Watch my smoke: Eric Dickerson Book

[sacram]

Anyone else read this book? I'm most of the way through the book.

A few things stand out. I have memories as a 12, 13, 14, ,15 and 16 year old kid, remembering all of the Ram hold outs that seemed to happen ever training camp during the 80s. They had one of the best teams in the NFL, but they just didn't want to pay their players. If the book was true, it sounds like the organization had some pretty bad money problems that included shifting money around to cover checks. ED says the initial check that was cut to Jim Everett after the trade actually bounced.

And man, was ED underpaid. He signed a 4 year, 2 million contract with a 900K singing bonus. It turned out that 600K of that bonus was a forgivable loan, which was unforgiven after they traded him. He was obviously a top 3 RB (I think he was THE best) in the league at the time, but was barely in the top 10 salaries for RBs. Many RBs made around or over a million a year, and he didn't even make half of that. If he would've been taken care of and stayed, what could've been, as that offensive line was definitely one of the top, if not THE top offensive line in Rams history.

He mentions that one of his toughest losses as a Ram was the playoff loss to the Giants in 84. That Ram team could've given that 84 Niner team a serious run for their money, as they later did in 89 (in the regular season) without ED.

In the end, if ED somehow stayed a Ram, I think the Rams history would've been much different and could've included more Super Bowl titles.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Georgia apparently like spending money on herself more than she did on her players. It’s amazing that they put some good teams together consistently under her ownership. Most other franchises with cheap owners never end up being good.

 

[Allen2McVay]

He mentions that one of his toughest losses as a Ram was the playoff loss to the Giants in 84. That Ram team could've given that 84 Niner team a serious run for their money, as they later did in 89 (in the regular season) without ED.

In the end, if ED somehow stayed a Ram, I think the Rams history would've been much different and could've included more Super Bowl titles.

That '84 Niner team was 15-1; and out-scored its three playoff opponents 82-26.

They beat the Rams 33-0 in L.A. around mid-season; and closed-out the Regular Season with a close win.

Dickerson is like Keyshawn Johnson in my opinion. Tremendous talent ... Selfish guy ... Subjective memory.

 

[Tano]

Georgia apparently like spending money on herself more than she did on her players. It’s amazing that they put some good teams together consistently under her ownership. Most other franchises with cheap owners never end up being good.

Georgia has to go down as one of the worst owners in the history of football.

I really hated that woman.

 

[Tano]

And in the 90s she made the Rams the worst team in the decade except for 99

And after 2001 - she again assisted until her death in making the Rams the worst 5 year team ever (2007 - 2011) until the Browns in the 2010s decade

 

[Tano]

And I firmly believe she had her mafia connection kill her husband Carroll Rosenbloom

 

[Merlin]

Yeah Georgia was a real scourge for Rams fans. Honestly all of it was Rosenbloom's fault too. He was an SOB to leave the team to his squeeze. I'm sure he thought she'd take care of his team president son, but it's still on him for trusting her.

Dickerson was my favorite player and Ram for a long time. That ship has sailed since in part because of how things ended in LA but I can't blame the guy for doing what he did. I think ED is ED of course, i.e. mostly about himself, but getting paid was something he deserved. He was truly great, it was a real joy rooting for the team with that dude in the backfield.

 

[Faceplant]

What a stupid name for a book..... Or anything really. Watch my smoke?? Hold my beer would have been better than that, haha....

 

[sacram]

That '84 Niner team was 15-1; and out-scored its three playoff opponents 82-26.

They beat the Rams 33-0 in L.A. around mid-season; and closed-out the Regular Season with a close win.

Dickerson is like Keyshawn Johnson in my opinion. Tremendous talent ... Selfish guy ... Subjective memory.

Maybe ED was selfish, but that still doesn't excuse the Rams organizations awful treatment of the guy. He was a transcendent talent and was likely THE best RB in the game at the time and probably a top 5 player.

The Rams thought they could get by paying him about a third of his fair market value. When ED met with Shaw to try and get a new, fair market contract, John Shaw pretended like he didn't even know he led the previous season in yards from scrimmage and basically laughed in his face. According to ED, Shaw vowed to send him to Siberia, hence the trade to the Colts. Again according to ED, Shaw later apologized to him for the way things ended in LA.

Sure it got ugly, and his last game in Cleveland was bad, but in a way I see where he was coming from. After trading him to the Colts, the Rams immediately asked for 600K of his 900K signing bonus back, which is completely classless. And remember the Colts paid him his fair market value, which I believe was about 3 times what he made for the Rams.

The bottom line is if the Rams simply paid him what he deserved, the Rams could've had a legit shot at some Super Bowls, and ED may have ended up the all time leading rusher. What could've been....

 

[Allen2McVay]

Maybe ED was selfish, but that still doesn't excuse the Rams organizations awful treatment of the guy. He was a transcendent talent and was likely THE best RB in the game at the time and probably a top 5 player.

The Rams thought they could get by paying him about a third of his fair market value. When ED met with Shaw to try and get a new, fair market contract, John Shaw pretended like he didn't even know he led the previous season in yards from scrimmage and basically laughed in his face. According to ED, Shaw vowed to send him to Siberia, hence the trade to the Colts. Again according to ED, Shaw later apologized to him for the way things ended in LA.

