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POOR GRADES REFLECT 4-12 SHOWING PAINFULLY OBVIOUS: IT'S TIME TO CLEAN HOUSE AT RAMS PARK
Author: Jeff Gordon
December 30, 1998
Stop the insanity
Enough already.
The circus atmosphere at Rams Park has to end. A complete management overhaul from top to bottom is the only option left for our pitiable Male Sheep.
When several core members of the Rams team skipped the season-ending meeting with coach Dick Vermeil, they sent a clear message to owners Georgia Frontiere and Stan Kroenke: "Quit pretending. Your 'Legends of Coaching' experiment failed abysmally."
The players have given up on this management team, and they will discourage free agents from joining this mess. The players will continue to rebel until sweeping changes are made or they are allowed to escape to better organizations, one by grateful one.
Once a management team loses its players in pro sports, it seldom gets them back. And firing the team isn't practical, particularly with the NFL salary cap restrictions that punish teams attempting wholesale change.
The Rams did serve up one head on a platter Monday, firing offensive coordinator Jerry Rhome. And even he would admit this season wasn't his shining hour in coaching.
But Rhome's struggle provides a classic illustration of why the Vermeil regime has failed -- and why compromises, accommodations and half-changes don't turn dreadful operations into great ones. You can't Jerry-rig coaching success.
A boss has to succeed or fail doing it his way. Forcing strategies upon him, applying restrictions, giving him unwanted help in this area and that . . . that's stupid. It doesn't work in any business.
(The Blues hired Mike Keenan and turned him loose. When the ownership determined that it wasn't working, it canned him, took the multimillion dollar hit and moved onward and upward. At no point did the ownership tinker with him, trying to make him into somebody he's not.)
Vermeil stripped Rhome of his quarterback-coach duties and shifted Mike White into that role. Then Vermeil stripped Rhome of his play-calling duties and took the role himself, even though he admitted (and later demonstrated) that he didn't have a handle on the job.
He eventually gave up on his play-calling fantasy, but, as our Jim Thomas reported Monday, Coach V seemed to involve everybody but the beer vendors in the play selection process. Critical down-and-distance situations prompted congressional caucuses.
Confusion on the sideline led to confusion on the field.
Vermeil said Rhome gave up on the run too quickly but, with the exception of Greg Hill's brilliance in a few games and some nice bursts by spunky June Henley, the ground game was awful.
What was it about "this ain't working" did Vermeil miss? What was it about Jerald Moore fumbling or Robert Holcombe running into somebody's butt and falling down that he wanted to see even more of? Did he watch the Rams' game films or did he doze off into an Eagles dream state?
The best the Rams looked on offense all season was when quarterback Tony Banks caught fire playing catch-up against Minnesota and Buffalo. He made plays downfield and actually produced touchdowns. He also looked promising while opening in a no-huddle against New England, a tactic Vermeil mulled for weeks before pulling the trigger.
Then there were the personnel fiascos Rhome couldn't control. The best Rams back, Hill, opened the season in street clothes because Vermeil had a Jerald Moore fascination that puzzled anybody remotely familiar with pro football.
The best Rams offensive threat, Isaac Bruce, continued his feud with Vermeil on training issues and, surprise!, broke down again. Vermeil was VERY reluctant to use his next-best big-play receiver, Az Zahir-Hakim, when the explosive rookie was healthy enough to contribute.
Injuries to running back Amp Lee, the team's best offensive threat, and tight end Ernie Conwell only made the crisis worse.
Vermeil was insanely loyal to Banks. Quarterbacks learn from mistakes, but they gain nothing from continual failure. By benching Banks for the first San Francisco game and giving him a few breaks earlier in the season, Vermeil may have kept him out of his prolonged midseason slump.
It's amazing that Banks didn't crack up the way Ryan Leaf, Elvis Grbac and Kordell Stewart did this season. Why send a kid onto the field with no chance, series after series, game after game?
Fans vilified Rhome for the team's offensive collapse, but even if he managed to get some terrific calls through the sideline maze there was a matter of execution. The good Rams players often played bad and the bad ones couldn't manage to play good.
So now what? The Rams are positioned to add lots of offensive help, starting with one of the exciting playmaking quarterbacks available in the draft. A Donovan McNabb might push Banks to a higher plane and provide an interesting threat in relief.
(Yes, the Rams should bring Banks back. He's better than half of the guys who started in the NFL this season, and he's cheaper than most of the veteran alternatives. The Rams would have to sink big money into a top prospect -- but playing him right away, for strictly economic reasons, would be asinine. And who knows? Given a real chance, Banks might realize some of that vast potential and become an asset to deal down the road.)
The Rams will get Hill and Conwell back next season, and there's always a chance that Bruce will squeeze in a few games between hamstring pulls. Throw in a top wide receiver and an offensive lineman from the draft and some mid-level free agents to add depth and they might have a nice attack.
On paper. Without strong, coherent leadership that the players trust and respond to, this team will continue to lose. Changing a few assistant coaches and shifting duties around won't solve the fundamental problem.
The Rams organization is a laughingstock. You know it, the players know it and everybody around the NFL knows it. Until new leadership is brought in -- decisive, convincing leadership that can sell players on real change -- the Calliope music will play on.
