The Greatest Show on Earth: Restoring the St. Louis Rams

[marsmaker]

JEFF FISHER ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT



Early Sunday morning, newly appointed St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher announced a sudden and abrupt retirement. There is no word at the moment as to why exactly, but many within the Rams organization believe he has had a major health scare. Rams owner Stan Kroenke has reportedly met with GM Les Snead and Chairman Chip Rosenbloom over who they want to hand the reigns over to, with Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer being the leading candidate.

[marsmaker]

NEW COACH JAMES LYNCH APPOINTED TO ST. LOUIS RAMS

We broke the story last Sunday that Jeff Fisher had announced his strange and abrupt retirement, and the news surrounding the former Greatest Show on Turf moves into stranger territory. Earlier today Les Snead called a press conference to announce the new Head Coach, who many believed would be Brian Schottenheimer.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, I thank you very much for your time here. As you all know, the man the Rams organization believed would lead them back to playoff contention and winning seasons, Mr. Jeff Fisher, announced his retirement just a few short days ago. While we were all deeply disappointed at the loss of such a talented coach, we must face reality and quickly move on. The organization as a whole wishes Mr. Fisher the best of luck in all his future endeavors and hope he will one day be a part of our great organization in the future.

Now, you all I'm sure have speculated that Mr. Brian Schottenheimer would take over, however after speaking with Brian we as a group have decided to go in another direction. While Brian would be a fantastic head coach, we believe a fresh young face is the way this team needs to go. So, without further ado, I give you the new head coach of the St. Louis Rams, James Lynch."

Les Snead introduced the world to James Lynch. Former head coach of SE Missouri State, Lynch saw the Redhawks to consecutive Ohio Valley Conference championships, including an undefeated season in 2011. However, despite the impressive record within the OVC, many are critical of this decision, considering the huge risk of taking an unknown as well as the massive difference between coaching an FCS team and an NFL team. Mr Lynch was very brief on the podium, and only truly answered one question.

"I have a great amount of respect for Jeff Fisher and what he has done in the world of football. He and Les gathered a very talented class of rookies in the offseason, and I have absolutely no intention of mucking that up. I love what I see in this team, and I hope we can grow together into the champions I know we all are. I plan on working very closely with Brian on the offense, and with Gregg Williams still under investigation and suspension, we have officially promoted coach Frank Bush to Defensive Coordinator. It is my intention that the three of us remain in constant contact as we build towards the season, and that we will each grow with the team. Thank you for your time, I'll see you in preseason."

[Gronk4M13]

Following, this could be good.

[marsmaker]

RAMS PRESEASON OPENS WITH A WIN OVER COLTS

Even though it's preseason, St. Louis fans are celebrating a win. More importantly, they're celebrating the welcome gift Rookie QB Andrew Luck was given. On his very first pass play, Luck drops back and fires right into the open arms of Rams CB Cortland Finnegan.

"You know, I actually feel a little bad for the kid. He had a bad game, didn't know what to do with himself, and getting picked off on your first throw? Man that's gotta hurt." Finnegan, who was picked up by the Rams by Jeff Fisher, looks to be the clear cut starter at DB this year, with 2nd round pick Janoris Jenkins not far behind.

On the Rams offensive side of the ball, there were very few standouts. Isaiah Pead, another second round pick from the draft, impressed well enough to be considered the backup for Steven Jackson, barring any injuries or a surprise shot to the arm for 3rd stringer Daryl Richardson.

In roster related news, the Rams released QB Tom Brandstater, HB Chase Reynolds, WR Mike Campbell, and TE Jake McQuaid. The thought is that most of them didn't fit into coach Lynch's scheme very well. WR Steve Smith was traded to the New York Jets for their 4th round pick in the 2013 draft, with Snead and Lynch both showing their continued support in building through the draft.

St. Louis Rams at Indianapolis Colts
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
St. Louis Rams (0-0)	3	7	0	25	35
Indianapolis Colts (0-0)	0	14	10	10	34

Team Stats Comparison
	STL	IND
Total Offense	344	415
Rushing Yards	54	81
Passing Yards	290	334
First Downs	18	12
Punt Return Yards	8	6
Kick Return Yards	102	100
Total Yards	454	521
Turnovers	2	4
3rd Down Converstion	4-16	4-12
4th Down Conversion	3-4	0-0
2-Point Conversion	1-1	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	2/2	0/1
Penalties	2-15	5-33
Posession Time	23:04	24:58

St. Louis Rams PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Kellen Clemens 22/40 298 2 1 Sam Bradford 3/5 18 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Isaiah Pead 13 25 1.9 1 Daryl Richardson 3 9 3 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Brian Quick 8 88 11 1 Chris Givens 2 38 19 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Michael Brockers 8 2 0 0 Cortland Finnegan 1 0 1 0 Quintin Mikell 9 0 1 1

Indianapolis Colts PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Drew Stanton 19/29 318 4 3 Andrew Luck 2/4 24 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Mewelde Moore 15 40 2.6 0 Donald Brown 8 23 2.8 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Jarred Fayson 5 113 22.6 2 Jeremy Ross 4 63 15.7 1 Mewelde Moore 3 113 37.6 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Cassius Vaughn 4 0 1 0 Cory Reading 7 2 0 0 Robert Mathis 6 2 0 0

Spoiler

That's gonna be the only preseason game I actually play. CPU subs are pretty ridiculous, but it was nice getting that pick on Luck his first throw. Brockers and Mikell really stepped up, and Brockers has definitely earned a starting spot.

