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Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... 7a00e.html
When Seattle defensive coordinator Gus Bradley was named head coach in Jacksonville on Thursday morning, Brian Schottenheimer’s disappointment didn’t last long.
As for quarterback Sam Bradford, he was anything but disappointed when Schottenheimer called to say he was staying as Rams’ offensive coordinator now that he no longer was a candidate for the Jagaurs’ top job.
“Yeah, you can say that,” Schottenheimer said, laughing. [hil]“Sam was a little bit pumped up. He and I have a really good relationship and we have a great staff in place. But Sam was very, very excited. He is truly a joy to coach.”[/hil]
With the return of Schottenheimer, Bradford will have the same coordinator and same offensive scheme in back-to-back seasons for the first time in his NFL career. Bradford went from Pat Shurmur and a West Coast scheme in 2010, to Josh McDaniels and more of a deep-passing approach in 2011, to Schottenheimer and something in-between in 2012.
At long last, Rams fans will see some continuity on offense.
“They deserve some stability and some continuity,” Schottenheimer told the Post-Dispatch.
As does Bradford, and really, the entire offensive unit.
“Traditionally, it means quite a bit just because you hit the ground running,” Schottenheimer said. “In this day and age where you’ve got limited opportunities to meet and to work, I think it can mean great things.
“It helps develop your young players. We certainly have a number of those, which is good. I put guys like Lance Kendricks, Rodger Saffold, Chris Givens, Brian Quick, Sam Bradford — I put those guys in there still as young players because they really, really are. And that’s what so exciting right now, is you look at our roster, and obviously we have a few guys that have six, seven, eight years, but there’s not a lot of those guys on that roster. That’s why being one of the youngest teams in the league is pretty special.”
The Rams finished only 23rd in total offense (yards per game) and 25th in scoring offense in 2012, so there’s plenty of room for improvement.
But Schottenheimer’s unit performed better than those numbers indicate, playing a schedule that was tied for third-toughest in the league in terms of wIn-loss percentage.
The Rams played 10 games against teams ranked 13th or better in total defense, with six of those 10 contests coming against top 10 defenses.
Bradford established career highs in passing yards, touchdown passes and passer rating, moving up to seventh on the Rams’ career passing yards list in the process (with 9,378). Running back Steven Jackson logged his eighth consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season. Wide receiver Chris Givens became the first Rams rookie since Bucky Pope in 1964 to lead the team in reception yards (with 698).
Granted, the overall total included five defensive scores. But the Rams’ 32 TDs marked their highest total since 2006. They outscored foes in the fourth quarter for the first time since 2005. And their seven pass plays of 50 yards-plus matched the combined total of such passes from the previous four seasons.
But to truly become a playoff caliber offense, the Rams must improve in the red zone and on third down, come up with even more “explosive” plays, and find a way to boost their 18.7-point scoring average into the 20s.
Schottenheimer, 39, interviewed with Jacksonville over dinner Monday night, and then again on Tuesday.
“I thought it went really good,” Schottenheimer said. “I really like (Jaguars general manager) Dave Caldwell a lot. I think he’s got a good plan. I think he’s organized. They obviously have a lot of work to do — I knew that going in there.
“But I have all the respect in the world for Gus Bradley, having played him twice this year. You’ve seen what they’ve done in Seattle. That’s kind of a good model for what we’re trying to build in St. Louis.”
After the Jacksonville job was filled, Arizona was the only team still with a head-coaching opening. But Schottenheimer was not in that mix and later Thursday the Cardinals hired Bruce Arians, who was Indianapolis’ interim head coach for most of this season. .
Shortly after Caldwell informed Schottenheimer that Bradley was getting the job with the Jaguars, Schottenheimer reached out to Rams coach Jeff Fisher and Bradford to tell them the news.
“As a competitor, I think you’re a little bit disappointed (not to get the job),” Schottenheimer said. “But as a guy that understands the game and the business, I know I’m in a great, great spot with great people that want to do things the right way. And that’s exciting for me.
[hil]“As you look at it, we hope we’re in St. Louis as a whole group for a long, long time. When we do things the right way, then people will certainly advance (in the coaching business). But I’m certainly in no hurry to get out of here. I told you guys that when first asked about it in late December. I truly meant it.”[/hil]
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... 7a00e.html
When Seattle defensive coordinator Gus Bradley was named head coach in Jacksonville on Thursday morning, Brian Schottenheimer’s disappointment didn’t last long.
