. When San Francisco won its last Super Bowl, the 49ers lost an early season game 40-8. Obviously, the Rams aren't winning the Super Bowl this year. And obviously there are lots of issues with the team. Including lack of linebackers, a lack of talent at wide receiver, and lack of overall depth. Its amazing to me that the Rams thought coming back without major changes to the WR corps was a good idea.
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Out of curiosity I watched some of the Rams game. How in the blue heck do they think they are going to win with Britt, Austin, and Quick as their top 3 receivers? It's laughable. lol lol lol lol
Pretty amazing, isn't it.
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How many mistakes does Fisher get - with the draft, FA, etc. etc. - before he is canned?
Apparently, it's a bottomless pit.
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What do the Rams need to fix between now and Sunday to make it a close game?
1.) Sign or trade for a veteran linebacker. 2.) Put some vertical plays in next week's game play. 3) Put in some jet sweeps and runs with Tavon Austin. 4.) Cut penalties in half.
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What are the chances the Rams can accomplish any of those four items you listed?
Well, history tells us the penalty thing won't change. Don't know who's out there at linebacker. But usually if you can walk or chew gum at the same time, you're on a roster this time of year. As for the vertical plays, and stuff with Austin, they're in the playbook.
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That game was great last night please tell me all Rams games will be on St. Louis television? Better than best comedy show on TV.
The Seattle game will be televised next week by Fox 2. After that, I believe it depends on the ratings.
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How does releasing Ayers look today?
He looks like Ray Lewis in his prime.
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The Rams had 195 yards of offense. Late in the game they had 100+ penalty yards. How long will LA fans put up with that mediocraty?
I wouldn't call that mediocrity
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I'm not one to overreact to one game but rams in all phases look awful. Oline, receivers, and qb play is a mess. Hard to see them winning more then 4 games.
It's the NFL. You're allowed to overreact. It's part of the fun of the game. This Seattle game is huge, because after that the Rams are at Tampa Bay _ which looks like an emerging team _ and at Arizona. Lose to Seattle, and you could very well be staring at 0-4.
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Just a reminder for next Sunday, we have seen this before out of Fisher teams and just when we think they have no chance of ever winning again, they pull out a great game. The upcoming Seattle game qualifies as one of their upset specials. Remember, they did that here in STL too when we gave them no chance.
No doubt. Agreed.
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Boy, Hekker is really good. What a showcase last night.
He's the best.
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What is a typical shelf-life of an NFL coach in terms of:
1. How long do they stay at a team before the players get bored and stop listening?
2. Their ideas and methods become outdated an they stop getting hired?
Realistically, five years is a pretty good run. It takes sustained success for a coach to last 10 years, which is pretty rare. Usually as long as a team has some success, the players listen to the message. And Fisher remains popular with most of his players. As for question No. 2, teams that rely on the running game and strong defense can still win and win big in this league. Seattle is a great example of that. But the Rams have never really been that under Fisher.
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I didn't know if I could watch last night but I did and enjoyed every minute of it. The Rams offense is obviously bad but were you surprised at how the defense looked?
Yes, and no on the defense. There are missing 5 starters from last year's unit and that's a big turnover in any year. Laurinaitis, Long, Jenkins, McLeod, and Jenkins. When I saw that they were lining up with nickel personnel in the red zone against 2 TE sets _ on both of San Fran's first rushing TDs _ I almost fell out of my chair. They need LBs.
Also, there are depth issues at cornerback, particularly with E.J. Gaines sidelined. Sensabaugh looked overmatched in the preseason, and he looked overmatched Monday night against a less-than-stellar receiver corps.
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Been a rams fan for 38 years. I didn’t care when they moved to st. Louis and I don’t care that they have moved back to LA. I have loved them, followed them, set my families schedule around them regardless of what city they called home. what I do care about is the $40 I spent to subscribe to HBO for two months so I could watch the rams on Hard Knocks and the $300 I will, again, and have done so for 5 years, spend on the NFL ticket so I can watch the rams every Sunday.
