Interesting comments from Cadillac Williams

[Rampingitup]

I was just reading the recap from the chat that CW did/ Someone asked him why the team is so off and can't seem to get it together. And his response was that he thinks everyone needs to start trusting each guy to do his job. And that is a very valid point. If you don't trust the guy next to you to do his job then you are looking over your shoulder to try and cover him when he blows it. Then you of course are not concentrating completely on doing your own job.

One thing mentioned only a few times by folks like me who aren't going completely bananas over the team losing, has been that there was essentially no off season, and nearly no training camp for these guys to get to know one another, trust one another, learn a completely new offensive system for the second year in a row, and gel as a team rather than a group of 50 some odd individuals. We have a lot of very young players still trying to transition to playing in the NFL, going through rookie growing pains, and still learning the ropes.

So Caddie was very right in his assessment of learning to trust each other. He went on to say that this week has in his opinion been the best practice they have had all season. So I hope that that means they are starting to gain that trust and confidence in each other. Once they do, look out!

[macrammer]

I was just reading the recap from the chat that CW did/ Someone asked him why the team is so off and can't seem to get it together. And his response was that he thinks everyone needs to start trusting each guy to do his job. And that is a very valid point. If you don't trust the guy next to you to do his job then you are looking over your shoulder to try and cover him when he blows it. Then you of course are not concentrating completely on doing your own job.

One thing mentioned only a few times by folks like me who aren't going completely bananas over the team losing, has been that there was essentially no off season, and nearly no training camp for these guys to get to know one another, trust one another, learn a completely new offensive system for the second year in a row, and gel as a team rather than a group of 50 some odd individuals. We have a lot of very young players still trying to transition to playing in the NFL, going through rookie growing pains, and still learning the ropes.

Please, with all due respect, the part about no training camp, new offensive system etc is simply an excuse. I am pretty sure all 32 teams had shortened training camp, more then a few have new HC with entriely new system, (Raiders, Whiners are two that come to mind) so we do not corner the market there. We should absolutely expect this team to play fundamentally sound football, A noted Spags cornerstone 3 three years running now. If going "bananas" is not accepting the buffoonish play on the field, count me in.

[Judaxi]

Please, with all due respect, the part about no training camp, new offensive system etc is simply an excuse. I am pretty sure all 32 teams had shortened training camp, more then a few have new HC with entriely new system, (Raiders, Whiners are two that come to mind) so we do not corner the market there. We should absolutely expect this team to play fundamentally sound football, A noted Spags cornerstone 3 three years running now. If going "bananas" is not accepting the buffoonish play on the field, count me in.

I took the liberty of crunching some numbers as a response to your idea that a shortened off season and a new offensive system is just an "excuse." By my count there are 5, 6 if you count the Rams, teams who have completely new offensive systems for the 2011 season. Here are the numbers:

New offenses
Panthers 1-2 (5-4)
Broncos 1-2 (5-4)
***** 2-1 (4-5)
Browns 2-1 (1-8)
Vikings 0-3 (7-2)

Combined record = 6-9
Strength of schedule =22-23

As you can see the record of these five teams combined is a losing one, in addition their strength of schedule is also a losing one. The two teams that do have a winning record, Browns and *****, are the only of the 5 that faced a losing strength of schedule. Compare these numbers to the Rams season so far:

Rams 0-3 (5-4)

In the same pattern of the other five teams, the Rams have a winning strength of schedule to match their losing record. The conclusion here being that it would seem there is some correlation between teams with new offenses and their success so far this season. I am the last person who want's to create excuses for the Rams performances, but I also think it is silly to dismiss the fact that they have faced a tough strength of schedule as well as implemented a new offense with a shortened off season.

[Nick_Weasel]

I took the liberty of crunching some numbers as a response to your idea that a shortened off season and a new offensive system is just an "excuse." By my count there are 5, 6 if you count the Rams, teams who have completely new offensive systems for the 2011 season. Here are the numbers:

New offenses
Panthers 1-2 (5-4)
Broncos 1-2 (5-4)
***** 2-1 (4-5)
Browns 2-1 (1-8)
Vikings 0-3 (7-2)

Combined record = 6-9
Strength of schedule =22-23

As you can see the record of these five teams combined is a losing one, in addition their strength of schedule is also a losing one. The two teams that do have a winning record, Browns and *****, are the only of the 5 that faced a losing strength of schedule. Compare these numbers to the Rams season so far:

Rams 0-3 (5-4)

In the same pattern of the other five teams, the Rams have a winning strength of schedule to match their losing record. The conclusion here being that it would seem there is some correlation between teams with new offenses and their success so far this season. I am the last person who want's to create excuses for the Rams performances, but I also think it is silly to dismiss the fact that they have faced a tough strength of schedule as well as implemented a new offense with a shortened off season.

One problem with just looking at each of these teams is that bad teams tend to be the ones that implement new systems due to a new HC, etc. This list includes the two worst teams in the league last year and the 5 teams had a combined record of 23-57. So 6-9 actually looks pretty good from that perspective.

The Rams, on the other hand, were better than every one of those teams last year and look worse this year. And that doesn't even bring up that the Panthers have a rookie QB, Vikings have a new QB, etc.

[macrammer]

Have you watched the Rams play this year? I am not discounting the fact we had a tough schedule. It is simply about fundamental football 101 which, by my very subjective account, we have ruefully failed at thus far. Losing sucks. But, losing competively is at least a step in the right direction.

[Judaxi]

I agree that fundamentally we have not been the most sound team. I was just showing that we are not the only team struggling with a new offensive system. Our team is not as bad as we've been playing. We lost two of our starting three corners. King was basically our fifth corner and he was thrust into a starting role. Having to make up for him in coverage has destroyed our ability to rush the passer and stop the run. Our receivers are exactly what we thought they were. Caddy has been a pleasant surprise. Sam is doing fine everything considered. Honestly the only thing that worries me is our offensive line play. I expected more than what we have gotten from them. Overall I refuse to pass judgement on a team that lost 4 starters, 3 of which were key to our offensive and defensive game-plans, before week 2.

[macrammer]

You make great points and helps keep the overall theme more grounded. Not sure about your judgement comment though. I am not sure looking for improvement over last year in the fundamental basics of football is judgemental, injuries and schedule notwithstanding.

I, like you, will be rooting for the Rams tomorrow. At the end of the day, as Ram fans that is all that matters.
I am hopeful we will see better performance from Rams.

[Rampingitup]

I agree that fundamentally we have not been the most sound team. I was just showing that we are not the only team struggling with a new offensive system. Our team is not as bad as we've been playing. We lost two of our starting three corners. King was basically our fifth corner and he was thrust into a starting role. Having to make up for him in coverage has destroyed our ability to rush the passer and stop the run. Our receivers are exactly what we thought they were. Caddy has been a pleasant surprise. Sam is doing fine everything considered. Honestly the only thing that worries me is our offensive line play. I expected more than what we have gotten from them. Overall I refuse to pass judgement on a team that lost 4 starters, 3 of which were key to our offensive and defensive game-plans, before week 2.

Careful there Jud, you are inviting the "THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR LOOSING!!!!" Crowd to come in and hammer you. I think AvengerRam was the smart one here in refusing to try and counter the screaming and yelling and defend our team. I am a true Rams fan. I stand by my team through thick and thin. I support and DEFEND them, even against other "so called" fans who spend all their time trashing their own team. And I don't want to hear any more, "I just want them to be competitive." when it has already been stated by a number of them that the only measuring stick those people use is points and wins. They couldn't care less how the team actually plays. Just how many points they score and if they win. We hung tough in both the Eagles and Giants games. But that doesn't count because we didn't score enough points. No matter that we outplayed the Giants if most aspects of the game OTHER than score. And the only real reason we lost the Eagles games is we had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. Replace the FGs with TDs and we should/could have won it.

So congratulations rabid vocal minority you drove me off. Have fund spending the rest of the season trashing your own team.

[NJ Ramsfan1]

I think Cadillac Williams makes an astute observation about "trusting one another", but when you make bonehead plays like he did in the Giants game, it becomes difficult to have faith in the guy next to you. Trust, like respect, is earned. And there is no better way to earn trust than to go out there and play to your ability- which only a handful of Rams are presently doing.

I think there is validity to the claim that no training camp has contributed to some of our struggles. It DOES take time for new personnel, a new o-coordinator and a new offense to come together, especially with a young team But this should have no bearing on poor fundamental play, penalties and the hang-dog "we're getting our butts kicked" demeanor of the Rams for 3+ quarters last Sunday.

Tomorrow is a winnable (but certainly not easy) game vs. an opponent in our house. It's gut check time.

[RamsFanCK]

Have you watched the Rams play this year? I am not discounting the fact we had a tough schedule. It is simply about fundamental football 101 which, by my very subjective account, we have ruefully failed at thus far. Losing sucks. But, losing competively is at least a step in the right direction.

Unfortunately this is all too true. Losing, even competitively, right now would still be an upgrade over what we have all ready seen. I believe, as we did last year, we will get it going against the skins, but we need to show not only that we can get it going, but that we can play a football 101 game.

[ZiaRam]

I do agree we been playing some pretty good teams that have been together for a while but REALLY? I don't see how that makes you drop a ball wide open unmolested, miss tackles, block poorly, throw horribly. Honestly I do think some other things do play a factor into our record and play this season but the majority is the players just Sucking it up and not doing what they have done to get them to this level since they were in grade school: Pass, Block, Tackle, Read, Run, Play...

