Players are quick to point fingers at themselves

[RamWraith]

By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Tuesday, Sep. 30 2008

Rain was falling Monday morning, a fitting complement to the gloomy atmosphere
at Rams Park. When the players began to filter in, most already had heard the
news.

Not all of them, though. Special-teams ace Gary Stills asked what was going on,
and when told that head coach Scott Linehan had been fired, Stills was
flabbergasted.

"Whew," Stills said, exhaling loudly. "Boy, I'm tongue-tied. I just came here
to go to work today. I didn't expect this."

Linehan's dismissal is an indictment of the players' performance, guard Jacob
Bell stressed. "It's a reflection on the guys as a team," he said. "We're the
guys out there actually playing. It's just as much our fault as anything."

Linehan, 45, was 11-25 — including losses in 17 of his last 20 games — as the
franchise's 22nd head coach. In his final day on the job, the Rams gave up an
eight-point halftime lead and lost to the Buffalo Bills 31-14 on Sunday at the
Edward Jones Dome.

Several hours later, Linehan was told that his contract was being terminated.
Jim Haslett, Linehan's defensive coordinator, takes over as head coach with the
Rams at 0-4 and in last place in the NFC West division.

A coaching change is "definitely not anything that you really want during a
season," linebacker Chris Draft said. "You want to keep everything as smooth as
possible. But it's something that's happened, and we have to be able to
overcome that as a team.

"What it comes down to is, this is a game of results, and … it's going to fall
on the head coach. But really, it's all of us who contributed to it."

Added safety Todd Johnson, "It's definitely hard to see him go. I feel like he
did all he could do. It's on us to get this thing turned around. … We all feel
like we let him down. We feel bad."

Cornerback Tye Hill said he expected Linehan to resurface somewhere in the NFL.

"I wish him the best. I know he's going to be fine," Hill said. "You never want
to see this kind of thing happen to a good man."

Linehan received permission to address the team a final time, and he did so at
11 a.m. in the auditorium at Rams Park. He spoke for about five minutes.

"He was very classy about it." Johnson said. "I think everybody respects him
even that much more for how he handled himself."

Rookie defensive end Chris Long, the No. 2 overall pick in April's NFL draft,
said Linehan "told us that we're winners. We're not winning right now, but
there are good people in the room, and there are winners in the room.
Basically, if we need anything, we can always call him.

"I appreciate that. He's going to do well. He's going to find a place where
it's going right, and he's going to do well."

The move to Haslett could pump some much-needed energy into the downtrodden
team, maintained Hill, who described Haslett as "a fiery guy."

Still, linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa said a coaching change in itself won't be
enough to yank the Rams out of their lengthy slump.

"He's not out there playing. Although he's coaching, it's us, you know? It
really is," Tinoisamoa said. "I don't play for coaches. I play for myself, my
family, my heritage, my culture, the city I'm from, for St. Louis, for everyone
who couldn't play this game, for my brothers who aren't playing this game.

"I play for a lot of different reasons, my own reasons. And that's what powers
me through. Because if you try to play for a coach or some other reason, you're
really in the wrong sport."

After a pause, Tinoisamoa added, "I don't know, it might be good. We'll see how
it works out."

[itsguud]

So Pisa doesn't like Haslett I'm guessing? Thats fine I'm not high and never was on Pisa so he can feel free to "not play for a coach". Which i think is absolutely ridiculous statement to hear from a player. He can leave as quickly as Loserhan if he wants.

[Chris58]

So Pisa doesn't like Haslett I'm guessing? Thats fine I'm not high and never was on Pisa so he can feel free to "not play for a coach". Which i think is absolutely ridiculous statement to hear from a player. He can leave as quickly as Loserhan if he wants.

Actually, I think Pisa's attitude is correct. A player plays this game, or any game, for a lot of reasons. What his statement said to me is that if you, as a player, play for a coach, then your motivation to play at the highest level is pretty tenuous. Just as many think the Rams played badly because they disliked Linehan, do many also think they will become winners overnight now that Haslett is coach (assuming he is popular among the players)? No, as professionals, if the player isn't giving his all because he is a self motivated, proud, talented player, then he ought to just hang it up.

I would be very leery of any player who feels (maybe even says) that they will play better now that a coach has been fired.

[eldfan]

So Pisa doesn't like Haslett I'm guessing? Thats fine I'm not high and never was on Pisa so he can feel free to "not play for a coach". Which i think is absolutely ridiculous statement to hear from a player. He can leave as quickly as Loserhan if he wants.

" Tinoisamoa said. "I don't play for coaches. I play for myself, my
family, my heritage, my culture, the city I'm from, for St. Louis, for everyone
who couldn't play this game, for my brothers who aren't playing this game."


Thats what I got from that to. Who ever is going to be the coach long term needs to think about gutting this team it sounds like there is alott of division in the team. And I say team holding my noise. I read allot of I's in Tinoisamoa statement. I did not read anything about playing for his teammates. This team is in real trouble for a while with attitudes like that.