http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...al-criticism-in-aftermath-of-rex-ryan-firing/

Bills draw universal criticism in aftermath of Rex Ryan firing
Posted by Mike Florio on December 29, 2016

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The decision itself is understandable. The decisions surrounding it aren’t.

Rex Ryan is out after fewer than two seasons as the coach of the Bills. He has only himself to blame for making big promises publicly and privately about the team’s performance and then failing to deliver.

But the Bills also have failed as an organization, in numerous ways. And the media seems to generally agree that the Bills have handled the situation poorly.

The Bills handled it poorly by placing and keeping Rex Ryan on an island for multiple weeks, with leaks regarding the eventual terminations (leaks that undoubtedly came from the front office) forcing Ryan and the players to answer tough questions while ownership and management hid. The Bills handled it poorly by summarily dumping Ryan on a Tuesday, only five days before what will be interim coach Anthony Lynn’s on-the-job audition to be hired as Ryan’s replacement.

The Bills handled it poorly by putting G.M. Doug Whaley in charge of the search for a replacement, a move that sends a clear message that the Bills won’t be looking for an A-lister who would want control over the roster and/or his own personnel executive. The Bills handled it poorly by making a smart business decision to bench quarterback Tyrod Taylor but by forcing Lynn to address it while continuing to hide.

Ultimately, ownership bears responsibility for the current state of the team. At a time when few if any media voices are praising the decision to fire Ryan, the decision to keep Whaley, and the decision to let Whaley shape the search for a coach who will accept working with and for Whaley, it’s fair to ask whether Terry and Kim Pegula truly understand what it means to run a sports team successfully.

The football team won’t improve until it removes any and all dysfunction from the organization and develops a true sense of cohesion and unity. There can’t be separate tracks of accountability, and there can’t be an avenue for the likes of Whaley and team president Russ Brandon to blame the coach in order to preserve their own standing. Either everyone succeeds together or everyone fails together.

For now, everyone really is failing together. And that’s primarily because ownership either can’t or won’t realize that firing Ryan and letting Whaley find the next coach while Brandon pulls the strings from above constitutes the kind of half measure that will make it impossible to hire the kind of coach who will return to team to full prominence.

Ownership can continue to hide, but ownership will have a hard time running from the many voices who believe that the team quickly has become one of the most dysfunctional organizations in all of football. Especially since no coach will options will opt to become the next coach to potentially get jerked around the way Rex Ryan did in the final days of his time with the team.

Snaz said:

Garret was Placed on IR then released with an injury settlement.

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Hekker sounded like Garret could've come back & played. Do you think we're releasing Quinn after his stint on IR?
...actually, I wouldn't put it past the Rams. One can make the case he's injured too much to be effective anymore, & we need a new top-flight DE next to Donald, but c'mon. It's mighty Quinn.
Anyone know where Garret Reynolds is now?
...btw, probably the best investment the Rams can make in the O-line is for Stan to make a custom party bus & host the refs before every game, just like Jerrah does for the 'Boys. Maybe the Inglewood palace can have some perks built in to the ref's changing rooms? pre-game pizza party room???
Or hire a coach who screams at the refs after every play like Carolline in Seattle.

Don't pack tour bags. You will be coveted by any head coach hired this year.
You're not going anywhere.

With Shanahan, we may need an oline overhaul with more athletic men. We drafted maulers, built to attack straight on.
But what the heck. It's not like what we have now is working. It's just a shame, we may have wasted last year's oline dominate draft.

They're saving Tripplett for the Rams. Next year Rams will have him 3 or 4 times.

ReddingRam said:

I hate that 90 % of the time we go Shotgun on Passes and under center for runs. Only lately have they done a few PA form under Center. But we are so predictable

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Agreed. And that's why they could easily put up points in this game by playing off the tendencies that everyone is anticipating, and by upsetting the apple cart with a big deviation in their gameplanning. Not just the gameplan I suggested, but being smart enough to utilize that "book" teams have against them.

But I suppose if they were smart enough to do that, they would have prevented themselves from being where they are right now eh? So meh.

MadGoat said:

That Bills job isn't great, but I'm pretty sure Marrone thought he was going to land a more prestigious head coaching job, not end up the Jags OL coach.

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I think there was more to it than that. Kirwan had an interesting discussion on that topic the other day, too, when discussing the quick turnover there and how the perception was that whoever they hired next was gonna be the next coach to pack his bags quickly.

They'll get someone to do the job, since there's a limited number of them. But they're not going to attract the top guys because people around the league know it's a clown show. I'll bet Shanahan and McDaniels both won't even interview with them.

IMO they will settle for Lynn, and he will be lucky to last a year.

I'm sure every team can come up with their laundry list of excuses. If only this hadn't happened or this did happen.

What I know is that this Rams team absolutely sucked. They weren't talented but undisciplined, they weren't right there in every game but a bad bounce cost them, they flat out stunk.

They stunk in the preseason, they stunk in the season opener, and they continue to stink.

