Raheem Morris discussion thread

[Merlin]

Saw in the McVay interview no chance of Jones back this week probably not next either. Injuries have been a huge part of the season, not just for the Rams.

Have to wonder about this longer season and if there is anything that can be done. Maybe open the roster and cap to allow teams to keep more players????

It's shitty man. We were so blessed in 1999 and even then we lost our starting QB in preseason. Depth really does matter.

All I can say is I hope we get past Arizona and then maybe Jones at that point makes progress to where we see him again. But it's going to suck to see this defense without him, he really was a big part of how they were playing.

 

[thirteen28]

I hate saying it .. but I feel like we have some "bitches" on this team. Dudes afraid if contact and want no part of a physical game. Dudes who enjoy a finesse game but want no part of a physical game. We need more alpha blue collar personalities. And less financial consultants.

Not sure I agree with that. When you look at the leaders on this team, nobody would ever say AD is afraid of contact. And Ramsey is, unlike so many elite CBs, someone who loves to lay the wood on guys. Who else did you have in mind?

 

[ottoman89]

Not sure I agree with that. When you look at the leaders on this team, nobody would ever say AD is afraid of contact. And Ramsey is, unlike so many elite CBs, someone who loves to lay the wood on guys. Who else did you have in mind?

I didn't say all. In a other thread I excluded dudes like Donald, Ramsey, Von and Floyd.

 

[Kupped]

I don't doubt there is a mental aspect to it, but the problems we've had with the defensive scheme have plagued us most of the season, and bit us in the ass hard in both games against the 49ers.

And incidentally, the three things you listed can be corrected with good coaching. I think when your philosophy is to play passively, as Morris's is most of the time, it exacerbates those issues.

I couldn't care less if the DC is Raheem Morris or Morris Day.. I really don't.

I did think the defense was turning the corner and improving, but it failed at the end of the game, for sure.

I understand why people think it's the scheme and I have two main responses:
-The scheme is a product of McVay's beliefs and approach to football. He chose the DC and he's the man in charge. To think that it's not a direct reflection of how he thinks football should be played seems to me to ignore the fact that he's the head coach and handpicked his DC.
-They simply don't have the personnel they had last year and that mattered a lot on Sunday, imo. The drop off from Hill to DD/Long is very big and the drop off from JJ to Scott/Rapp is massive.. and, on top of all that, Fuller was out for that last drive.

I will continue to point to is the fact that what we're seeing is a product of McVay's vision and the personnel decisions made by him and Snead.

The Rams have lost to the 9ers 6 times in a row. Morris has been DC for the last two of those.
The Rams lost on a 4th quarter, 2:11 drive to the 49ers at home last year with Nick Mullens at QB.
The Rams losses this year mirror their losses last year.. Buffalo/Tennessee, Green Bay & the 9ers, and Arizona/Seattle.

For those saying Morris is a huge dropoff from Staley, you'll have to explain how the Chargers managed to put a defense on the field this year that's actually worse than the one the Chargers put on the field last year. If your response is "personnel", I'd ask why that's not a fair response for the Rams performance this year.

Yep.. the Rams offense is better this year.. that came at a cost to the defense. The amount of money they had to eat to move Goff would've been more than enough to keep JJ and Hill. So, that's what we'd call a wash.

The Rams defense missed something like 19 tackles yesterday and the offensive line got dominated. I would suggest this indicates a program that isn't physical enough on both sides of the ball, not just on the defense.

Fire Morris, cool.. I don't care. The Rams current program, overall, needs a serious reassessment if they want to compete with the tougher teams in the NFL. They simply get physically dominated too often in big games. Happened last year in the playoffs against GB.. and it happened this year.


Maybe the Rams overcome it all and win in the playoffs.

But, if they fail big time in the playoffs? I'd say they need to take a long, hard look in the mirror to see what they are as a football program and why they're falling short, consistently, against the types of team that dominate them.

Maybe a Fangio can get much better out of this unit, but I think if you're playing with the current secondary and LBs, you're going to continue to see the team fall short.

 

[thirteen28]

I couldn't care less if the DC is Raheem Morris or Morris Day.. I really don't.

I did think the defense was turning the corner and improving, but it failed at the end of the game, for sure.

I understand why people think it's the scheme and I have two main responses:
-The scheme is a product of McVay's beliefs and approach to football. He chose the DC and he's the man in charge. To think that it's not a direct reflection of how he thinks football should be played seems to me to ignore the fact that he's the head coach and handpicked his DC.
-They simply don't have the personnel they had last year and that mattered a lot on Sunday, imo. The drop off from Hill to DD/Long is very big and the drop off from JJ to Scott/Rapp is massive.. and, on top of all that, Fuller was out for that last drive.

