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Bryan Burwell
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/ ... z1um9W3iBH
Because the changing of the guard is so much a regrettable old routine around Rams Park, whenever a new coach rolls into the place it's always fun to pick out the subtle and not-so-subtle differences between the dearly (or not-so-dearly) departed and the new man in town.
So consider this the first sign that life around Rams Park is going to be a bit different now that Jeff Fisher is roaming the hallways. On Friday afternoon, a few hours after the new coach had just run his new draft picks and undrafted free agents through their first day of rookie minicamp, Fisher was seen chasing his son's rather excitable golden retriever up and down the back corridors near the press room.
So there you go. This was the first obvious sign of the dramatic transformation from Steve Spagnuolo's rather structured "Four Pillars" mentality in Earth City.
The new sign over the entrance to Rams Park now reads "Continuity X Training Center," but it could just as easily say "Animal House," because in comparison to last season, things are going to be a little different around here, and maybe a bit more colorful too.
We're being a bit cute with the "Animal House" reference, but it's no exaggeration that Fisher and general manager Les Snead have already dramatically altered the attitude around here. They are going to take chances. They aren't going to shy away from high-risk, high-reward draft picks. They aren't going to lose sleep over negative public perceptions when it comes to finding the sort of talent that can turn this franchise around in a hurry.
So if that means taking risks on players who've had one or two brushes with the law, so be it. They ask two very important questions around here when it comes to overhauling this roster:
1. Can he play?
2. Is he stupid?
If the answer is yes to No. 1 and no to No. 2, then Fisher and Snead are comfortable with the risk. Just know this. There is a difference between being comfortable and gullible. They're not trying to turn Earth City into a town for wayward boys. But they're not naïve enough to think that fielding a successful professional football team can be accomplished by stocking the roster full of choirboys. This isn't revolutionary stuff, but it is a part of intelligent team building in the modern era of pro sports.
"A large part of (what we rely on are) the background checks and the due diligence and all the research that we did before the draft," said Fisher. "We were convinced that everybody we drafted this past month is going to come in and play and not have any problems."
Fisher is no novice to dealing with bad boys. He has had some very good success stories and some notable disasters. But with each one he has learned what worked and why things went wrong and not only kept good notes but made corrections all along the way. It's what distinguishes him from the naïve coach who thinks that he can play Father Flanagan with an unrepentant knucklehead and save him. How many coaches have fooled themselves into believing, "Oh, it'll be different with me."
"I think you have to look at each individual and set of circumstances and what the issues were," said Fisher. "That's what we did."
It's a page right out of the old Oakland Raiders handbook of John Madden, who was famous for the way he handled his renegade players, but with some modern adaptations. You give them clear rules that make sense. You surround them with strong-willed leaders in the locker room and you surround them with smart people outside the locker room who will help teach them how to make better decisions with their lives than they did in the past.
"I'm not going to get into real specifics for any one player, but we have a plan," said Snead. "Remember now, we're dealing with all these players who are in their early 20s and asking them to produce in a high-pressured situation and they get critiqued publicly and they are given a lot of money. So you're asking for a lot from these 20-, 21- and 22-year-olds. Our goal is to really make sure that they can handle that."
It may vary depending on the player, but the Rams are going to make sure through their own player programs and the NFL's programs that their rookies get their finances right so that there are no issues with child support or family and friends draining them of their newfound but potentially fleeting wealth.
"You have these kids coming out of college, no matter if it is a small school or a big one, they have not really had to live yet on their own," said Snead. "So our big goal is to take them in each phase of living and show them how to become a professional, and they have to become a professional fast. They don't get to go to Europe and backpack. They don't get to go and intern and sit in a cubicle and have fun and put some cool pictures up on the bulletin board and really not have any pressure.
"It's not even like baseball where you get to bounce around in the minor leagues where you travel on the bus and you're in Wichita, Kansas and nobody sees you make the errors," said Snead. "(In the NFL) they get to see you make the errors. So the goal is to develop them. Everybody touches them in our building. We will help these kids understand what it will be like to get money, handle money, get new 'friends' and meet long-lost 'cousins' who are all holding their hands out. That kid can't be pulled in a hundred different directions and he has to learn how to say no to some of those people."
If this plan works, the reward will be so much greater than the risk. Better yet, if it turns out these high-risk, high-reward guys can really play — and if the plan of Fisher and Snead plan keeps most of them on the right path — no one in St. Louis will care about anything else. The coach and the GM are smart enough and bold enough to know that.
