Poll: The Most Irreplaceable Member of the Rams

[Merlin]

Mostly you're not wrong, but AD is more than elite, imo. I know Gold Jacket wearers Howie Long and Michael Strahan are in awe of him, per this video from two years ago....

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fztXvDmbUZY

Great VID btw, thanks for putting that up.

 

[dieterbrock]

And how many players from that Fisher era are still here? Three? AD Hekker and Brockers? Fifty players have turned over it's not just a new coach with that team.

Well that's the point right? McVay replaced almost everyone and has had a winning season every year. If the coach didnt have the foresight to replace those players, we might still be living with 7-9 bullcrap.
I think if you replace Donald with a mediocre DE, the team wont win any championships, but would still be a decent team. IF you replace McVay with a mediocre coach, I dont think we win nearly as many games.

 

[Merlin]

But the fact remains, without Brady there is no World Championship in Tampon...

All coaches need guys to execute to win Loyal. The great coaches just tend to get players into those big game situations. It's a team deal.

If Brady went to the Rams we probably win a Super Bowl last year too. But maybe not. Maybe we don't have the receivers. Maybe Blythe and Evans getting hurt still stop us. Maybe our defense still loses in the trenches and so do we.

It's about having all the pieces come together which means it's more than just the coach. But certain coaches tend to be there in those situations so they definitely matter.

 

[dieterbrock]

But the fact remains, without Brady there is no World Championship in Tampon...

I dont think that's a fact. I think that team was loaded and would have won with Ryan Tannehill playing QB.

 

[Corbin]

Without a doubt our single most important member of this organization is Stan the Man.

Took over the team, moved the team out of a failing situation, over double the value of the organization, created the best stadium in the world for our beloved Rams to play in and has endless pockets to get this team in prime position for a championship.

Love the guy. Happy Valentines Day Stan.

 

[Loyal]

All coaches need guys to execute to win Loyal. The great coaches just tend to get players into those big game situations. It's a team deal.

If Brady went to the Rams we probably win a Super Bowl last year too. But maybe not. Maybe we don't have the receivers. Maybe Blythe and Evans getting hurt still stop us. Maybe our defense still loses in the trenches and so do we.

It's about having all the pieces come together which means it's more than just the coach. But certain coaches tend to be there in those situations so they definitely matter.

Since it's Tom BRady's 7th Ring and it took half the year for the Tampa offense to get on Brady's page....and Ariens only has one after the guy who had six rings got him his first, you have to give more weight to the QB to that move. I hate Tommy the SOB, but he's busted my belief that he's only a cheating systems QB in Bellicheats system. Carson Palmer, if healthy, doesn't get Ariens over the top in Tampa...

 

[Loyal]

View attachment 43687
Without a doubt our single most important member of this organization is Stan the Man.

Took over the team, moved the team out of a failing situation, over double the value of the organization, created the best stadium in the world for our beloved Rams to play in and has endless pockets to get this team in prime position for a championship.

Love the guy. Happy Valentines Day Stan.

I didn't include him because his presence is a constant. He owns everything and won't be pushed out.....

 

[Loyal]

I dont think that's a fact. I think that team was loaded and would have won with Ryan Tannehill playing QB.

I think my thoughts are more likely. I have proof that Brady has won Super Bowls outside of Tampa and Tampa had a losing record last year with Arians...without Tommy...

 

[Merlin]

Since it's Tom BRady's 7th Ring and it took half the year for the Tampa offense to get on Brady's page....and Ariens only has one after the guy who had six rings got him his first, you have to give more weight to the QB to that move. I hate Tommy the SOB, but he's busted my belief that he's only a cheating systems QB in Bellicheats system. Carson Palmer, if healthy, doesn't get Ariens over the top in Tampa...

There are teams that Tom would have not won a championship with this year. Most teams in fact.

