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When the Washington Redskins went through mass changes within their coaching ranks after the 2009 season, one move was to replace Greg Blatche with Jim Haslett as the defensive coordinator and go with the 3-4 base defense for the first time in the fran…
Truth be told, we know exactly how you turn around a sack-sack football program and construct a champion. It has been done plenty of times over the course of the past 51 years. Several of the greatest figures in football history have employed very similar tactics to accomplish this objective. They have shown us the pattern. We know how it is done. The real question is this: Who has the iron will to execute this program? It is an excruciating plan to put into action.
Paul William “Bear” Bryant takes over Alabama in 1958. Truth be told, Alabama was pretty terrible at the time. He runs brutal, grueling, lethal force training camps and practices. A bunch of guys quit. He cuts a few more. Bear flushes the toilet. Only those who love the game remain. He attracts only the toughest, nastiest, most ambitious men with chips on their shoulders and something to prove. It takes him till 1961 to complete the turn around, but he wins six national championships over the next 20 years. During the 1960s, Alabama is the toughest team on your schedule. They were what Miami was in the 1980s and what USC has been in the 2000s.
Glen Edward “Bo” Schembechler takes over at the University of Michigan in 1969. Michigan had a glorious past, and a dreadful present. He runs brutal, grueling, lethal force training camps and practices. Bo cuts a few more. Bo flushes the toilet. Only those who love the game remain. A bunch of guys quit. Bo nails a big sign over the exit of the locker room. It says “Those who stay will be champions.” It’s still there. Nobody touches that sign. That is Bo’s emblem and mark on the program. He attracts only the toughest, nastiest, most ambitious men with chips on their shoulders and something to prove. He wins 13 Big 10 conference championships. He should have had a couple of national championships.
James William ‘Jimmy’ Johnson takes over the Dallas Cowboys in 1989. They are the worst team in the NFL. They are drafting first, and not because they made a trade. He runs brutal, grueling, lethal force training camps and practices. A bunch of guys quit. He cuts a bunch more. Jimmy flushes the toilet. Guys who don’t love the sport and who are just collecting their large paychecks are thrown out on their faces. He attracts only the toughest, nastiest, most ambitious men with chips on their shoulders and something to prove. Jimmy’s Cowboys win three Super Bowls, despite tremendous competition from the Redskins, 49ers, Giants, Packers and Bills. They win the third one without Jimmy… in spite of pretty terrible coaching.
Richard Albert ‘Dick’ Vermeil takes over the Rams in 1997. They were considered the worst team of the decade by many. The Bengals would eventually win that dreadful distinction because the Rams would win the Super Bowl in 1999.
In 1997, the Rams draft first, and not because they made a trade. Vermeil runs brutal, grueling, lethal force training camps and practices. He holds two, three hour full-contact practices in full pads each day. A bunch of guys quit. He cuts a bunch more. Dick flushes the toilet. Guys who don’t love the sport and who are just collecting their large paychecks are thrown out on their faces. He attracts only the toughest, nastiest, most ambitious men with chips on their shoulders and something to prove.
It takes him two years to do it. Only eight men from the 1997 roster are left on 1999 roster. Guys like Issac Bruce, Kevin Carter, DeMarco Farr, and Todd Lyght are a few of the survivors. The 1999 Rams are voted the greatest turn-around story in NFL history by a distinguished panel of experts at NFL films. The turn around only lasts four years (1999-2003) but during this period we are The Greatest Show on Turf. This epoch could have been better, but we screwed up and forced Vermeil into a retirement that only lasted a few months.
These history lessons all demonstrate that there is a clear-cut path to pay-dirt. There is a well established, proven methodology for turning a team around. It has been used by most the of great coaches who triggered great turn arounds. Vince Lombardi didn’t exactly flush the toilet, but he ran lethal force practices. He just had more survivors and champions on the roster than he thought he did when he started.
To the best of my knowledge, Bill Walsh is the only guy ever to turn around a team without flushing the toilet. According to rumor, he did not crush the souls of the weak in training camp. He focused on teaching & preaching precision execution. He had many of the same bums he started with on the team when he won SB16 with the 1981 49ers. Don’t follow the Walsh model, as compelling as it might be. Walsh is the exception, not the rule. Follow the rule, not the exception.
College or Pro, the story is fundamentally the same. You have to get rid of the posers. You have to get rid of the fashion models who like to look good in the uniform. You have to weed out the guys like Barry Foster, who once said that he liked football but would never play for free. You have to get rid of the JaMarcus Russell types, who collect their $39 million and lie down on the job.
Tim Kutsarits published a piece this morning in which he discussed the massive roster turnover the Rams have experienced since the end of 2008. With the Barron trade about to become final, there are only seven remaining starters from the 2008 squad: Three on offense, four on defense. If O.J. Atogwe does not return, that number will be six.