Sure it got ugly, and his last game in Cleveland was bad, but in a way I see where he was coming from. After trading him to the Colts, the Rams immediately asked for 600K of his 900K signing bonus back, which is completely classless. And remember the Colts paid him his fair market value, which I believe was about 3 times what he made for the Rams.

The bottom line is if the Rams simply paid him what he deserved, the Rams could've had a legit shot at some Super Bowls, and ED may have ended up the all time leading rusher. What could've been ...

I agree with a lot of what you wrote; and aside from Georgia Frontiere and John Shaw, don't forget the third member of the evil/incompetent 3 Stooges ... Jay Zygmunt. I have nothing good to say about any of them. Rams' Ownership and Managment at that time sucked.

Sometimes there is no Good Guy.

Dickerson held-out after his second season (1984) when he broke OJ's rushing record. Lots of Rams' fans were with him because he was so great and the Team was built around him. However, he wanted to re-work his deal again after the 1986 season. Maybe for good reason but the Rams' fan support was not as strong the second-time just two years after the first time (my recollection).

That leads to my final point. It goes to my "Subjective Memory" comment above. You wrote 'according to ED' a couple times. That's where I-am-out because I don't consider Eric Dickerson to be honest and objective where Eric Dickerson is concerned.

For me, the 'bottom line' is that this went down forty years ago, fans that were around might have slightly different recollections and we may never know the complete and accurate truth.

 

[RamFanWA]

One of the main problems with 40 years ago was - the general absence of detailed information about players that was available. You probably either had to live in or near LA for any sort of insight/news - otherwise it was filtered through Sports Illustrated/Football Weekly/etc, at the magazine stand... and maybe weekly one of TV stations (though ESPN was in its infancy then) might highlight some 0f those gritty details - but not as I recall.

 

[Ram65]

Maybe things would have been better had Georgia had money to compete in the NFL. Certainly, there were problems with top management that she did not handle well at all. Things might have been much better had she been able to navigate the early years better. Would keeping Steve Rosenboom made things better by giving him more responsibility? I don't know. It was horrible to watch the Rams lose players like Hacksaw Reynolds, ED, and Kevin Greene as time went on. I can't ignore what she was facing in LA.

Georgia Frontiere - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"By the mid-1980s, Frontiere had passed much of the Rams' daily financial and football management responsibilities on to key executives.[4] According to ESPN, "When it came to football matters, Mrs. Frontiere delegated to longtime team president John Shaw, to whom she granted considerable autonomy."[16] As the decade began, the '70s Rams players gradually retired, but the team still reached the playoffs seven times between 1980 and 1989. In 1980, the team moved out of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (a severely outdated facility that was too big to sell out for most games and resulted in frequent blackouts) and into the California Angels' Anaheim Stadium. In the early 1990s, the Rams franchise suffered from poor attendance. Average attendance had fallen to 45,000 fans per game, well below a peak of 62,000. Because of this, the Rams' finances suffered as well.[3] In 1994, the Rams claimed to have lost $6 million, and made only $7.6 million during the previous four seasons.[17]"​

Georgia faced some big problems with the outdated old LA Coliseum. Back then ticket sales and concessions made up a big part of the profit for NFL teams. Luxury Boxes become a big profit center too. Georgia was not making the money in those areas. Moving to Anaheim in 1980 didn't help enough. I was there and the Rams didn't have the interest in SoCal. They also had to compete with the Raiders moving into the SoCal market. Even today we don't see the same solid local support other markets get.

Georgia made a great business decision to move to St Louis. The Rams got to win their first Super Bowl. She did spend money on some free agents and great coaching staff.

I always feel compelled to point out some of the things Georgia faced as the owner of the Rams. She did end up making a smart move of getting Stan Kronke as a part-owner.

On April 13, 1995, Stan Kroenke helped Georgia Frontiere move the National Football League's Los Angeles Rams from Anaheim to St. Louis by purchasing a 30% share of the team.[16]

Stan Kroenke - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

In 2010, Kroenke exercised his right of first refusal to purchase the remaining interest in the Rams from the estate of late owner Georgia Frontiere.[17] On August 25, 2010, he became full owner of the Rams by unanimous consent of the NFL. To gain approval from NFL owners, Kroenke agreed to turn over control of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche to his son, Josh, by the end of 2010, and he had to give up his majority stake in both teams in December 2014. The NFL does not allow its owners to hold majority control of major league teams in other NFL markets.[18] On October 7, 2015, the NFL approved transfer of his ownership stake of the Avalanche and Nuggets to his wife, Ann Walton Kroenke.[19]

The LA Rams now have a great new stadium and another Super Bowl championship!

I know there is tremendous animosity toward Georgia. I don't think everything was entirely her fault and believe she made some good decisions to help get the Rams two Super Bowl championships.