In years past, we could handle the losing to some extent because we saw hope somehow someway. I don't even have a whole lot of that right now. At this point, I'm clinging to the hope of regime change - that someone will bring a winning scheme and that we will either find some talent to execute it or salvage some of the untapped talent that we have currently. But how realistic is that, really?

I hope Goff is the guy for this team, and I know he is just a rookie who has had crappy coaching around him but I'd be kidding myself to say that he looks the part so far.

I hope Gurley returns to form and I know he had crappy play design, play-calling, and blocking - but he himself looked like crap this year.

It's just getting harder and harder to hope with these guys. I just want this season to be over - forever - and then I never want to think about it again.

DCH said:

Yo @Dieter the Brock check the end of your driveway, box should be there.

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Indeed
Post Christmas festivities are in full effect
Trillium !!!!!



Cows want to drink great IPA's but don't know how

FaulkSF said:

You're talking about the same Tampa team that gave up over 30 at home to the last place team in offense correct?

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Nah. I'm talking about the Tampa team that narrowly missed the playoffs this year.

Robinson has trouble on the left side already! Forget the right side...

Dog said:

I've never been a Tavon Austin fan. Its not him. Its the idea of him, or that type of player, on my favorite team. He is not the prototypical WR and really needs the table set for him to break a big gainer.

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Wasn't a fan of the Austin pick when they did it... the word "gadget" comes up a lot.

Getting the table set, as you say, in college is one thing. Getting the table set in the pros is another.

In the pros, you set your own table and he never really showed the capacity to do that. That Hill kid in KC seems to have the capacity.

If you are that small in the NFL and can't consistently make your own opportunities, you become a roster casualty.

It wouldn't concern me too much if they let him go.

Rmfnlt said:

God knows, they tried. And to have friendships ruined by that? In retrospect, it is sad.

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Well, that was the other guy's fault....

I've been a Ram fan and have 40 losing seasons under my belt vs 26 winning. :notworthy: Tough to be a Ram fan, but somebody's got to do it.

Point being, don't expect the losing to change anytime soon.:sadwalk:

Prime Time said:

What "motivational tactic" is he talking about here? How about, play well or lose your job?

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" THIS^^^!!!" OR Just turn our Defense loose on our Offence in practice in FULL PADS!! Teach them to Deal with a HARD NOISED D-LINE!!

With inconsistent play of Greg Robinson, Rams struggling to find solution at left tackle

By RICH HAMMOND / STAFF WRITER


Rams left tackle Greg Robinson walks the sideline during the team's Nov. 27 game against the Saints in New Orleans. Robinson has been inactive for two of the Rams' past five games. (The Houma Daily Courier via AP)


THOUSAND OAKS – The Rams thought they solved their left tackle problem in 2014. Perhaps not.

Greg Robinson, the No. 2 overall pick in that year’s draft, is near the end of a difficult season. His streak of 38 consecutive starts ended last month and he has been inactive for two of the last five games.

“It kind of caught me off guard,” Robinson said after Tuesday’s practice at Cal Lutheran. “I don’t really know what to expect, week in and week out. It was a decision they made as a staff, and I just took it on the chest and I’ll try my best to be positive about it.”

It’s premature to say the Rams have given up on Robinson, the most-penalized offensive player in the NFL this season, but it’s not too early to say they’re exploring their options, and possible changes.

Robinson was inactive last week but is expected to play Sunday in the Rams’ season finale against Arizona. He might even start again at left tackle, but that wouldn’t mean the end of the issue, because Robinson’s young career clearly has reached an important juncture.

He’s been a little slower to develop than we all would have liked,” General Manager Les Snead said recently. “He’s got some skills that we can make successful. We now have to go back to the drawing board and ask, in our plan for success, where have we gone wrong? Where have we gone right?”

If right tackle Rob Havenstein is unable to play Sunday because of injury, Rodger Saffold could shift there and Robinson could return at left tackle. Rams interim coach John Fassel said Monday that Robinson might get snaps at guard, but Fassel backed away from that Tuesday. Perhaps Robinson could thrive at guard, but a move would be an acknowledgement that things aren’t working at tackle.

Robinson hasn’t played guard since he started there for one game as a rookie. Asked whether he would be open to changing positions, Robinson was noncommittal.

“I haven’t talked to (the Rams) about it,” Robinson said. “If that opportunity ever presents itself to me and I feel it’s best for me, then that would be the time to talk about it, but right now, that’s in the wind. I don’t really know about that.”

Robinson’s NFL-leading 15 penalties have nullified 92 Rams yards. That’s the most of any left tackle and third among offensive lineman.

Robinson’s penalties have “stalled” eight drives, the highest total of any offensive lineman. The NFL defines a stalled drive as one in which a team fails to get a first down or score after a particular penalty.

This isn’t new. Robinson also struggled last season, but the Rams had hope. At the start of training camp, they touted Robinson’s offseason work with former Pro Bowl lineman LeCharles Bentley, and then-Coach Jeff Fisher praised Robinson’s dedication. It didn’t last long, as the penalties and mistakes mounted.

