Huh?

[mikhal5569]

Be careful AV I think your starting to lose a few S.L.O.P. supporters.

[39thebeast]

If this is the front office making these changes this is bad sign Linehan and Olson i think the front office is loosing faith in both fast. I think at least 1 of the 2 will be gone by the end of the season.

[helorm341]

I guess my point is...

How can the team, the media or the fans support Linehan when it seems that Linehan doesn't support Linehan?

Can't he change his mind? Maybe someone from higher up is telling him to do something different.

Whatever the reason is, I think it's a good decision, so I like it.

[laram0]

Last year, Linehan said that the playcalling duties were impacting his ability to be an effective Head Coach.

Last week, Linehan said that Olson was doing a fine job of playcalling.

If he was telling the truth, and actually believed both statements to be accurate, this latest move makes no sense. As some have suggested, it seems logical that someone above Linehan impacted this decision. If that is the case, and Linehan is no longer in charge, what does that say about our coaching situation?

On the other hand, if Linehan made this latest decision all on his own, then what does that tell us? That he was lying last week? That he was lying last year? That he changes his mind on a whim? None of these are good things.

All in front of the media I suspect.

[laram0]

Be careful AV I think your starting to lose a few S.L.O.P. supporters.

C'mon over, plenty of room on this ship.

[RealRam]

The proverbial "damned if you do, damned if you don't". :\

I don't know exactly what the situation is in Chicago with their QB controversy (I can barely keep up with our Rams happenings), but I believe Coach Smith had adamantly resolved to stick with Grossman even after being defeated and deflated by Dallas. Then later in the week he changes his mind and goes with Griese, benching Rex. Lovie Smith changed his mind, period.

Different teams, different players, different scenarios. I know. But Coach Linehan is trying to do what is best among the worst of circumstances that, IMO, are far from being entirely his fault.

[ScottD413]

This is one of the reasons I hate Linehan. You can't take anything he says seriously because he lies to us all the time. He isnt being honest to the fans and that is wrong. When its all said and done, we pay his salary.

[Rambos]

AV one thing I have yet to see you acknowledge, the fact we have lost so many players so fast. If I am a juror, I’m having trouble with your no compassion for the victim approach. You are coming across so cold-blooded it’s really hard for me to see some valid point you bring to the table about Linehan. It’s like you where not to happy with the hire, but at the time he was hired don’t recall you making such statements.

Circumstances may get the best of Linehan but I think he will be back next year.

[ScottD413]

I have to defend AV here. Linehan is a joke. Everything he tells us is a lie. His gametime decisions are a joke. His playcalling is a joke. His coaching staff is a joke. The man couldnt coach a JV squad correctly and yet here he is coaching my team into the ground. With both Cowher and Marty available, I think we should fire Linehan at the end of the year and sign one of them

[AvengerRam]

Thank you. No matter how you want to spin it, Scott Linehan is engaging in the same things all NFL coaches do at one time or another.

Yeah, quote me out of context. That'll work. :x

[AvengerRam]

Be careful AV I think your starting to lose a few S.L.O.P. supporters.

I'm gaining far more than I'm losing, actually.

[AvengerRam]

AV one thing I have yet to see you acknowledge, the fact we have lost so many players so fast. If I am a juror, I’m having trouble with your no compassion for the victim approach. You are coming across so cold-blooded it’s really hard for me to see some valid point you bring to the table about Linehan. It’s like you where not to happy with the hire, but at the time he was hired don’t recall you making such statements.

Circumstances may get the best of Linehan but I think he will be back next year.

To pick up with your metaphor, you must have slept through half the trial. I have repeatedly stated that the injuries have been a significant factor in the Rams' demise. My issue is that Linehan has done, in my opinion, a horrible job of dealing with the adversity he's faced.

When Linehan was hired, I was skeptical, as I thought the Rams would have been better off hiring a defensive minded HC, supported by an innovative OC. However, I gave Linehan the benefit of many doubts. When the press go on him early for closing practices, I defended him. I started to "turn on him" when his playcalling became absurd last year - completely abandoning the run while Bulger kept getting hit (culminating in the shutout against Carolina). I thought the delegation of playcalling was a good move at the time, though I was disappointed that it was necessary as the whole point of hiring Linehan was to take advantage of his abilities demonstrated as Miami and Minnesota's OC.

As for Linehan being back next year, if I had to put money on it, I probably wouldn't bet against it. That said, I see no reason to withhold my opinion that Linehan should be replaced this offseason.

None of this impacts my support of the team. On gameday, I'm cheering as loudly as anyone.

[r8rh8rmike]

You are generalizing. Have I seen coaches show support for a player or assistant despite problems? Of course.

Have I seen a coach say, in no uncertain terms, that he has full faith in an injured QB and an inempt OC, only to demote both within the week? No.

Yeah, quote me out of context. That'll work. :x

The point is, most NFL coaches at one time or another have done exactly what Linehan did. You acknowledged that. To then try and qualify it as something egregious by holding him to a different standard and using a specific set of circumstances is disingenuous. Different situations don't change the fact that what he said and did are common practice and not the horrible wrong you portray it as.

[rammiser]

I have to agree with AV. Yes the Rams have had tons of injuries to key players. The problem is Linehan is wishy washy at best. He says he made this decision himself right after he said he made the decision to stcik with Bulger. He also said the same for Olsen and then comes back and changes his mind about that too. Lets be honest here Linehan is not making this decision its the front office. I'm sure they were embarrassed when Troy Aikman an ex-Cowboy is pleading for the Rams coaching staff to see the pain Bulger is in and take him out of the game. No Linehan waits untill its 28-7 to make that decision. Also even with all the injuries 9 points a game is inexcuseable in the NFL. Look around the NFL at all the injuries and teams are still scoring points. The Browns are winning games with a lot less talent then we have even with our injuires. Marty and Cowher deserve a phone call from this f/o and a change needs to be made. Sure lets give Linehan another year to be average and let the good coaches be signed by other teams and we will waste our talent for another year of wishy washy coaching.

[AvengerRam]

You can't be serious, Mike. I did not acknowledge that other coaches did "exactly what Linehan did." In fact, I specifically stated that I've never seen any other coach do "exactly what Linehan did."

I suppose that if I posted that both Scott Linehan and Chuck Noll are carbon based life forms you'd quote me as saying that "Scott Linehan is no different from Chuck Noll."