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Rams are seeking 8-8 finish
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_b2feae1f-df7e-58e1-94bf-4bf168386c48.html
SANTA CLARA, CALIF. • Even with a victory Sunday, the Rams may spend the offseason wondering about that blown 10-point lead in the fourth quarter in Baltimore. That dropped touchdown pass by Lance Kendricks against Pittsburgh. Or Jeff Fisher’s decision to go for 2 after that first touchdown in Minnesota.
Because when the dust settles on the 2015 season Sunday evening, the Rams could very well fall just one victory short of their first playoff berth since 2004.
No matter what happens in the season finale against San Francisco (4-11), the Rams’ late-season revival will be a case of too little too late in terms of postseason play. And in that sense 2015 can only be looked at as another disappointing season.
But however trivial it may seem to some fans and observers, the Rams still have some goals in mind. Such as a 5-1 finish in the NFC West, their first season sweep of the 49ers since 2004, a four-game winning streak to end the season. And an 8-8 finish.
The Rams haven’t gone 5-1 in division plays since ‘04. They haven’t had a four-game winning streak since 2003, their last division championship team. That 12-4 squad actually won seven in a row at one point, only to be upset by Carolina in the NFC playoff semifinals in double-overtime.
An 8-8 finish would be more meaningful, because it would represent the Rams’ best finish since 2006. That Scott Linehan-coached team overcame a 1-7 stretch in the middle of the season by winning its last three games — against Oakland, Washington, and Minnesota — to finish 8-8.
Eight straight losing seasons have followed, including the infamous 15-65 stretch from 2007 through 2011 — the worst five-year record by any team in NFL history. The eight consecutive losing seasons is the longest current streak in football. All 31 other teams have had at least one .500 finish, if not a winning record, since 2006.
So yes, there is a difference between 7-9 and 8-8 for the Rams. An 8-8 finish would have some meaning to the organization.
“Yeah, it does,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “You always want to finish up on a winning note. Once you get past this weekend, there’s only one team that ends on a winning note.”
And that’s the Super Bowl champion.
“And so this weekend’s important for those that don’t have a chance to get into the postseason, to win a football game and jump into the offseason and the (offseason) program with some momentum,” Fisher said. “Unfortunately, I’ve been there a couple times before and it paid dividends the next year.”
The Rams haven’t won a season finale since that 2006 season under Linehan, a 41-21 victory over Minnesota. The energy was high in the locker room after that game; the players and coaches brimming with confidence about what lay ahead.
Alas, the Rams finished 3-13 in 2007, and after an 0-4 start in ‘08 Linehan was gone. So there are no guarantees.
Even so, the 2015 Rams are buying in. In part, because the prospect of 8-8 sure looks a lot better than what might have been. A month ago, a 5-11 or 4-12 finish seemed almost inevitable.
“We’re not going to the playoffs,” said defensive end Chris Long, the longest-tenured Ram. “But not everybody in this league plays it out to the end, and not everybody in this league cares when everybody says there’s nothing on the line. This locker room is totally different than that. So it’s a blessing to be in this room.”
To the point where some players wish they had a little more regular season left — to wedge their way into the postseason. Where’s that 18-game schedule when you need it?
“Oh man. Anything to get us in the playoffs,” wide receiver Kenny Britt said. “A couple more games to help us out, we sure would want to take those games. But now, we’re just gonna get ready for the next one.”
The last one for this season, and quite possibly the last one for the Rams as a St. Louis-based franchise. Tucked away in the semi-remote Napa Valley this week, far away from the flooding in St. Louis, the relocation topic didn’t come up this week.
But as the players have said all season, that’s out of their control. The only thing they can control is what’s in front of them. This week that happens to be how they perform at 3:25 p.m. (St. Louis time) at Levi’s Stadium against the 49ers.
“I believe it’s important from a confidence standpoint to be doing it right at the end of the year,” defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said. “I was pretty hard, pretty stern, about this last quarter of the season about being 4-0. We wouldn’t be in a position right now to go do that, to be 4-0 in this last quarter, had we not taken care of business the first three times — the first three games in this last quarter of the season.”
Meaning victories over Detroit, Tampa Bay, and playoff-bound Seattle. Williams, who spoke with reporters after Thursday’s practice, said he saw encouraging signs from the team this week.
“I haven’t had to really worry about them in the meetings and how focused they’ve been in the meetings,” Williams said. “They’ve really practiced well. You can see the tempo of the practices.
“You can see the communication of the practices, and you also see that these guys like being around each other. That’s the fun part of it, because it is a real tight-knit fraternity.”
Which makes you wonder. If only Williams had spoken with the team at midseason. About going, say, 6-2, over the second half of the season.