“I think what happens when you get frustrated and you go through a stretch with a couple penalties, you almost revert back to what got you here, which wasn’t the right technique,” Snead said. “That’s when you’ve got to calm him down. Sit down. Take a deep breath.”

The Rams tried that last month, when Fisher ended Robinson’s 38-start streak and made him inactive in New Orleans, even though dozens of Robinson’s friends and family made plans to attend the game.

Robinson returned to the lineup the following week, but the “time out,” as Fisher called it, didn’t lead to much. Last week against San Francisco, the Rams made Robinson inactive and chose to play Pace Murphy, an undrafted rookie the Rams signed in April.

Snead joked recently that his 15-year-old son went online and researched the players the Rams could have selected instead of Robinson with that No. 2 overall pick in 2014. It’s extensive.

Already, 17 players from that 2014 draft have been picked for the Pro Bowl. That includes Tennessee left tackle Taylor Lewan, drafted nine spots after Robinson. Lewan made the Pro Bowl this season.

Robinson remains under contract through next season, but his future will be in the hands of a yet-unknown new coach, whom the Rams will hire next month.

Should the Rams seek an upgrade at left tackle, the expected free-agent market is not deep. Matt Kalil, a Corona native and former USC standout, is in the final year of his contract in Minnesota but has been on injured reserve since September after hip surgery. Cincinnati’s Andrew Whitworth and Jacksonville’s Kelvin Beachum are the only other starting left tackles set to become unrestricted free agents.

Or perhaps the Rams will hope that Robinson simply is a late bloomer.

Robinson didn’t play tackle until his first season at Auburn in 2012, and he started only 25 games before he declared for the draft as a redshirt sophomore. The Rams made Robinson a starter five games into his rookie season, but progress hasn’t been swift.

“My mindset hasn’t changed all season,” Robinson said. “All I can do it just focus on getting better and trying my best to perform at the best of my ability, week in and week out. I don’t think, as a competitor, that I would let it get to me, because then it would hinder me a little bit. I think the best thing is just to go out to practice each week and try my best to get better.”

[www.ocregister.com]

Its just a workout. Is there an open spot on the PS?
MEthinks people are reading a bit too much in to this...

bubbaramfan said:

Unbelievable a 3rd rd pick from 3 years ago has only played a few snaps.

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Remember Fisher was grooming him at one point too....

RamFanWA said:

Just ask Ezekiel Elliot if the line matters.... apparently it does.

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EE leads the NFL in Yards Before Contact but also Yards After Contact, so the O Line helps quite a bit, his ability also helps quite a bit as well

I like Keenum's enthusiasm, but he couldn't make any of those throws with that kind of zip. Goff was getting some time. He'll be fine once they get the OL fixed. (The #1 thing the new HC needs to address).

OntarioRam said:

I think our handling of Robinson is pretty pathetic.

Robinson is not what we hoped for. But he has taken steps forward this year. Quite frankly, he has been among our best offensive lineman this season (which admittedly speaks volumes about how bad this unit has been). Barnes, Havenstein, Brown have all been complete and total disasters this campaign. They offer absolutely no resistance on any passing play against incoming defensive lineman. On run plays, they never get any push in the run game. At least Robinson makes himself useful from time to time.

Now, I know Barnes, Havenstein and Brown are playing through serious injuries. And I don't doubt that is hampering them. But injuries are part of the game. Robinson stays healthy, and that is a huge quality in his favor. With those guys limping around playing like shells of their former self, right now, I'd take Robinson out there over any of them.

To bench one of your better offensive lineman, when he is actually putting in work in the off-season while paying out of his own pocket for private coaching to get better, and when he is making progress.... is mind boggling. It makes no sense. And opting to make his first benching in front of his family in New Orleans? LOL. If I'm Robinson I'd spit on the Rams and bolt at the first chance.

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I pray he does split on us. The guy can't do anything especially run block which was supposed to be his strong suit. I wish we could cut him this year but only reason we didn't is because he was a #2 pick and replacements are hard to come by right now.

TexasRam said:

Let's just say our oline smelled like a baby's diaper post poop.

Meanwhile Matt Ryan was able to completely revive his career and out his team into #2 seed behind a new offensive line that consists of a guy we should of went after (G Levitre) a guy we should of drafted (LT Matthews) and a guy we should have brought in via free agency (C Mack).

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Don't even start man... I think of this crap all the time, not to mention wejen we played them! :/

I'm a bit surprised that no one mentioned the last 1:50 of the first half. So we get the ball with 1:50 left, 3 timeouts left and what do we do? Run, no timeout. Run no timeout. That had to be the biggest head scratcher of the game to me. It is indicative though of the most glaring problem with our team. That being the coaching and culture that we are still stuck with, until the end of the season. Why wouldn't players give up? I mean hell...the coaches obviously did. Or had so little faith in their players. Not sure which would be worse.

Dez shoving his hand thru the dbs face mask right in front of the ref. Db
Gets called for PI. Lol@nfl refs

If all goes to plan we should see him, McD and McV all interviewed and I'll be streaming Sirius NFL channel non-stop and straining to hear any sort of rumor!

Should be a really fun week for us to kick off the new year dudes!