Big Fish abruptly ended press conference

[-X-]

Yeah, but the chance of finding a hit at any position, much less the QB position in the sixth is slim to none. I think we can name all the great sixth round QBs on one hand.

I can accept Donald and even Robinson, but putting another second into a safety when we already had our starting safeties that absolutely nobody appears capable of shaking up? Then a third on a running back when we were supposed to be all in on Stacy and then putting it off until the sixth? I don't really think it's hindsight to say like finding somebody to spell your injured QB is a little bit more important than depth picks.

Not trying to be a dick or anything, but what's your end game here?
You've already said you blame everybody, so what's the point of enumerating all the reasons why?

 

[BriansRams]

When you're still getting blown out almost as much when you took over from the last guy who wasn't all that great then the question of effort has to come up. Where else does it go? Even outside of injuries, our remaining starters aren't even executing properly, and haven't consistently since he's brought most of them in.

What other conclusion do you make? Voodoo? Witchcraft? That's a genuine question, where do we go to next X?

The questions aren't going to be easy when were four years in and we're still where we were year 1 except with some different, more talented faces and nobody should expect, nor want them to be.

Very well put. Hard to disagree.

 

[HometownBoy]

Not trying to be a dick or anything, but what's your end game here?
You've already said you blame everybody, so what's the point of enumerating all the reasons why?

Because it's a discussions board and we're discussing and having like minded individuals, or even combatants helps me feel better about what I just witnessed because I can vent or open up without being told I'm not fanning the right way.

 

[-X-]

without being told I'm not fanning the right way.

Who told you that?

 

[HometownBoy]

Who told you that?

Nobody, that's the point. I came to this place to escape the PD and their policing of how you have to root for the Rams.

Here I feel safe to do so, even if the message isn't overly positive or negative. I feel like I can say what I mean or how I feel and have both those who agree and those who disagree come and discuss it.

 

[JackDRams]

I feel like I can say what I mean or how I feel and have both those who agree and those who disagree come and discuss it.

You can do no such thing.

 

[-X-]

Nobody, that's the point. I came to this place to escape the PD and their policing of how you have to root for the Rams.

Here I feel safe to do so, even if the message isn't overly positive or negative. I feel like I can say what I mean or how I feel and have both those who agree and those who disagree come and discuss it.

Fair enough. I didn't mean to put you on the spot or anything. How about putting some verbs in your posts, though? Instead of naming all the problems (in hindsight), what are the next steps? As the season began, and we beat the seahawks, everything appeared to be fine. O-line was doing okay, Foles looked okay, Cignetti looked okay, defense looked okay, Fisher was doing his job. Now, after a 4 game skid, everyone needs to go and Fisher needs to be fired. I feel like people are glossing over a lot of things that happened along the way to get us here. We lost multiple linemen (which subsequently rattled Foles), we lost our starting RCB, our backup RCB (who was a starter too), our SAM, our all-pro RDE, our LDE, one of our better receivers got suspended and then shot, and so on.

Who do we blame for that? Nobody. So what do we do now? The only thing we can. Play the guys we have, keep practicing, shuffle personnel, and try to get better. Right? Decrying what Fisher did wrong (again, in hindsight) doesn't solve anything. I think it's safe to say we can move past that and hope that everybody learns from their mistakes and makes better choices going forward.

 

[Leuzer]

Seeing this made my think of that eel-advised pick six from Foles.

I'll be here all week. :baghead:

 

[Memento]

Seeing this made my think of that eel-advised pick six from Foles.

I'll be here all week. :baghead:

Oh, it's on now. Now you have to Photoshop Foles throwing an eel because of that pun. No backing out of it; you brought it on yourself.

 

[…..]

I don't think there's anyone to blame.

I think it would be fair to acknowledge that the Rams ( insert specific blame targets at your own will) had a decent plan going in.

Just because everything didn't work out and injuries have depleted our OL and some of our defensive depth (and starters) doesn't mean we had a bad plan and need to blow everything up.

My opinion- We had a great chance and injuries derailed it or influenced it negatively.


disclaimer- some things...like not having the team ready for home games, lies on the coaches. I'm pissed about that. Some things like player execution lies on the players.But the season falling apart as a whole? Nah man that's not Fisher, that's injuries.