It was a great pleasure to be in SoCal watching ED run the ball behind a great offensive line. Too bad he didn't get paid as he should have and stay a Ram. He did get paid big money at the time by the Colts.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1987/11/01/dickerson-signs-3-year-colts-pact/00673ab2-8574-47cd-8d2a-b896382f651c/

Although financial terms were not disclosed, Dickerson's new contract is believed to be for more than $1.1 million a year. Earlier in the day, he said he had agreed to a four-year deal for $5.6 million; that deal would have been worth $1.4 million annually.

"Believe me, it's fat," he said before boarding the team plane to New Jersey, where the Colts will play the New York Jets Sunday at Giants Stadium. "I'm very satisfied. I wouldn't say it if I wasn't."

​

 

[David Ray]

And I firmly believe she had her mafia connection kill her husband Carroll Rosenbloom

The composer of the music is Dominic Frontiere. So, check out the content beginning at 13:16 here:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dargcKBSK60

 

[tempests]

The bottom line is if the Rams simply paid him what he deserved, the Rams could've had a legit shot at some Super Bowls, and ED may have ended up the all time leading rusher. What could've been....

I'd have preferred Dickerson stayed with the Rams, there was nothing good about the way he left. And I believe if he had stayed long enough for the Rams passing offense to catch up with their run game, at the end of the 1980s, they might've gotten past SF in the NFC.

That being said, winning a championship is about setting aside your ego and working towards a common goal. Eric never could sit with the business side of the NFL, no matter where he went. "Fair market value" to him meant making as much, if not more, than John Elway, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, and in Indianapolis, he did, and that did not translate to team success.

 

[RocknRam29]

From The Byron Scott Podcast


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HstFXchcVI

 

[fanotodd]

That '84 Niner team was 15-1; and out-scored its three playoff opponents 82-26.

They beat the Rams 33-0 in L.A. around mid-season; and closed-out the Regular Season with a close win.

Dickerson is like Keyshawn Johnson in my opinion. Tremendous talent ... Selfish guy ... Subjective memory.

That’s where my picture with the Rams horns bleached into my hair comes from. That 33-0 game was on a Halloween weekend. I walked around all week with my hair like that, being gawked at—even some punk rockers were taken aback. One group screamed, “Freak!” as they drove by.

After that game I couldn’t dye back my hair fast enough. It kept bleeding through and took about 6 months to grow out completely.
…I don’t care how old we are now. I vowed then to tackle joe montana if I ever saw him. He’s yet to come around!

 

[AvengerRam]

I would not have paid to watch, say…George Orwell run with the football. Similarly, I would not pay to read ED’s book.

 

[Allen2McVay]

That’s where my picture with the Rams horns bleached into my hair comes from. ... I walked around all week with my hair like that, being gawked at—even some punk rockers were taken aback. One group screamed, “Freak!” as they drove by.

...

Fuck Them! You looked Great!!!

 

[Allen2McVay]

I would not have paid to watch, say…George Orwell run with the football. Similarly, I would not pay to read ED’s book.

It's funny. When I saw this thread earlier, I had a couple of immediate thoughts (one about the '84 Rams and Niners; and the other about Eric Dickerson), and was going to post some comments.

Then I saw that the original thread was 15 months old; and I had commented back then (did not remember), with the exact same two thoughts/comments.

Dickerson was one of my all-time-favorite Ram to watch play but became one of my least favorite former-Ram. Do not believe his recollection of past events are objective or accurate.
For example, in the original post, Dickerson is quoted as saying:
'That (1984) Ram team could've given that 84 Niner team a serious run for their money'

Bull-shit. That was a good Rams team (10-6 / middle-of-the-pack both offensively and defensively), with a season-long back-up quarterback (Jeff Kemp for the injured Vince Ferragamo). Meanwhile, that was a great 49ers' team (15-1 / one of top-rated offenses and defense in the NFL), with ten Pro Bowlers, that crushed teams in the playoffs.

None of the above should be viewed as a positive comment towards that Rams' ownership and front office ... Frontiere, Shaw and Zygmunt sucked.

 

[RamsSince1969]

I'm always bagging on the Bears owner because it's like I'm looking back in the rear view mirror at my once financially broke Rams.
You have to have an owner that is willing and able to spend money on the stadium, players and coaches if you are going to be a successful franchise. Make your players and coaches feel like they are treated the best of the best and not entering some crap locker room or dated weight room or painted block wall basement cafeteria area. The "Big A" stadium, I liked it as a fan, but as a player, it must have felt pretty dated. The Clippers former owner was maybe the worst owner ever and his cheapness was legendary.
That brings me to the Chargers. Wow! The Chargers got an astounding upgrade for free and have a crap owner who has no money, but at least they kept the other cash poor owner Mark Davis out of Los Angeles. Davis and Spanos in the same building? What could go wrong? Ha! We have quite possibly, the very best owner in all of sports. His son is completely hands on with the Rams franchise and is going to take over when Stan is gone. We are set for many decades financially. I love ED and it's too bad Stan wasn't the owner during the 80's.
I have to edit this to say I looked at the Chicago Bears generated revenue and they rank 13th! $520 million. The Rams rank #3 at $628 million. That makes it even more shocking that the Bears always seem to be a losing or just head above water franchise.