Your Controversial Rams Takes

[BuffaloRam]

We should have picked Matt Ryan over Chris Long in 2008. We still would have screwed up the 2009 draft - one of the worst drafts in history for a lot of teams but would have avoided the Bradford era

 

[Mackeyser]

I would change NOTHING that would extend Fisher’s tenure by even one second.

Anything that could prevent us from getting McVay is a NO. Period.

End. Of. Line.

 

[henry dyer]

i loved spagnuolos four pilllars

1) win no games
2) score no points
3) stop no one
4) attend mass

 

[Memento]

Love ya Mem, but you will hate my controversial take here...

Sammy the Sleeves was little more than a checkdown Charlie with twigs for legs and SJax was HAPPY to be a big fish in a cesspool back then and didn't care about winning. Hate me!!!

My more optimistic takes have already been......taken but this one bears repeating....

The 2001 Rams were the best NFL team I have ever seen.....

Spags ruined Bradford. No offensive line aside from Saffold, no real weapons aside from S-Jax (and I will disagree with S-Jax not caring about winning; see the Lions game in 2009 where he took it over - our only win of the season), and his coaches only allowed him to check down.

Would we have been better off with Suh? Absolutely, but it's not Bradford's fault that coaching and poor play ruined him.

 

[badnews]

That playoff game against Carolina, was one of the most intense games I’ve ever seen.
It was a crazy good game.
It still hurts a bit, that we didn’t end up with the W, though.

I was a longtime Rams fan before that game, but it was a more casual kind of fandom.
After that game, I had to buy every draft mag, surf the message boards, attend camp, watch every down, including preseason and if not possible, I would record it and avoid all football info until I could get home...

 

[Merlin]

Yeah, that is exactly what we need. In this photo Haden refused to put his hand on the ball because it was substantially smaller then Namath & Ferragamo.
View attachment 63492

What could have been with Ferragamo.

 

[den-the-coach]

What could have been with Ferragamo.

Love that Man. Again for multiple reasons, beating Dallas, leading the Los Angeles Rams to their first Super Bowl appearance, but he is the man that replaced Pat Haden and kept him on the sidelines.

 

[99Balloons]

1. The Rams should not have listened to the media pundits saying Greg Robinson was the all consensus LT of a lifetime.

2. The no PI call on the Patriots during the 2018 Superbowl when Brandon Cooks was held on the 3rd and long on the throw from Jared Goff.

 

[OldSchool]

I think people need to stop trying to suggest the Rams rework Joe Notebooms contracts its a terrible idea. He's a free agent after the 2024 season. We either cut him and eat the dead money or we trade him with similar results. He's already restructured to help the team out from what ended up being a bad contract. The only way you'll get him to lower his cap is to add years to it. I doubt anybody wants that and he's not going to sign a contract for just one more year and take a pay cut that's idiotic so stop thinking he's going to do that. IMO Boom will be back for one more year unless we can trade him. The remaining money on the contract became guaranteed when he was on the roster the 5th day of the league year 2023.

Trade him or learn to live with him.

 

[GoodBadUgly]

And I think Knox should not have been fired after the mud bowl in 1977.

That game was a disaster.

Speaking of controversial, the Mud Bowl was actually sanctioned by the NFL and their CCC team (Critical Climate Control), after Knox hit on Carrie Rozelle (Pete's wife) at a dinner party.

 

[Merlin]

Speaking of controversial, the Mud Bowl was actually sanctioned by the NFL and their CCC team (Critical Climate Control), after Knox hit on Carrie Rozelle (Pete's wife) at a dinner party.

"Hey girl... Want to go out back and sample some ground chuck"
~ Knox

 

[Mackeyser]

I think people need to stop trying to suggest the Rams rework Joe Notebooms contracts its a terrible idea. He's a free agent after the 2024 season. We either cut him and eat the dead money or we trade him with similar results. He's already restructured to help the team out from what ended up being a bad contract. The only way you'll get him to lower his cap is to add years to it. I doubt anybody wants that and he's not going to sign a contract for just one more year and take a pay cut that's idiotic so stop thinking he's going to do that. IMO Boom will be back for one more year unless we can trade him. The remaining money on the contract became guaranteed when he was on the roster the 5th day of the league year 2023.

Trade him or learn to live with him.

We’ve already guaranteed him the money so keep him for the solid multipositional backup he is and move on next year

 

[OldSchool]

We’ve already guaranteed him the money so keep him for the solid multipositional backup he is and move on next year

McVay gave him a game ball and bragged about him starting 3 positions for us this year. Coach is keeping him IMO but I've been wrong before and will be again.

 

[Loyal]

I think many on the board side with you on number one.

I strongly believe Bulger over Warner was the right move though and I think that's the more controversial take here

I think finding Kurt Warner a glove for his throwing hand prevents his departure from the Rams. Something that simple helped him regain his starters role in Arizona and his last entrance into a Super Bowl.

 

[Loyal]

Love that Man. Again for multiple reasons, beating Dallas, leading the Los Angeles Rams to their first Super Bowl appearance, but he is the man that replaced Pat Haden and kept him on the sidelines.
View attachment 63493

Den be like.....


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9VxYfHfz-Q

 

[OntarioRam]

Jeff Fisher was a good coach and takes too much heat for holding the Rams back just because his successor happened to be absolutely elite.

