Another surprising change had our RAMS trading Will Witherspoon to the Philadelphia Eagles. Getting a wide receiver (unproven) and a 5th round draft pick in return made sense seeing how we are very thin at the wide receiver position. Surprising because Spags is a defensive minded headcoach and Witherspoon was one of our starting linebackers.
This has been a year of changes everywhere. Front office, coaches and players.
As we all know our won-loss records of 3-13 and 2-14 the last two seasons called for changes. With all of the changes that we have had to endure we as fans create our own individual expectations. Some of the changes make sense to us and others don't. Devaney and Spags have a huge task at hand. Not only do they have the responsibilty of turning our team around they also have to keep the fans interested.
They've made some unpopular (fans opinion) changes. Orlando Pace and Torry Holt are gone but still playing in the NFL. They've also made some popular signings by keeping Atogwe and Bartell in the horns.
Seems that they have taken the old 1 step back to move 2 steps forward approach with our team. You know what? That's what they were hired to do. Get our team back on track knowing that the media and fan base were going to question their every move.
Much to my surprise we currently have of a won-loss record of 0-6. I really thought we had a team that would finish the 2009 season with at least 5 wins. I know there's still 10 games left on the schedule but achieving 5 wins looks like a pipe dream now. Which has had me scratching my head looking for answers. Did I do it again? Overrate our roster of players? I must have and it's easy to do when you're a die-hard like I am. The bottom line for me is that I have to trust that Devaney and Spags know what they are doing because I certainly don't have a clue.
"AFTER FURTHER REVIEW"
New front office personnel, new headcoach, new offensive coordinator, new defensive coordinator & new players sprinkled throughout our team. This is the 3rd year in a row that our offense (most notably Marc Bulger) has had to learn a new system. Our defense is going through a learning curve as well.
Excuses? Maybe but I believe they are legitimate.
What I've seen after 6 games is a team that is out of sync. The lack of chemistry, 45 offensive penalties (Only 2 teams have more) and the turnovers are killing us. Believe it or not our defense has only committed 26 penalties. Only 2 teams have committed less. We may be able to point the finger at our o-line concerning all the penalties but they have protected our QB allowing only 13 sacks which is 14th in the NFL for fewest sacks allowed.
While our rushing offense is ranked at #17 with 104 yards per game. Our passing offense is struggling ranked 23rd with 173.8 yards per game. Which in my mind points back to the lack of chemistry and the learning the new offense curve. Could it also be a lack of talent at the skills position?
Enough with the bad news. James Lauranitis has been outstanding. He's currently ranked 18th in the NFL with 45 tackles, 4 passes defended, 2 interceptions and a fumble recovery. Great use of a draft pick by Devaney and Spags. There will be more of these type of findings by the dynamic duo.
The game of football as we know it is very unpredictable. Who would have thought that the Tennessee Titans would be 0-6 and the Denver Broncos would be 6-0? Our day is coming. We just need to sit back (as hard as it is) and trust the new regime that is running our team.
There are more changes coming......but
"BETTER DAYS ARE COMING"
GO RAMS!!!!
:helmet:
