Congratulations to Sam Bradford

[Hasselbeck]

W2B, if there was ever a time to tee off on Spags and his staff, now is it. I know you've kept it bottled in all year... let it rip! Worst coached game of the year. You didn't mention that Seattle has the 32nd ranked run defense and SJ only had 11 carries all game. If you're not going to run the ball, at least throw the ball down field and see what happens (even though the Rams garbage receivers probably would have just tallied up more dropped passes.)

Actually the rush defense is 22nd.. the rush offense was 32nd.

But yeah 11 carries for your star player is inexcusable.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Actually the rush defense is 22nd.. the rush offense was 32nd.

But yeah 11 carries for your star player is inexcusable.

It's the OC fault

/chatbox armchairs

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

I realise that only mcstl25 will care about this post, but...

The local media guys better get on Spags for those 11 Jackson carries. They use to crucify Martz if Faulk had less than 25, even in blowouts. No more kid gloves for Spags, this is year two and this was the biggest game in 6 years. On the road, they should have let it all hang out, and made sure the best player on the field had a chance to make an impact.

 

[mcstl25]

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_168c795c-16e4-11e0-90b6-0017a4a78c22.html

Pretty much sums it up.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_168c795c-16e4-11e0-90b6-0017a4a78c22.html

Pretty much sums it up.

From the article, I might as well have written this:

As for the offense, there's one question: what was the plan? Did the coaches plan to attack Seattle's horrible run defense with Steven Jackson? No, that wasn't it. Jackson was reduced to a virtual non-factor by his own coaching staff. Remarkable. Was the plan to attack downfield with passes? No. Until late in the game, the Rams were content to peck away with 3-yard, 4-yard passes. There was no imagination, no boldness.

So again: what was the plan? What was the identity that Steve Spagnuolo and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur wanted to stamp on their offense? What did they Rams want to stand for? Like you, I watched this game for more than 3 hours and never once had an idea of what the Rams wanted to do.

If you aren't committed to running the ball with Jackson at the NFL's 32nd-ranked (last) rushing defense, then at least turn it loose. Try to push the ball down the field. Try to come up with some innovative plays. Try to catch the Seahawks off guard. But if you've decided -- for whatever reason -- not to make Jackson's running a major plank of your game plan, then you'd better have a good Plan B. The Rams had no Plan B. They had no plan at all. This was one of the strangest things I've seen in covering NFL football for nearly 30 years.

Eleven carries for SJ39 against the worst run defense in the league? What? I'm not saying that the Rams should have run him 35 times, no matter what. If Seattle is stopping Jackson and taking him away, then you have to try something else. But Seattle didn't stop Jackson. The Rams coaches stopped Jackson. When the ball is given to fullback Mike Karney in key situations, it's probably all you need to know about the performance of the coaching staff.

How do you manage only 184 yards and 10 first downs against a Seattle defense that was ranked 29th in scoring defense and 31st in yards allowed from scrimmage? Look, we know this isn't a glamorous, jazzy, high-octane offense. We know the Rams lack big-time playmakers. But really, now: 184 yards against Seattle?

Spags had at least two chances to challenge some calls made by an officiating crew that was just as bad as any team in the gadawful NFC West team. Spags didn't challege.

It wasn't all just the coaching. The wideouts dropped passes. The Rams' interior line allowed penetration in the pass rush, and QB Sam Bradford had multiple passes batted down. And Bradford didn't play well. But he had little help from his coaches and receivers. Let's not have any more talk about the Rams being OK at wide receiver, and not needing to make an aggressive offseason move or two to upgrade the position. This was a cry for help.

The Rams -- painfully -- were not ready for prime time. They were not ready for this moment.

I realize that this is a building year, and I haven't lost perspective. I realize that the Rams weren't supposed to win 7 games. They weren't supposed to be playing for a division title. That's been established. But after the progress that's been made, there's no excuse for playing and coaching as poorly as this team did in Seattle on Sunday night.

My thoughts EXACTLY.

 

[FirstTimer]

Sam Bradford will be a great player in this league, but they needed to take the training wheels off the kid in a do or die game.

He'll have to take his training bra off first. Cut his faggot ass hair. Not wear flannel shirts for interviews. Etc. Charlie Whitehurst is allowed to grow his hair out...and grow a beard. He's a playoff QB.

Bradford can go impersonate Forrest Gump in his basement for the next 4 months

 

[Youk]

/chatbox armchairs

Not that you have any football experience or anything.

Oh wait, you're being an armchair QB as well.

 

[tigstah]

This is why I think the playoffs should just be the teams with the best records. The Seahawks make it while team like The Giants and The Bucs gotta stay at home?

the giants are home cause they screwed themselves. the league needs to do something, but unless they rearrange the divisions again, i don't see how this can be prevented.

 

[Hitman]

Kind of funny that the guy who wrote the article and W2B both bring up the incorrect stat about Seattle having the 32 ranked run defense..... Apparently they don't watch as much NFC West football as they should. Or maybe W2B is just linking an article that he did write himself. Who knows, but I find it comical.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Not that you have any football experience or anything.

Oh wait, you're being an armchair QB as well.

Not that it matters a single bit, but since you bring it up, I have plenty of football experience.

But the difference between my armchairing and your armchairing, is in this case, i'm right about Spags being awful in that game (and all season), and you're dead wrong. Rams fans agree, Seattle fans agree, Rams beat writers agree, even Kuzzy the compulsive gambler agrees.

That was a terribly coached game, he blew the two non challenges, he blew the clock at the end, they gave the best player on the field 11 carries, and he has struggled with these game management issues all year long. The head coach is ultimately responsible for challenges, game management, and gameplan. Your assertion that his assistants are more to blame for any of those things are outrageous and show a total lack of understanding how football coaching works. For example, when Pat Shurmer is ignoring Steven Jackson, it's Spagnuolo's job to turn on his headset and say, "Hey Pat, 39 is the best player on the field, get him the fucking ball."

