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The Los Angeles Rams lost their sixth game in seven outings in a 49-21 rout at the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, November 27. The Saints outgained the Rams 555-247 in the blowout.
The following day TMZ reported that Rams legend Eric Dickerson had been told to stay away from the team after he criticized them on his radio show. It was later revealed that Rams head coach Jeff Fisher made the request. Dickerson has since sworn that he will not attend another Rams game while Fisher is the team’s head coach.
The Fisher-Dickerson story caps off a trainwreck of a week for the Rams, and it’s not getting better. The truth is if Fisher wants people that criticize his team to stay away, then the Rams are going to play in front of a near-empty stadium when they return home from their current road trip. Nearly the entire Rams fanbase is criticizing this team now. Dickerson spoke up about the very things many Rams fans have been thinking.
It’s hard to believe that this team under this coach is the one that owner Stan Kroenke chose to field for the franchise’s return to Southern California. ESPN beat writer Arash Markasi tweeted earlier that the “Rams have been tone-deaf on a number of issues as it relates to L.A.” He’s right. The Rams’ approach to winning over L.A. has missed the mark.
Kroenke made the decision to bring back Fisher for the transition to L.A, despite watching his head coach fail to reach .500 in his first four years on the job. While it could be argued that it takes time to rebuild a franchise, the inability of Fisher and his coaching staff to instill discipline and fundamentals into his team remains a glaring problem. Fisher’s offenses continue to be among the worst in the league, despite the team’s efforts to rebuild the offensive line and skill positions through the draft. How Kroenke thought this type of coaching staff would endear itself to the highly demanding L.A. faithful is mind-boggling.
Popular to contrary belief, L.A. fans aren’t frontrunners, but they aren’t stupid either. They demand winning franchises, and they won’t throw their support behind teams that aren’t doing their best to win. They also revere their heroes and refuse to stand back and accept the Rams disrespecting one of their own. It’s becoming clear that the Rams are failing miserably in their transition to L.A., and it’s no one’s fault but their own. Their play on the field combined with their ignorance of the fanbase is sabotaging the return to So Cal.
The Rams can still be successful in L.A., but they have some work to do. Making things right with Dickerson is a start. Now it’s comes down to pulling the trigger on firing Fisher. Don’t wait until the team finishes 4-12. Do it now. There’s no need to evaluate him further. The Rams have had nearly five years to figure out that he’s a coach stuck in the 1980s with no mind for offensive football. It’s time for this franchise to show that it’s serious about winning and earning its place among L.A. sports franchises.
Derek Ciapala has been following the Rams since childhood. He has been published on Yahoo! Sports, Sports Out West and multiple other websites. You can check him out on Facebook or Twitter @dciapala.
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The Los Angeles Rams lost their sixth game in seven outings in a 49-21 rout at the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, November 27. The Saints outgained the Rams 555-247 in the blowout.
The following day TMZ reported that Rams legend Eric Dickerson had been told to stay away from the team after he criticized them on his radio show. It was later revealed that Rams head coach Jeff Fisher made the request. Dickerson has since sworn that he will not attend another Rams game while Fisher is the team’s head coach.
The Fisher-Dickerson story caps off a trainwreck of a week for the Rams, and it’s not getting better. The truth is if Fisher wants people that criticize his team to stay away, then the Rams are going to play in front of a near-empty stadium when they return home from their current road trip. Nearly the entire Rams fanbase is criticizing this team now. Dickerson spoke up about the very things many Rams fans have been thinking.
It’s hard to believe that this team under this coach is the one that owner Stan Kroenke chose to field for the franchise’s return to Southern California. ESPN beat writer Arash Markasi tweeted earlier that the “Rams have been tone-deaf on a number of issues as it relates to L.A.” He’s right. The Rams’ approach to winning over L.A. has missed the mark.
Kroenke made the decision to bring back Fisher for the transition to L.A, despite watching his head coach fail to reach .500 in his first four years on the job. While it could be argued that it takes time to rebuild a franchise, the inability of Fisher and his coaching staff to instill discipline and fundamentals into his team remains a glaring problem. Fisher’s offenses continue to be among the worst in the league, despite the team’s efforts to rebuild the offensive line and skill positions through the draft. How Kroenke thought this type of coaching staff would endear itself to the highly demanding L.A. faithful is mind-boggling.
Popular to contrary belief, L.A. fans aren’t frontrunners, but they aren’t stupid either. They demand winning franchises, and they won’t throw their support behind teams that aren’t doing their best to win. They also revere their heroes and refuse to stand back and accept the Rams disrespecting one of their own. It’s becoming clear that the Rams are failing miserably in their transition to L.A., and it’s no one’s fault but their own. Their play on the field combined with their ignorance of the fanbase is sabotaging the return to So Cal.
The Rams can still be successful in L.A., but they have some work to do. Making things right with Dickerson is a start. Now it’s comes down to pulling the trigger on firing Fisher. Don’t wait until the team finishes 4-12. Do it now. There’s no need to evaluate him further. The Rams have had nearly five years to figure out that he’s a coach stuck in the 1980s with no mind for offensive football. It’s time for this franchise to show that it’s serious about winning and earning its place among L.A. sports franchises.
Derek Ciapala has been following the Rams since childhood. He has been published on Yahoo! Sports, Sports Out West and multiple other websites. You can check him out on Facebook or Twitter @dciapala.
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