Author: Jeff Gordon
December 30, 1998
Stop the insanity
Enough already.
The circus atmosphere at Rams Park has to end. A complete management overhaul from top to bottom is the only option left for our pitiable Male Sheep.
When several core members of the Rams team skipped the season-ending meeting with coach Dick Vermeil, they sent a clear message to owners Georgia Frontiere and Stan Kroenke: "Quit pretending. Your 'Legends of Coaching' experiment failed abysmally."
The players have given up on this management team, and they will discourage free agents from joining this mess. The players will continue to rebel until sweeping changes are made or they are allowed to escape to better organizations, one by grateful one.
Once a management team loses its players in pro sports, it seldom gets them back. And firing the team isn't practical, particularly with the NFL salary cap restrictions that punish teams attempting wholesale change.
The Rams did serve up one head on a platter Monday, firing offensive coordinator Jerry Rhome. And even he would admit this season wasn't his shining hour in coaching.
But Rhome's struggle provides a classic illustration of why the Vermeil regime has failed -- and why compromises, accommodations and half-changes don't turn dreadful operations into great ones. You can't Jerry-rig coaching success.
A boss has to succeed or fail doing it his way. Forcing strategies upon him, applying restrictions, giving him unwanted help in this area and that . . . that's stupid. It doesn't work in any business.
(The Blues hired Mike Keenan and turned him loose. When the ownership determined that it wasn't working, it canned him, took the multimillion dollar hit and moved onward and upward. At no point did the ownership tinker with him, trying to make him into somebody he's not.)
Vermeil stripped Rhome of his quarterback-coach duties and shifted Mike White into that role. Then Vermeil stripped Rhome of his play-calling duties and took the role himself, even though he admitted (and later demonstrated) that he didn't have a handle on the job.
He eventually gave up on his play-calling fantasy, but, as our Jim Thomas reported Monday, Coach V seemed to involve everybody but the beer vendors in the play selection process. Critical down-and-distance situations prompted congressional caucuses.
Confusion on the sideline led to confusion on the field.
Vermeil said Rhome gave up on the run too quickly but, with the exception of Greg Hill's brilliance in a few games and some nice bursts by spunky June Henley, the ground game was awful.
What was it about "this ain't working" did Vermeil miss? What was it about Jerald Moore fumbling or Robert Holcombe running into somebody's butt and falling down that he wanted to see even more of? Did he watch the Rams' game films or did he doze off into an Eagles dream state?
The best the Rams looked on offense all season was when quarterback Tony Banks caught fire playing catch-up against Minnesota and Buffalo. He made plays downfield and actually produced touchdowns. He also looked promising while opening in a no-huddle against New England, a tactic Vermeil mulled for weeks before pulling the trigger.
Then there were the personnel fiascos Rhome couldn't control. The best Rams back, Hill, opened the season in street clothes because Vermeil had a Jerald Moore fascination that puzzled anybody remotely familiar with pro football.
The best Rams offensive threat, Isaac Bruce, continued his feud with Vermeil on training issues and, surprise!, broke down again. Vermeil was VERY reluctant to use his next-best big-play receiver, Az Zahir-Hakim, when the explosive rookie was healthy enough to contribute.
Injuries to running back Amp Lee, the team's best offensive threat, and tight end Ernie Conwell only made the crisis worse.
Vermeil was insanely loyal to Banks. Quarterbacks learn from mistakes, but they gain nothing from continual failure. By benching Banks for the first San Francisco game and giving him a few breaks earlier in the season, Vermeil may have kept him out of his prolonged midseason slump.
It's amazing that Banks didn't crack up the way Ryan Leaf, Elvis Grbac and Kordell Stewart did this season. Why send a kid onto the field with no chance, series after series, game after game?
Fans vilified Rhome for the team's offensive collapse, but even if he managed to get some terrific calls through the sideline maze there was a matter of execution. The good Rams players often played bad and the bad ones couldn't manage to play good.
So now what? The Rams are positioned to add lots of offensive help, starting with one of the exciting playmaking quarterbacks available in the draft. A Donovan McNabb might push Banks to a higher plane and provide an interesting threat in relief.
(Yes, the Rams should bring Banks back. He's better than half of the guys who started in the NFL this season, and he's cheaper than most of the veteran alternatives. The Rams would have to sink big money into a top prospect -- but playing him right away, for strictly economic reasons, would be asinine. And who knows? Given a real chance, Banks might realize some of that vast potential and become an asset to deal down the road.)
The Rams will get Hill and Conwell back next season, and there's always a chance that Bruce will squeeze in a few games between hamstring pulls. Throw in a top wide receiver and an offensive lineman from the draft and some mid-level free agents to add depth and they might have a nice attack.
On paper. Without strong, coherent leadership that the players trust and respond to, this team will continue to lose. Changing a few assistant coaches and shifting duties around won't solve the fundamental problem.
The Rams organization is a laughingstock. You know it, the players know it and everybody around the NFL knows it. Until new leadership is brought in -- decisive, convincing leadership that can sell players on real change -- the Calliope music will play on.