Steve Spagnuolo has a long, long way to go as a head coach when it comes to managing a game. A national audience got to see exatly what i've been bitching about the last two years. Great motivator, bad on the sideline.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Kind of funny that the guy who wrote the article and W2B both bring up the incorrect stat about Seattle having the 32 ranked run defense..... Apparently they don't watch as much NFC West football as they should. Or maybe W2B is just linking an article that he did write himself. Who knows, but I find it comical.

fyi, mcstl25 got the stat wrong, not me.

 

[Youk]

Not that it matters a single bit, but since you bring it up, I have plenty of football experience.

Pop Warner and Madden usually don't count.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

the giants are home cause they screwed themselves. the league needs to do something, but unless they rearrange the divisions again, i don't see how this can be prevented.

The league doesnt need to do anything. Somebody was going to be the first losing team to get in. Deal with it. Only two 8-8 teams have ever won divisions,and now one 7-9 team. When it happens more than 3 times in the history of football, then we might have a problem. It's a fluke.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Pop Warner and Madden usually don't count.

good one

:badjoke:

 

[Hitman]

fyi, mcstl25 got the stat wrong, not me.

mcstl25, use spell checker before you publish an article. It's unseemly and unprofessional to leave typos in your blogs.

 

[Youk]

But the difference between my armchairing and your armchairing, is in this case, i'm right about Spags being awful in that game (and all season), and you're dead wrong. Rams fans agree, Seattle fans agree, Rams beat writers agree, even Kuzzy the compulsive gambler agrees.

See, what you continuously misunderstand is that all I did was stick up Spags on the final blown call by the refs. In a situation like that, sure he should have just said fuck it and thrown the flag, but 100% of the blame for that and ONLY that challenge should not be on Spags. Someone upstairs should have spoken up and said "Hey idiot, throw the flag, we have a better view of the Seahawks player making a second attempt, and now a horrible ball spot."

Obviously I have not watched any game besides that one, and even though I said I was not judging the rest of the Rams season (though in my mind, the talent was not there for a better record), you continued to use the fact that "no one else sees the Rams" as your counter-argument. That's cool and all, if I was arguing about the whole season.

In your anger of losing, you seemed to miss myself asking about the offensive playcalling, and who does it and the influence of Spags in it. But I guess you were just so bent out of shape like usual that someone would dare disagree with you that you decided to ignore that, and group everyone together as idiots. But I guess asking who does the playcalling and saying that the playcalling is not Spags fault is the same thing to you?

 

[steeljake]

I only watched the first quarter or so before i passed out on the couch, but i was wondering why the fuck the rams came otu throwing those west coast style short passes. then on 3rd and short they do a fb dive hb fake toss to karney and get stuffed... is this madden or something? i cant say i have watched the rams at all this year but if you have steve jackson and a rookie qb how do you expect to win giving your star runner 11 carries all game? especially wehn he is averaging 4 ypc on those few touches? i dont claim to be an nfl guru or even head coach material... but i thinkthis game planning and coaching gets the good ole...

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

In your anger of losing, you seemed to miss myself asking about the offensive playcalling, and who does it and the influence of Spags in it. But I guess you were just so bent out of shape like usual that someone would dare disagree with you that you decided to ignore that, and group everyone together as idiots. But I guess asking who does the playcalling and saying that the playcalling is not Spags fault is the same thing to you?

It ultimately make no difference who does the playcalling.

The head coach signs off on the gameplan, and the head coach should be telling his coordinators, who work for him, when and how to adjust. Spagnuolo has already set a precedent this season when he ordered up 3 consecutive "safe" runs at the end of both the 49er and Cardinal games (in which I detailed and posted the play by play of both scenerios in another thread earlier this week), which he owned up to with the media, which shows he isnt "hands off" when it comes to the offense. And even if he was, he still needs to keep Pat Shurmer in line when he forgets Steven Jackson is on the team during the most important game of the year.

When the chatbox armchairs (I dont remember who specifically, but it came from a bunch of directions) are typing shit like "Spags doesnt call the plays", and "the assistants need to tell him when to challenge" (is Spags mentally disabled, unable to make a challenge decision without the aid of a subordinate, in the most crucial moment of the season?) its obvious there are guys here who have no clue how these teams do things. The head coach is resposible for game plan & game management, end of story. You can throw coordinators under the bus for scheme or philosiphy, but game management largely falls on the head coach.

And yes, it gets frustrating hearing people say, "well, they won 7 games, he cant be that bad", or "he beat the pats!!11!!", when admittedly they don't watch the games. The team isnt good, so many of you got your first or second exposure to the team this year. This game mismanagement is nothing new for Spagnuolo. It's been an issue since day 1. I gave him a clean slate to start the year, but it's the same old shit. I will give him a clean slate next year, but have no confidence he will improve. He is what he is - ultra conservative to a fault, and unable to manage a game. He's a coordinator.

 

[mcstl25]

mcstl25, use spell checker before you publish an article. It's unseemly and unprofessional to leave typos in your blogs.

Oh, thanks so much for the tip. The next time I post a link to an article written by a local sports writer, I'll be sure to check all stats and grammar for you.

 

[ram29jackson]

The league doesnt need to do anything. Somebody was going to be the first losing team to get in. Deal with it. Only two 8-8 teams have ever won divisions,and now one 7-9 team. When it happens more than 3 times in the history of football, then we might have a problem. It's a fluke.

fluke? this is exactly what happens with free agency and the so called parity.

it will happen again sooner than you think. I wouldn't change the playoff structure though.