 

[fearsomefour]

So what is the reporter supposed to do, it is great to talk about the players job, but the reporter also a has job.

Take Cook for example: So I guess the reporter could dance around it...but lets be honest those questions have been run through - why is Cook, paid like a top end TE not producing like it? Did you over value his abilities? (now we are questioning his talent is that allowed?) Does he have a health issue that is preventing him from producing equal to his pay? (now we imply the coaches are lying about his health status) Why can't the OC find ways to get him more involved and up his production? (now lets blame the coaches) Does he have focus issues, he drops lots of passes? (now we question his focus/ability/smarts)

The fact of the matter is that we all ask these question, and asking about effort is reasonable. It would be no different than no other shortcoming, maybe it is the players fault, maybe it is the coaches.

You say you can't know his effort...that is why the media, doing its job, is supposed to ask. They are supposed to get answers to such questions for the fans, because the rest of us don't get a chance to ask.

You say you work with pitchers...so take Rick Ankiel...should the media never ask if he was mentally broken? Would that be "insulting"? As a fan that is what appears to have happened, what was rumored at the time.
The signs pointed to a mental break (not a nervous breakdown, but an issue with performance pitching), I look at some of the players on the Rams and the signs point at effort, no I don't know, heck the coach likely never knows (cause what players comes to the sideline and says "my bad I half assed that"), but it reasonable to ask given the visual evidence.

That and honestly every professional athlete SHOULD know that a lack of on field performance can lead to that question.

So, maybe it boils down to this....reporters have a b.s. job in the sense they are going to ask generally stupid and cliche questions, both after wins and losses.
How did you feel when such and such happened?....What happened on that specific play in the mid first quarter?....Cue second reporter asking the How did you feel when question....the point is they are just questions, the same sort of vapid questions that get asked all around the league, they just don't mean much.
The insulting part is implying that a team works less, tries less or doesn't care as much as another. Obviously not every organization is going to work exactly the same.
The same questions about execution and offensive performance should have been asked going back to week 3....the effort hasn't changed from what I can see.
Using Rick Ankiel is a bit of a strange example, that dude had a specific issue. A better example may be Kershaw. Using his lack of post season success as a lead in to ask if he doesn't try as much in playoffs....does he just not care?

 

[RamsSince1969]

Heard on one of the sports reviews of the blowout game the Rams are in the discussion for the biggest disappointment of 2015. We all have to agree with that.
This must be a complete nightmare being Fisher today.

 

[drasconis]

So, maybe it boils down to this....reporters have a b.s. job in the sense they are going to ask generally stupid and cliche questions, both after wins and losses.
How did you feel when such and such happened?....What happened on that specific play in the mid first quarter?....Cue second reporter asking the How did you feel when question....the point is they are just questions, the same sort of vapid questions that get asked all around the league, they just don't mean much.
The insulting part is implying that a team works less, tries less or doesn't care as much as another. Obviously not every organization is going to work exactly the same.
The same questions about execution and offensive performance should have been asked going back to week 3....the effort hasn't changed from what I can see.
Using Rick Ankiel is a bit of a strange example, that dude had a specific issue. A better example may be Kershaw. Using his lack of post season success as a lead in to ask if he doesn't try as much in playoffs....does he just not care?

Just using the example of ankiel as a case where the it isn't the reports job to tiptoe around their feelings, but to ask the question - not as an example of questioning effort.

The reporters and coaches go into most interviews knowing what both sides are going to say...as you said a BS job by both. There are occasional times coaches have called out guys instead of the usual "no, the effort was good gameplan/execution was off" answer (know Gus Bradley did it last year). Heck the players and coaches get training on the cliché answers (think martz - "shoot, we'll fix that"). Quite honestly I think an effort question is standard for this situation - you have lost many games in a row, part of your team is performing horribly...it is going to be asked. That is the thing here, I think it possible it was asked about last week also, it probably came up back in TEN when he had the runs of losses (he had 6 losses in row his last 2 years).

