Rams Release Ray Ray Armstrong

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RamBall

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So, I will go ahead and say it...

Michael Sam?

I really doubt they bring Sam back, they will need to bring someone with enough speed to play special teams. Unless they already have Armstrongs replacement on the roster and want to bring in a pass rusher to fill the roster spot once held by Ray Ray.
 

Philly5

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Very good! Never saw what all the fuss was to keep him around given the weekly nonsense.
 

-X-

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The Dude
I guess that answers my question, re: "what can he do?"

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Jeff Fisher. The Fish. Fisherino. The catch and release man....
 

Username

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I guess that answers my question, re: "what can he do?"

richmeister1.jpg


Jeff Fisher. The Fish. Fisherino. The catch and release man....

Just had a good interview on Fox's show "Rams weekly." Not sure if they post that show but I'll keep an eye out.
 

Dodgersrf

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When it comes right down to it, the players should also police themselves.
This is a good start.
 

PowayRamFan

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Kinda hate to say it, but I am stoked about this. Time to quit fucking around and play our Best football. We have so much potential....
 

RamBill

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Jeff Fisher sends message with Ray-Ray Armstrong's release
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/12398/fisher-sends-message-with-armstrongs-release

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- After linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong picked up a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct Sunday against Philadelphia, St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher said the next time such a mistake happened that player would be sent off the field.

Less than 24 hours later, Fisher actually took it a step further as the Rams released Armstrong on Monday morning.

"It just wasn't working out," Fisher said. "So we moved on."

In elaborating further on the release of one of the team's special teams lynchpins, Fisher said Armstrong's release wasn't purely based on the silly flag he garnered for shoving an Eagles player to the ground after a Johnny Hekker punt in the first quarter. That penalty gave Philadelphia an extra 15 yards and set up a field goal that gave it a 13-0 lead.

"I was not happy with the production on the field," Fisher said. "This is a production business and when you don't get the production, you have to get better so that's what we're going to do.

"It was pretty much the whole body of work. He was just having a hard time doing things the way we wanted them done."

Left unsaid there, though, is that Armstrong is hardly a first time offender. Sunday's penalty was the ninth of his young career, a big number for a player who plays almost exclusively on special teams and has only played in 20 career games. Those penalties have cost the Rams 84 yards in field position.

Of course, Armstrong's "body of work" is limited pretty much to special teams, playing 19 defensive snaps in his time in the league. And though he's been productive in many regards on special teams, it's easy to connect the dots to the penalties.

Penalties have been a persistent problem for the Rams under Fisher, none more maddening than the continued mistakes made before and after the whistle. But rarely has Fisher held players accountable for those mistakes through serious action. Armstrong's release would indicate a needed shift change.

"It had been addressed with him numerous times and that penalty ultimately becomes my fault because when a guy is making mistakes over and over and he's allowed to play, it becomes my fault," Fisher said. "So we're going to get someone else in there that understands things a little differently. ... This is not a scapegoat, I'm not about that. But we need to make a change and go a different direction."

With Armstrong gone, the Rams now have just four linebackers on the roster. Fisher said the team will work out some other options over the next couple of days and that practice squadder Denicos Allen would be considered for a promotion.

In early September, the Rams worked out four linebackers: Pat Angerer, Kelvin Sheppard, Larry Dean, and Marshall McFadden. Sheppard and Dean have since signed with Miami and Buffalo, respectively.

Regardless of who replaces Armstrong, the message should be clear. Releasing a backup linebacker who plays on special teams isn't going to suddenly turn the Rams into a winner but it should at least raise the accountability quotient around Rams Park. These days, that counts as progress.
 

PowayRamFan

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Love Fishrrs quotes here, EXACTLY what I wanted him to say. Play time is over, time to get down to business.
 

thirteen28

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F*CKING BRAVO, FISHER!!!

THAT'S how you send a message. That should get the team's attention and focus, and none too soon with the 9ers coming to town.
 

Ky Ram

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Interested to hear what the team has to say, I'd imagine most guys would be ok with the move because he was given every opportunity to improve and he just never did.
 

cracengl

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I don't think you cut a backup linebacker/special teams guy because your seat is getting hot. This guy is an ongoing problem over a 2 year period. He didn't make a snap judgement here. Ray got plenty of opportunities to clean his act up.
 

MTRamsFan

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I hope others in the locker room hear the message loud and clear by Fisher. It's time to step up or you might be looking for a job.

Regarding Armstrong, I had hoped there was going to be a huge jump from his rookie year to this year. Looking at his play he appeared to be a liability. He struggled in the pre-season and thought he would get cut then. I stated in another thread I felt he was an average special teams player. I really never saw him stand out on a consistent basis. Too many penalties/missed assignments as a special teams player, and I didn't think he could get any playing time on the defense. Maybe they should have continued to groom him at the safety position versus trying to convert him to linebacker. I wish him luck in his future.
 

Robocop

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fuck yea. no more bullshit. this better be Fisher saying if you keep fucking up you're benched or out!
 

