What if the Rams had kept Bettis?

[DCH]

Instead of letting Rich Brooks run him out of town, what if the Rams had re-upped Jerome and kept him as the Bus in St. Louis instead of Pittsburgh? I was noodling this in response to Jeff Gordon's article about how Bettis clashed with Brooks and Ortmayer was mad for Phillips.

Some fallout would likely have been:
- No LP drafted in '96 (which precipitated the trade)
- No Ernie Conwell (he was the 2 we got back in the trade)
- Maybe we don't get the chance to take OPace in '97? Phillips had an OK rookie year (nearly 700 yards), but Bus ran for 1400 yards and 11 TDs.
- Maybe no GSOT, as there would be no trade for Faulk with 3 consecutive 1000 yard seasons out of Bettis

Interesting to consider. Would we have been better off in the long run? What are the positive and negative responses to what was a monumentally stupid move in a vacuum?

 

[V3]

Bettis was great but it would have most likely prevented the GSOT. So many moving cogs. Just changing one would have had a major ripple effect.

Also, I don't think Bettis would really fit nearly as well in Mike Martz's offense.

 

[sdakotaram]

I remember his last year with us.....his YPC were really low.......can't remember if it was him or our OL. At the time I think it was the right time to move him. Just my 2 cents

 

[DCH]

I remember his last year with us.....his YPC were really low.......can't remember if it was him or our OL. At the time I think it was the right time to move him. Just my 2 cents

Well, it did start a stretch of 2 years where Lawrence Phillips was the top rusher with 600-ish yards, followed by the *shudder* June Henley year.

 

[Zombie Slayer]

Rams don't win a super bowl if he stays on this team.

 

[BatteringRambo]

Always was a 'Bus' fan, class act after the Rams/Cardinals game here rookie season. My Dad and I met him right by the team bus, lol. He spent 10 minutes talking directly with us. Also, for whatever reason he was the only (football) player of which I (still) own every single rookie football card printed, odd huh.

As far as on the field and tenure with us. He was a hell of a player and happy he was able to go to a Super Bowl winner* for the Steelers. We got ours with Faulk, so ALL is good here.

 

[DaveFan'51]

I remember his last year with us.....his YPC were really low.......can't remember if it was him or our OL. At the time I think it was the right time to move him. Just my 2 cents

YOU COULD BE ONTO SOMETHING.
I just checked and Newberry and Slater where gone from the O-line Bettis's last year!

 

[Ram65]

I hated the trading of 'The Bus". I just couldn't understand it. Like others posted it worked out just fine but at the time it seemed very stupid. Those were the dark days before I had a computer and the internet. It was hard to figure out what was going on with the Rams with me living on the east coast. Now, I think I know everything...haha!

 

[den-the-coach]

Steve Ortmayer and Richie Brooks fell in love with Lawrence Phillps after the Cornhuskers rolled over Florida and treated them like rag dolls, they did not factor in Phillips issues as Ortmayer had come from the Raiders so he embraced the bad boy mentality.

That's why they made the deal they wanted Phillips which is one of the many reasons that Ortmayer and his side kick Brooks were sent packing after two years...They reunited at the University of Kentucky where Ortmayers was Brooks special team coach, but just like with Steve Walsh, Ortmayer and Brooks backed the wrong horse which led to their ultimate demise.

 

[HeiseNBerg]

I remember his last year with us.....his YPC were really low.......can't remember if it was him or our OL. At the time I think it was the right time to move him. Just my 2 cents

Bettis had success running in the Ground Chuck offense, with Tim Lester as his blocking Fullback. In 95, Brooks came in with a new offense that pretty much eliminated the blocking fullback, Lester had moved on to the Steelers, and Bettis' numbers dropped like a rock.

 

[12intheBox]

If they kept him in your scenario, was it as a FB or a tailback?

 

[fearsomefour]

From Wiki....
"New coach Rich Brooks instituted a more pass-oriented offense, a major reason why Bettis was limited to 637 yards,[citation needed] a significant dropoff from his 1993 and 1994 totals. Brooks asked Bettis to move to fullback for the upcoming 1996 season or if he preferred to be traded. Bettis stated he thought he could still help a NFL team with his running. On April 20, 1996, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers with a 3rd round pick in the 1996 NFL Draft in exchange for a second round selection in the same draft and a fourth round selection in the 1997 NFL Draft.[8]"
Big dumb Rich Brooks.
The Latest in what seemed an endless cycle of morons leading the Rams down the road of self destruction. Drafted Phillips traded Bettis to help with his vision of his "big three"....Banks, Phillips and Kennison. Bettis is in the hall and I hope Brooks is working the over night shift at the local Stop-N-Rob.

 

[fearsomefour]

I hated the trading of 'The Bus". I just couldn't understand it. Like others posted it worked out just fine but at the time it seemed very stupid. Those were the dark days before I had a computer and the internet. It was hard to figure out what was going on with the Rams with me living on the east coast. Now, I think I know everything...haha!

It was very stupid.
The Rams brought in a very stupid coach in Rich Brooks. Maybe they thought they were getting Herb Brooks....he turned out more like Mel Brooks. It was a joke.
Dumb GM hires dumb coach and sides with dumb coaches want to get rid of a HOF player.
This is the Rams in a nutshell post 89 and pre GSOT.

 

[MrMotes]

If the Rams had kept Bettis, he probably wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame today...

 

[JUMAVA68]

The domino effect it would of had on the team would've meant no Gsot and we can't have that so good trade.

 

[dieterbrock]

Rich Brooks took over a team that had only won 9 games in its prior 2 years, then won 13 games in his 2 years. Of course they reverted back to 9 wins over the next 2 seasons after he was fired.
With no QB, Ike Bruce had his career high in rec/yards/TD under Brooks watch.
Bettis wasnt a good fit and IIRC his attitude wasnt the greatest during the losing. Im a die hard ND fan and LOVED Bettis, but when he was traded cant say I was too upset.

 

[LesBaker]

I like Bettis a ton. He's one of the truly good eggs and if I ever met him I'd . I'm glad he has a SB ring and had a long fulfilling career.

But he shouldn't be in the HOF and he would have altered the next couple of years or so in STL had he remained on the team, and that would have probably prevented what happened from happening.

 

[-X-]

To be honest, I was STOKED that Brooks wanted to turn him into a fullback.
I even made him one on my madden game through the substitutions screen.

That would have been one hell of a 2-back system, IMO.
You know, with anybody but Phillips and Bettis.