Sure, the NFL evolved away form his style. But he was consistently around .500 while starting his backup QBs for literally seasons on end, playing in the toughest division in football. I don't think many coaches would have or could have pulled that off. Heck, look what happened just this year when Stafford went down with injury even with McVay at the held. Glad we moved on from Fisher, and I think in today's NFL he'd be a bit lost, and we were just starting to see the start of that towards the end of his tenure. But I think the narrative on Fisher is generally incorrect and unfair.

 

[Merlin]

McVay gave him a game ball and bragged about him starting 3 positions for us this year. Coach is keeping him IMO but I've been wrong before and will be again.

Been wrong plenty too of course but since that Tavon trade presser I don't give what McVay says too much credence any time it's comments on a specific player. Because he is relentlessly positive at all times. And that of course is a good thing but you really can't determine intent via his comments.

Boom is a bit of a tough call. He's definitely not worth what he's being paid so there's a good chance he's gone. But if they decide to have Jackson play out 2024 under that RFA I could see them keeping Boom as a luxury swing OL. At this point I'm thinking it comes down to how they approach LT.

If they plan on going LT due to projections there will be someone they like up top in the draft then moving him feels more likely. As then Jackson can nail down that swing role or move to RG and they let Dotson walk. Lot of moving parts but LT will be the central decision that drives the remainder with that OL.

 

[OldSchool]

Been wrong plenty too of course but since that Tavon trade presser I don't give what McVay says too much credence any time it's comments on a specific player. Because he is relentlessly positive at all times. And that of course is a good thing but you really can't determine intent via his comments.

Boom is a bit of a tough call. He's definitely not worth what he's being paid so there's a good chance he's gone. But if they decide to have Jackson play out 2024 under that RFA I could see them keeping Boom as a luxury swing OL. At this point I'm thinking it comes down to how they approach LT.

If they plan on going LT due to projections there will be someone they like up top in the draft then moving him feels more likely. As then Jackson can nail down that swing role or move to RG and they let Dotson walk. Lot of moving parts but LT will be the central decision that drives the remainder with that OL.

All during camp McVay talked about the best 5 OL playing and Boom was one of them. ROD was sure he disnt mean it he couldn't actually think that. Boom started at RG.

As Boom is likely to do he got hurt and lost his spot to a hot player. ROD figured this was the end of him. McVay .ust have soured on him right? He got hurt again surely he's gone right?

Who's been aur ba kup at three positions? That Boom guy everyone was certain would be gone or inactive.

Not saying you but you know what I'm getting at here. Hes been written of as many times as Bobby Evans. One day his end with the Rams will come, but imo that is after next year when his contract is up and he can get us a comp pick with no extra dead cap.

 

[Merlin]

All during camp McVay talked about the best 5 OL playing and Boom was one of them. ROD was sure he disnt mean it he couldn't actually think that. Boom started at RG.

As Boom is likely to do he got hurt and lost his spot to a hot player. ROD figured this was the end of him. McVay .ust have soured on him right? He got hurt again surely he's gone right?

Who's been aur ba kup at three positions? That Boom guy everyone was certain would be gone or inactive.

Not saying you but you know what I'm getting at here. Hes been written of as many times as Bobby Evans. One day his end with the Rams will come, but imo that is after next year when his contract is up and he can get us a comp pick with no extra dead cap.

No I get what you're saying.

I do think that if you look at McVay's tenure here one thing you can count on is that he does not like guys getting paid who are not playing up to their contract. He doesn't always jettison them right away so this doesn't mean we can make any real determination based on it though. But generally if you want more than you are worth or if you are not living up to your contract the door is gonna be shown to you. Only quicker way out of here is to cry about usage or the ball.

Thing is he's not lying that Boom's been valuable. That was a big game and given how Wink had schemed it up and had that defense playing there is no way we win that without Boom at LT. If he had missed even that final quarter we would have lost I think. But if I had to make a guess on what happens this offseason I'd go with Boom will be moved. Because in spite of his value as a swing OL for 4 positions he gets pushed back too often into the pocket. With Stafford they're gonna want to preserve what they've had of late where you can see what he can do when he's got that room to step up.

Bigger problem is they need to decide if Jackson can do the job long term. He's really the key decision to my eye at least. Last year I think it was when he was interviewed he said his best position was LG. So I think he sees himself as a guard. But of course he's going to want to be paid as LT if at all possible. And also he may tell the Rams "pay me or trade me" this offseason. So idk. We'll see how this goes but I don't think there's many here that don't value what Boom has added, it's mostly that people know he's on borrowed time.

 

[JimY53]

Spags ruined Bradford.

Agree ... Fish tried ... but also, Bradford has weakness in pocket, no real feel.

No offensive line aside from Saffold, no real weapons aside from S-Jax

Agree. Line was a 4-5 of a 10 as a unit or "room" from what I have been told.

and his coaches only allowed him to check down.

No, and some yes.

He did throw short a lot, but they were not all checkdowns. They were short, conservative play calls. Gibson and all the outside guys were not good. Amandola was only guy who could "win". As a group the grade I have been told was a 4 of 10 for the unit.

A checkdown is a little different ... and he didn't do it as much as the "rep". People called him a checkdown artist but there is a little bit of difference.

But the result? Yes, you are right, was not a downfield passing game. No blocking, no weapons.

Would we have been better off with Suh? Absolutely, but it's

Yes

not Bradford's fault that coaching and poor play ruined him.

Agree