Some Rams-related Playoff Notes

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Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/4849/some-rams-related-playoff-notes


ST. LOUIS -- The first day of the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs provided plenty of entertainment for fans. For St. Louis Rams fans choosing to watch yet another postseason not involving their favorite team, there were a number of familiar names and teams in action in the two drama-filled games.

Before the Jeff Fisher and Les Snead era began in St. Louis, the Rams' roster had been so devoid of talent that many players never found work again after parting ways with the team. But a few of them have and some of them surprisingly popped up making positive plays for their teams on Saturday.

- Indianapolis Colts cornerback Josh Gordy was only with the Rams for a short spell, a time highlighted by a big interception in an upset win against New Orleans in 2011. He made one of the biggest plays of the day for the Colts. Covering Chiefs receiver Dwayne Bowe as Kansas City drove toward a possible game-winning field goal, Gordy played it perfectly, driving Bowe off his route just enough to keep him from getting his second foot down for a first down. Gordy added five tackles in helping the Colts move on. The Rams traded Gordy to Indianapolis in August 2012 after deciding they had a surplus at the position.

- On the other side of that game, Kansas City receiver Donnie Avery also had a big play though it came much earlier. Avery's 79-yard touchdown catch was his lone grab of the day but it staked the Chiefs to a quick 17-7 lead. Originally a second-round pick of the Rams in 2008, Avery has bounced from St. Louis to Tennessee to Indianapolis to Kansas City. The Rams released him in the 2010 preseason after a disappointing and injury-plagued time with the franchise.

- In the late game, there wasn't much Rams presence save for Philadelphia Eaglescornerback Bradley Fletcher. Fletcher finished with four tackles, a pass defended and an early interception. The Rams allowed Fletcher to walk in free agency last offseason as they had already decided Trumaine Johnson was ready to step in as the third cornerback.

- Of course, out of that trio only Gordy gets to continue playing as the Colts move on to meet either Denver or New England in the divisional round.

- One area the Rams improved in 2013 was in their ability to win outside the division. In fact, the team's most impressive victories came in convincing fashion against teams not in the NFC West. More interesting, the Rams manhandled the two winning teams in Saturday's games. In their two wins against Indianapolis and New Orleans, the Rams outscored those teams 65-24 and were plus-seven in turnover margin.

- Today's games also don't feature much of a heavy former Rams presence. The San Francisco-Green Bay matchup has a pair of former Rams involved. Fan favorite (ahem) safety Craig Dahl for the Niners and defensive tackle Ryan Pickett for the Packers. Pickett was one of the few good draft picks made in previous regimes but, of course, the Rams let him walk over a small sum of money. He's gone on to a very productive career in Green Bay.

- The San Diego-Cincinnati contest has no players who have suited up for the Rams in a regular-season game. Bengals receiver Andrew Hawkins had a small offseason cup of coffee with the Rams in 2011.

 

[Alan]

I don't know exactly how Bradley Fletcher got in Fishers doghouse but I sure wish we still had him on our team. :sad:

I wonder if they's take a straight up trade for Finnegan?

 

[V3]

I remember being mad about the trade of Gordy and people doggin me about it because "he's just a backup that will never amount to anything". Sure would be nice to have him and Fletcher back.

 

[TexasRam]

I don't know exactly how Bradley Fletcher got in Fishers doghouse but I sure wish we still had him on our team. :sad:

I wonder if they's take a straight up trade for Finnegan?

Pretty Sure it was the New england game that did Fletch in. He had what? 5 PI penalties? Fletcher was always a very good CB. Everyone knew the loss would hurt us and Lo and Behold here we are talking CB in RD 1.

Gordy showed alot that year we had the CB masacare and went through like 9 CB's. Gordy while small has always had terrific cover ablility.

 

[Flipper_336]

Pretty Sure it was the New england game that did Fletch in. He had what? 5 PI penalties?

The arbitration in that game was a total joke, though. The Rams were getting penalised for every little thing, while the Patriots got away with murder. From memory, at least two of the flags against Fletcher were exceedingly dubious, to say the least.

 

[Alan]

TexasRam with his answer:
Pretty Sure it was the New england game that did Fletch in. He had what? 5 PI penalties? Fletcher was always a very good CB. Everyone knew the loss would hurt us and Lo and Behold here we are talking CB in RD 1.

Gordy showed alot that year we had the CB masacare and went through like 9 CB's. Gordy while small has always had terrific cover ability.

Thanks Texas, but I know that part. What I don't understand is why Fisher just didn't "fix that in a team meeting."

The penalties weren't the real reason and we may never know what the real reason is but the Rams are suffering for it.

