Gordo: Dull, dull, dull down at the Dome

  • To unlock all of features of Rams On Demand please take a brief moment to register. Registering is not only quick and easy, it also allows you access to additional features such as live chat, private messaging, and a host of other apps exclusive to Rams On Demand.

RamBill

Legend
Joined
Jul 31, 2010
Messages
8,874
Gordo: Dull, dull, dull down at the Dome
• By Jeff Gordon

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_a9814e5b-d3a2-5c2f-acba-2104f6a0e867.html

At least the Big Red entertained its dwindling St. Louis fan base back in 1987.

Quarterback Neil Lomax bombed away to receivers Roy Green and J.T. Smith to make that farewell tour interesting. The Cardinals won five of their last eight games before owner Bill Bidwill finally acted on his threats to move.

This potential Rams swan song hasn’t been nearly as enjoyable.

“Everybody’s disappointed, frustrated, embarrassed,” running back Todd Gurley said after the Rams fell to the Arizona Cardinals 27-3 Sunday to extend their losing streak to five games.

With Rams owner Stan Kroenke working to move the team to Los Angeles for 2016, the local fan apathy is reminiscent of Bidwill’s final days. More seats appeared empty than filled at the Edward Jones Dome.

Many fans who attended the game left early. Only a smattering of booing diehards and cheering Cardinals fans remained at the end.

“Losing in embarrassing fashion five games in a row, guys in here are not happy,” defensive end Chris Long said. “I can guarantee you that. That does not make it OK. That doesn’t make it OK at all.”

The Rams (4-Cool clinched another non-winning season. This hapless franchise hasn’t posted a winning record since 2003.

Coach Jeff Fisher is in the fourth year of his regime and the Rams seem further from contention than when he arrived. NFL coaches seldom last this long without leading their team to the high side of .500.

“We’re getting what we deserve,” Long said. “There is no need to be shocked. We’re all grown men in here. When we’re playing like this, this is what the outcome is.”

Nick Foles is no Neil Lomax. During that ’87 season Lomax averaged 282 passing yards per game and finished with 24 touchdowns in his 12 starts.

Foles has passed for more than 200 yards in just two of his starts this season, and he remains stuck on seven TDs. He completed just 15 of 35 passes for 146 yards and one interception Sunday.

“Not good,” Foles said. “I mean, I have to complete the balls. I just have to keep working. Got to keep working. That’s all I can say. That’s my answer: Keep working.”

He will do so with the scout team offense this week. Fisher announced that Case Keenum will start next week after finally recovering from his concussion late last week.

But Keenum isn’t a Neil Lomax, either. And receivers Kenny Britt and Brian Quick are not Roy Green and J.T. Smith. They combined for just three catches on 12 targets Sunday.

Foles threw nine passes toward tight end Jared Cook and connected just three times. Some throws were dropped, some were well-covered and some were off the mark.

These Rams do have running back Todd Gurley, but their struggling offensive line and their sputtering passing attack make it easier for strong defensive teams to throttle him.

Gurley popped a 34-yard run through the one good hole he saw all game. His other eight carries netted 7 yards.

The once-powerful Rams defense buckled again, allowing 524 offensive yards. Some of that was failure was caused by fatigue, since the Cardinals had the ball for nearly 40 minutes Sunday.

But the two biggest Rams hits of the game were delivered on unlucky cornerback Janoris Jenkins. First Rams safety T.J. McDonald took him out with a vicious blast intended for Cardinals receiver Michael Floyd.

After Jenkins returned from his concussion examination, teammate Mark Barron crushed him on David Johnson’s 10-yard touchdown catch. Off poor Jenkins went for another concussion examination.

It was that sort of day for the defense.

But for Johnny Hekker’s heroic punting — which left Arizona with long fields again and again — this game would have gotten out of hand early. He pinned the Cardinals inside their 20-yard line five times with punts and once with a kickoff, while capably filling in as an injury replacement.

Otherwise the margin of defeat would have been much worse.

“We have to get the offense fixed,” Fisher said. “Three first downs at halftime, I think we had six to start the fourth quarter. It doesn’t give you the chance to be productive or win games. Defensively we were on the field too much, way too much.”

When Post-Dispatch reporter Jim Thomas remarked that reporters were about out of questions, Fisher said, “Coach is almost out of answers. My responsibility is to say, ‘Hey. I am going to get this thing fixed.’”

Yeah, well, good luck with that.

If Kroenke gets his way and the Rams move to Los Angeles for next season, he should fire the whole football operation and start over in his new market. Even with LA starved for football, selling PSLs and premium seating for such a miserable product could prove difficult.

If the NFL forces Kroenke to remain in St. Louis against his will, he could ride with the current regime rather than pay Fisher to go away. He could save some money while plotting his next move.

“Coach Fisher has had our back. We’ve got Coach Fisher’s back,” Long said. “He’s a heck of a football coach.

“At the end of the day we’ve got to make plays on the field. ... Just do your job, do your job. It’s not necessarily about Coach, it’s about doing your job.”

For the record, Long insists the Rams haven’t already packed it in.

“We put in too much work to fold,” he said. “But we’ve got to be better. It’s just not good enough.”
 

nighttrain

Legend
Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
9,216
If NFL stops Rams move, is there anybody that would buy Rams in ST Louis? One of my internet searches had a theory that Silent Stan may sell Rams/buy Raiders and move them to Inglewood
no link sorry
train