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_b2feae1f-df7e-58e1-94bf-4bf168386c48.html
SANTA CLARA, CALIF. • Even with a victory Sunday, the Rams may spend the offseason wondering about that blown 10-point lead in the fourth quarter in Baltimore. That dropped touchdown pass by Lance Kendricks against Pittsburgh. Or Jeff Fisher’s decision to go for 2 after that first touchdown in Minnesota.
Because when the dust settles on the 2015 season Sunday evening, the Rams could very well fall just one victory short of their first playoff berth since 2004.
No matter what happens in the season finale against San Francisco (4-11), the Rams’ late-season revival will be a case of too little too late in terms of postseason play. And in that sense 2015 can only be looked at as another disappointing season.
But however trivial it may seem to some fans and observers, the Rams still have some goals in mind. Such as a 5-1 finish in the NFC West, their first season sweep of the 49ers since 2004, a four-game winning streak to end the season. And an 8-8 finish.
The Rams haven’t gone 5-1 in division plays since ‘04. They haven’t had a four-game winning streak since 2003, their last division championship team. That 12-4 squad actually won seven in a row at one point, only to be upset by Carolina in the NFC playoff semifinals in double-overtime.
An 8-8 finish would be more meaningful, because it would represent the Rams’ best finish since 2006. That Scott Linehan-coached team overcame a 1-7 stretch in the middle of the season by winning its last three games — against Oakland, Washington, and Minnesota — to finish 8-8.
Eight straight losing seasons have followed, including the infamous 15-65 stretch from 2007 through 2011 — the worst five-year record by any team in NFL history. The eight consecutive losing seasons is the longest current streak in football. All 31 other teams have had at least one .500 finish, if not a winning record, since 2006.
So yes, there is a difference between 7-9 and 8-8 for the Rams. An 8-8 finish would have some meaning to the organization.
“Yeah, it does,” coach Jeff Fisher said. “You always want to finish up on a winning note. Once you get past this weekend, there’s only one team that ends on a winning note.”
And that’s the Super Bowl champion.
“And so this weekend’s important for those that don’t have a chance to get into the postseason, to win a football game and jump into the offseason and the (offseason) program with some momentum,” Fisher said. “Unfortunately, I’ve been there a couple times before and it paid dividends the next year.”
The Rams haven’t won a season finale since that 2006 season under Linehan, a 41-21 victory over Minnesota. The energy was high in the locker room after that game; the players and coaches brimming with confidence about what lay ahead.
Alas, the Rams finished 3-13 in 2007, and after an 0-4 start in ‘08 Linehan was gone. So there are no guarantees.
Even so, the 2015 Rams are buying in. In part, because the prospect of 8-8 sure looks a lot better than what might have been. A month ago, a 5-11 or 4-12 finish seemed almost inevitable.
“We’re not going to the playoffs,” said defensive end Chris Long, the longest-tenured Ram. “But not everybody in this league plays it out to the end, and not everybody in this league cares when everybody says there’s nothing on the line. This locker room is totally different than that. So it’s a blessing to be in this room.”
To the point where some players wish they had a little more regular season left — to wedge their way into the postseason. Where’s that 18-game schedule when you need it?
“Oh man. Anything to get us in the playoffs,” wide receiver Kenny Britt said. “A couple more games to help us out, we sure would want to take those games. But now, we’re just gonna get ready for the next one.”
The last one for this season, and quite possibly the last one for the Rams as a St. Louis-based franchise. Tucked away in the semi-remote Napa Valley this week, far away from the flooding in St. Louis, the relocation topic didn’t come up this week.
But as the players have said all season, that’s out of their control. The only thing they can control is what’s in front of them. This week that happens to be how they perform at 3:25 p.m. (St. Louis time) at Levi’s Stadium against the 49ers.
“I believe it’s important from a confidence standpoint to be doing it right at the end of the year,” defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said. “I was pretty hard, pretty stern, about this last quarter of the season about being 4-0. We wouldn’t be in a position right now to go do that, to be 4-0 in this last quarter, had we not taken care of business the first three times — the first three games in this last quarter of the season.”
Meaning victories over Detroit, Tampa Bay, and playoff-bound Seattle. Williams, who spoke with reporters after Thursday’s practice, said he saw encouraging signs from the team this week.
“I haven’t had to really worry about them in the meetings and how focused they’ve been in the meetings,” Williams said. “They’ve really practiced well. You can see the tempo of the practices.
“You can see the communication of the practices, and you also see that these guys like being around each other. That’s the fun part of it, because it is a real tight-knit fraternity.”
Which makes you wonder. If only Williams had spoken with the team at midseason. About going, say, 6-2, over the second half of the season.