[marsmaker]

RAMS FINISH PRESEASON 2-2, PREPARE FOR UNDERRATED LIONS

The Rams offseason was not particularly astounding, but it was a good way to move forward for this team with such a hazy future. After cutting what most believe is dead weight, and trading away those that weren't, the Rams finished 2-2 and new head coach James Lynch seems to know who will be starting, and who has yet to earn that privilege.

"Preseason is always tricky, because you're never playing a team at 100%. That said, I feel that men like Janoris Jenkins and Michael Brockers proved over the course of the preseason that they are the men who I want on that field." Coach Lynch was his usual succinctness when asked what he would be looking to in the upcoming draft, stating that "we haven't even started the regular season, now's not the time to be talking about next year."

Of course, any team worth its salt has already started scouting, and the Rams are no different. With two first round draft picks and three fourth rounders, the Rams are hoping to turn heads in the 2013 draft.

Players Cut:
DeAngelo Peterson(TE)
Bed Guidugil(TE)
Mike McNeill(TE)
Matthew Mulligan(TE)
Greg Salas(WR)
Austin Pettis(WR)
Cornell Banks(DT)
Darell Scott(DT)
Noah Keller(MLB)
Alex Hoffman-Ellis(MLB)
Garrett Lindholm(K)
Kendric Burney(CB)
Aaron brown(OLB)
Sammy Brown(OLB)
Jamaar Jarrett(DE)

Trades:
Jerome Murphy(CB) To Eagles for 4th round Draft Pick in 2013

Games:
Chiefs beat Rams 29-20
Cowboys beat Rams 28-6
Rams beat Ravens 31-28

[Gronk4M13]

Decent preseason, good luck in the regular season.

[marsmaker]

RAMS CHASE AARIN CARROLL

Out of Florida Atlantic, Wide Receiver Aarin Carroll has been turning heads all over the NFL. The Rams in particular have shown a vested interest in the 6'5 Senior. Brad Holmes has been particular high on him, stating Carroll is "Calvin Johnson, but faster and with better hands." When asked about the possible #1 overall, head coach James Lynch was less impressed. "He's a quality player, without a doubt. But I don't know if I trust him as that high of a pick. He's a pretty unpredictable player, and I prefer my players to be better at route running." When asked about his comments, many in the NFL believe Lynch is just downplaying Carroll's potential in an effort to land the wide out at a later position.

RAMS TAME LIONS, DEFENSE REIGNS SUPREME

It wasn't even close, as the St. Louis Rams opened the season with a 23 - 6 win over the Detroit Lions. Things got off to a rocky start when Wide Receiver Danny Amendola fumbled the ball on his first catch, but the Rams were able to hold the Lions to a field goal, and when Tight End Lance Kendricks did the same on the next drive, the results wouldn't change. After the first quarter things looked very bad for the Rams offense, as they turned the ball over twice and couldn't score on a rather porous Lions secondary. However, the rest of the game was a very different story.

Early in the second quarter, the Rams were faced with a 4th and 2 situation deep in their own territory. Newly appointed head coach James Lynch rolled the dice however, and the rams converted on a quick pass play right to Denario Alexander. After this the Rams confidence began to grow as they marched down the field and eventually got their first touchdown of the day. After that the Lions couldn't keep up, with Matt Stafford throwing three interceptions and zero touchdowns. The Lions would barely be able to make it into Rams territory after the second quarter, and the defense made up for offensive failures.

"We got the win, and that's nice, but we still have a lot of work to do. We only converted three of fifteen third downs, and that is unnacceptable. There were several dropped passes, Sam Bradford was sacked too many times, and we couldn't make room for Steven Jackson to run. We can't win every game relying on the opponents Quarterback throwing interceptions." Though the Rams were almost embarrassingly bad on third down, they held the Lions to similar numbers(2-12).

With the win though comes some bad news for the team, as star Defensive End Chris Long tore his shoulder and will be out for roughly 6 weeks. "That's a huge blow. Long is a huge part of our Defense and it's hard to replace a player of his caliber. However we'll carry on and hopefully we'll be able to hold the fort down while Chris recovers."

