When will I learn? (Turley, Sehorn... and now Haslett)

[AvengerRam]

When will I learn?

First, it was Kyle Turley. I hated him. I hated his attitude, his obnoxious antics, and even his tatoos. He, along with Joe Horn, personified everything I hated about the then-rival Saints.

When he became a Ram, everyone said "great acquisition!" and "he's going to be a great bookend with Orlando Pace." So I put aside my hate, and embraced him as a Ram.

What did I get? A player who went from mediocre, to injured, to disruptive, to gone (with a nice cap hit on the way out for our troubles).

Then, it was Jason Sehorn. I couldn't stand him. I couldn't stand how his pretty boy looks and famous wife (not to mention his unusually low melanin level for a CB) made him more famous than his play on the field merited. I couldn't stand the bogus "legend" of how he was the guy who shut down Randy Moss.

When he became a Ram, though, I was confronted with many who encouraged me to buy into his signing. And, besides, the Rams needed DBs in a big way. So I put aside my feelings again.

What did I get? Burnt toast, and lots of it, with a big helping of whiff on the side.

Finally, Jim Haslett came along. I wanted someone else - anyone else. I didn't like his pseudo tough guy (how tough can you be from the sideline anyway?) image. I didn't like his Saints defenses. I didn't like him.

But, he wasn't Larry Marmie. So I told myself - as a DC only (instead of a Head Coach), he could be great. He did a good job way back when in Pittsburgh, after all. And so, once again, I talked myself into embracing someone I really didn't like.

Well, fool me thrice!

From where I sit, Jim Haslett has done nothing to improve this defense. In some ways, it could be argued that the defense has taken a step back. I believe there is more talent on this year's defense than there was on last year's (the addition of Will Witherspoon alone confirms this). And yet, they're embarrassing themselves on a weekly basis.

Don't get me wrong... most of the blame should always go to the guys ont he field. But a good DC would find a way, it seems to me, to address at least some of the deficiencies.

I don't have all the answers. I don't know if putting eight men in the box and forcing the Chargers and the Chiefs to beat the Rams by air, or blitzing until the cows came home would have been the best solution.

But its frustrating to see a defense that is unable to help an offense (with at least three skill players having potential Pro Bowl years) win games.

Haslett was a bad hire.

There, I said it.

I should have said it from the beginning.

[UtterBlitz]

I usually support the FO decisions as well. It seems that you might as well be positive about change. I never bought into or supported Sehorn though. After talking with some Giants fans, I knew he was done before he came to the Rams.

...at least you aren't the person making the decisions... that would be worse.

[coy bacon]

Yeah Av, I agree with you, you said it yourself. You really are a bad judge of character. Here's hoping ya learn some day.

[AvengerRam]

Originally Posted by coy bacon

Yeah Av, I agree with you, you said it yourself. You really are a bad judge of character. Here's hoping ya learn some day.

Actually, if you truly read the article, you'd see that I'm a good judge of character but, through my desire to support the team, I've gone against my instincts.

Of course, I doubt your comment was prompted by my article.

[RAMarkable]

This may be off topic, but the guy I wanted for D.C. was Jim Bates. Unfortunately he apparently wanted H.C money ($1.5mill+). Do you, or anyone else, know where he ended up? I gotta believe he would have this defense playing better than this. BTW I don't necessarily agree with your comments on Sehorn and Turley; but your assessment of Haslett is looking more accurate with each game.

WHAT SAY YE?

[AvengerRam]

Originally Posted by RAMarkable

This may be off topic, but the guy I wanted for D.C. was Jim Bates. Unfortunately he apparently wanted H.C money ($1.5mill+). Do you, or anyone else, know where he ended up?

I did a little research, and it appears that he's sitting at home this year, being paid on a contract with the Packers. Interestingly, according to this part of an article from a Green Bay paper dated October 19, he was almost the Rams DC:

Bates, who was under contract with the Packers through the 2007 season, was offered at least one defensive coordinator position - with the St. Louis Rams. Bates turned that job down, because he thought he was in line for the same position with the Dallas Cowboys, which might have been a better stepping stone to a head coaching job, but the job in Dallas surprisingly fell through.

“There were jobs that I thought I was going to get, and it was a weird deal and kind of crazy how it all went down,” Bates said. “There were a couple of jobs that I thought I had secured and ended up going in another direction.”

Had Bates taken the job in St. Louis, the Packers likely wouldn’t have owed him a dime, because the Rams were prepared to offer Bates more than $1 million a year.

Interesting to note. If the Rams D shows some improvement, and Haslett gets an offer to be a Head Coach somewhere (though, at the moment, that seems highly unlikely) could the Rams make a run at Bates? I always thought he was a good DC down in Miami and then with the Packers.

You never know.

[methodical_reaction]

Cut him just a little bit of slack, I know it's frustrating to watch and I feel your pain. But you try and stop a bowling ball with a wet paper plate and you will get an idea of what Jim Haslett has had to deal with from a defensive perspective. Did you expect him to move in and in the span of eight months turn us into the Baltimore Ravens of the NFC?!

I agree with you about Turley and Sehorn (however I never bought into the Sehorn crap) but let's give Haslett at least a year. Ther is still a lot of football to be played and axing the coaching staff at week 9 is not the way to make the team better.

[AvengerRam]

I truly hope he proves me wrong, but right now, I'm very disappointed because I believe there is considerably more talent on the defensive side of the ball this year, but the results are not there.