I'm not gonna take anything away from Tom. He's the Goat. His quick ball distribution and feel for the game are rare and you really see the difference in a playoff environment. But he's one guy. One guy who made a really good decision on where to play. Because I didn't think he could survive under Arians' aggressiveness but he did and he adjusted to Arians and got it done.

 

[Loyal]

There are teams that Tom would have not won a championship with this year. Most teams in fact.

I'm not gonna take anything away from Tom. He's the Goat. His quick ball distribution and feel for the game are rare and you really see the difference in a playoff environment. But he's one guy. One guy who made a really good decision on where to play. Because I didn't think he could survive under Arians' aggressiveness but he did and he adjusted to Arians and got it done.

But that was his choice to come to Tampa and he certainly wouldn't have chosen a team that wasn't ready to to be good. Still, I can't count the teams who lost in the playoffs to lesser teams (too numerous) and Tampa was one of those lesser teams, except for the X-Factor in Tommy Terrific...

 

[Merlin]

Without a doubt our single most important member of this organization is Stan the Man.

He definitely doesn't get enough cred. The guy stays out of the way and he's a good sport who allows for all this wheeling and dealing that many owners would not be willing to pay for or deal with.

If I'm him I am a bit irritated by the way things have gone. Signing Goff in particular is a bad look. But that said he does have a really good group of guys in place to sustain winning and I think 2021 he's going to see his patience rewarded if they can round out the rest of this roster.

 

[Deac]

Your avatar's-sake and Merlin didn't have a winning season for like their first 5-6 years until whiz "kid" George Allen arrived in 1966. Allen was let go after the 1970 season. Allen never had a losing season as an NFL HC and won the NFC Championship once with the Redskins, just as McVay has with the Rams. The point being that Deacon and Merlin were with losing teams before the great George Allen, but outlasted him in the organization....Like I think AD will outlast McVay with the Rams.

I think your argument kinda proves my point. They were there for a long time without winning before Allen got there. They were there afterward on teams that were never able to cross the hump, yet Allen took the Redskins to the Championship game soon after leaving. He elevated both teams to winning after losing for many years for both teams.

The players longevity I do not dispute, but the question is who was most important, Allen was then. Today I feel McVay is.

 

[OldSchool]

This is an easy one if one steps back to look at the Big Picture.

The correct answer is Sean McVay.

Want evidence that the team flows from Sean McVay? In 2016 Rams finished 4-12 with a pretty damned good roster, including AD, btw.

In McVay’s rookie season Rams finished 11-5, won their dividiom, and O went from worst to first, literally.

I love AD to death, too, but there’s no doubt in my mind as to which person is most critical to Rams success.

Les Snead would be #2, incidentally, by that same logic.

Stafford would now be #3 because he’s the starting QB.

AD, the certain future HOFer, would be #4.

I’m gonna duck behind my couch now. Lol.

We also turned over one third of the roster when McVay came on board to work with our young QB. Added some huge cogs in the offense in Woods Kupp Whitworth Sullivan and Watkins and that's just offense. There was a lot more to the turn around in 2017 than just McVay though he was a huge upgrade from Fisher and the clowns he had running the offense. And that doesn't even count going from Williams to Daddy Wade.

 

[OldSchool]

Well that's the point right? McVay replaced almost everyone and has had a winning season every year. If the coach didnt have the foresight to replace those players, we might still be living with 7-9 bullcrap.
I think if you replace Donald with a mediocre DE, the team wont win any championships, but would still be a decent team. IF you replace McVay with a mediocre coach, I dont think we win nearly as many games.

We did replace AD with a mediocre DE and our good defense got abused with our good HC. I think some people are assuming I'm dumping on McVay he's been an amazing upgrade at coach. But you have many good coaches in the NFL not all of them win it all. You only have one AD and I think in the end another coach could win with AD on the team and as it's built. I also think McVay can win without AD but he's gotta put somebody else special on that D.

