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The Rams Would Not Be a Fit in Los Angeles
Published: June 5, 2009
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It has been nearly 15 years since the Rams moved from Los Angeles, well really Anaheim, to St. Louis. In that time the team has won a Super Bowl, appeared in another and was a power house team from 1999 to 2002.
While many years have passed, like so many teams there is still a desire among older Rams fans to see the team in LA. It may not be a strong desire but their is no doubt it remains.
This issue would probably be lessened if there was another team in Los Angeles but since 1995 no team has moved or expanded to the City of Angels.
In fact much of the problem is that the Angelinos them selves have had little desire to make it happen. They lost out to Houston in the last expansion in 2002. The city as a whole has no desire for team.
Unlike New York or Chicago where their is more and more desire for teams. In Southern California there is only a weak faint trace. Most teams, not named the Lakers, have struggled to attract fans consistently.
Even the Dodgers have their ups and downs with attendance and interest.
So it is no surprise that little has been made for the NFL to get a team back their even if they would love it.
St. Louis on the other hand has a solid following. Except for the NHL St. Louis Blues the teams have been well supported in rough times as well as good.
For some the anger at the loss of the Football Cardinals to Arizona is still a bitter pill.
In other words St. Louis is a sports town. It cares and it lives and dies by its teams. The Rams took a bit to get used to but they are now firmly entrenched with many.
So while the team goes up for sale it is most likely a lock to stay in St. Louis. The arguments for any move to Los Angeles are simply pipe dreams.
If teams stayed put in their communities, living and dieing in that community that would be one reason for the Rams to return. But while it happened in 1946 lets not forget that this used to be the Cleveland Rams.
So as nice as it might be for some to imagine a return to the West Coast, time has passed that on.
No, no matter what the Cleveland Expansion Browns and the Oakland/LA/Oakland Raiders say, you cannot go home again.
It would be foolish for any owner to give the team back to LA without a willingness on all parties in the government, community, and industry to support the team.
So far at least two parts of that equation has been missing. Until that is solved their will be no team in the near future for the city.
Reborn NFC West a Challenge the St. Louis Rams Need to Overcome
Published: May 15, 2009
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Evaluating a team based on its rivals in the preseason can be a difficult process even for the best prognosticator.
However, when one looks at the NFC West division, there is little doubt that the division has improved in the offseason. The question left is by how much.
The Arizona Cardinals must of course head the group. The defending Super Bowl finalists have not lost any key cog to their team so far.
Probably the smartest moves they have made so far is to re-sign Kurt Warner and to not trade away Anquan Boldin.
Boldin is a key for Larry Fitzgerald to remain the top receiver in the league. With his tough yards play, Boldin is the bulldozer to Fitzgerald’s scalpel.
The Cardinals also have put a nice draft pick up by adding Chris Beanie Wells to the running back corp. Wells will probably back up starter Tim Hightower after the team drops Edgerrin James.
Meanwhile in the Bay Area, the San Fransisco 49ers have done the least of the Rams’ rivals to improve. The Niners selected Michael Crabtree in the first round, which in time should help their wide receivers.
After flirting briefly with Kurt Warner, the team did little else to improve. Mostly, Coach Mike Singletary is going through with an in-house group.
The most improved team in the West is probably the Seattle Seahawks.
The end of the Mike Holmgren era in Seattle was not a good one. Injuries and bad play meant that the team spent the season as a cellar dweller.
So it was important for them to get better. In one respect, they did so just by getting healthy.
The additions of wide receiver Nate Burleson and quarter back Matt Hasselbeck will help.
The most important additions came through free agency and the draft. To the surprise of a few, the Seahawks landed wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
The next major surprise was that Seattle were able to draft possibly the best player in the draft in linebacker Aaron Curry.
These two additions will certainly help on both sides of the ball in an immediate way.
For the Rams, it means they will to work hard to keep up with the two better teams in the division. However, their first goal is to make sure they beat the 49ers at least twice this season.
The Rams have not finished a season at .500 since 2004, when they last swept the 49ers. So it is an important step in the team’s progression to show they can take care of their rival.
If the Rams are to make any progress this season, they will have to be able to win at least one game from the Cardinals and Seahawks.
Winning the home games would certainly help if the Rams are to challenge for the title of the division or at least a playoff spot.
This difficult road is not made easier by the additions on the two teams. But that is something the team will just have to adjust to and deal with.
The West Coast Offense Comes to St. Louis Under Coordinator Shurmur
Published: May 12, 2009
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If he is anything like his uncle Fritz, former defensive coordinator on the Los Angeles Rams, Pat Shurmur will be an innovative offensive coordinator.
Fritz was the man behind the Rams’ “eagle” defense from the late 1980s. He also won a Superbowl as defensive coordinator under Mike Holmgren at Green Bay.
Pat also comes from that Green Bay Holmgren era by way of Andy Reid…who he coached under in Philadelphia.
So why is the Green Bay link so important?
The Packers’ offense was based around the West Coast offense. The offense which was used to great success by the San Francisco 49ers during their championship days under Bill Walsh.
The West Coast offense consists of using a series of small passes to progress the team up the field instead of sending wide receivers on long routes. The focus of the offense from a receiver stand point is yards after the catch.
Reid, when he came to Philadelphia as a former quarterback coach, used this same style to build the team.
Shurmur was installed as quarterback coach by Reid. The Eagles, with Shurmur and quarterback Donovan McNabb, have been very successful implementing the offense even without great receivers.
If Shurmur believes in that style, as it appears he does by some of his comments, then the role of quarterback Mark Bulger changes dramatically.
Bulger is now positioned to throw more short passes, which have to be accurate.
These kind of passes are much more his style as Bulger has proven to have a difficult time hitting receivers on long routes.
Shurmur’s offense may also have a changing role for running back Stephen Jackson if it is successful. If they can push the ball through the air, it will take some of the expected load off of him.
If Jackson is called on less to carry the play for the Rams, he may last longer as he has a tendency to breakdown under the workload.
This changing of the Rams’ offense with Shurmur at the helm will depend greatly on the ability of the Rams’ receivers to make the tough catches.
If they can do this then the Rams may be able to play a possession game that moves the ball methodically up the field. It would slow down the opposition and take pressure off of the defense.
Another key to this offense is the role of the offensive line in protecting for those key seconds while Bulger gets rid of the ball.
Obviously.
One can argue that Shurmur is probably under as much pressure as head coach Steve Spagnuolo to get this system off the ground. If the west coast offense can come to St. Louis and be successful, then both the quarterback and the defense will absolutely appreciate it.