After last night’s, uhhh, performance?, I am so upset with myself for investing any more time or money into these clowns. From kroenke to demoff to fisher and snead to the idiots wrecking go carts, throwing coaches in pools, setting and rising suns, and swimming with mermaids, they are clowns.
They must be clowns…they get laughed at each and every week. I am done. i’ve had it. I will gladly check in with your weekly chat, however. Your chat is amazing therapy for me, there are very few rams fans in these parts. Thank you for what you do!
This chat has kind of degenerated into group therapy, so we do what we can
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3 words, describe last nights Rams game...
That's way too easy. In the words of Dana Stubblefield from 1995. . .Same. . .Old. . .Rams. (That of course is the PG verson.)
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A smart football man a long time ago said "organizations win championships." So true. It was no accident that the Dallas Cowboys went from an expansion team in 1960 to the championship game against the Browns by 1964. Tex Shram, Gil Brandt and Tom Landry had an organizational plan and stuck to it. But, then again they weren't as interested in making money as much as, you know, winning football games.
Well said.
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The coaching staff will probably view last night's embarrassment as a failure to execute on the offensive side - but isn't it really because of a lack of a vertical game, as Steve Young kept saying, in between his laughter?
That's part of it. But there are other factors, such as, not using Tavon Austin in the running game at all. It wasn't a good night for the offensive line. And well, the receivers are the receivers.
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The defense was, as I feared, not very good last night, and the middle was wide open for Gabbert to run through. What happened there?
Yeah, those early runs were huge by Gabbert, who's more athletic than generally given credit for. He kept some early drives alive, and avoided sliding to get the necessary yardage. It's hard to say why the middle was wide open without (sorry, coach-speak alert) looking at game tape.
Perhaps the D-tackles had some kind of stunt going where they both went outside instead of inside. Also, there's often running room when the defense is in man coverage, because the defenders backs are to the QB. But it was strange how often the middle was open on those plays.
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The game was an embarrassment that became a disgrace - I was shocked at Donald's behavior. Ogletree though started it. No discipline, even among his best guys??
And don't forget Gurley, throwing the football at Tramaine Brock, drawing a taunting foul, and taking the Rams out of field goal range.
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I heard that Snead and Fisher were negotiating extensions of their contracts. Is $ilent $tan really thinking about retaining them despite their ineptitude? They have a free pass this season. LA is ecstatic to have their team back, but at some point $tan will have to sell tickets for his new football palace on 7-9 records and We'll get that fixed replies by Fisher to debacles like last night may have worked in St. Louis, but not in LA with all the recreation options available there?
Yes, I believe this extension talk is serious. Here's the thing. Stan really won't have to worry about selling tickets until the new stadium is open. Does that mean two or three more years of Fisher?
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Ray Ray looked pretty good. There's a linebacker we had on the roster a few years ago. Maybe he's available for a first rounder in 2018. #sarcasm
As you may recall, the Boom King was cut because of his lack of discipline. #sarcasm
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How much difference do you think not having laurenitis as the captain of that defense calling the signals make last night? 49ers are not a good team and should have been held to well under 28 points. Of course, if you cant score any points, it doesn't really matter I guess.
The Rams coaching staff didn't think much of Laurinaitis at the end. I'll just leave it at that.
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Keep in mind if you keep turning over your roster of older players, that point #1- players not listening- wont happen as you keep having the leagues youngest roster. There may be a method here to the madness of Fisher/Snead.
Perhaps, but at 27-37-1, do you think it's working?
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Meanwhile, New England tops AZ on the road with no Brady or Gronk and a makeshift front line. Seems they should be primed for another deep run with a well-rested Brady coming in at week 5, eh? They could easily be 4-0 when Brady steps back under center.