As for quarterback Sam Bradford, he was anything but disappointed when Schottenheimer called to say he was staying as Rams’ offensive coordinator now that he no longer was a candidate for the Jagaurs’ top job.
“Yeah, you can say that,” Schottenheimer said, laughing. [hil]“Sam was a little bit pumped up. He and I have a really good relationship and we have a great staff in place. But Sam was very, very excited. He is truly a joy to coach.”[/hil]
With the return of Schottenheimer, Bradford will have the same coordinator and same offensive scheme in back-to-back seasons for the first time in his NFL career. Bradford went from Pat Shurmur and a West Coast scheme in 2010, to Josh McDaniels and more of a deep-passing approach in 2011, to Schottenheimer and something in-between in 2012.
At long last, Rams fans will see some continuity on offense.
“They deserve some stability and some continuity,” Schottenheimer told the Post-Dispatch.
As does Bradford, and really, the entire offensive unit.
“Traditionally, it means quite a bit just because you hit the ground running,” Schottenheimer said. “In this day and age where you’ve got limited opportunities to meet and to work, I think it can mean great things.
“It helps develop your young players. We certainly have a number of those, which is good. I put guys like Lance Kendricks, Rodger Saffold, Chris Givens, Brian Quick, Sam Bradford — I put those guys in there still as young players because they really, really are. And that’s what so exciting right now, is you look at our roster, and obviously we have a few guys that have six, seven, eight years, but there’s not a lot of those guys on that roster. That’s why being one of the youngest teams in the league is pretty special.”
The Rams finished only 23rd in total offense (yards per game) and 25th in scoring offense in 2012, so there’s plenty of room for improvement.
But Schottenheimer’s unit performed better than those numbers indicate, playing a schedule that was tied for third-toughest in the league in terms of wIn-loss percentage.
The Rams played 10 games against teams ranked 13th or better in total defense, with six of those 10 contests coming against top 10 defenses.
Bradford established career highs in passing yards, touchdown passes and passer rating, moving up to seventh on the Rams’ career passing yards list in the process (with 9,378). Running back Steven Jackson logged his eighth consecutive 1,000-yard rushing season. Wide receiver Chris Givens became the first Rams rookie since Bucky Pope in 1964 to lead the team in reception yards (with 698).
Granted, the overall total included five defensive scores. But the Rams’ 32 TDs marked their highest total since 2006. They outscored foes in the fourth quarter for the first time since 2005. And their seven pass plays of 50 yards-plus matched the combined total of such passes from the previous four seasons.
But to truly become a playoff caliber offense, the Rams must improve in the red zone and on third down, come up with even more “explosive” plays, and find a way to boost their 18.7-point scoring average into the 20s.
Schottenheimer, 39, interviewed with Jacksonville over dinner Monday night, and then again on Tuesday.
“I thought it went really good,” Schottenheimer said. “I really like (Jaguars general manager) Dave Caldwell a lot. I think he’s got a good plan. I think he’s organized. They obviously have a lot of work to do — I knew that going in there.
“But I have all the respect in the world for Gus Bradley, having played him twice this year. You’ve seen what they’ve done in Seattle. That’s kind of a good model for what we’re trying to build in St. Louis.”
After the Jacksonville job was filled, Arizona was the only team still with a head-coaching opening. But Schottenheimer was not in that mix and later Thursday the Cardinals hired Bruce Arians, who was Indianapolis’ interim head coach for most of this season. .
Shortly after Caldwell informed Schottenheimer that Bradley was getting the job with the Jaguars, Schottenheimer reached out to Rams coach Jeff Fisher and Bradford to tell them the news.
“As a competitor, I think you’re a little bit disappointed (not to get the job),” Schottenheimer said. “But as a guy that understands the game and the business, I know I’m in a great, great spot with great people that want to do things the right way. And that’s exciting for me.
[hil]“As you look at it, we hope we’re in St. Louis as a whole group for a long, long time. When we do things the right way, then people will certainly advance (in the coaching business). But I’m certainly in no hurry to get out of here. I told you guys that when first asked about it in late December. I truly meant it.”[/hil]
