Halfway during the St. Louis Rams’ second blowout loss of the season, word circulated through the Edwards Jones Dome that head coach Scott Linehan gave his team a fiery speech.
Pardon me as I yawn.
But, hearing this news makes me think about the lyrics to an old song by Carly Simon: “It’s too late, baby.” Don’t act like you don’t know the hook. Honestly, in my opinion, it’s way too late for coach Linehan to fire up his troops.
This group of malcontents is not paying him a bit of attention. They do not respect the head coach at all. If they did have any respect for themselves or their coach, can you explain the lackadaisical attitude of the offensive line? Your most important job is to protect the quarterback. The offensive line play was truly offensive. They allowed quarterback Marc Bulger to be battered and harassed in the loss to the New York Giants.
Did Marc Bulger jump in anyone’s face during the loss? No. He just showed his disappointment with his bewildered look and slumped shoulders. And people, that was the time you wanted to see what kind of leader he is. I don’t think Bulger has what it takes to be a leader. There is no way I can see an offensive line tanking it for a Brett Favre or a Peyton Manning.
Statistics show that Bulger has been one of the top passers in the NFL since 2004. But, do the stats indicate leadership? Bulger is not the only fault guy for the loss in the opening game at the dome. However, playing the most important position on the football field, there will be plenty of faults to assume.
The defense has been equally hideous. Is it possible that the Rams possess the worst secondary on the face of the Earth? Safety Cory Chavous has been a major disappointment for this team. As smart of a player as he is, it somehow never gets translated to the field. I thought the older you get the craftier you get at making plays? I guess that only applies to a certain few. There is no immediate help on the horizon. So that means that the secondary can only get worse.
And that leads me to the architect of the defense, Jim Haslett. I thought to myself last week that Haslett was holding the defense back on purpose. It has been well noted that Haslett and Linehan are not the best of friends. There relationship is considered tumultuous at times.
Haslett’s defense this season has yet to start attacking the quarterback as they did last season. In two games, the Rams have managed 1 sack. That is a very disturbing stat to look at. But Haslett appears not to have a care in the world. It almost seems like he enjoys watching Linehan wallow in defeat after defeat, knowing that the pressure is on him to turn this team around. Haslett knows just as well as the other guys in the locker room that Linehan waited too late to give a damn.
Any questions or comments, email me at Livnlegend@hotmail.com.