I will continue to point to is the fact that what we're seeing is a product of McVay's vision and the personnel decisions made by him and Snead.

The Rams have lost to the 9ers 6 times in a row. Morris has been DC for the last two of those.
The Rams lost on a 4th quarter, 2:11 drive to the 49ers at home last year with Nick Mullens at QB.
The Rams losses this year mirror their losses last year.. Buffalo/Tennessee, Green Bay & the 9ers, and Arizona/Seattle.

For those saying Morris is a huge dropoff from Staley, you'll have to explain how the Chargers managed to put a defense on the field this year that's actually worse than the one the Chargers put on the field last year. If your response is "personnel", I'd ask why that's not a fair response for the Rams performance this year.

Yep.. the Rams offense is better this year.. that came at a cost to the defense. The amount of money they had to eat to move Goff would've been more than enough to keep JJ and Hill. So, that's what we'd call a wash.

The Rams defense missed something like 19 tackles yesterday and the offensive line got dominated. I would suggest this indicates a program that isn't physical enough on both sides of the ball, not just on the defense.

Fire Morris, cool.. I don't care. The Rams current program, overall, needs a serious reassessment if they want to compete with the tougher teams in the NFL. They simply get physically dominated too often in big games. Happened last year in the playoffs against GB.. and it happened this year.


Maybe the Rams overcome it all and win in the playoffs.

But, if they fail big time in the playoffs? I'd say they need to take a long, hard look in the mirror to see what they are as a football program and why they're falling short, consistently, against the types of team that dominate them.

Maybe a Fangio can get much better out of this unit, but I think if you're playing with the current secondary and LBs, you're going to continue to see the team fall short.

I've been back and forth with you on this quite a bit, and we're just going to have to agree to disagree on Morris. Full stop.

If you want to debate others on the merits of his defense, or the shortcomings of our personnel, have at it.

 

[Merlin]

I hate saying it .. but I feel like we have some "bitches" on this team. Dudes afraid if contact and want no part of a physical game. Dudes who enjoy a finesse game but want no part of a physical game. We need more alpha blue collar personalities. And less financial consultants.

All teams have those types.

I will observe that the Rams letting Littleton go was brilliant for that reason. He was that type of player, could only chase and tackle didn't like taking guys on head up. Jones is the kind of dog you're talking about btw. I'm looking forward to watching him develop.

We do need a fast rangy type who is a sure tackler to pair with Jones. But we also need a corner or two, a safety most likely, and probably an OLB when Von leaves in FA. We also might need a 5T if they have reservations about B Brown.

One of the advantages of Morris is that he's got the leadership to get in that ass the right way when guys are doing that shit. Ramsey for example had one of his worst games vs SF, but a coach who doesn't have a good feel runs the risk of him sulking. What they're doing with him in trying to grow him into a leader, I applaud. He's worth that extra effort because of what he can do when he's locked in.

I don't disagree with you though. But I think every team wants guys like that on defense and are actively looking for them.

 

[thirteen28]

I didn't say all. In a other thread I excluded dudes like Donald, Ramsey, Von and Floyd.

Ok, so who do you specifically think is afraid of contact?

I mean there are players you can fault for certain things (e.g., Rapp for his liabilities in deep coverage, etc.), but I can't really think of anyone on our D who is afraid of contact.

 

[Kupped]

Appropriate bc it's not what you believe? That doesn't make it appropriate and is not going to make anyone agree with you even if you are correct.

Changing DC's does effect how players play. Williams was playing lights out last season. Fuller took over Rapps job bc of injury last season and was one of the biggest surprises in our secondary. Speaking of Rapp, he does pretty damn good near the LOS. Ramsey shut down every top WR last season. Floyd earned himself a pretty decent pay after last season. Where is all this production now? Why are so many people out of the position where they have proven they can succeed? I would argue the tackling could POTENTIALLY be better if player were put in a position to succeed.

Our D has been playing better before this game, I will admit. But this whole team has been pretty streaky all season.

I'm going to make a sincere effort to change tone. Apologies.

I just wrote a longer post about what I think are the big picture issues. I understand that you'll disagree.

Williams has been up and down this season, for sure. I think some of that is his injuries, but I think some of that is him. I don't know if you remember, but last year, late in the season, there were a couple of games where Hill started ahead of Williams and he out snapped him several times.

I'm going to say the losses of JJ and Hill were massive, when you look at where those snaps have gone. More snaps for Scott, Long, Rapp and DD. DD and Long don't belong on an NFL roster.. Scott is getting way too many snaps.

