Is Jim Haslett the Man?

[LA Rammer]

Can we really trust what he is doing with the defense or is this (defensive roster) something that he is given to work with and he's trying to make the best of it?

Still too much criticism regarding "d." Can this defense at least be average?

What tells you this defense will be special. Any chemistry in the making?

[RamFan_Til_I_Die]

I think with Little and Hall on the ends and Carriker and Glover in the middle, something special could happen this year. The success or failure of our front line depends on whether or not Carriker is as great as our coaches think he is.

[RamsNation]

Haslett doesnt strike me as the type to "try to make the best of it". From a professional standpoint, the only way to go is all the way, cuz he dont want to be a D coordinator the rest of his career. It simply is not in his or anyone else's best interest to just make it work. To large of a competitive fire burns inside of him for that happen in my opinion.

[81~BIG-GAME]

I think it would be unfair to criticize Haslett yet, however it is the 2nd year of his scheme and it would be fair to expect improvement IMO (it cudn't get much worse). Throw in the fact that he is starting to acquire players on the defense he wants rather than inherited from the previous regime ie. Butler, T.Fisher. Since he has taken over control of the defense the Rams have signed or drafted ( I would expect with his input) J.Hall, Carriker, Wroten, Glover, Draft,Spoon, Alston, Hill, Brown , Chavous, T.Johnson..

That is 11 players of the top of my head (I probably missed a few out), 2 of which have been our last 2 1st round picks. So he and Linehan have assembled a defense of guys they have wanted. Now it is time for Haslett to do his job and turn them into a respectable defense because thats all we need to be able to win. We don't need a Ravens defense although it would be nice when we have an Offense with as many weapons as we currently have. It's time for the defense to stand up and be counted as well as Haslett.

[itsguud]

I'm still hesitant about Haslett as our D coordinator.

Carriker, I think will be great in the NFL... as a DE not DT. I am really skeptical about him being moved inside.

Hill I think will be great, however without ANOTHER GOOD CB (which we don't have, Brown is ok, but gone for 4 games anyway)

Our Safeties have something to prove and I hope they do it this year. Although I see Chavous as being "on the way out" in this career.

My biggest concern with this Defense is our LB corp. I like the addition of Draft, however I believe people are putting too much faith in such an under-sized LB group. I would feel more confident if we had a couple of bigger guys back there who could stop the run better.

[MASSIVE]

When the RAMS hired Haslett as D.C. for our team I thought it was a good move. It will take at least 3 seasons for him to turn it around. Also I like what Haslett has been doing so far, he is trying to mold this defense into what he wants.
:l

[MauiRam]

I'll never forget the look on Jim's face last year as he exited the dome through the cordoned off walkway from the Dome leading to the parking garage for coaches and players. The Rams had just beaten the normally high scoring Denver Broncos in their season opener, and emotions were running high. For the most part players were happy .. laughing and smiling and pausing to sign autographs for lucky fans like me. JH eventually emerged and walked briskly to the parking garage looking very intense. Fans were yelling things like "Way to go Jim" "Great game !!" Glad you're a Ram now!! Haslett took no notice of any of the compliments -- he just looked straight ahead and kept walking -- he actually looked angry to me ... I pondered that moment on and off throughout the rest of the day, and wondered if perhaps at the time he was thinking something along the lines of: "A year ago you all hated my guts, but now as a Ram coach because we got lucky and won our first game (when defenses are usually ahead of offenses), what will you be yelling at me when the glaring holes in our D become more obvious and therefore exploited? Yeah you love me today but it's going to be a long, painful road ahead to turn this defensive squad around. I'm stuck with too many guys that would never have even sniffed the final roster when I was a head coach.

I truly believe that Haz knew it was going to get ugly as the season progressed, but he likely knew that coming in and was willing to deal with it. My take on Haslett is that (as another poster stated earlier in this thread) he possesses a white hot competitive fire within, and as a former NFL linebacker knows the difference between guys who talk the talk and those who actually walk the walk. He is a really intense guy, who just cannot tolerate players that aren't mentally and physically really really tough.