St. Louis Rams at Detroit Lions
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
St. Louis Rams (0-0)	0	10	6	7	23
Detroit Lions (0-0)	6	0	0	0	6

Team Stats Comparison
	STL	DET
Total Offense	280	125
Rushing Yards	102	11
Passing Yards	178	114
First Downs	17	6
Punt Return Yards	38	5
Kick Return Yards	16	72
Total Yards	334	202
Turnovers	2	4
3rd Down Converstion	3-15	2-12
4th Down Conversion	2-2	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4-5	0-0
Penalties	4-35	4-35
Posession Time	29:33	18:27

St. Louis Rams PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Sam Bradford 22/38 238 2 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Steven Jackson 17 57 3.3 0 Isaiah Pead 8 38 4.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Danny Amendola 12 146 12.1 1 Lance Kendricks 3 39 13 0 Brandon Gibson 3 37 12.3 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD William Hayes 3 3 0 0 Quintin Mikell 6 0 1 0 Chris Long 3 2 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Greg Zuerlein 3/4 2/2 11 47

Detroit Lions PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Matt Stafford 15/30 152 0 3 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jahvid Best 8 2 0.2 0 Matt Stafford 3 11 3.6 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Tony Scheffler 6 75 12.5 0 Nate Burleson 2 36 18 0 Jahvid Best 3 19 6.3 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Ndamukong Suh 10 3 0 0 Kyle Vanden Bosch 2 2 0 0 DeAndre Levy 8 1 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Jason Hanson 2/2 0/0 6 45

[marsmaker]

SKINNED ALIVE: RAMS DEMOLISH REDSKINS

2nd overall draft pick Robert Griffin the Third rolled into the Edward Jones Dome looking for a win over the team that essentially traded him away, and walked away battered, bruised, and most importantly to Rams fans, beaten.

"It's a great feeling. We all know what a great quarterback Robert Griffin is, but our defense clearly was up to the task and helped propel us to our second win. And credit where credit is due, the offense really stepped up too. This was a total win for the team," Coach Lynch was quoted as saying.

The first quarter could not have started any worse for the Redskins, as on their first play Tim Hightower fumbled the ball and rookie DT Michael Brockers leapt on it like a hungry beast. Though the Rams could not reach the end zone that drive, they were able to settle for a field goal from rookie kicker Greg Zuerlein.

The next drive for the Redskins would end in similar fashion, but this time Cortland Finnegan would take the ball on RG3's first pass play. This would be Finnegans first interception wearing the gold and blue. "I saw he was going to Garcon, and I just sorta pounced. Not a whole lot to explain."

On this drive the Rams would see the back of the end zone, however, off a catch by Tight End Lance Kendricks. Indeed, touchdowns would be the name of the game for the Rams, as they amassed three through the air, two on the ground, and one from the defense.

The game was largely always the Rams to win, though in the third the Redskins tried to bounce back and made it a six point game. However, an interception from Strong Safety Darian Stewart(who would get the Pick 6 on the very next drive) put an end to that. The Rams even got a safety on the Redskins, courtesy of, once again, Darian Stewart.

"Darian's a hell of a player, and I have to hand it to them, the Rams really tore our O-Line up. We're gonna have to go down and make some changes, but I think we've learned a lot from this game. We've learned what we can and can't do, and more importantly we've learned we can't underestimate anyone in this league. We're all here for a good reason, and any given sunday you can get any result. I still think we're the better team, we just didn't play like it."

Washington Redskins at St. Louis Rams
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Washington Redskins (0-1)	0	14	7	7	28
St. Louis Rams (1-0)	17	10	0	23	50

Team Stats Comparison
	WAS	STL
Total Offense	393	411
Rushing Yards	116	89
Passing Yards	277	322
First Downs	15	19
Punt Return Yards	0	10
Kick Return Yards	114	114
Total Yards	507	535
Turnovers	4	3
3rd Down Converstion	7	5
4th Down Conversion	0	1
2-Point Conversion	0	0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	2/0	3/1
Penalties	69	35
Posession Time	25:15	22:45

St. Louis Rams PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Sam Bradford 25/34 340 3 3 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Steven Jackson 18 63 3.5 1 Isaiah Pead 6 13 2.2 1 Sam Bradford 1 13 13 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Danny Amendola 11 144 13.1 1 Brandon Gibson 6 136 22.7 1 Danario Alexander 2 15 7.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Michael Brockers 5 4 0 0 Darian Stewart 4 1 2 1 Cortland Finnegan 4 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Greg Zuerlein 2/2 6/6 12 46

Washington Redskins PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Robert Griffin III 19/37 319 1 3 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Tim Hightower 14 95 6.8 1 Roy Helu 2 8 4.0 1 Robert Griffin III 2 7 3.5 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Santana Moss 5 96 19.2 1 Pierre Garcon 4 88 22 0 Tim Hightower 4 50 12.5 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Stephen Bowen 3 1 0 0 Tanard Jackson 3 0 1 0 Brandon Meriweather 8 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Neil Rackers 0/0 4/4 4 0