[Ram Dragoon]

If one is looking for excuses,there are plenty to find. Short preseason, lack of mini camps, tough schedual, new system...etc...etc...blah..bla...blah...take your pick as go the excuse(s) one likes best. But.... What separates pretenders from contenders is winning tough games. Thus far the Rams have proven themselves pretender...sorry but often facts hurt and are often ugly. These are suppose to be professional football players, not circus clowns. After watching preseason games, I came out against Josh McD's Spread offense system for the Rams. It worked well for the Pats in New England when Josh was there, but unlike then and now the difference is quality of offensive lines--just look how Bradford took so many hits in preseason. Where are the play makers at wide receiver and tightens? Face it the Rams

[Fettmaster]

Careful there Jud, you are inviting the "THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR LOOSING!!!!" Crowd to come in and hammer you. I think AvengerRam was the smart one here in refusing to try and counter the screaming and yelling and defend our team. I am a true Rams fan. I stand by my team through thick and thin. I support and DEFEND them, even against other "so called" fans who spend all their time trashing their own team. And I don't want to hear any more, "I just want them to be competitive." when it has already been stated by a number of them that the only measuring stick those people use is points and wins. They couldn't care less how the team actually plays. Just how many points they score and if they win. We hung tough in both the Eagles and Giants games. But that doesn't count because we didn't score enough points. No matter that we outplayed the Giants if most aspects of the game OTHER than score. And the only real reason we lost the Eagles games is we had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. Replace the FGs with TDs and we should/could have won it.

So congratulations rabid vocal minority you drove me off. Have fund spending the rest of the season trashing your own team.

Whatever man, keep making excuses and apologizing for a bad Rams team, that's fine with me. But don't insinuate that those who are disappointed in this team are not "true fans". Everyone is different. My dad likes the Eagles, and whenever they win its "this is the greatest team ever assembled" and when they lose its "this is the most worthless group ever". My mom likes the Cowboys, and like you, always has excuses for losses, and feels bad for them. They are both die-hard fans.

"They couldn't care less how the team actually plays. Just how many points they score and if they win."

Are you freaking kidding me? Have you ever been involved in any sports or athletic competitions in your life? Isn't the whole point of athletic competition to win!? Beat your opponent? How can you suggest that it's not about winning, ever? Do you think the Rams players are being paid to try hard? "Oh, just do your best hijo!" No. Of course its all about winning. Unless you're a seven year-old playing soccer or something, it will always be about winning. What a strange thought, I know.


This team has looked bad this year. BAD. I have zero confidence in the coaching staff to turn this thing around because they haven't ever done anything to build my confidence in them. Don't say I'm not a true fan for saying that. I freaking love this team, and I always will.

[jkramsfan]

Careful there Jud, you are inviting the "THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR LOOSING!!!!" Crowd to come in and hammer you. I think AvengerRam was the smart one here in refusing to try and counter the screaming and yelling and defend our team. I am a true Rams fan. I stand by my team through thick and thin. I support and DEFEND them, even against other "so called" fans who spend all their time trashing their own team. And I don't want to hear any more, "I just want them to be competitive." when it has already been stated by a number of them that the only measuring stick those people use is points and wins. They couldn't care less how the team actually plays. Just how many points they score and if they win. We hung tough in both the Eagles and Giants games. But that doesn't count because we didn't score enough points. No matter that we outplayed the Giants if most aspects of the game OTHER than score. And the only real reason we lost the Eagles games is we had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. Replace the FGs with TDs and we should/could have won it.

So congratulations rabid vocal minority you drove me off. Have fund spending the rest of the season trashing your own team.

there's an old saying that goes "if winning isn't everything then why do they keep score",the score does matter and hanging tough gets you, well not much and your would have, could have and should have in the Philly game with field goals also doesn't mean much since once again we lost,I am a lifelong Rams fan and when I question what the team is doing that doesn't make me less of a fan just like you making excuses for them doesn't make you a better fan.

[RockinRam]

Careful there Jud, you are inviting the "THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR LOOSING!!!!" Crowd to come in and hammer you.

There is no excuse for losing.

I am a true Rams fan. I stand by my team through thick and thin. I support and DEFEND them, even against other "so called" fans who spend all their time trashing their own team.

We state the facts and the way we view this team. If you want to be oblivious to all the problems, that's fine. You'll fit right in with the current coaching staff.

And I don't want to hear any more, "I just want them to be competitive." when it has already been stated by a number of them that the only measuring stick those people use is points and wins. They couldn't care less how the team actually plays. Just how many points they score and if they win. We hung tough in both the Eagles and Giants games. But that doesn't count because we didn't score enough points.

Except the fact that we didn't play well? Which is why we never really had a chance to win? We hung in the Giants game because they aren't that great. We lost to them because we suck more. We have many opportunities in every game, including these two games. We couldn't make them. So yes, I would say we aren't very good.

No matter that we outplayed the Giants if most aspects of the game OTHER than score. And the only real reason we lost the Eagles games is we had to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns. Replace the FGs with TDs and we should/could have won it.

We outplayed the Giants? Sure. Except the part where you try to score. Because they outplayed us there. And the part where we don't take advantage of many opportunities. And we settled for FGs? We were held to FGs, and our coach couldn't grow some big ones and go for it. And yes, that's another problem of this team. So oh, maybe we really do have problems..

So congratulations rabid vocal minority you drove me off. Have fund spending the rest of the season trashing your own team.

I thought you were a true Rams fan and stuck with your team through thick and thin. Very nice.