 

[Loyal]

I think your argument kinda proves my point. They were there for a long time without winning before Allen got there. They were there afterward on teams that were never able to cross the hump, yet Allen took the Redskins to the Championship game soon after leaving. He elevated both teams to winning after losing for many years for both teams.

The players longevity I do not dispute, but the question is who was most important, Allen was then. Today I feel McVay is.

The original post and poll is about being irreplaceable. Allen was replaced while Deacon and Merlin survived him. AD survived Fisher and I believe he will survive McVay unless we strike gold with Stafford,.....I'm not wishing ill upon McVay and I hope we win several Super Bowls with him, but I think AD is the best player, most transendent player, in Rams history. I include the GSOT players in that group.

 

[Rams43]

A good GM selects good HC's. Good HC's rise from the lower ranks every year. Those like AD arise every twenty years, if that. So no, the obvious answer is the otherworldly 3 Tech DT from Planet Kick-Ass.

Good HC’s rise from the ranks every year, Loyal? Really?

Jeebus, the last good Ram HC hired before McVay was Vermiel in ‘97. We had to wait 20 freaking years for another ‘good HC’, man.

So, although AD is a future HOF PLAYER, he is still but one of 22 starters on O and D and therefore doesn’t impact the overall team as much as the one HC. C’mon...

 

[NJRamsFan]

This is an easy one if one steps back to look at the Big Picture.

The correct answer is Sean McVay.

Want evidence that the team flows from Sean McVay? In 2016 Rams finished 4-12 with a pretty damned good roster, including AD, btw.

In McVay’s rookie season Rams finished 11-5, won their dividiom, and O went from worst to first, literally.

I love AD to death, too, but there’s no doubt in my mind as to which person is most critical to Rams success.

Les Snead would be #2, incidentally, by that same logic.

Stafford would now be #3 because he’s the starting QB.

AD, the certain future HOFer, would be #4.

I’m gonna duck behind my couch now. Lol.

You just put a guy who’s played literally 0 snaps as a ram above the best player to ever suit up for our franchise. The positional argument doesn’t check out logically. If you wanna make an argument for our coach sure I can accept that and honestly I’m torn because I see both sides. But now you’re telling me it’s easier to replace Aaron Donald than Matt Stafford simply because Stafford plays qb? That logic prior to this offseason applied to Goff and I would have gotten rid of 5 Goffs for 1 AD

 

[Rams43]

We also turned over one third of the roster when McVay came on board to work with our young QB. Added some huge cogs in the offense in Woods Kupp Whitworth Sullivan and Watkins and that's just offense. There was a lot more to the turn around in 2017 than just McVay though he was a huge upgrade from Fisher and the clowns he had running the offense. And that doesn't even count going from Williams to Daddy Wade.

‘You’re making my point for me OS.

McVay was the driving force behind those early personnel changes. Plus the scheme changes, the new culture, the outstanding asst coaching hires, and on and on.

 

[Rams43]

You just put a guy who’s played literally 0 snaps as a ram above the best player to ever suit up for our franchise. The positional argument doesn’t check out logically. If you wanna make an argument for our coach sure I can accept that and honestly I’m torn because I see both sides. But now you’re telling me it’s easier to replace Aaron Donald than Matt Stafford simply because Stafford plays qb? That logic prior to this offseason applied to Goff and I would have gotten rid of 5 Goffs for 1 AD

You missed my point entirely, NJ. SMH.

 

[Merlin]

Good HC’s rise from the ranks every year, Loyal? Really?

Jeebus, the last good Ram HC hired before McVay was Vermiel in ‘97. We had to wait 20 freaking years for another ‘good HC’, man.

So, although AD is a future HOF PLAYER, he is still but one of 22 starters on O and D and therefore doesn’t impact the overall team as much as the one HC. C’mon...

Yep. Fans conveniently overlook how it takes 2 to 3 years to realize you hired the wrong head coach. Then you start over. Fuck that.