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Bonsignore: Go time has arrived for the Rams
By VINCENT BONSIGNORE / STAFF COLUMNIST
Inherently, the NFL bye week is rife with worry.
Coaches wave so long to their team for five days or so, and while their practical side understands the need for players to unplug and unwind and rest up for the remaining balance of the schedule, the anxious side worries about the sometimes volatile mix of youth and money and too much free time on one’s hand.
“I don’t want any early-morning phone calls,” is how Rams coach Jeff Fisher put it soon after sending his players on their merry way last week.
From a tactical standpoint, there is concern the break might adversely affect a team’s momentum or throw rhythm out of whack or that division foes will gain ground on them or create more distance from them by winning games while they’re at home watching.
Point being, there’s apprehension.
So consider that breeze sweeping north from Thousand Oaks this week, a giant sigh of relief from the Rams.
The bye week passed without incident. All players were present and accounted for when everyone returned in Ventura County.
They were rested, energized and raring to go
And in surprisingly good shape to make a move in the NFC West.
In fact, without even playing Sunday the Rams actually picked up ground on the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals, the two teams perched ahead of them in the division standings.
The bye week, it turns out, was a win-win for the the Rams.
In spite of the three-game losing streak, 3-4 record, third-place standing and high penalty and interception rates, the Rams are well-positioned to deal with the second half of the season.
It matters little how they arrived here, or how much better off they’d be had they held on to beat the Detroit Lions and New York Giants directly in front of the break.
Had they won both games – and each was in their grasp – the Rams would be in first place right now.
But that’s neither here nor there.
They emerged from their break in better shape than when it began.
The frustrated group of Rams that boarded their plane for an 11-hour flight home from London 11 days ago was bouncing around the field Tuesday. The vibe was upbeat and positive. The sense of opportunity apparent.
“The bye week was perfect timing for us top clear our minds and get our bodies back,” defensive tackle Aaron Donald said.
And it treated them better than they probably deserve.
The key now is doing something that’s eluded them for years.
Seize the moment.
With nine games remaining and sitting 11/2 games behind the Seahawks and a half-game behind the Cardinals – while owning the tiebreaker against each – the Rams essentially control their own destiny.
They have four winnable games in front of them, with the vulnerable Carolina Panthers visiting the Coliseum on Sunday followed by games against the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints.
Russell Wilson has been banged up all season and isn’t playing anywhere close to his usual level.
Carson Palmer has been mostly dreadful this year.
If you look past the Rams’ record, there is reason to be hopeful.
They’ve been competitive in every game but their opening-night loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
A play here or a play there, and we’d be having a completely different conversation right now.
Call it stupid blind optimism, but the Rams are inches from their goal, not yards.
“We just have to keep playing hard and finish games,” Donald said.
It sounds so, well, doable.
And if they can successfully navigate their way through this relatively soft part of the schedule, they’ll be in excellent shape as they move into December.
But this is the Rams we’re talking about, so the alternative is every bit as prevalent.
That would be stumbling out of the break, losing games they should win with silly penalties and back-breaking turnovers and letting opportunity slip from their grasp.
If so, good chance we’ll soon be talking about making a quarterback switch from Case Keenum to Jared Goff.
And not if Fisher should be let go at the end of the season, but who should succeed him.
It’s go time for the Rams.
But the uncertainty is killing us.
Nothing less than a potential division championship and the job of the head coach and quarterback hinge on their ability to push the right button.
“We know what we have to do,” Donald said.
Maybe so, but with no recent history of embracing opportunities, Rams fans are understandably apprehensive.
And the rest of us skeptical.
As for the Rams, they remain practical.
“Obviously, (winning the division is) our goal, as is the rest of the teams in the division,” Fisher said. “But, this thing just becomes one at a time now, it really does. November is an important month to make a move if you’re going to have a chance to plan in January, but you can’t look ahead. You can’t look ahead to December. You just got to focus on each opponent.”
It all sounds so plausible and promising.
And we want to believe.
But then, when is the last time the Rams seized the moment?
Now is as good as any.
