[Hacksaw]

Yeah Greg Bell was great, killed it for us in '88 and '89.
Anyone mention Dexter Coakley yet?

Does anyone remember Charlie White and his infamous trash can lid? We go from Eric freaking Dickerson to SC's Charles White. that felt like I had stepped in dog poop.

[Hacksaw]

No. Because they didn't get 2 starting caliber qbs, one who was injured (with 2 freak injuries to the same knee) and another who (in defiance of normal expectations) melted down.

After 4 years the Rams don't have a QB. That's on Fisher. Foles is on Fisher.

He's done a fantastic job of building the defense. There's nothing lucky about it. Fisher deserves the credit.

But the same is true for the miserable offense. Not bad luck, just a bad job by coach Fisher, so far anyway...

In all fairness to coach Fisher. He has had some crappy luck with Bradford. Then dumping him they took a chance on a 50-50 guy who ends up crapping out. I doubt Foles was his first choice but it facilitated getting rid of the oft injured Bradford. The Mannions and Keenums are littered all over the league and you don't hear much from them either.
No the Fisher regime certainly hasn't found a Russel Wilson, Tom Brady, or even a Brock Osweiller type and certainly made non offensive choices with all those high picks when we had them. We could have solved the QB problem a few times over. BUT, we did have a #1 pick in Bradford with a bone crusher contract already under center. Considering the shambles the team was in at every position, I can see why the staff didn't put more emphasis on the QB position. Which in hindsight was the wrong choice considering how important the QB position is and how it turned out.

[Elvis]

Fisher hasn't had good offense since probably when he had Heimerdinger and McNair in Tennessee.

He tried a spread with Bradford for the first part of 2013 then abandoned it. He promoted Cignetti to OC then fired him mid-season and has now brought in Groh as passing game coordinator.

It's not bad luck at the QB position. When it comes to offense (unlike defense) Fisher doesn't know what he's doing.

The good news is, maybe they'll get it right anyway. Or maybe the defense will be so good we can win with bottom of the league offense...

[Hacksaw]

I doubt the Rams D can dominate like say the Bears in the 80's or Ravens a decade or so back. They will need to be more offensive minded.
Looking at stats will show that you are spot on with regard to Heimerdinger. Those were the most offensively productive seasons under Fisher. So to that I can agree that offense isn't his top focus.
imo, the Bradford factor can't be overlooked in all this. The kid has/had chops but couldn't stay on the field. Circumstances were not favorable for Bradford (weak O-line / revolving door OC's) and I will never dispute Fishers D first mentality but Bradford left a lot of 1st downs and points on the field. Factor depth problems due to an entire team overhaul and you have what you have.
The QB is the hub of the wheel but the coach needs to put him in the best position to succeed.
Things don't always go as planned and the players have to make the plays work. SB and Foles couldn't seem to do that either.
52 players and a coaching staff. Hard to pinpoint it,,, but the 2 (HC & QB) in discussion is likely a good place to start, ,, and end.

[/zn/]

After 4 years the Rams don't have a QB. That's on Fisher. Foles is on Fisher.

.

I don't see it remotely anything like that. Unless you were saying at the time of the trade that Foles would meltdown and have a crushing loss of confidence, that to me is just kneejerk coach blame mode.

I don't regard it as realistic analysis to act as if somehow Fisher is to blame for Foles. Things like Foles melting down? They happen. The test for the coach is to see what can be done to fix it.

So our 2 opinions on this matter (ie. Foles) are very different.

[Elvis]

After 4 years the Rams don't have a QB. That's on Fisher. Foles is on Fisher.

.

I don't see it remotely anything like that. Unless you were saying at the time of the trade that Foles would meltdown and have a crushing loss of confidence, that to me is just kneejerk coach blame mode.

I don't regard it as realistic analysis to act as if somehow Fisher is to blame for Foles. Things like Foles melting down? They happen. The test for the coach is to see what can be done to fix it.

So our 2 opinions on this matter (ie. Foles) are very different.

Differing opinions is what makes a forum.

My opinion:

Not only is Fisher and his staff responsible for identifying players who can perform well, they're also responsible for implementing schemes which allow that to happen.

When it comes to defense, Fisher and his staff are great at it.

On offense they're not.

I just don't see it as luck, on either side of the ball...

[OldSchool]

Fisher gambled that Bradford can be healthy and a QB like Alex Smith is for KC. A simple offense that just needs a QB to execute and not make mistakes. Sam not being that guy set his plan back and his option 2 melted down after getting pummeled by Green Bay last year. Lets see how he tries to fix it this year.

[Hacksaw]

John Clayton says that the media was more shocked by the release of Cook than Long and Laurinaitis. He talks about the Rams cuts of Cook, Laurinaitis, and Long with Randy Karraker and D’Marco Farr. They speculate on where the players might end up. Laurinaitis could end up back with Spags with the Giants.

http://www.rams-news.com/john-clayton-t ... uts-audio/

lol,,, Farr tells the professor that those in the media who are shocked by the release of Cook that,, "they must not have TV's" .

[/zn/]

Not only is Fisher and his staff responsible for identifying players who can perform well, they're also responsible for implementing schemes which allow that to happen.

And I say they've done both.

BUT the results have been set back by a long series of injuries that basically compromised 2 positions---qb and OL (though 1 of the qbs was a meltdown not an injury).

Bradford plays in 2014, they have a winning record, even with the OL issues. The OL issues would have held them back some, but still. In 2014, if they have a qb, they win.

Foles plays in 2015 the way 2014 led everyone to expect he would, they have a winning record, even with the young OL. A young OL would have held that back some, but they still win.

Frankly, given the fact that in 2015 the OL was not only young but injured up there for a spell, and given the fact that Foles got benched, I would say 7-9 comes close to over-achieving.

[Hacksaw]

I own a construction company. No matter what happens at every level, it is my fault. It's all on me. (kind of growing tired of that too).
A head coach is in the same position. (ie: one could argue that Fisher's training staff are under performing considering the amount of injuries the team has sustained.) But is that fair?
Injuries are a big part of the game and cannot be factored out. It's a bit unfair not to when judging a HC.

We are a group who have been beaten to the ground for a long time. We want significant change. By that I mean we want to win. Playoffs and beyond. We've paid our dues. We want answers, now.

The answer imo is a improved roster at the QB position first and foremost. 2nd keep our current quality players under contract (especially the secondary). 3rd add another scary pass catcher. Then depth at Oline and fill the LB gap recently created. But more than anything, bring and aggressive, faster paced, healthy offensive attack. All that (except healthy) is on Fish.