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Rams must start season strong
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/11332/rams-must-start-season-strong
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- It might seem a bit over the top to call Week 1 of the NFL season a must win. But for the St. Louis Rams, Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings is about as close to it as you'll find in a regular-season opener.
Considering that the Rams have won just once in their past seven regular-season debuts (last year against Arizona) and the brutal eight-game stretch that awaits after a Week 4 bye, they can ill afford a slip in a winnable home game to start the season.
Looking at it from a broader perspective, it's worth noting that since the postseason expanded to 12 teams in 1990, 54 percent of teams to start with a win reached the postseason. On the flip side, just 25 percent of teams starting with a loss made the playoffs. Of the 288 teams to reach the playoffs since 1990, 68 percent started the season with a win.
With all of those things at play entering the opener against the Vikings, Rams coach Jeff Fisher is taking his usual approach of focusing on the micro over the macro implication of the matchup.
"I think about getting this team ready to play," Fisher said. "I think about what’s going to take place in the game and the adjustments. We’re in the scheme now, matchups and those kinds of things. I’ve never been one to think about that. Obviously, I was hired for a reason to bring a winner here and it’s not me, it’s just not me, there’s a whole new crew here and we’re all doing everything we possibly can to do that.”
The Rams' absence from the postseason and even the lack of a winning record for the vast majority of the past decade has been well documented. So have the Rams' efforts to take the sinking ship that Fisher and general manager Les Snead took over in 2012 and get it going in the right direction.
Over the past three years, the Rams have turned over the roster and put more talent in place, but it remains to be seen if that's going to be enough to take the next step. Seven wins in each of the past two seasons has represented major progress, but progress only lasts for as long as the arrow continues to point up. Another year mired in mediocrity will not sit well amongst understandably impatient Rams fans.
For veterans like end Chris Long and linebacker James Laurinaitis, who have survived the rebuilding process and put up with the excuses about the team's youth, there is no time like the present.
"It would mean a lot to all of us to turn this thing around," Long said. "We’re in the process of doing it. It’s not just the guys that have been here awhile. It’s everybody. Because I feel like you come in here every year with equally-high hopes. That having been said, we’ve got as much talent in this room as we’ve had since I’ve been here. It’s my seventh year here. So every year you want it to be this year. I’m as hopeful as ever."
That hope could vanish quickly should the Rams find themselves on the losing end against Minnesota. That isn't to say the Vikings are pushovers. Any team with offensive weapons like running back Adrian Peterson, receiver Cordarrelle Patterson and tight end Kyle Rudolph and coach Mike Zimmer guiding the defense is a dangerous one.
But things will only get more dangerous for the Rams as the year goes on. After the Week 4 bye, the Rams begin a brutal eight-game stretch that features two games against San Francisco and one each against Philadelphia, Seattle, Kansas City, Arizona, Denver and San Diego. All but Arizona is coming off a playoff berth, and the Cardinals finished last season 10-6.
So for the Rams, getting off to a hot start is not only desirable but imperative.
"I think it would be great for our fanbase, and this organization to reward them with a team that can get over the hump," Laurinaitis said. "It sounds great talking about it right now, but we’ve got a lot of work to do. That starts with Minnesota."
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/11332/rams-must-start-season-strong
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- It might seem a bit over the top to call Week 1 of the NFL season a must win. But for the St. Louis Rams, Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings is about as close to it as you'll find in a regular-season opener.
Considering that the Rams have won just once in their past seven regular-season debuts (last year against Arizona) and the brutal eight-game stretch that awaits after a Week 4 bye, they can ill afford a slip in a winnable home game to start the season.
Looking at it from a broader perspective, it's worth noting that since the postseason expanded to 12 teams in 1990, 54 percent of teams to start with a win reached the postseason. On the flip side, just 25 percent of teams starting with a loss made the playoffs. Of the 288 teams to reach the playoffs since 1990, 68 percent started the season with a win.
With all of those things at play entering the opener against the Vikings, Rams coach Jeff Fisher is taking his usual approach of focusing on the micro over the macro implication of the matchup.
"I think about getting this team ready to play," Fisher said. "I think about what’s going to take place in the game and the adjustments. We’re in the scheme now, matchups and those kinds of things. I’ve never been one to think about that. Obviously, I was hired for a reason to bring a winner here and it’s not me, it’s just not me, there’s a whole new crew here and we’re all doing everything we possibly can to do that.”
The Rams' absence from the postseason and even the lack of a winning record for the vast majority of the past decade has been well documented. So have the Rams' efforts to take the sinking ship that Fisher and general manager Les Snead took over in 2012 and get it going in the right direction.
Over the past three years, the Rams have turned over the roster and put more talent in place, but it remains to be seen if that's going to be enough to take the next step. Seven wins in each of the past two seasons has represented major progress, but progress only lasts for as long as the arrow continues to point up. Another year mired in mediocrity will not sit well amongst understandably impatient Rams fans.
For veterans like end Chris Long and linebacker James Laurinaitis, who have survived the rebuilding process and put up with the excuses about the team's youth, there is no time like the present.
"It would mean a lot to all of us to turn this thing around," Long said. "We’re in the process of doing it. It’s not just the guys that have been here awhile. It’s everybody. Because I feel like you come in here every year with equally-high hopes. That having been said, we’ve got as much talent in this room as we’ve had since I’ve been here. It’s my seventh year here. So every year you want it to be this year. I’m as hopeful as ever."
That hope could vanish quickly should the Rams find themselves on the losing end against Minnesota. That isn't to say the Vikings are pushovers. Any team with offensive weapons like running back Adrian Peterson, receiver Cordarrelle Patterson and tight end Kyle Rudolph and coach Mike Zimmer guiding the defense is a dangerous one.
But things will only get more dangerous for the Rams as the year goes on. After the Week 4 bye, the Rams begin a brutal eight-game stretch that features two games against San Francisco and one each against Philadelphia, Seattle, Kansas City, Arizona, Denver and San Diego. All but Arizona is coming off a playoff berth, and the Cardinals finished last season 10-6.
So for the Rams, getting off to a hot start is not only desirable but imperative.
"I think it would be great for our fanbase, and this organization to reward them with a team that can get over the hump," Laurinaitis said. "It sounds great talking about it right now, but we’ve got a lot of work to do. That starts with Minnesota."