Honestly the more I have thought about it, the more I have wondered if it was planned by JF, wait for the inevitable question and blow up with big quote you know will get lots of press. Get players to rally around you, try to motivate with the old they are all after us mentality...

 

[fearsomefour]

Just using the example of ankiel as a case where the it isn't the reports job to tiptoe around their feelings, but to ask the question - not as an example of questioning effort.

The reporters and coaches go into most interviews knowing what both sides are going to say...as you said a BS job by both. There are occasional times coaches have called out guys instead of the usual "no, the effort was good gameplan/execution was off" answer (know Gus Bradley did it last year). Heck the players and coaches get training on the cliché answers (think martz - "shoot, we'll fix that"). Quite honestly I think an effort question is standard for this situation - you have lost many games in a row, part of your team is performing horribly...it is going to be asked. That is the thing here, I think it possible it was asked about last week also, it probably came up back in TEN when he had the runs of losses (he had 6 losses in row his last 2 years).

Honestly the more I have thought about it, the more I have wondered if it was planned by JF, wait for the inevitable question and blow up with big quote you know will get lots of press. Get players to rally around you, try to motivate with the old they are all after us mentality...

Could be as far as being premeditated.
Im sure you are right, it is going to be asked. But there is not much of a point to it. Really, except to maybe get some info about player changes or injuries, there really is no point to the pressers. I would think most coaches and players hate them. If coaches were really to ask the questions by breaking things down most reporters and many fans wouldn't be interested....plus it would take 4 hours. So, just a waste of time for the most part these pressers.

 

[fearsomefour]

Heard on one of the sports reviews of the blowout game the Rams are in the discussion for the biggest disappointment of 2015. We all have to agree with that.
This must be a complete nightmare being Fisher today.

Yeah, I don't know.
As fans we are disappointed. It is interesting. I picked (along with many others) the Vikings as a surprise team this year. I put some money down on a futures bet on over their win total. The line between where the Vikings are and where the Rams are currently is razor thin.

 

[Zaphod]

Go

Good analogy! The Oline is the foundation and if you neglect your foundation your house will fall!

This a long post, not all in response to yours of course. The only thing is that they really have addressed the offensive line, just not with the success we've wanted as every year injuries hamper the team.

To that end, I'm going to stand by the coach because he did what I wanted, albeit too little too late and too much at once, and in that light I do agree with you.

I knew this year would be tough, and I knew that it would take some time for these young guys to become the cohesive unit they can be. In the earlier games they really started to show that they could run or pass block depending on the other team's defensive weakness. The rookies played better than I expected sooner than I expected. But injuries hit them harder than I could have imagined ... again.

To be honest, and I hate to say it because I prefer the de-emphasis of the position, but our quarterbacks have left a lot of plays on the field. I mean I really do hate to say it, but I'm almost ready to see what Sean Mannion can do. It's not as if Foles didn't face some prevent defense as well. The game was in hand for a while before Mannion came in, and he really looked better to my untrained eye. Is it just me, or does Foles tend to get picked off more when he passes to the middle of the field?

Oh well, that's my take. I don't consider myself a pessimist or any more of a realist than anyone else, but I started watching with relatively lowered expectations considering the talent we're field at QB and WR and the experience we have out there on the line. I wasn't expecting the defensive drop off, but when they pretty much play the whole game for you, they're eventually going to get tired.

I'm just going to say that it is what it is and we get to see what some of those other guys can do this year. If our depleted offensive line does gel and play well by the end of the season, we'll have more than we had last year in terms of evaluation of long term on the line and if Mannion plays, maybe the backup quarterback position as well.

It's pretty obvious that our OC is over his head, at least with the talent level we're fielding, and that is absolutely Fisher's responsibility. But I don't blame him at all for his response to the media's questioning of our team's effort as an attempt to play the "he lost the players" as another tool to incite the witch hunt.

 

[Zaphod]

We tried that, nobody bit. We tried so many who are looking pretty dang good right now and none of them wanted to touch this team with a ten foot pole. That doesn't make me feel much promise in the future.

This is exactly what concerns me the most is the why.

We lost Shottenheimer, who went on to coach college football, and were unable to replace him with an establish coordinator.

Something is wrong with that.

 

[Rmfnlt]

This must be a complete nightmare being Fisher today.