Add to that at the end of the game, Fuller was out.

 

[blackbart]

If we truly want the Defense to get better, and be able to face these bully teams. We need to BADLY invest in the ILB spot next to Jones. And no former S bullshit. We need a heavy, thumper. Also, need to invest in DL next to Donald. Gaines and SBJ are nice but seem to get bullied easy. ALSO, invest in some bigger DBs, particularly CBs. We're badly undersized there outside of Ramsey and they just bounce off dudes. And that means let DWill walk. He's played himself our of a nice payday to me.

We need some dogs, some mean dudes. We have too much finesse and not enough power outside a few guys like Von, Ramsey, Donald, and Floyd.

Rochelle is a bigger CB if he could stay on the field. Not sure if he has that mean streak but would love to see him more available.

 

[TXRams86]

Saw in the McVay interview no chance of Jones back this week probably not next either. Injuries have been a huge part of the season, not just for the Rams.

Have to wonder about this longer season and if there is anything that can be done. Maybe open the roster and cap to allow teams to keep more players????

I like that idea. Lets hope that behind the scenes somewhere the powers that be are using this season as a test and make some of the changes you mentioned. If the season is getting extended, the cap should be raised and we should be able to have more game time active players made available. I'm sure some analyst out there can conclude that increasing the season by one game leads to probability X of injuries increasing. And it's greater than 0, that's for sure.

 

[blackbart]

I like that idea. Lets hope that behind the scenes somewhere the powers that be are using this season as a test and make some of the changes you mentioned. If the season is getting extended, the cap should be raised and we should be able to have more game time active players made available. I'm sure some analyst out there can conclude that increasing the season by one game leads to probability X of injuries increasing. And it's greater than 0, that's for sure.

I thought I saw something about taking it to 18 games in the future. That would be a disaster for the playoff teams.

I used to think the injuries happen because they don’t do enough hitting in camp and preseason snd that might be true for some bit a lot of what we’re seeing are ankles, mcl, shoulder.

With the USFL being back as a minor league system to develop players they could see guys maturing from programs in college that just don’t prepare them for the NFL.

Opening game day rosters to say 55 and rosters in general by as much as 10% shouldn’t be that much of a stretch when that’s what you’re doing to the schedule.

 

[I like Rams]

I'm going to make a sincere effort to change tone. Apologies.

I just wrote a longer post about what I think are the big picture issues. I understand that you'll disagree.

Williams has been up and down this season, for sure. I think some of that is his injuries, but I think some of that is him. I don't know if you remember, but last year, late in the season, there were a couple of games where Hill started ahead of Williams and he out snapped him several times.

I'm going to say the losses of JJ and Hill were massive, when you look at where those snaps have gone. More snaps for Scott, Long, Rapp and DD. DD and Long don't belong on an NFL roster.. Scott is getting way too many snaps.

Add to that at the end of the game, Fuller was out.

I see where you're coming from, and agree for the most part. Although there are some players like Rapp and DD that can contribute if put in different positions. Rapp for sure can play off LOS, and DD has shown glimpses of some great plays, I just don't want him covering anyone's top receiver.

 

[Kupped]

I see where you're coming from, and agree for the most part. Although there are some players like Rapp and DD that can contribute if put in different positions. Rapp for sure can play off LOS, and DD has shown glimpses of some great plays, I just don't want him covering anyone's top receiver.

I feel like Morris has put those two in their best positions possible for the most part. The problem is that you can't only play Rapp on running downs (I'm not saying that's what you suggested, but that seems to be his biggest strength) and I just think DD is too limited to have on the field too much.

Williams has been inconsistent, too.

Maybe it is the scheme!
Maybe losing Aubrey Pleasant has had a huge impact!

I just don't see it being just about Morris playing shell a little more than other Ds.

Coming into this year, I expected/hoped that by seasons end our Secondary on passing downs would be Fuller, Burgess, Rapp, Rochelle and Ramsey and Long if they were going 6. I expected real growth from Burgess and Long and hoped that Rochelle would develop enough by the end of the season to contribute. That would've been a fairly big, athletic secondary.

Didn't happen.

 

[Merlin]

This is the most talented defense in the division IMO. But they are ranked 4th in the division in points allowed. They were also a bottom third defense in getting off the field on third down all season long. Their very nature encourages opponents eating clock and chilling their offense.

There is plenty of blame to go around. But when so many pieces of our secondary struggle this season after playing better in 2020 it stinks of preparation and coaching and gameday usage.

