Just as we get near the holiday season, the one thing I am not looking for from anyone this year is a tie. The same should be said about the Rams as they showed why they are the Rams.
This though is a different version that has improved, believe it or not. Yes, the Rams played themselves into a tie last Sunday when they had the vaunted San Francisco 49ers on the ropes and let them get away with the beloved kiss of the sister.
Now before you go haywire about the outcome, ask yourself the question. Would the Rams even been in a game like this last year? A simple answer, NO. It would have been a rout of epic proportion, to the point that we would have been talking about how early they would be selecting a pick in the draft for next year.
Yes, there has been improvement but you can see they have a long way to go. The skill level has improved but the mental mistakes haunt them. Attribute it to youth is one reason, but how about lack of common since when it comes to just playing the game. The mistakes they make are those where the rules of the game have not changed to the point where confusion would set in.
As for youth, when can rookies not be trusted? Any day of the week.
Here you have two rookies that when you take them out of town on a road trip they get themselves in trouble and are disciplined where they are rendered inactive, not to mention other punishment. Yes, we all know that someone where the saying “can’t take you anywhere” comes into the play. In this case the Rams may have more than one. Too bad they could not have been given a coach ticket on a flight separate from the team as they were not part of the team on Sunday.
Youth again? Spare me. If these two players in question were not drafted players they could count on, they would have waived them on the spot. Instead, cooler heads from management prevailed this time. I would not push my luck here if I were them.
And for those who want to make up excuses for these two with the old “boys will be boys,” give it a rest. Too many times we give guys a pass for all the wrong reasons. In this case, they should be dealt with swiftly and firmly.
The Rams are making steps in the right direction. Jeff Fisher’s demeanor is tailor-made for this team as was Mike Matheny for the Cardinals. Patience and cool along with discipline at the right time will be the key here.
Mizzou makes strides
I know it was not a bowl game, and I have questioned the play selection and personnel that has been used by Mizzou this year. But I must say, never have I been more entertained than by the Tigers in the Tennessee game on Saturday. This SEC conference is good, and the Missouri Tigers are finding out how good every Saturday.
Tennessee is a struggling program. Now they have a coach who will get fired soon after the season, mainly because of the home loss to Mizzou. The guts and determination the Tigers showed in their comeback should not be overlooked as they will have to step it up in the future with respect to talent and play selection.
Laker Nationalist
I was never a big fan of the hiring of Mike Brown for the Lakers last year, hence his firing was fine with me. My problem with the Lakers is that Jim Buss (son of Hall of Fame owner Jerry Buss) is trying to make a name for himself. The name is stupid.
Buss is trying to put his fingerprints on the most storied organizations in sports, and there are now smudge marks. Buss was the culprit in getting Shaq moved. He also created problems for Phil Jackson well before he snatched the rug out from under him this weekend. Jim Buss is the problem and there is not much you can do about it.
As for Mike D’Antoni, we will have to wait and see. Defense has never been a strong suit of any of D’Antoni’s teams, but then again he has never coached a collection of players like he will have in LA. His up-tempo offense will create interest, but will that offense work in the post-season, which is why we live to be Laker fans?
There are several questions to be asked here. First off, will this work? There are a lot of issues that need to resolved. The bench is weak, and no one can play defense in the back court. This is a Western conference that features Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul for starters. There is no real bench scoring other than Antwan Jamison.
This will take awhile, folks, and I suggest there is a reason to have more patience with D’Antoni than Mike Brown, who had the dubious distinction of coaching Lebron and now Kobe with not even a watch, let alone a championship ring, to show for it.
