DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Ram's Coach Is Ticked Off.

Linehan's ticked, but what about his players?
By Jeff Gordon
STLTODAY.COM SPORTS COLUMNIST
Friday, Oct. 19 2007

Scott Linehan went off on his team at the end of Thursday’s practice. Good for
him!

It’s about time we saw signs of 0-6 urgency out at Rams Park. Linehan has been
the model of decorum during his team’s unexpected travails, showing admirable
personal composure while remaining unfailingly supportive of his group.

But admirable personal composure can only take a head coach so far. The Rams --
and their fans, for that matter -– needed to see his furious side, too. How can
this persistent losing NOT outrage him?

Linehan’s news conferences are famously dull, but he is not as mild-mannered as
he lets on. We’ve all seen his emotional side during games. He has become
animated on the sidelines and totally involved in the game’s flow.

He has gone postal on officials after some curious calls went against his team.
Now we have visual evidence that he can go postal on his team, too, and that is
a good thing.

Jim Thomas reports that the genesis of his tirade was some salty back talk from
guard Claude Terrell, one of many younger Rams coming up short this season. Of
all the players to say something to the coach . . .

Injuries have created holes all through the Rams lineup and Linehan needs kids
like Terrell to step up and fill voids.

The Rams need Alex Barron to grow up and take charge at left tackle. They need
tight ends Joe Klopfenstein and Dominique Byrd to pull their heads together and
become impact players.

They need defensive tackle Claude Wroten to stay out of trouble with the NFL
and on the field with his teammates. They need guard Richie Incognito to play
hard without taking so many untimely penalties.

They need Terrell to hold up at guard. Center Brett Romberg will try to play
hurt in Seattle, which would allow Andy McCollum to slide over and play left
guard.

But what the team really needs is for Terrell to do a job.

This could be his make-or-break professional season. He barely made the team
this season -– so if he doesn’t come through when needed, the team will find
somebody else for 2008. Terrell either has to run with this opportunity or
start pondering alternative careers, none of which pay nearly as well.

Terrell isn’t to blame for this 0-6 start, but he symbolizes why this team hasn’
t overcome its injury curse to win a game or two. Not enough back-ups or
emergency fill-ins have elevated their play.

And as a group, the Rams haven’t rallied around their plight. At 0-6, the team
needs to pull together and play ticked off.

Their season is essentially over. There is nothing more to lose. They shouldn’t
be afraid of making mistakes because they’ve already made them all, several
times over.

So why aren’t they flying around the field?

The defense has held up remarkably well, under the circumstances, but the
offense has remained lost. After last Sunday’s fiasco in Baltimore, the Rams
should have returned to work with a vengeance. Their embarrassment should have
motivated them.

Do they really want to become the laughingstocks of the league?

Linehan turned Thursday’s incident into a plea for his team leaders to help
some of the less-focused Rams to lock in. Clearly he got the attention of his
leaders.

As for the kids, that remains to be seen. A team finds out a lot about people
in times like this, and not all of it is good.

But at least we can all see Linehan providing the proper direction. He has 10
games to prove that he has the wherewithal to become a successful NFL head
coach. He is on the clock, as The Sporting News reiterated by ranking him dead
last among NFL coaches in a recent piece.

Maybe, just maybe, he can create a turning point and find progress in an
otherwise lost season.

Quote:

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He has gone postal on officials after some curious calls went against his team.
Now we have visual evidence that he can go postal on his team, too, and that is
a good thing.

---

Wow, really makes me feel at home with my profession always used as an example....

at 0-6 he better be fired up... i mean who wants a coach who is happy about not winning any games.

I've seen the Rams play one or two games (just caught them while at the bar). They haven't looked horrible, but then just didn't look like an NFL football team... not a ton of passion there (kind of reminds me of the Browns over the years).

Quote:

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Linehan has been
the model of decorum during his team’s unexpected travails, showing admirable
personal composure while remaining unfailingly supportive of his group.

---

So has RAC,,,, but all we hear around these boards is that he has no FIRE,,,,,

I hope the rams get there first win this week because I would be mad as hell to lose to them.

Speaking of the Rams, Daman. Where are all the posters gone, who were wanting us to get Orlando Pace so bad?

Didn't Orlando Pace go down with an injury THIS year?

I will say I do prefer drafting ours instead of taking theirs. Just took a little long to find our guy.

Yeah he got hurt in the beginning of the year. one of the major reasons they're not doing so well right now.

I don't know where the rest of them went, But I'm still here.. I wanted us to try to find a way to get him, but I didn't want us to mortgage the farm in order to do so,,

Personally, I never wanted it to be " Get him at all costs"... But I did want him here.

Just to show you how bright I am, I wanted Robert Gallery also,,,,,,

PS, I think Pace has been out all year or at least most of it so far....

I don't know if that was a shot at Orlando or not, but the guy has been hurt for pretty much the entire season and was placed on the IR, so the reason they aren't playing well is because he isn't playing...

Good read. You better post a link before this gets yanked.

Quote:

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They need guard Richie Incognito to...

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This guy has been invisible all season long...

if they lose to seattle, our game with them scares me more...

0-7 with a home game? seems like a trap for the browns

i mean, this is the nfl, the teams in this league are so evenly matched, that the law of averages would get them a win...

but if we play the way we have been, we should be ok, but the game still scares me...

That along with the track record for the Browns this season!

They are losing every other game and not have not been able to string two Ws together this season.................this is an important game for sure!

GO BROWNS!

Oh ok, Honest misunderstanding then, you are right though, the 2 1st rounder pick asking price was too much, especially considering his age, I'm perfectly happy we waited for our young stud LT.

...I wonder how ticked off he is now that they just lost 33 to 6 and are 0 & 7 ??

Quote:

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They need guard Richie Incognito to...


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This guy has been invisible all season long...

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That's funny, I don't care who you are!!

Somthing is wierd about St. Louis. Last year i think it was Mark Bulger yelling at his team for not caring.

He said somthing like some players came practiced, played took their paychecks and went about their every day life without caring about winning or losing.

Maybe the team isnt showing any more emotion like they were last year and now the coach is even getting on them. Not that it will help by yelling at them when they really don't care as long as they are getting payed.

Linehan might be out after this year.

the rams looked downright AWFUL yesterday

we have to come out in the first quarter and absolutely suck the life out of them

i think DA and co. can put up 60 in the dome