On the other hand being the worst in the division isn't so bad. Rams gave up 21.9 which placed them 15th. But for a team with our level of expectations it is not going to be acceptable.

I've seen a lot of comments about how McVay would never fire his friend. Well, I am not so sure about that. Simply because look at his friends that he has passed over to fill roles on his team. Up until the Morris hire he has seemed to be immune to that friend shit. I think that if he decides Morris is not up to snuff he'll change him out. Might look weird too, like a promotion or whatever, but he'll make the move.

Bottom line is I have felt all along this was a friend hire who is going to need to learn on the job. Well he has learned. We could see the difference in the defense in the first and second halves of the season. So that is encouraging for a year two. Also the playoffs are going to be a big part of that decision process. How will this defense play in the playoffs? We're about to find out. Good chance at some point we're going to find out we've got too many flaws on the back end but we do have the kind of front who can disguise that if the back end at least straightens up their BS and quits blowing assignments.

 

[1maGoh]

I couldn't care less if the DC is Raheem Morris or Morris Day.. I really don't.

I did think the defense was turning the corner and improving, but it failed at the end of the game, for sure.

I understand why people think it's the scheme and I have two main responses:
-The scheme is a product of McVay's beliefs and approach to football. He chose the DC and he's the man in charge. To think that it's not a direct reflection of how he thinks football should be played seems to me to ignore the fact that he's the head coach and handpicked his DC.
-They simply don't have the personnel they had last year and that mattered a lot on Sunday, imo. The drop off from Hill to DD/Long is very big and the drop off from JJ to Scott/Rapp is massive.. and, on top of all that, Fuller was out for that last drive.

I will continue to point to is the fact that what we're seeing is a product of McVay's vision and the personnel decisions made by him and Snead.

The Rams have lost to the 9ers 6 times in a row. Morris has been DC for the last two of those.
The Rams lost on a 4th quarter, 2:11 drive to the 49ers at home last year with Nick Mullens at QB.
The Rams losses this year mirror their losses last year.. Buffalo/Tennessee, Green Bay & the 9ers, and Arizona/Seattle.

For those saying Morris is a huge dropoff from Staley, you'll have to explain how the Chargers managed to put a defense on the field this year that's actually worse than the one the Chargers put on the field last year. If your response is "personnel", I'd ask why that's not a fair response for the Rams performance this year.

Yep.. the Rams offense is better this year.. that came at a cost to the defense. The amount of money they had to eat to move Goff would've been more than enough to keep JJ and Hill. So, that's what we'd call a wash.

The Rams defense missed something like 19 tackles yesterday and the offensive line got dominated. I would suggest this indicates a program that isn't physical enough on both sides of the ball, not just on the defense.

Fire Morris, cool.. I don't care. The Rams current program, overall, needs a serious reassessment if they want to compete with the tougher teams in the NFL. They simply get physically dominated too often in big games. Happened last year in the playoffs against GB.. and it happened this year.


Maybe the Rams overcome it all and win in the playoffs.

But, if they fail big time in the playoffs? I'd say they need to take a long, hard look in the mirror to see what they are as a football program and why they're falling short, consistently, against the types of team that dominate them.

Maybe a Fangio can get much better out of this unit, but I think if you're playing with the current secondary and LBs, you're going to continue to see the team fall short.

Before I start this I want to say I do enjoy discussing things with you. You're frustrating as hell, but I enjoy it. You've made a lot of decent points along the way, especially here starting at the "Yep... The offense" part.

That being said, do we know that Morris is actually doing what McVay wants? I think it's entirely possible that McVay asked Morris if he could learn Staley's system and call it like that. In this theory Morris, not being a complete moron, says of course he can. Then we get the first several games if the year. Like you pointed out several times, we were winning so who cares what's happening right? Bad defense? No fucks, we won. Unsustainable performances? No fucks, we won. Then it an fell apart and both sides had to go back to the drawing board to figure out how to play sustainable winning ball. Morris is trying to call more tough defense, but it's not in his nature so sometimes he slips back into what's most comfortable. That's when we get games like SF.

