Can Linehan deliver results?
Columnist Jeff Gordon
(E-mail a "Letter to Gordo")By Jeff Gordon
STLTODAY.COM SPORTS COLUMNIST
09/03/2008
Scott Linehan was a different coach during the preseason. He was more enthusiastic on the sideline, more demonstrative.
He engaged and implored his players. He rode the emotional ups and downs of the game. He seemed wired into the action.
He is coaching like this is his last shot . . . which, in fact, is the case. This season will define his NFL head coaching career.
But will it work? Can Linehan, in his third year at the helm, become the leader that Rams players, executives, sponsors and fans believe in?
Soon we will see. The players have noticed and appreciated Linehan’s change. How could they not?
Privately, some veterans are a bit skeptical. They note that coaches must remain true to themselves. They can’t pretend to be somebody else and have it sell.
Linehan isn’t the second coming of Rick Neuheisel. He won’t grab the stadium microphone after a big victory (as Neuheisel just did for UCLA) and lead an impromptu pep rally.
Animation alone will not thrust Linehan’s career -– and this football operation -– back in the right direction. There is a LOT of work to do. His two-year record of 11-21 has created plenty of doubt inside and outside Rams Park.
The Rams need to fight their way back into NFC West contention. That will take a collective effort from him, his coaches and the remaining leaders on the roster.
There are lots of positive signs. The atmosphere seems good. The guys have set aside last season’s 3-13 fiasco. The biggest knuckleheads from that group (Claude Wroten,
Dominique Byrd, Claude Terrell) are long gone.
The defensive backs are rallying behind new secondary coach Ron Milus. Steve Loney, the new offensive line coach, has gotten a strong response, too. So has running backs coach Art Valero, who has brought Antonio Pittman a long way in a short time.
Defensive coordinator
Jim Haslett looks a lot smarter with pass rushers
Leonard Little and James Hall healthy again. And new offensive coordinator Al Saunders won’t rest until he gets the Rams skill players back on the attack.
All this is good. Optimism abounds with the group.
But now the real games begin. The Rams open at Philadelphia, facing an Eagles team with NFC playoff aspirations.
Linehan will match wits with veteran Eagles coach Andy Reid. Saunders will renew his rivalry with Philly defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, one of the best in the business.
Will the Rams be emotionally prepared to compete on the road?
Will they be tactically prepared to beat a good, well-coached, veteran team?
Will Linehan and his staff make the in-game adjustments needed to counter the Eagles’ strengths?
These are the indicators that will decide the regime’s fate. Bottom line results are important, of course, but real progress will be measured by how the team adapts and plays.
It all starts Sunday. The Rams will catch the Eagles a bit short at receiver, due to injuries. They will come into the game close to 100 percent healthy themselves.
Steven Jackson is back to work and
Marc Bulger is coming off an especially impressive preseason performance. The offensive line, for the moment, is largely intact.
The Rams will have an opportunity to show us -– and themselves -– what their full potential for ’08 really is.
The football operation has made the right moves and said the right things to this point. But image isn’t everything in the NFL.
After eight months of retooling, we’ll see if the Rams can really deliver results.
Write a letter to the editor | Subscribe to a newsletter | Subscribe to the newspaper
GO RAMS 
Linear Mode