Yeah, I watched only a little of that game on replay, I was driving back from Kansas City. But it was a huge victory for the Patriots, no doubt, especially considering the rest of the AFC East lost their openers. I guess Garoppolo looked pretty good, eh? With their next three games at home _ Miami, Houston, Buffalo _ I would not be stunned if the Patriots did indeed start 4-0.
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They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. That's year five of the Fisher Regime on offensive philosophy. Doesn't matter who the OC is. So my question is, since you were at Rams park everyday, does Fisher influence the game planning on offense? This game, to me, had his fingerprints all over it.
It's not like Fisher was calling the plays. And on game days, he's generally not a meddler. But the overall philosophy of the offense _ of any offense _ comes from the head coach.
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I'm having misgivings about Jeff Fisher. He's obviously clueless about the offensive side of the ball. I think the Rams need an O-wizard and Fisher should just let him handle it. Do you think Rob Boras is that guy?
I think Fisher gives his coordinators a lot of leeway. If you hire someone to do a certain job, you let them do their job. I think Boras is a smart guy, a good coach. His background is the running game, and O-line play, however. And the players he has to work with are the players he has to work with. If you catch my drift.
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How does Jeff Fisher keep his job. John Fox had a 46-18 4 year record with the Broncos who let him go. At a winning pace of 7 wins a season, Fisher will have 46 wins in 6.5 years with a lot more losses than 18. Is the only reason Fisher is still around because $tanK thinks Fisher did such a great job when the Houston Oilers were moved to Tennessee?
Well, that's the question, isn't it? Marty Schottenheimer got fired after a 14-2 regular season in San Diego. The rest of the league doesn't operate the way the Rams do.
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For fans of NFL football in Los Angeles who may not have been paying much attention while they had no team, here is a primer on what you have:
1. You may be thinking that the 49ers are a great team that would do this to most opponents. No, they are average at best. Your Rams were slightly below average last year, lost 6 starters over the winter, and replaced them with players that were kept on the bench last year by the guys you lost. You added nobody (at least for the moment). Your Rams are in for a long, tough year.
2. You may be thinking that your Rams will win a couple of games that they should lose. They likely will. They will also likely lose a couple of games that they should win.
3. You may think that Jared Goff will save your franchise. He may, but the fact that he is third string is a tell. Note that Carson Wentz is starting. Unless you think that Case Keenum and Sean Mannion are both a lot better than Sam Bradford and Chase Daniel, you might have reason to be concerned.
4. You may think that next year will be better. Think again, you don’t have much for draft picks next year either.
5. You may think that things will get better eventually, that your hero Stan won’t put up with losing long-term. Take a look at the recent championship trophies of the Avalanche and the Nuggets.
Enjoy your team.
I will add this caveat. Even the Arizona Cardinals overcame Bill Bidwill, but it took nearly 20 years and his son taking over the franchise for that to happen.
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Will LA fans fill the Coliseum Sunday? How many season tickets did they sell?
Yes. It's a sellout, isn't it? So I think we'll see in the 80,000 to 90,000 range.
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How was Fisher ever successful with the Titans? It must have been the personnel he inherited. That is the only explanation.
Hard to do it without the players. Eddie George, Steve McNair and Jevon Kearse were great players to name a few.
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Jeff Fisher's agent is Martin Demoff, the father of Kevin Demoff, the only way Fisher gets fired is if Demoff gets fired and Demoff isnt going anywhere. Sorry LA, Fisher is your problem no, and not starting Goff is pure keeping your job strategy. If Goff starts and sucks that is Fisher's fault, however, but not starting Goff, Fisher can wait out another year.
Well, you have connected some dots
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How bad does the Rams record need to be before they start Goff at QB?
I'd say 0-1. But I'd also say that judging by what I saw in the preseason, he doesn't look ready.
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Will Donald face a suspension?
Don't think so. But he can expect about $40,000 in fines.
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when was the last time the Rams had a decent o-line?
Pace, Nutten, McCollum, Timmerman, Tucker.
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Jim, any idea on were Orlando Pace would be honored and receive his hall of fame ring? Maybe a Cardinals game or Ohio State football game? Since Rams ownership made it clear they want nothing to do with the last 21 years I can't imagine he would go to LA to be honored.
I believe it's this weekend at halftime of the Rams-Seahawiks game.
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Did Chris Berman make some pro stlouis comments?
Yes, he did. I'm paraphrasing here, but it was just kind of shout out to St. Louis fans, realizing they're hurting over the loss of the team. And also realizing that many who were watching from the StL may be rooting for the team to lose.
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Chris Long had a good game!!! Good things happen to good people! Hope he gets a Superbowl win!!!
Yeah, it was good to see Chris Long getting after it. Hope he stays healthy.
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Would love to find out from Chris Long what he sees as the significant differences between the Rams and Pats in terms of organizational approach, philosophies, etc. Obviously, Bill B vs Jeff is the big one. But beyond the coach. Any chance you'll get to interview him about that?
Don't know if Chris Long will nibble on that one. But I do hope to catch up with him at some point this season.
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I was just looking at the schedule and from my perspective there is a legitimate chance the Rams go 0-16. There isn't one team they play that I feel confident they can beat.
I'm gonna say 5-11, 6-10.
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Any thoughts on what Martz thinks about this Rams regime and ownership? You and him should get together and write a book! I don't miss the Rams, but I miss that era in the early 2000s. Even when the team wasn't great, his press conferences were pretty entertaining sometimes.
Mike was always great copy, and he had a true appreciation for the local media and what our jobs were. He took the time to try to get to know us. I'll just put it this way: He's not a huge fan of John Shaw and Jay Zygmunt. Don't think that's a big secret. But he was long gone by the time Demoff arrived, and I could be wrong, but I don't think he had much of a relationship with Kroenke. It was interesting to see him shake Jay's hand at the Pace induction ceremonies in Canton.
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What is your opinion on Gurly? I don't remember where I read about it this morning but I saw some stats that showed Gurly's last 9 games have been remarkably worse than his first 4 games. To steal a baseball reference are we still in "too small a sample size" phase with him?
There's no doubt he's a very talented back. He just wasn't breaking off the long runs late last season like he did earlier in the year. The great backs, like Barry Sanders, could be held in check for most of the game, and then rip off a big run or two that helped changed the balance of a game. There's no doubt that Gurley isn't being helped by the fact that the Rams have a non-existent passing game.
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Can you give a brief update on how the ex-ram players are doing? The ones from last year?
Glad you asked. We will try to provide of rundown of how the ex-St. Louis Rams are doing from time to time on line. We did an update of all St. Louis area players (who played their high school ball here or are from StL) that's currently onlilne now, and will follow that up with Mizzou players next week. And all ex-StL Rams in a couple weeks.
Laurinaitis is starting and is a team captain in New Orleans. You probably saw that Long had a good game against Arizona. Talked to McLeod a couple of weeks ago when the Eagles played in Indy and he's starting and seems to be doing well.
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Is Carson Wentz that much more "NFL Ready" than Jared Goff? To be fair, I doubt Wentz would be able to make it behind the offensive line and with the receivers of the Rams, but would Goff have been as good as Wentz if he were wearing an Eagles uniform?
Out front, I'll tell you that I liked Wentz better as a prospect coming out than Goff. But let's not get too carried away on Wentz. He did it against Cleveland.
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Something I can't remember about the GSOT days was what happened to Charlie Armey? Was he pushed out or did he retire on his own? Seems like the architect of one of the best teams of all time (i don't think that's over the top) would be given some leeway. Then, you have the current HC/GM....all they have is leeway....with ZERO results.
Charley was pushed out. He's retired and living in Phoenix. I still talk to him a few times a year, I believe he'll be in town in about a week for a charity golf tourney.