RamBill

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Rams cut Armstrong, cite several reasons
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_aa915abf-72d1-5c68-b45a-548774c5e218.html

On Sunday, after a highly frustrating 34-28 loss to Philadelphia, a highly frustrated Jeff Fisher said the next time a Rams special teams player committed a stupid penalty, he would send him to the locker room for the rest of the game.

On Monday, Fisher didn’t just send Ray Ray Armstrong to the locker room. He sent him home.

“We released Ray this morning,” Fisher said at his Monday media session. “As far as his special teams role, it just wasn’t working out. So we’ve moved on.”

Fisher is tired of penalties and tired of mistakes holding back a 1-3 Rams squad that has lost its last two games by a combined nine points.

Armstrong committed a totally unnecessary shove at the end of a Darren Sproles punt return with 6 minutes left in the first quarter, resulting in a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty. So instead of starting at their 38, the Eagles had a first down at the St. Louis 47, and they ended up kicking a field goal for a 13-0 lead.

When asked if he was unhappy with Armstrong’s penalty, Fisher replied: “That’s correct.”

But he added: “I was not happy with (his) progression on the field. It’s a production business, and when you don’t get the production you have to get better — so that’s what we’re gonna do.”

It was Armstrong’s first penalty of the season, but he committed nine last season as a rookie, one of which was declined. That’s an extremely high total for someone who was almost exclusively a special teams player in 2013.

In fact, it was the most for any Rams player who wasn’t a starter on offense and defense, or at least a rotational player. And his 69 yards of penalties assessed was the third-highest total on the team.

But Fisher again made it a point to say that penalties alone didn’t lead to Armstrong’s dismissal.

“No, it was pretty much the whole body of work,” Fisher said. “He was just having a hard time doing things the way we wanted them done.”

The Rams took a risk signing Armstrong as an undrafted rookie in 2013. He was suspended on two occasions in 2011 for a total of five games at the University of Miami. Then, in July 2012, Armstrong was dismissed from school for unspecified reasons — but reasons believed to be related to a continuing NCAA investigation into the program.

He didn’t play in 2012, meaning he hadn’t played a game in nearly 1½ seasons when he signed with the Rams. Despite the penalties as a rookie Armstrong showed promise, leading the team in special teams tackles (12).

Entering the 2014 campaign, it was hoped that with a little maturity Armstrong could be even more effective on special teams and possibly push Jo-Lonn Dunbar for playing time at outside linebacker.

But none of that materialized. The aggressive, athletic Armstrong had only one tackle on special teams this season. Despite getting plenty of playing time at linebacker during the preseason, Armstrong missed several tackles and simply didn’t make many plays. According to NFL stats, he participated in only one play on defense in the Rams’ four regular-season games.

At the end of the day, Sunday’s penalty put Fisher over the top.

“Again, it’s the body of work,” Fisher said. “It had been addressed with him numerous times, and that penalty ultimately becomes my fault because when a guy’s making mistakes over and over, and he’s allowed to play, it becomes my fault.

“So we’re gonna get someone else in there that understands things a little differently.

“And it’s not the (result of the) game. This was gonna happen win or lose. This is not a scapegoat. You guys know me, I’m not about that. But we need to make a change and go a different direction.”

The release of Armstrong may not be a “scapegoat” situation as Fisher mentioned, but he certainly sent a message to the rest of the team about the need to cut down penalties and minimize mistakes.

There aren’t a ton of jobs out there where you can make half a million dollars a year — and Armstrong just lost one. In the second year of a three-year contract, he was scheduled to make $495,000 this year. Now, the player known as the “Boom King” is looking for work. That fact shouldn’t escape notice from the rest of the team.

“The penalties between the snap and the whistle are going to happen,” Fisher said. “But it’s the penalties prior to the snap and after the whistle that are completely under our control. And those are the ones that we have to get fixed.”

Fisher said the Rams have been flagged for 16 penalties this season that came either before the snap or after the play.

“That’s four per game,” he said. “We’ve got to knock that down. That’s got to be focus, and has been, and will continue to be a focus for us.”

Fisher said the Rams will work out several linebacker prospects over the next couple of days. With Armstrong’s release, the team has only four linebackers on its 53-man roster: James Laurinaitis, Alec Ogletree, Dunbar and Daren Bates.

In addition, the practice squad includes linebacker Denicos Allen, and Fisher said he will be given consideration for a spot on the 53-man roster.

The Rams brought in free-agent linebackers Pat Angerer, Larry Dean, Marshall McFadden and Kelvin Sheppard for visits on Sept. 5, but Sheppard has since signed with Miami and Dean with Buffalo.

Armstrong could not be reached to comment.
 

Bildeaux

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This ^ would explain a lot. I don't see Fisher cutting someone just because of one games play! Nor do I see him doing it JUST to make a statement! IMHO, the idea cutting Armstrong had to come from a larger problem! Fisher's too much of a pro to be petty!
It not just one game he has 8 or 9 of these