 

[Selassie I]

Some things can't be fixed. In meetings or on the practice field. Otherwise, I know Fisher would have.

Besides Fletcher getting burned with regularity,,, his injury history and age worked against him. His ceiling was falling. I was happy to see him go. Very happy.

Anyone who would prefer to have Fletcher over Tru,,, especially at this point,,, needs some fixing of their own. It was time to move on. That was the beginning of the re-build and Fletcher wasn't earning his keep by a long way. Tough decisions happen at the beginning of any rebuild,,, cutting ties with Fletcher wasn't all that tough if your asking me. Moving forward with Tru was the right decision.

 

[Alan]

Selassie jumping in the deep end:
Some things can't be fixed. In meetings or on the practice field. Otherwise, I know Fisher would have.

Besides Fletcher getting burned with regularity,,, his injury history and age worked against him. His ceiling was falling. I was happy to see him go. Very happy.

Anyone who would prefer to have Fletcher over Tru,,, especially at this point,,, needs some fixing of their own. It was time to move on. That was the beginning of the re-build and Fletcher wasn't earning his keep by a long way. Tough decisions happen at the beginning of any rebuild,,, cutting ties with Fletcher wasn't all that tough if your asking me. Moving forward with Tru was the right decision.

We have different memories of Fletch. In my memories he didn't got "torched" as often as you remember.

I didn't say we should have kept Fletch over Trumaine, although I think their performances are pretty equal, I said we should have kept him. He only had a cap hit of $2.35 million this year.

The Eagles seem to be pretty happy with him.

BTW, I was making fun of that Fisher statement. Fish has never been able to "fix" that kind of problem. In meetings or on the practice field. It was a decision they made that I wouldn't have made but then again I don't know everything they do. I think you need 4 high quality CBs on your roster because it's such a blow to your D when one gets injured. There were other priorities though. So.

 

[Selassie I]

We have different memories of Fletch. In my memories he didn't got "torched" as often as you remember.

I didn't say we should have kept Fletch over Trumaine, although I think their performances are pretty equal, I said we should have kept him. He only had a cap hit of $2.35 million this year.

The Eagles seem to be pretty happy with him.

BTW, I was making fun of that Fisher statement. Fish has never been able to "fix" that kind of problem. In meetings or on the practice field. It was a decision they made that I wouldn't have made but then again I don't know everything they do. I think you need 4 high quality CBs on your roster because it's such a blow to your D when one gets injured. There were other priorities though. So.

BTW... I realized you were taking a shot at Fish. That was clear to see.

I would have to strongly disagree with your statement that Fish has never been able to fix a problem like that. His extensive success in coaching,,, especially on the defensive side of the ball,,, is the reason he's one of the highest paid coaches in the league.

Your dislike of Fisher is not hard to pick up on. In case you hadn't noticed, my feelings on Fish are much different.

 

[dodgerram]

Watching wild card weekend my biggest impression is that in todays NFL you need a QB who can extend plays with his feet or even make big plays with his running ability.
Rivers, Rodgers, Luck, Kaepernick, Smith, Brees all have that ability.
A pure pocket passer still can be effective and win it big but in order to achieve it you must provide him with a very good to elite o-line. The defensive linemen and lbs in particular in todays NFL are so big and simultaenously so fast it is simply amazing. A mobile QB can get away with an average or below average o-line a lot better and still make enough plays to win you a game.
putting together an o-line that is above average or even very good is a tough task and what better example for this fact than the Rams ? For years now they try to form a good line and even with Boudreau being the o-line guru that he is we yet again are talking about rebuilding the line.
Bradford needs a very good o-line to function well especially coming off ACL surgery in 2014 and I have serious, serious doubts the Rams will be able to field such a very good o-line.
IMO the QB the Rams have to draft in 2014 should in every case be a mobile guy who can make plays with his passing as with his running ability.
Same for the backup QB they will go with in 2014.

Go Rams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Alan]

Selassie I coming back with:
BTW... I realized you were taking a shot at Fish. That was clear to see.

I would have to strongly disagree with your statement that Fish has never been able to fix a problem like that. His extensive success in coaching,,, especially on the defensive side of the ball,,, is the reason he's one of the highest paid coaches in the league.

Your dislike of Fisher is not hard to pick up on. In case you hadn't noticed, my feelings on Fish are much different.

That easy to spot eh? :lol:

Just making sure.

I think that's two separate issues. Being a great coach and engendering an atmosphere that promotes penalties are not joined at the hip IMO. Many might say that his coaching success and the persona of his teams are intertwined. Possibly true in his case.

