The New Found Toughness

[sosa39rams]

I can see the new found toughness on this team. From Jeff Fisher being physical, to guys like Cortland Finnegan and Harvey Dahl, I can see the physicality and toughness being spread around this team. I just finished re-watching the Rams vs Ravens game and I see this beautiful thing we've been missing for years.

RT Barry Richardson has let Harvey Dahl get to his head (in a good way). I see him finishing blocks, and going HARD until the whistle is blown. He is also constantly pushing and pulling defenders from pile-ups only to help our RB's up. Thats what we are. A team. We are finally starting to stand up for each other, and act like a team.

I also just seen WR Chris Givens (mind you this guy is 6'0 199 lbs) get into a post-play shoving battle with a defensive end.

[Trevor]

When we start to win games is when I'll start to be happy.

[live4ramin]

When I see Fisher mad and up in players faces is when I'll be happy. He'll know then what he can get out of these guys. It'll be his team then and he'll know what it will be capable of. Not yet.

[rams4life88]

Wells that toughness is going to be put to the test next week when we face a very physical Lions team. lol.

[Fastcat]

I agree we have a few players with some toughness, or it seems that way anyways. And we are playing with an edge finally. On that same play where Givens is jarring with the defensive guy, did u see Barry Richardson drive his man all the way into the endzone, pancacked him, and bury him into the turf while he was down? That is what got the scuffle started.

[Azul e Oro]

I think this toughening up started a while ago.Not buying that Spagnuolo's version of The Rams was as much soft as it was under-talented and injury-prone. I also saw some pretty egregious examples of some other weaknesses this team has displayed in recent years ; poor tackling, false starts, poor communication & missed assignments.

I also saw some examples of how that extra bit of aggressiveness can turn bad very quickly, eg Hull's stupid throw down of the QB, Quinn losing contain repeatedly, Pead rushing his decisions, etc. Balancing aggression with smarts is surely more important than just being nasty.

Well have to see how it plays out under the real lights.

[Fettmaster]

Not buying that Spagnuolo's version of The Rams was as much soft as it was under-talented and injury-prone.

Being soft can sometimes lead to injuries. Was this the case for everyone that was ever injured under Spags? Who knows, but they picked a lot of guys who just couldn't seem to stay on the field.

In my opinion, the Rams have absolutely been soft, for a long time. Teams from elite status to mediocre have been able to walk all over our guys, our guys just put up with it, and The Clapper clapped.

Sosa's right. With Fisher, that's not ever going to happen again (potentially). Football is a mean, nasty sport, and its best to play football mean and nasty. Fisher's teams have always been tough, even the bad ones. That's something I can't say about the Rams recently.

Obviously, being mean isn't good enough. It has to translate into wins.


But its a start.

[NJ Ramsfan1]

Being soft can sometimes lead to injuries. Was this the case for everyone that was ever injured under Spags? Who knows, but they picked a lot of guys who just couldn't seem to stay on the field.

In my opinion, the Rams have absolutely been soft, for a long time. Teams from elite status to mediocre have been able to walk all over our guys, our guys just put up with it, and The Clapper clapped.

Sosa's right. With Fisher, that's not ever going to happen again (potentially). Football is a mean, nasty sport, and its best to play football mean and nasty. Fisher's teams have always been tough, even the bad ones. That's something I can't say about the Rams recently.

Obviously, being mean isn't good enough. It has to translate into wins.


But its a start.

Agree completely with all you said, Fett. The Rams HAVE been soft- a situation made worse the past several seasons because of all the losses. Subconsciously, you tend to that affect you. And when you let up on the football field, you're setting yourself up for injury. Certainly, not EVERY guy is a soft player, but it is evident the Rams lacked the toughness (and the talent) necessary for sustained success.

I also agree with Sosa's orignal premise about Fisher bringing in guys of a different (i.e. tougher) mentality. This is absolutely necessary to set the standard of expectation high and avoid the malaise that's affected this team for far too long.

With all of that said, toughness is only part of the equation. We must also continue to identify and obtain good players- something we haven't done enough of in the past- and also play smart, fundamental football. I don't want "toughness" to translate into stupid penalties of aggression. We cannot afford to be the Raiders. We aren't talented enough to overcome shooting ourselves in the foot with great frequency.

[Azul e Oro]

Being soft can sometimes lead to injuries. Was this the case for everyone that was ever injured under Spags? Who knows, but they picked a lot of guys who just couldn't seem to stay on the field.

