Linehams Rams have no heart

[CRAZYHORNS]

RamFan_Til_I_DIe,

Please tell me how I would go about getting factual evidence when it comes to playing with heart. All I can do is compared them to thier peers in the NFL. Again, IMHO that the Rams D has been very inconsistent when are guys have had oppurtunity to stick thier necks in it and make some plays they've seemed to shy away. Call it HEART/ATTITUDE or what have you whatever you call it the RAMS rarely show it. If I am attacking their character so be it. When they start playing with Heart/attitude and character with some consistancy I will be the first to praise them....

Go Rams

[Truth]

There have been some good points raised in this thread. Here's how I put it together.

Yes, the Rams lack consistency. At times they seem to lack intensity, heart, whatever you want to call it. They seem to struggle on both sides of the ball. I think this all stems from a lack of "identity". This team doesn't have a personality. They have nothing to hang their hats on and say this is "Us". Look at all the top teams. They all have something that any fan can point out as the personality of the club. Now look at all of the lesser teams. They're all struggling to find their "identity".

In the 70's and 80's, the Rams "identity" was that of a strong defensive team that ran the ball well on offense. In the 90's, we lacked any real identity. That is until 1999. We found something. Everything came together. Our coaching staff, as well as our players found a spark. They were the best all around offense on the planet. They scored so many points, so fast, that opposing teams were one dimensional from their openning drives. That allowed our defense to tee-off. Confidence was high. They played with enthusiasm and heart.

After our SB win, we lost our Head Coach. We also lost assistant coaches and some very good players. I contend that this is when we started our slide. I'm not trying to blame Martz. That's not the point. But when you change the leader of the team, the rest of the team will change. I believe we (the Rams) were a much less disciplined team. Our focus became "Offense at any cost". We lost defensive leaders. By the time we began to focus on our "D" it was too late. Teams then figured out how to attack the Ram's offense. While we were still a very good offense, we didn't score as many points on a consistant basis. This put more pressure on our depleted defense. As the defense got more and more demoralized, it got worse and worse. This put more pressure on the offense to put up points quickly. That lead to the loss of our ground game. and so on, and so on. It's been a long road to get to where we are now. It's not going to turn around in half a season. It might not turn around for a couple of years.

I'd like to see some of the more emotional players on the team step up and take a leadership role. We've got too many quiet leaders on the team. Yes we lack some key talent on our defense. We have for a few years. It's going to take a couple of good off-seasons to change that. Let's see what happens.

[CRAZYHORNS]

Truth you speaketh....

Our D should be better we have used alot of our top picks on that side of the ball. How many more years and top picks will it take for this defense to stop the run?

Maybe Lineham and Haslett will solve that problem. WItherspoon is an excellent start.....

[Truth]

Truth you speaketh....

Our D should be better we have used alot of our top picks on that side of the ball. How many more years and top picks will it take for this defense to stop the run?

Maybe Lineham and Haslett will solve that problem. WItherspoon is an excellent start.....

Draft picks are, at best, a crap shoot. How many times have we seen top 10 picks fizzle. We need to draft well, but we also need to acquire proven talent when possible. Why not? I mean how many other teams have raided us over the last 5 years?

[MoonJoe]

Thanks for posting this Crazyhorns, I was thinking something along the same lines. I don't know if I would say they were playing without heart, because I witnessed a lot of heart in St. Louis against the Broncos. However I did notice that they had been playing without any "fire" in the last few games. The difference being that the just looked kind of bored. It was actually the first time I missed Mad Mike. I mean how many times can you throw the ball perpindicular to the line of scrimage to Bruce for a gain of two or no gain at all...(yawn)...

I was at the Raiders/Chargers game yesterday so I haven't quite finished watching yesterdays game, but the first half still kind of looks the same. It's not heart they are missing I think it is "identity".....that's just my two cents anyway.

Joe

[VegasRam]

You know, one only need look to the ****** - they are WAY better than last year under Nolan. Give Linny two-three years, THEN b*tch.

[theodus69]

I hope Linny and Hass stay for a few years. They can build this team back to a playoff team! This team was broke down by Martz whether you want to believe it or not. The Defense was thrown to the side and it is time to rebuild and the process is in the works! I thought Glover would be a great asset..................................Nay. And fatass Kennedy still isn't in my Fav catogory either! Besides LOMBARDI , what other coach has turned a team around in his first year? And whether you want to believe it or not ,this team needs a turn around! They have kept it somewhat a live just cause they still have that instinct to win. But that doesn't go very far when you are missing key players!Heart may be all they have left,but lack of personel will put a knife through it everytime!!!!!!!

[laram0]

I hope Linny and Hass stay for a few years. They can build this team back to a playoff team! This team was broke down by Martz whether you want to believe it or not. The Defense was thrown to the side and it is time to rebuild and the process is in the works! I thought Glover would be a great asset..................................Nay. And fatass Kennedy still isn't in my Fav catogory either! Besides LOMBARDI , what other coach has turned a team around in his first year? And whether you want to believe it or not ,this team needs a turn around! They have kept it somewhat a live just cause they still have that instinct to win. But that doesn't go very far when you are missing key players!Heart may be all they have left,but lack of personel will put a knife through it everytime!!!!!!!

FYI,

Bill Parcells turned the Cowboys around from 5-11 to 10-6 his first season with them. They lost in the playoffs.


I'm not sure about Linehan and Olson but I don't see Haslett accepting anything less than 100% from the Defense.

[HUbison]

FYI,

Bill Parcells turned the Cowboys around from 5-11 to 10-6 his first season with them. They lost in the playoffs.


I'm not sure about Linehan and Olson but I don't see Haslett accepting anything less than 100% from the Defense.

Very true....but Parcells has been around a while, and Linehan is still a rookie. Having said that, I agree with the concept that a team CAN be turned around immediately such as the Cowboys which you mentioned, and our own GSOT in '99. I think our problem is simply an overall lack of talent. I believe our scouting department of the past several years has been horrendous. I'm just not sure the FO knows talent when they see it. Maybe it's rookie growth pains from Linehan, maybe it's a lack of desire/heart/attitude.....but I just don't think we're that good. Rather vulger and crude picture, but I don't know how else to put it. Up and down our roster, we just don't have the depth of horses to compete on the top tier. We're losing in season, because we're losing even worse in the offseason. We have to draft better, and we have to prospect better in the FA market.

Of course, this past offseason appears to be our best in several years. Three of our top tacklers were FA pickups (Spoon, Chavous, Brown). Our #2 pass rusher was a FA pickup (Glover). And we drafted Hill, Klop, & Vic....all of which have seen significant time as starters this year.

Growth hurts, but I think we're heading in the right direction.

[Fargo Ram Fan]

Sorry but HOLT has not displayed much HEART since week six when he had that monster game. He hasnt scored or even whiffed a 100yd game since. He has looked somewhat lost and disinterested at times over the last month or so. His record breaking streak of 1300+yd seasons is about to come to a halt unless he averages 100+ in each of the last 5 games. Not like Im calling the guy a BUM...but the #s dont lie on his recent run of sub-par (for HIM) play. It seems they forget about him for long periods of time in some games which may be leading to a lack of focus when they do finally come to him...ala that bomb that he failed to find and adjust to last week. This will be his worst season since his first.