[www.ocregister.com]
By VINCENT BONSIGNORE / STAFF COLUMNIST
Inherently, the NFL bye week is rife with worry.
Coaches wave so long to their team for five days or so, and while their practical side understands the need for players to unplug and unwind and rest up for the remaining balance of the schedule, the anxious side worries about the sometimes volatile mix of youth and money and too much free time on one’s hand.
“I don’t want any early-morning phone calls,” is how Rams coach Jeff Fisher put it soon after sending his players on their merry way last week.
From a tactical standpoint, there is concern the break might adversely affect a team’s momentum or throw rhythm out of whack or that division foes will gain ground on them or create more distance from them by winning games while they’re at home watching.
Point being, there’s apprehension.
So consider that breeze sweeping north from Thousand Oaks this week, a giant sigh of relief from the Rams.
The bye week passed without incident. All players were present and accounted for when everyone returned in Ventura County.
They were rested, energized and raring to go
And in surprisingly good shape to make a move in the NFC West.
In fact, without even playing Sunday the Rams actually picked up ground on the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals, the two teams perched ahead of them in the division standings.
The bye week, it turns out, was a win-win for the the Rams.
In spite of the three-game losing streak, 3-4 record, third-place standing and high penalty and interception rates, the Rams are well-positioned to deal with the second half of the season.
It matters little how they arrived here, or how much better off they’d be had they held on to beat the Detroit Lions and New York Giants directly in front of the break.
Had they won both games – and each was in their grasp – the Rams would be in first place right now.
But that’s neither here nor there.
They emerged from their break in better shape than when it began.
The frustrated group of Rams that boarded their plane for an 11-hour flight home from London 11 days ago was bouncing around the field Tuesday. The vibe was upbeat and positive. The sense of opportunity apparent.
“The bye week was perfect timing for us top clear our minds and get our bodies back,” defensive tackle Aaron Donald said.
And it treated them better than they probably deserve.
The key now is doing something that’s eluded them for years.
Seize the moment.
With nine games remaining and sitting 11/2 games behind the Seahawks and a half-game behind the Cardinals – while owning the tiebreaker against each – the Rams essentially control their own destiny.
They have four winnable games in front of them, with the vulnerable Carolina Panthers visiting the Coliseum on Sunday followed by games against the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints.
Russell Wilson has been banged up all season and isn’t playing anywhere close to his usual level.
Carson Palmer has been mostly dreadful this year.
If you look past the Rams’ record, there is reason to be hopeful.
They’ve been competitive in every game but their opening-night loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
A play here or a play there, and we’d be having a completely different conversation right now.
Call it stupid blind optimism, but the Rams are inches from their goal, not yards.
“We just have to keep playing hard and finish games,” Donald said.
It sounds so, well, doable.
And if they can successfully navigate their way through this relatively soft part of the schedule, they’ll be in excellent shape as they move into December.
But this is the Rams we’re talking about, so the alternative is every bit as prevalent.
That would be stumbling out of the break, losing games they should win with silly penalties and back-breaking turnovers and letting opportunity slip from their grasp.
If so, good chance we’ll soon be talking about making a quarterback switch from Case Keenum to Jared Goff.
And not if Fisher should be let go at the end of the season, but who should succeed him.
It’s go time for the Rams.
But the uncertainty is killing us.
Nothing less than a potential division championship and the job of the head coach and quarterback hinge on their ability to push the right button.
“We know what we have to do,” Donald said.
Maybe so, but with no recent history of embracing opportunities, Rams fans are understandably apprehensive.
And the rest of us skeptical.
As for the Rams, they remain practical.
“Obviously, (winning the division is) our goal, as is the rest of the teams in the division,” Fisher said. “But, this thing just becomes one at a time now, it really does. November is an important month to make a move if you’re going to have a chance to plan in January, but you can’t look ahead. You can’t look ahead to December. You just got to focus on each opponent.”
It all sounds so plausible and promising.
And we want to believe.
But then, when is the last time the Rams seized the moment?
Now is as good as any.
[www.ocregister.com]
