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Bernie: Can Cignetti make a difference for Rams?
• By Bernie Miklasz
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_387fa250-0120-5100-a44c-e4bb0a256062.html
The Rams have chosen their new offensive coordinator, staying within the organization to promote QBs coach Frank Cignetti. As part of the reworking of the coaching staff, tight ends coach Rob Boras was elevated to assistant head coach/offense.
Cignetti (passing game) and Boras (rushing game) should work well together in combining their expertise.
The Rams also need to hire a new QB coach; media reports have centered on former NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia.
I'm sincere when I say that I believe Cignetti is a smart coach. Given the Rams' endless turmoil at the quarterback position over the past two seasons, Cignetti always had the next man up — prepared and ready to go.
Relative to expectations, Kellen Clemens, Austin Davis and Shaun Hill did pretty well when taking over for Sam Bradford, who has missed the last 25 regular-season games. Clemens, Davis and Hill aren't quarterbacks that can elevate an offense on a consistent basis, but that isn't Cignetti's fault.
Cignetti has extensive experience, in college football, as an offensive coordinator. As for Boras, he's respected inside the walls at Rams Park.
So I wish Cignetti (and Boras) the best of luck. But I also think it's fair to wonder whether the new OC will make much of a difference.
We've trampled this ground a couple of times already this offseason, but it's worth repeating: this is Jeff Fisher's offense. Fisher has been a head coach for 19 full NFL seasons and there's an abundance of history that reaffirms his core principles on offense. And Fisher's teams have rarely deviated from those beliefs.
The Rams' head coach wants a physical attack led by a strong running game. And while those are important attributes, I don't know how the Rams plan to break through and score more points. The shortage of points from scrimmage continues to be the team's No. 1 issue.
I don't know how much freedom Cignetti will have to open things up. But in fairness to Fisher and the offensive staff, it's not as if they have the pieces in place to let it fly and roll up big point totals on a regular basis.
The Rams offense is limited in three ways:
1. Limited by the overall offensive talent on hand.
2. Limited by the average (at best) QB performance.
3. Limited by the head coach's Born to Run philosophy.
The talent matters. It's not easy to take a coordinator's job without knowing, with certainty, the identity of your starting quarterback for 2015. (Bradford?) The offensive line requires another retooling. The wide receivers are OK, but none cause opposing defensive coordinators to lose sleep.
So this will be a challenge for Cignetti, who becomes the seventh full-time offensive coordinator employed by Fisher during Fisher's lengthy run as an NFL head coach.
The first six:
Jerry Rhome (1995-96)
Les Steckel (1997-99)
Mike Heimerdinger (2000-04)
Norm Chow (2005-07)
Heimerdinger Part II (2008-10)
Brian Schottenheimer (2012-14)
There have been only a few standout showings through all of those seasons.
Heimerdinger had the league's No. 5 offense (points) in 2003, and Steckel's offense was 7th in points in '99. Rhome also cracked the top 10 in points scored, with the Oilers-Titans ranking 10th in 1996.
That's it. Three top 10 scoring offenses in 19 seasons of Fisher Ball.
Fisher's offenses have met or topped the league average for points on offense in only three of his last nine seasons as a HC. He hasn't had an offense ranked better than 12th in points since '03.
I'm curious to see what Cignetti can do.
And what he'll be allowed to do.
Of course, much depends on the quality of the talent he'll be coordinating.
This isn't an easy job right now. Maybe that's one of the reasons why it was offered to Cignetti. But that doesn't mean this is a bad hire. That isn't fair to Cignetti. He's waited for this opportunity. He's a promising coach. Let's see what he makes of his chance.
Thanks for reading ...
— Bernie
• By Bernie Miklasz
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_387fa250-0120-5100-a44c-e4bb0a256062.html
The Rams have chosen their new offensive coordinator, staying within the organization to promote QBs coach Frank Cignetti. As part of the reworking of the coaching staff, tight ends coach Rob Boras was elevated to assistant head coach/offense.
Cignetti (passing game) and Boras (rushing game) should work well together in combining their expertise.
The Rams also need to hire a new QB coach; media reports have centered on former NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia.
I'm sincere when I say that I believe Cignetti is a smart coach. Given the Rams' endless turmoil at the quarterback position over the past two seasons, Cignetti always had the next man up — prepared and ready to go.
Relative to expectations, Kellen Clemens, Austin Davis and Shaun Hill did pretty well when taking over for Sam Bradford, who has missed the last 25 regular-season games. Clemens, Davis and Hill aren't quarterbacks that can elevate an offense on a consistent basis, but that isn't Cignetti's fault.
Cignetti has extensive experience, in college football, as an offensive coordinator. As for Boras, he's respected inside the walls at Rams Park.
So I wish Cignetti (and Boras) the best of luck. But I also think it's fair to wonder whether the new OC will make much of a difference.
We've trampled this ground a couple of times already this offseason, but it's worth repeating: this is Jeff Fisher's offense. Fisher has been a head coach for 19 full NFL seasons and there's an abundance of history that reaffirms his core principles on offense. And Fisher's teams have rarely deviated from those beliefs.
The Rams' head coach wants a physical attack led by a strong running game. And while those are important attributes, I don't know how the Rams plan to break through and score more points. The shortage of points from scrimmage continues to be the team's No. 1 issue.
I don't know how much freedom Cignetti will have to open things up. But in fairness to Fisher and the offensive staff, it's not as if they have the pieces in place to let it fly and roll up big point totals on a regular basis.
The Rams offense is limited in three ways:
1. Limited by the overall offensive talent on hand.
2. Limited by the average (at best) QB performance.
3. Limited by the head coach's Born to Run philosophy.
The talent matters. It's not easy to take a coordinator's job without knowing, with certainty, the identity of your starting quarterback for 2015. (Bradford?) The offensive line requires another retooling. The wide receivers are OK, but none cause opposing defensive coordinators to lose sleep.
So this will be a challenge for Cignetti, who becomes the seventh full-time offensive coordinator employed by Fisher during Fisher's lengthy run as an NFL head coach.
The first six:
Jerry Rhome (1995-96)
Les Steckel (1997-99)
Mike Heimerdinger (2000-04)
Norm Chow (2005-07)
Heimerdinger Part II (2008-10)
Brian Schottenheimer (2012-14)
There have been only a few standout showings through all of those seasons.
Heimerdinger had the league's No. 5 offense (points) in 2003, and Steckel's offense was 7th in points in '99. Rhome also cracked the top 10 in points scored, with the Oilers-Titans ranking 10th in 1996.
That's it. Three top 10 scoring offenses in 19 seasons of Fisher Ball.
Fisher's offenses have met or topped the league average for points on offense in only three of his last nine seasons as a HC. He hasn't had an offense ranked better than 12th in points since '03.
I'm curious to see what Cignetti can do.
And what he'll be allowed to do.
Of course, much depends on the quality of the talent he'll be coordinating.
This isn't an easy job right now. Maybe that's one of the reasons why it was offered to Cignetti. But that doesn't mean this is a bad hire. That isn't fair to Cignetti. He's waited for this opportunity. He's a promising coach. Let's see what he makes of his chance.
Thanks for reading ...
— Bernie