When anyone talks about a team having penalty problems the blame is always laid at the coach's doorstep. Rightfully so IMO. When you hire Fisher you get those penalties as part of the package. Those that think he's a great coach like that part of the package. Not the penalties per se but the mind set/toughness that is associated with that. Maybe you're OK with that but as you so astutely observed, I'm not a fan. :wink:

To take it a step further, that type of coaching is old school and doesn't work as well as it used to. Chippiness on the field in today's game is more likely to be punished than rewarded. I never, ever saw taunting by a player when I first started watching football. The other players would never have put up with it. The difference is that when I was younger the teams were actually teams and not just a collection of individuals with a common goal. You didn't see the "it's all about me" attitude that is so prevalent today. You have to nip that stuff in the bud in today's NFL and when has Fisher ever shown an ability to stop that kind of behavior? In my opinion he encourages it even if inadvertently.

I will say this though, I think Fisher is the best coach we've had in a long time. Doesn't mean I think hes a great coach and it also doesn't mean I'm not gonna rag on him when he makes laughable statements like the one he made about the team meetings. That's just funny to me. :heh:

 

[SC-Ram78]

Don't we get a late round pick for the Gordy trade? Or did we already get it in last years draft?

 

[Alan]

dodgerram with his take on what's needed for success:
Watching wild card weekend my biggest impression is that in todays NFL you need a QB who can extend plays with his feet or even make big plays with his running ability.
Rivers, Rodgers, Luck, Kaepernick, Smith, Brees all have that ability.
A pure pocket passer still can be effective and win it big but in order to achieve it you must provide him with a very good to elite o-line. The defensive linemen and lbs in particular in todays NFL are so big and simultaenously so fast it is simply amazing. A mobile QB can get away with an average or below average o-line a lot better and still make enough plays to win you a game.
putting together an o-line that is above average or even very good is a tough task and what better example for this fact than the Rams ? For years now they try to form a good line and even with Boudreau being the o-line guru that he is we yet again are talking about rebuilding the line.
Bradford needs a very good o-line to function well especially coming off ACL surgery in 2014 and I have serious, serious doubts the Rams will be able to field such a very good o-line.
IMO the QB the Rams have to draft in 2014 should in every case be a mobile guy who can make plays with his passing as with his running ability.
Same for the backup QB they will go with in 2014.

Lots of good stuff wrapped up in there dodgerram. Welcome to the ROD! :woot::bigup::woot:

 

[Alan]

SC-Ram78 with a question:
Don't we get a late round pick for the Gordy trade? Or did we already get it in last years draft?

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/colts-acquire-josh-gordy-trade-rams-fans-reaction-051200128--nfl.html

On August 21, Indianapolis traded a conditional 2014 draft pick to the St. Louis Rams for cornerback Josh Gordy.

I wonder what we'll get? Probably more than a 7th.

 

[SC-Ram78]

Watching wild card weekend my biggest impression is that in todays NFL you need a QB who can extend plays with his feet or even make big plays with his running ability.
Rivers, Rodgers, Luck, Kaepernick, Smith, Brees all have that ability.
A pure pocket passer still can be effective and win it big but in order to achieve it you must provide him with a very good to elite o-line. The defensive linemen and lbs in particular in todays NFL are so big and simultaenously so fast it is simply amazing. A mobile QB can get away with an average or below average o-line a lot better and still make enough plays to win you a game.
putting together an o-line that is above average or even very good is a tough task and what better example for this fact than the Rams ? For years now they try to form a good line and even with Boudreau being the o-line guru that he is we yet again are talking about rebuilding the line.
Bradford needs a very good o-line to function well especially coming off ACL surgery in 2014 and I have serious, serious doubts the Rams will be able to field such a very good o-line.
IMO the QB the Rams have to draft in 2014 should in every case be a mobile guy who can make plays with his passing as with his running ability.
Same for the backup QB they will go with in 2014.

Go Rams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to ROD. Nice post. I'm glad I'm not the only new guy on here lol

 

[SC-Ram78]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/colts-acquire-josh-gordy-trade-rams-fans-reaction-051200128--nfl.html


I wonder what we'll get? Probably more than a 7th.

Thanks Alan. Has he done enough in his time with Indy to get that conditional pick?

 

[Alan]

I think tt doesn't matter how much he's done as to whether or not we get a pick. I think how well he's done determines how high the pick is. Could be wrong though I don't think so.

 

[SC-Ram78]

Yea you might be right. I'm thinking we get a 5th or 6th for him

 

[Alan]

Could be worth a developmental QB. :woot:

 

[rhinobean]

Never understood why they let Pickett go? Grease played well for us and is for the Packers. At least he's still playing, unlike our 2 other 1st. round d linemen!!!!!! What a waste!