- Joined
- Jul 31, 2010
- Messages
- 8,874
Rams still waiting for real breakthrough
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/14059/rams-still-waiting-for-real-breakthrough
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Barring a surprising sprint to the finish in which they win all five of their remaining games, the St. Louis Rams are headed toward their 11th consecutive non-winning season.
That would include three consecutive seasons under coach Jeff Fisher in which they haven't exceeded eight wins and even to get to eight for the first time under Fisher, they'll need to go 4-1 over the final five weeks. That schedule includes Sunday's home game against the Oakland Raiders followed by a trip to Washington, home games against the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals and a season-ending trip to Seattle.
At 4-7, the Rams have failed to meet the expectations they set for themselves at the beginning of the season. In this, the third year under Fisher, the Rams had long targeted the 2014 season as a potential breakthrough year. Once again, it hasn't happened.
“This is a good football team," Fisher said. "It’s competitive. For the most part it’s been in every game. We’re making plays and I think we’ve improved. I think we’re significantly better. We’re going to play one game at a time. Again, I can’t expect any more out of them. They’re working hard. They’re practicing. They love coming to work. Every week is a different challenge for us, but they respond every week.”
There's little doubt that the Rams have mostly been competitive. They have wins against top teams like Seattle, San Francisco and Denver and have been on the verge of victories against playoff contenders like Arizona, Philadelphia and Dallas. But being competitive is nothing new under Fisher. He's elevated the Rams from the weekly pushover to the team that nobody really likes to play but still manages to beat more often than not.
At this point in Fisher's tenure, the bar should be raised higher than the mediocrity to which he's taken them. Even before the season, the Rams openly acknowledged that this was the year they were set to take the next step toward the postseason.
Of course, those hopes took a big hit in the preseason with the season-ending knee injury to quarterback Sam Bradford. They've since seen key pieces like end Chris Long, left tackle Jake Long and receiver Brian Quick suffer injuries that either cost them the entire season or most of it. They've also played one of the most difficult schedules in the league.
But that doesn't mean their continued penchant for coming up short when games are there for the taking doesn't sting.
“Yeah, looking at [the] big picture, it’s frustrating," Fisher said. "We’ve been there. We’ve been competitive and we’re going to keep playing.”
For those who have watched the Rams in the previous two years under Fisher, it's probably safe to expect the Rams to do just that. They won't pack it up and call it a season just because the postseason isn't really an option. Despite being eliminated for most of the final two months of his first three seasons in St. Louis, Fisher's Rams are 10-9-1 in November and December.
All they can do now is attempt to finish strong and try to offer some hope for the future. Not that it will be worth buying into until it translates into something more tangible.
"The thing we have got to do is keep on working," guard Davin Joseph said. "We’re doing a lot of things right. We have to get to a point to be consistent down after down, play after play, quarter after quarter. Then it will start paying off in the long run."
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/14059/rams-still-waiting-for-real-breakthrough
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Barring a surprising sprint to the finish in which they win all five of their remaining games, the St. Louis Rams are headed toward their 11th consecutive non-winning season.
That would include three consecutive seasons under coach Jeff Fisher in which they haven't exceeded eight wins and even to get to eight for the first time under Fisher, they'll need to go 4-1 over the final five weeks. That schedule includes Sunday's home game against the Oakland Raiders followed by a trip to Washington, home games against the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals and a season-ending trip to Seattle.
At 4-7, the Rams have failed to meet the expectations they set for themselves at the beginning of the season. In this, the third year under Fisher, the Rams had long targeted the 2014 season as a potential breakthrough year. Once again, it hasn't happened.
“This is a good football team," Fisher said. "It’s competitive. For the most part it’s been in every game. We’re making plays and I think we’ve improved. I think we’re significantly better. We’re going to play one game at a time. Again, I can’t expect any more out of them. They’re working hard. They’re practicing. They love coming to work. Every week is a different challenge for us, but they respond every week.”
There's little doubt that the Rams have mostly been competitive. They have wins against top teams like Seattle, San Francisco and Denver and have been on the verge of victories against playoff contenders like Arizona, Philadelphia and Dallas. But being competitive is nothing new under Fisher. He's elevated the Rams from the weekly pushover to the team that nobody really likes to play but still manages to beat more often than not.
At this point in Fisher's tenure, the bar should be raised higher than the mediocrity to which he's taken them. Even before the season, the Rams openly acknowledged that this was the year they were set to take the next step toward the postseason.
Of course, those hopes took a big hit in the preseason with the season-ending knee injury to quarterback Sam Bradford. They've since seen key pieces like end Chris Long, left tackle Jake Long and receiver Brian Quick suffer injuries that either cost them the entire season or most of it. They've also played one of the most difficult schedules in the league.
But that doesn't mean their continued penchant for coming up short when games are there for the taking doesn't sting.
“Yeah, looking at [the] big picture, it’s frustrating," Fisher said. "We’ve been there. We’ve been competitive and we’re going to keep playing.”
For those who have watched the Rams in the previous two years under Fisher, it's probably safe to expect the Rams to do just that. They won't pack it up and call it a season just because the postseason isn't really an option. Despite being eliminated for most of the final two months of his first three seasons in St. Louis, Fisher's Rams are 10-9-1 in November and December.
All they can do now is attempt to finish strong and try to offer some hope for the future. Not that it will be worth buying into until it translates into something more tangible.
"The thing we have got to do is keep on working," guard Davin Joseph said. "We’re doing a lot of things right. We have to get to a point to be consistent down after down, play after play, quarter after quarter. Then it will start paying off in the long run."
