 PROVING THE CRITICS RIGHT, BY NINER HATER (Nov
8) |
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The critics have all said
the Rams were not good enough to win tough games on the road. They have all said they
hadn't played anybody yet and would be exposed when they did. In our local paper [in
Arizona] only 2 out of 10 writers picked the Rams to beat the Lions in Detroit. I'm sorry
to say that so far Dick and Co. have done their best to prove them all right. It's obvious
that this team is not there yet. The critics have been closer to the truth than we have. There really aren't any games left now to prove them wrong. Not until the playoffs anyway----if we get there. From here on out, all the Rams can do is hope to make the playoffs and to play better against a good team than they have so far. I have been concerned all along that we were playing our best football at the start of the season. I'm sure we'll win a few more but I think it's plain to see two things. 1. The league has found weaknesses in both the Rams offense and defense and are exploiting them. 2. The Rams are not adjusting well to opponent's adjustments. The first 6 weeks were an aberation of what you will normally see. To be a quality team you have to win tough games on the road. The Rams have played exactly 2 quality opponents this year and they've blown them both. You may take your refuge in the fact that they've played them both close. There will be more close games. The NFL is about winning close games you have a chance to win. Don't dismiss the rest of us who see the warts as 'disgruntled fans'. Are the Rams improved this year? Yes. But they're still being held back by one man who won't let them be as good as they could be. 10 other head coaches would have had this team at 8-0 right now. I suppose if the Rams lose the rest of their games by 3 points some will still be making excuses simply because they played good enough to win but didn't by some fluke of bad luck, bad calls, or bad karma. Is anyone happy about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory two weeks in a row? Happy about a team celebrating victory on the sidelines when it's 4th and 26 and there's still a play to be run? Happy about bad execusion, the inablilty to win a close one, the bad game management Let's hope they can break out of this slump and play great again at the end of it. THE 4 & 26. Not only did we not pressure Ferrotte, we had no deep saftey help. The defensive play call was terrible. They couldn't make up their minds what defense to use and they got burned through indecesion. There's just no excuse for that. That play was indefensible. I criticized the defense at the end of last year. You're seeing the problems again. Long distance situations are the Rams worst defensive down. They just don't have a clue. 4th and 26 and no safety help? What in the world is that? There was no excuse for the defensive play call on 4th and 26. Sorry, none! That was as bad of a call as I've ever seen. That's coaching, esecially when you see them give up big gains on long yardage situations over and over again. IS THE OFFENSE SLIPPING? This basically boils down to the Rams being out schemed and out coached of late. They came out of the gate with something the league was not ready for. Well, now they're ready for it. Now DV needs to do some coaching, adjusting, dealing with adversity. That does not bode well for the Rams. Yes, we'll win a few more but I'm afraid the days of dominating victories are over with. Carolina will be a tough game. Another tough defensive team. I'm not crazy about the matchups. I'm not crazy about Vermeils ability to turn this back around. Hold on tight because it's going to be a rollercoaster from here on out. The Rams O has struggled in the first half of 2 games in a row now. The game management has been atrocious in both games. Examples from the Lions game. The half back option play I thought was fine except when they didn't go for it on 4th down. Why run that play if you're not going to go for it on 4th and 1? I just didn't get that. My gut feeling is that Martz had going for it on 4th down in mind but DV in his infinite wisdom nixed the idea. Instead he sent in Tuten to punt it through the end zone once AGAIN! Net gain, 19 yards. They didn't use the slants and quick outs and other quick seam stuff that they had thrown in the past. The TE was absent. Warner was taking a lot of 7 step drops and WR's were not getting open. They seemed to forget about Marshall Faulk in the second half. Or the Titans game. Does anybody remember last week against the Titans when they were down by 10 in the 4th with about 3-4 minutes left? They never ran the hurry up. Not once. They huddled and took their time every play. I couldn't understand it. It cost them at the end of the game when they used so much time on the previous drive. Now I understand it. It was DV---or is this deja vu? I don't think it had been a problem until last week because they have had such big early leads that DV was able to stay out of it. In these close games, DV has been much more involved. You can see it when they're showing him on the sideline. There have been times in the past two losses when I swear I'm having deja vu from last year. You can see it, smell it, feel it. These two losses have DV's fingerprints all over them. There's no doubt that Dick is getting his hands in the deal. Big mistake! I can't help but believe that Martz is controlling the whole thing. Trouble getting in plays, using all their timeouts in the 1st qtr---that's Dick getting involved again. Play calling has been suspect and penalties are piling up. If that doesn't have DV all over it, I don't know what does. The only proof I have is that the fingerprint seems to match. You might want to look at what DV is doing on the sidelines during these last two games. He's been attempting to micro manage both the defense and the offense at critical times. Just sit him on the bench during the game and let the coaches coach and call the game. Otherwise, it's going to get worse. |
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