squeaky wheel said:
X said:
Angry Ram said:
Yet only 6 winning seasons in 15 years, excluding 1994.
People will embrace 6 winning seasons in 15 years here as long as he yells and the Rams stay competitive. That seems to be the only requirement for a head coach (recently). I don't have a problem with him being the next guy. I've always admired how his teams played smashmouth ball. As a former safety, I kinda liked the way they'd lay the wood, and they always had a decent rushing attack. The problem as I see it (and this may not BE a problem in as much as it's an observation) is that his teams were really, really boring. With QBs setting records in passing yards and TD's, I think he's going to have to evolve a little in his approach. Good D and a good rushing attack isn't enough if you don't have the ability to play catch-up or pull away. But, he's a smart guy. I assume he'd be able to recognize the way the league is trending now and try to incorporate a good passing attack into his plan.
Fisher plays to the strength of his players which is what a HC has to do.
That's PART of what a HC has to do.
Let's examine this WWJD (what would Jeff do) scenario wherein he is the answer at head coach. Not saying he isn't, but let's examine what he would do under similar circumstances. In 2003, the Titans went 12-4 and Fisher (as well as the Titans) went to the playoffs via a wildcard berth. They later lost to the Patriots, and that was that. Pretty good.
In 2004, however, they experienced a lot of injuries. Fisher (as well as the Titans) proceeded to lose 7 more games than the previous year to finish up at 5-11. 7 games less due to injury. Sound vaguely familiar? In that year, they beat two teams with winning records. The Jaguars and the Packers. WWJD under those circumstances? Circumstances being a lot of injuries? He'd lose like every other coach would. 7 more games, in fact. What happened the following year? A year wherein they were tight against the cap and had to release big names like Samari Rolle and Derrick Mason (among others). A year that forced them to "go younger". Well, they lose an additional game to go 4-12. Fisher can't do shyte when faced with circumstances beyond his control. The situations he faced were the exact same things the Rams faced, just in a different order.
So, I'm not impressed with what he can do when things spiral out of control around him. I'm not impressed with what ANY coach can do in those circumstances, because no coach has BEEN ABLE TO do anything worthy of note under those circumstances. Yeah, he's got some experience. He knows how to be a head coach and he's done it before. That's great. I'm all for that. Just temper your expectations relative to what he's able to do outside the realm of his expertise. He's not a miracle worker *either*.