In my opinion, the Rams have absolutely been soft, for a long time. Teams from elite status to mediocre have been able to walk all over our guys, our guys just put up with it, and The Clapper clapped.

Sosa's right. With Fisher, that's not ever going to happen again (potentially). Football is a mean, nasty sport, and its best to play football mean and nasty. Fisher's teams have always been tough, even the bad ones. That's something I can't say about the Rams recently.

Obviously, being mean isn't good enough. It has to translate into wins.


But its a start.

Not at all dismissing the importance of toughness & I look forward to seeing an effective combo of smarts and aggression that Fisher seems to have a rep for among players who should know.

But being overly aggressive ill-disciplined or foolishly brave can also arguably cause injuries, eg Bartell throwing himself wildly into a tackle & literally breaking his own neck, Jason Smith scaring himself into seeing Jesus by trying to tackle with his head after an INT, Bradford taking too many hits while trying to bravely wait for someone to get open, etc.

[MauiRam]

I can't help but wonder how Jeff Fisher would have handled Richie Incognito, and how Richie would have responded to him .. Richie seems to be doing ok these days I guess - he's still a starting guard on Miami's roster.

[39WillRunYaOva]

Toughness is good you dont want to be the little brother of the NFL that everyone knows you can be pushed around.But there is a fine line between being tough and being stupid/dirty tough to the point it hurts you on the field.We dont need fights or any of that non sense to be considered tough.Keep everything on the field and between the whistle,hit people in the mouth but do it with class.All im saying is i dont want to be known as a tough loosing team,if it brings wins im down for it but i dont want to be a "tough" losing that just doesnt make sense.

[general counsel]

I think "toughness" is overated. If our offensive line improves dramatically, we will return to being a playoff team relatively soon. If our offensive line continues to struggle, we are going to continue to lose the majority of our games. The GSOT was not one of the toughest teams in the league (although tougher than many thought), but it sure won plenty of games.

The glaring problem on the rams is and has been our offensive line. Sure, we have plenty of other issues, many of which will look a lot better if we can actually score, and our ability to score is going to be based more on offensive line play than anything else. For the millionth time, sammy cant throw from flat on his ass.

Ramming speed to all

general counsel

[RealRam]

I can't help but wonder how Jeff Fisher would have handled Richie Incognito, and how Richie would have responded to him .. Richie seems to be doing ok these days I guess - he's still a starting guard on Miami's roster.

That would have been interesting to see! Perhaps the Cog has matured a little, sufficient to stop making a fool of himself and focus more on better football.

Had he stayed with the Rams, Coach Fisher would have put him in his place ... pronto.

[Fastcat]

I think "toughness" is overated. If our offensive line improves dramatically, we will return to being a playoff team relatively soon. If our offensive line continues to struggle, we are going to continue to lose the majority of our games. The GSOT was not one of the toughest teams in the league (although tougher than many thought), but it sure won plenty of games.

Ramming speed to all

general counsel

I totally disagree with the overrated thing... The gsot team was known as a finese team, on offense more so. And when they ran into new england in 01, they hit us in the mouth early and often and laid the blueprint on how to beat a finese (soft) team. Bruce and Holt were basically physically assaulted the whole game. If your tough, your intimidating right? Mike Tyson won fights before he stepped in the ring becuase he was intimidating. But when Buster Douglas came along and stepped up to him, Tyson lost his first fight. But u can be tough and not talented... Dont know how that works tho.

[NJ Ramsfan1]

I think "toughness" is overated. If our offensive line improves dramatically, we will return to being a playoff team relatively soon. If our offensive line continues to struggle, we are going to continue to lose the majority of our games. The GSOT was not one of the toughest teams in the league (although tougher than many thought), but it sure won plenty of games.

The glaring problem on the rams is and has been our offensive line. Sure, we have plenty of other issues, many of which will look a lot better if we can actually score, and our ability to score is going to be based more on offensive line play than anything else. For the millionth time, sammy cant throw from flat on his ass.

Ramming speed to all

general counsel

I agree about the offensive line. Without improvement, we will not win consistently. It's as simple as that.

Regarding the GSOT, they were understandably regarded as a "finesse" team for their high-flying acts, but the funny thing is they WERE a TOUGH-MINDED team. And their defense - despite being ranked in the top 10 in total defense- was largely overlooked and underrated because of the tremendous offense the Rams had.

I feel toughness can make the difference in any athlete or team. All of these guys have talent, and the intangibles like intelligence, physical and mental toughness and belief in a system/staff can make the difference when teams/individuals are evenly matched in sports.