[Elvis]

Demoff isn't a football guy, wasn't a player or a coach. His dad was an agent. I'm sure he's at his best when schmoozing owners and execs. That said, i didn't find him to be inept, thought the scene with him and Fassell was pretty solid.

And Snead went up in my estimation. McVay was nervous and overwhelmed by the draft. Snead was the cool steady hand.

But, like always, the proof will be in the pudding.

I have always thought Jeff Fisher was a little on the dumb side, has a laid back dopey demeanor and doesn't make particularly shrewd decisions. But had the Rams been dominant on defense, a little better on offense, had they been a winner, a playoff team, his not-the-smartest-guy in the room approach would've been fine with me.

I love McVay. He's obviously smart as all get out and knows what he's doing on the field. But if it doesn't translate to wins, what good is he?

Can't wait to find out...

[SWAdude]

You could tell the players 100% tuned him out when he talked. They could see through the BS

Tuned out or in shock. My observation was shock. They were crying just before Demoff came in.

That day the players had no inclination that was going to happen. And surely, just my opinion, a competent yet difficult move by the front office for the future of our team.

[Elvis]

Tuned out or in shock. My observation was shock. They were crying just before Demoff came in.

That day the players had no inclination that was going to happen. And surely, just my opinion, a competent yet difficult move by the front office for the future of our team.

Yeah, looked like a combination of bummed out/shock and "how am i supposed to act in a situation like this" to me...

[BuiltRamTough]

I know Stan is a busy guy and he also seems like a good guy but it would be nice for him to hang out with the players and coaches sometimes.

[Elvis]

http://www.ocregister.com/2017/07/03/am ... um=twitter

Amazon’s ‘All Or Nothing’ chronicles drama of Rams’ 4-12 season, fall of Jeff Fisher

By RICH HAMMOND | [email protected] | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: July 3, 2017 at 12:57 pm | UPDATED: July 3, 2017 at 1:09 pm

All or Nothing? How could there be much of anything worth watching about a season in which the Rams went 4-12 and got progressively worse?

Give it a try.

A camera crew from NFL Films followed the Rams throughout 2016, from their relocation from St. Louis to their dreadful season-ending loss to Arizona, and the product is “All or Nothing,” an eight-part documentary released online by Amazon.

The show, in essence a sequel of HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” which followed the Rams during training camp, is exceedingly compelling and, for the most part, a fair and accurate telling of a season full of drama.

“Hard Knocks” suffered at time because, perhaps in an attempt to attract non-football fans, it attempted to create drama. Would the undrafted receiver who essentially was eighth on the depth chart make the roster? No, of course he would not.

“All or Nothing” didn’t need to play up any drama. Plenty of it already existed.

From the relocation to the draft, from a 3-1 start to a circle-the-drain finish, from Jared Goff’s ascension to Jeff Fisher’s firing and Sean McVay’s hiring, every story line is well covered, with narration from actor Jon Hamm and some well-placed game calls from the Rams’ J.B. Long.

NFL Films received behind-the-scenes access to the Rams’ locker room, meeting rooms and practice field, and also conducted personal interviews with players, coaches and General Manager Les Snead.

Sometimes the action moves too fast, but that’s expected. Each episode essentially includes three weeks of the season. Really, it could have been a 16-part series, but perhaps nobody wants to relive that much of the Rams’ season.

“All or Nothing” hits the correct tone from the beginning, as it begins with the compelling scene of Fisher informing the players, on Dec. 12, that he had been fired. It’s excellent production, which essentially tells the viewers, “This is where you’re going, and now we’ll show you how you got here.”

The contrast is almost immediate. The first episode includes a training-camp meeting in which Fisher, with some hubris, tells his players, “I know what I’m doing.”

From there, it’s a slow descent. Even Fisher knows it. After a Week 4 victory over Arizona, which improbably raised the Rams’ record to 3-1, Fisher told his coaches that if the Rams didn’t improve, they wouldn’t win another game. They went 1-11 from there.

What did the show get right?

• The team did hang together. Those of us who followed the team on a daily basis looked for signs of discord in the locker room, but they were never there. Perhaps, in a way, it should have been, and more players should have been angered about losing, but the players really were as close to each other as the show portrays.

• Goff’s situation was handled well. It showed what many suspected, that the reason Goff didn’t play until the 10th game of the season had nothing to do with his arm or his feet or his physical abilities. Episodes showed Goff struggling (mildly) with the playbook, leading a huddle and that sort of thing. The issue always was about Goff’s ability to run an offense, not throw the ball.

Incidentally, the two moments of the series that might be recorded for posterity both involve Goff (and owner Stan Kroenke). On draft night, Kroenke makes the comment that the Rams “knew who (they) were going to pick before the trade” with Tennessee to acquire the No. 1 pick. The Rams had been adamant, throughout the process, that they would evaluate Goff and Carson Wentz equally.

The other moment is on the field before the Rams-Jets game, when Fisher tells Kroenke that the Rams will start Goff the following week. So the Rams made the decision well in advance, and told their owner right before quarterback Case Keenum led the team to what turned out to be their final victory of the season.

• The players’ and coaches’ personalities were represented well. The cameras seemed to gravitate toward Keenum, at least until the switch to Goff was made — this also happened with the local media — and outgoing guys such as William Hayes. For anyone who might wonder, “Is this how these guys really are?” the answer is yes. The series accurately portrays Jim Fassel as a kind, good-natured man who got thrust into a difficult situation and tried to do right by the team.

What did the show get wrong?

• There are some mild liberties when it comes to the editing. Fisher’s infamous “7-9” speech was not the first team meeting, but actually was an early-camp response to a couple off-field incidents that irritated him. Fisher did not actually wave his hands to quiet the crowd while it cheered “We want Goff” during a game at the Coliseum. Some of the B-roll footage jumps around a little, but nothing significantly changes the story.

• Some of the in-season controversies seemed to get downplayed. The Eric Dickerson fiasco was mentioned, but not in great detail, and this was a story (even if overblown) that dominated media coverage for multiple days.

Fisher’s contract extension, news of which got leaked before the New England game, was never mentioned. That’s odd, given that it was a big story and Fisher got fired a couple weeks later. Also left unmentioned was the possible rift between Fisher and Snead, although both denied one existed.

It’s impossible, though, to fit every story line into a cohesive narrative, and in general the show did a fantastic job of showing how things went wrong for the Rams in 2016.

The show ends with the rise of Coach Sean McVay, and leaves viewers wishing the cameras would keep rolling for a bit longer.

[Will0120]

Fisher admitted that he was lying about the Dickerson situation.

Bones is a very emotional guy.

How so? It seemed like to me that he truly "thought" he had a great heart to heart with Dickerson while he was talking with Singletary but Dickerson perceived it in a very different manner...

[BuiltRamTough]

Sucks Singletary is no longer with the team.

His speech gave me goosebumps. I rewinded and watched it a few times. It was epic.

[Elvis]

The part that gave me chills is when Demoff said they hired McVay because one of the things they were looking for was an innovative tactician...

[actionjack]

Just finished watching the final two episodes. I think one thing is clear, these were Snead picks, at least the first two. Snead can def be graded on this draft going forward. I hope he was right.

[SWAdude]

Just finished watching the final two episodes. I think one thing is clear, these were Snead picks, at least the first two. Snead can def be graded on this draft going forward. I hope he was right.

I will have to rewatch that part maybe but it looked to me Snead was improving our ability to move things around in the draft for some gain while getting the players both he and McVay were wanting. TE and receiver sounds like a McVay preference.