We returned 3 of 5 players in the secondary. The drop off from JJ and the third CB shouldn't be that damn big. It's one safety and the third CB. The third CB. I'll say it again for the people on the back: the third CB isn't quite as good as last year. You said in another post that or third CB options were put in the best places to succeed this season. If they aren't as good as last year, why would we highlight that problem by moving Ramsey to the star and forcing them into being (effectively) the number 2 CB? That's not putting players in their best position to win. Dude can't make it as a 3, so let's force him into being a 2. That's bad decision making on the defensive coaching staff. Burgess played well last year. I think he's played well whenever he gets in the games this year. Why isn't he playing? We don't know, but we'll see this weekend. You said in another post that you think he's put Rapp in the best position to succeed this year. Rapp can't play deep safety. Morris has consistently put him at deep safety. And as we found out during the Ravens game, he plays too deep often enough to cause somebody to slap him for it. That's not playing a guy to his strength and he's either not holding his coaches accountable for his they are training Rapp or they are coach him that way and it's hurting the team. Either way that's a failure of the defensive coaching staff. Which includes, but is not limited to and the buck stops with, Morris. McVay's responsibility is to hold Morris accountable for the defense. If he stops doing that then he's failed as a head coach. Until then, Morris is responsible for the defense and his head is on the chopping block if it comes to that.

McVay isn't going to fire Morris mid season. That's basically giving up. That's for loser teams that don't really have hope. He won't do that. But would he chew the dude's ass behind closed doors and tell him to call more aggressive plays? I fully believe so. I can't believe that McVay is totally hands off and completely satisfied with the defense. I'm not saying nothing will convince me of that, but I've seen nothing to make me think he's that stupid and oblivious (which I realized after typing may seem like a shot at you; it was not, sorry about the confusion). What the defense did in the first half of the season is similar to Stafford's performance in the Ravens game. Bad but with just enough to win it, but still a problem. Unsustainable. We all said, eventually with good offenses if you let them get to the red zone as a part of the scheme they will make it into the end zone. The defense won't always get a pick or a sack and hold them to a field goal or get the ball back. Good offenses will put it in. Then we saw that happen. Now it's happened again. This defensive scheme may work against bad teams and it may sporadically work against good teams, but it's not smart, sustainable football. McVay has to know that and I can't imagine he's going to just sit on everything the way it is when this season is over unless we win the super bowl of the back of a dominant defensive performance. Iterate and improve is what I expect he'll do. Some way, although I won't guess how.

This turned out way longer than I thought it would. Sorry about that as well.

 

[payote75]

There were some better options than weddle we all know that but I'm just speculating here I think weddle is basically going to play but also in many ways he will be like an interim defensive coordinator with Morris being a lame duck Defensive Coordinator. Like bones punt fake in a meaningless game you saw the look on mcvays face and at that moment you knew bones was gone. Same with Goff he had that look. Don't know about you guys but I felt I saw that same look after he entrusted that game to the defense and it backfired. I realize he isn't without blame himself but we all know MCvay has done way more good than bad and he will ultimately do what's best for the team friends or no friends.

 

[SteezyEndo]

Not going to lie. I kind of miss the Wade Phillips Defense it was structured really well, hardly any confusion and tackling was better.

 

[oldnotdead]

But when so many pieces of our secondary struggle this season after playing better in 2020 it stinks of preparation and coaching and gameday usage.

Agreed.

Morris is trying to call more tough defense, but it's not in his nature so sometimes he slips back into what's most comfortable. That's when we get games like SF.

This defensive scheme may work against bad teams and it may sporadically work against good teams, but it's not smart, sustainable football.

Absolutely agree.

 

[jacktheripper85]

Don’t love Morris or hate the guy. I guess the best assessment I’d give the guy is that he’s serviceable but with the talent on this team I think McVay could have done better.

Who knows, maybe McVay didn’t think Staley would get a HC offer after only 1 year and he wasn’t prepared to hire a DC that soon. McVay loves doing his due diligence but being under the gun maybe he hired Morris because he knew him and wasn’t sure he had time to identify a better candidate before Morris got hired by someone else.

Final comment in regards to Sunday is I do think Morris is getting too much of the blame. When you miss 19 tackles against a team of equal talent it obviously shows that that team just wanted it more than you. Morris can’t control that-that’s up to your leaders on defense.

 

[OldSchool]

There were some better options than weddle we all know that but I'm just speculating here I think weddle is basically going to play but also in many ways he will be like an interim defensive coordinator with Morris being a lame duck Defensive Coordinator. Like bones punt fake in a meaningless game you saw the look on mcvays face and at that moment you knew bones was gone. Same with Goff he had that look. Don't know about you guys but I felt I saw that same look after he entrusted that game to the defense and it backfired. I realize he isn't without blame himself but we all know MCvay has done way more good than bad and he will ultimately do what's best for the team friends or no friends.

So McVay is going to fire his best buddy after the season but in the mean time he's going to give the DC job in de facto to somebody who's never coached? If he were to shit on his buddy he'd give somebody on the staff the job but does anybody honestly think Morris is going to get benched this week?