Not In Missouri Anymore

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This past Monday marked the first time in 21 years that a National Football League franchise played a regular season game representing the City of Los Angeles as the Rams returned to Southern California. The Rams left Anaheim on March 15, 1995 in favor of St. Louis, Missouri. But after things were unraveling financially in St. Louis, they returned West. The Rams were given a hero’s welcomed when they returned to Los Angeles. And as L.A. is the second largest media market in the United States, the Rams immediately were once again thrust under the microscope.

The Rams began the 2016 National Football League with optimism and you really couldn’t blame them as they are in a new city, with a new fan base, and a new stadium on the way. The Rams are also in the process of developing their newest franchise quarterback in Jared Goff who was the first overall pick of this year’s NFL Draft. But when the Rams began play this past Monday night, they were shutout by the San Francisco 49ers 28-0.

In the game the Rams were thoroughly dominated by the 49ers in every facet of the game. The Rams only managed 185 total yards of offense, while they were 3-of-15 on third down conversions. The Rams also had 10 penalties for 102 yards which in itself is a recipe for disaster. And the architect for this futility was none other than Rams head coach Jeff Fisher.

21 of the last 22 years have seen Fisher as a head coach in the National Football League. Fisher’s time as an NFL head coach began in 1994 when he replaced Jack Pardee as the head coach of the Houston Oilers midway through the regular season. Fisher would stay with the Oilers franchise for 17 years which included the organization’s move to Nashville, Tennessee in 1997 as they would go on to be named the Titans. The highlight of Fisher’s tenure with the Titans came during the 1999 NFL season when he led Tennessee to their first and only AFC Championship in franchise history. In 17 years with the Oilers/Titans franchise, Fisher only had six playoff appearances as he compiled a record of 142-120.

Jeff Fisher

Fisher would become the head coach of the Rams in 2012 and including Monday night’s loss to San Francisco, his record with the team is 27-37-1. Fisher has never posted a winning record with the Rams and he has been a polarizing figure in the National Football League for the simple fact that no head coach has done less than he has, but still manages to maintain his position. However Fisher now finds himself in a city that unlike Houston, Nashville, and St. Louis will want positive results immediately.

In losing to the 49ers, the Rams were outclassed and out coached, along with any other adjective that you could think of to describe their futility. The Rams issues started at the quarterback position where veteran Case Keenum got the nod. In the game Keemum was 17-of-35 passing for 130 yards while he was also sacked twice. Keenum finished the game with a quarterback rating of 34.2. Keenum is obviously not the Rams long-term option at quarterback as in five National Football League seasons, he has only started 16 games, while throwing 15 touchdowns passes to 11 interceptions. And when it became evident on Monday night that the Rams weren’t going to be victorious, it would have been the perfect opportunity for Goff to get a few reps as a quarterback, but Fisher made him inactive prior to the start of the game.

Fisher is coaching as if he is going to be the head coach of the Rams for a long time as there doesn’t appear to be a sense of urgency on his part, but he is now in a city that is all about “what have you done for me lately”. The Rams also gave up five draft picks to obtain the first overall slot from the Titans in order to draft Goff, and although that I am in favor of having a slow process as far as developing young quarterbacks, Goff is the best signal caller that is currently on the Rams roster.

Jared Goff

More fuel was added to the fire about the Rams quarterback play when Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, who was immediately selected after Goff dazzled this past Sunday as he went 22-of-37 for 278 passing yards and had a pair of touchdowns in the 29-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns. Wentz is the Eagles best option at quarterback and he was on full display.

But overall as a team the Rams must play better as there is now a ton of pressure on them that they never had to deal with while they called St. Louis home. The Rams are set to host the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday and more than 90,000 people are expected to be in attendance at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the first National Football League regular season game there since 1994. And for the Rams it will be their first home game at the venue since 1979. The Seahawks have been a perennial contender in the NFL during this decade and although that the Rams have been physical against them under Fisher, they need to get a victory over Seattle as a loss would not only make Los Angeles 0-2, but also 0-2 within the NFC West.

This is the time when leaders must step to the forefront, but the Rams parted with two of their leaders in the off-season when they released defensive end Chris Long who went on to sign with the New England Patriots, and middle linebacker James Laurinaitis who is now with the New Orleans Saints. And with the likes of defensive end Robert Quinn and defensive tackle Aaron Donald, the Rams will still be able to produce a physical brand of football. But physical football alone won’t be enough as they must find a way to win football games as they must find a way to contain Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson after they allowed 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert to do whatever he wanted to on Monday night.

Fisher has not participated in the playoffs since 2008, and the Rams are the only team in the NFC West to not win the division since 2003. The Rams have talked a big game, but it is put-up, or shut-up time for this team as unlike in St. Louis, they cannot simply get lost in the shuffle in Hollywood.

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By | 2016-09-14T19:56:45+00:00 September 15th, 2016|Categories: National Football League|Tags: , , , |0 Comments

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