I'll never forget the look on his face that day .. ever ... I often thought about it during last season as our D got gouged again and again. Perhaps some of you who were lucky enough to attend that opening game and were among the throng trying to get autographs later, may remember that "look" as well ... It was a harbinger of what was to come on defense last year ...

[r8rh8rmike]

Originally Posted by 81~BIG-GAME

I think it would be unfair to criticize Haslett yet, however it is the 2nd year of his scheme and it would be fair to expect improvement IMO (it cudn't get much worse).

I think this is an accurate statement. Haslett had to pretty much wing it last year and had more than his share of injuries to deal with along the way, so trying to guage anything from what happened in 2006 is premature. I agree that with a year under his belt and the chance to shape the defense to better fit his vision, improvement should be expected. If he can get the defense to the middle of the pack, that would be an impressive step IMO.

Originally Posted by MauiRam

Haslett took no notice of any of the compliments -- he just looked straight ahead and kept walking -- he actually looked angry to me ... I pondered that moment on and off throughout the rest of the day, and wondered if perhaps at the time he was thinking something along the lines of: "A year ago you all hated my guts

I must admit, I pretty much hated his guts during his time with the Saints, but he's definitely my favorite DC now.

[MauiRam]

Originally Posted by r8rh8rmike

I think this is an accurate statement. Haslett had to pretty much wing it last year and had more than his share of injuries to deal with along the way, so trying to guage anything from what happened in 2006 is premature. I agree that with a year under his belt and the chance to shape the defense to better fit his vision, improvement should be expected. If he can get the defense to the middle of the pack, that would be an impressive step IMO.



I must admit, I pretty much hated his guts during his time with the Saints, but he's definitely my favorite DC now.

I wasn't to wild about him either as he continually made insulting remarks about the Rams. Now he's our guy and that's water under the bridge. He will instill his own attitude in our defense, and the ones who don't buy in will be down the road. One more off-season and draft should allow him to acquire the enough of the type of guys he wants. Then we'll see just how good he is ..... I believe our D will improve markedly this year if we can stay reasonably healthy.

[blood85]

Haslett is a decent coordinator, in my opinion, and he's trying to do his part. The players have to do what they get paid to do....play, ...Solid defense, that is. I understand that they will not shut down every single play, but they can't allow opposing running teams to slice them like cheese. That is just no going to work.

[helorm341]

Originally Posted by LA Rammer

Can we really trust what he is doing with the defense or is this (defensive roster) something that he is given to work with and he's trying to make the best of it?

Still too much criticism regarding "d." Can this defense at least be average?

What tells you this defense will be special. Any chemistry in the making?

Should Martz be fired in Detroit because the Lions didn't have a huge offensive year? There's no way you can put him on the hot seat after one year. If he has no improvement by the end of next year then he's on the hot seat. If he doesn't have dramatic improvement by the end of year three then we need to look elsewhere.

[laram0]

I have alot of faith in Haslett. Last season was a preview of what to expect. Takeaways Takeaways Takeaways. Now if he can improve the red zone and cut down on the big plays (most notably runs) we will be allright. :r

[jkramsfan]

A coach is only as good as his players, and we didn't give Haslett alot to work with last season, I think there will be a great improvement this season and remember our defense doesn't have to be top 5 for us to win games,but on the other hand if the young guys step up and play better now that they have a little experience and feel for the game we could be a top defense.I like Haslett in this situation and I think he is up to the challenge.

[helorm341]

Originally Posted by jkramsfan

A coach is only as good as his players, and we didn't give Haslett alot to work with last season, I think there will be a great improvement this season and remember our defense doesn't have to be top 5 for us to win games,but on the other hand if the young guys step up and play better now that they have a little experience and feel for the game we could be a top defense.I like Haslett in this situation and I think he is up to the challenge.

If our defense is just average that'll be a great success, and if they do that good we'll be in the playoffs easily.

[prof22693]

It's definitely not Haslett's fault, we gave him little to work with. As stated before, this defense won't have all the parts of the puzzle until next off-season to be great, but we can still be closer to average if we stay healthy.