Don't feel too bad for him... he's got seven million reasons to be happy!

Lots of fans have used the "coach speak" on me years ago when I began to "wonder aloud" on another baord about Jeff Fisher... ya know, the old "what's he gonna say?"

Coach speak yesterday? What's he gonna say? "Yeah, the players are giving up... they've stopped trying and you can see the effort's not there anymore. I may have lost the locker room".


I'm not as concerned about what has taken place thus far this year... or what I saw yesterday...

I am more concerned about this franchise's ability to correct this thing.

Seems to me the men in charge can't do it (it's been 4 years now)... that leaves Kroenke.

Yikes!!

 

[MountainRam]

Does anyone know the brand of sun glasses Fisher uses on game days?

 

[HometownBoy]

Fair enough. I didn't mean to put you on the spot or anything. How about putting some verbs in your posts, though? Instead of naming all the problems (in hindsight), what are the next steps? As the season began, and we beat the seahawks, everything appeared to be fine. O-line was doing okay, Foles looked okay, Cignetti looked okay, defense looked okay, Fisher was doing his job. Now, after a 4 game skid, everyone needs to go and Fisher needs to be fired. I feel like people are glossing over a lot of things that happened along the way to get us here. We lost multiple linemen (which subsequently rattled Foles), we lost our starting RCB, our backup RCB (who was a starter too), our SAM, our all-pro RDE, our LDE, one of our better receivers got suspended and then shot, and so on.

Who do we blame for that? Nobody. So what do we do now? The only thing we can. Play the guys we have, keep practicing, shuffle personnel, and try to get better. Right? Decrying what Fisher did wrong (again, in hindsight) doesn't solve anything. I think it's safe to say we can move past that and hope that everybody learns from their mistakes and makes better choices going forward.

We can't blame anybody for injuries, but we can blame them for how we looked even outside or before the injuries. Before the injuries.. Did we look like a consistent team? We weren't heavily injured when we dropped two straight winnable games because our offense had absolutely no fire power at all. Our PFF ratings were in the toilet for both games, then we beat the Cardinals and all was forgiven, then we dropped another terrible one to the Packers, well before all the major injuries started setting in.

Absolutely none of our players of our players have played consistently this season outside of Austin, Donald, Gurley and Hekker. Like you guys say, our players have to play, but who's to blame when players constantly don't come to play and can't execute for 4 years? The players have to play, but also the coaches are INTEGRAL to what style, technique, scheme and understanding of the game that these players have. If they aren't in the proper scheme to elevate their styles, or taught the proper technique or aren't taught to understand the game as it is today then they will fail and it will manifest itself in inconsistency and that seems more likely to me than our players are just not talented or smart enough to put it together or they just magically can't.

And onto the offense, you say you can't use hindsight, but why not? If we could see that options were out there, some even calling for players who went on to be insanely successful in their mocks, then these guys who have forgotten more football than I'll ever learn should have seen those options too right? You can say they had their plans, but ultimately their plans didn't work, and barring the first season since that's when he first started everything the plan hasn't worked in 3 years he's tried to execute it. When do you start losing faith in the plan's ability to execute? When do you start saying, maybe his plan just doesn't work? Like @Rmfnlt put perfectly, sometimes it's not about what happens in season, eventually it starts to come to if you believe these guys CAN fix it. You can say that it took skill to build a D this talented, but let me remind you Fisher's not the only person to build a talented team, nor would he be the first person to build a talented team that he couldn't take as far as needed and somebody else had to finish the job. Even Mike Singletary was smart enough to bring in Justin Smith, Michael Crabtree, Mike Iupati and Navorro Bowman and was credited for helping pull Vernon Davis' head out of his ass, but ultimately that still didn't change the fact that he couldn't take them to the promised land. It's not anybody's fault, but not being anybody's fault doesn't mean you should continue to make the same mistake over and over expecting a different result.

You can say hopefully we can band together and make better choices, but you have to believe that the person is capable of making better choices, and I simply do not believe that Fisher is capable of that anymore. My next steps involve Fisher no longer being apart of this team because I don't believe he has what it takes to completely take the team out of the mire.