Kutsarits correctly points out that this is now Devaney & Spagnuolo’s team. The Rams are no longer a Jay Zygmunt & Scott Linehan production. I totally agree with Tim’s call for accountability on that point.
I would just like to point out that there is a method to this madness. The process has been excruciating at times. I have disagreed with the elimination of several guys swept away in the toilet-flush. I still don’t know why we gave up on Brian Leonard and Adam Carriker. I hope we will settle with O.J. Atogwe.
Nevertheless, it is clear that the Rams are flushing the toilet. Devaney has purged most of the Zygmunt/Linehan picks, and the last of the classic Rams from the Vermeil era.
Only time will tell if these new men are better. We all hope so.
Last year, Spagnuolo ran some pretty tough practices. They were not as tough as the ones Vermeil ran. Spagnuolo did not order up a pair of three hour full-contact drills per day, the reports held that Ram practices were much tougher than they ever were under Linehan.
I hope the intensity will increase in 2010, we can finish the weed-out process, and then make some progress.
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ESPN is reporting that the St. Louis Rams have traded Adam Carriker to the Washington Redskins for a 5th round pick. Carriker was the 13th overall selection in the 1st round of the 2007 draft. Carriker missed all of 2009 with a shoulder injury. Carriker will be reunited with former Ram DC and Interim Head Coach Jim Hasslet, who is the new defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins.
Reports on the compensation are sketchy and contradictory at this time. The first reports indicated that Washington traded a 5th round pick originally belonging to the Eagles for Carriker. This is impossible, as the Rams already own the Eagles’ 5th round pick in 2010. Subsequent reports maintain that the Rams swapped 5th rounders with the Redskins, upgrading one of their 5th round picks from No. 163 to No. 135.
Whatever the case may be, this is precious little compensation for a former 1st rounder who carries no legal baggage. This move looks suspiciously like a contract dump. In trading Carriker, the Rams will unload a former 1st rounder’s paycheck.
The trade is no surprise. It has been rumored for several weeks now by Adam Schefter (ESPN) and Jason La Canfora (NFL Network). Carriker is considered a natural 5-technique by Mike Mayock, chief draft scout for NFL Films. The 5-Technique is the defensive end in 3-4 scheme. The Rams have been playing him out-of-position throughout his career in St. Louis. In Washington, Carriker will have his first shot at playing defensive end in the NFL.
Don’t be surprised if Carriker shines. The Rams have a lamentable history of releasing, trading and not signing 1st Round defensive linemen. Sean Gilbert, Kevin Carter, Jimmy Kennedy, Ryan Pickett, and Damione Lewis are a few of the others. Most of those players have shined or blossomed after leaving the Rams.
A cash-dump of this type has fueled speculation, led my ESPN blogger Mike Sando, that the Rams are financially crippled by their current ownership uncertainties.
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It’s official. The Rams have traded former first round pick Adam Carriker to the Washington Redskins (along with their fifth round pick) for the Redskins’ fifth-rounder.
In my mind, this leaves the Rams rather thin at DT, which leads me to believe, (along with the fact that Bradford said he wouldn’t sign a contract before the draft) that Ndamukong Suh will be the No. 1 overall pick, as he should have been all along.
The Rams toyed with the idea of picking Bradford first, mostly to see if they could get anyone interested in trading for the No. 1 pick.
Let’s face it, the Rams need more than one pick to turn the team around and start winning again, but I think the Rams haven’t gotten the offer they wanted and will now pick the best player in the draft.
Call me crazy, but I honestly think this is the right pick. Spags is a defensive minded coach, and he knows that games are won and lost in the trenches. Suh is being called a once in a generation talent, and barring serious injuries, will make an immediate impact on the Rams’ entire defense.
That’s my pick. I think it’s the Rams’ pick as well.
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Alright B/R fans you asked for it so here it is, round two of our Fans Draft. Round one was a success and we’ll expect nothing less this time around.
Hopefully this will give fans a chance to get an idea of what the second round could look like, and also pretty much just help pass the time until the real thing happens in April.
The same rules apply, and we’ll leave the list of first round selections so you can see who’s already off the board. Here we go!
Here’s the list of the selections so far:
1. Rams take QB Jimmy Clausen
2. Lions take DT Ndamukong Suh
3. Buccaneers take DT Gerald McCoy
4. Redskins take OT Russell Okung
5. Chiefs take S Eric Berry
6. Seahawks take OT Bruce Campbell
7. Browns take CB Joe Haden
8. Raiders take OT Anthony Davis
9. Bills take OT Bryan Bulaga
10. Jaguars take QB Tim Tebow
11. Broncos take ILB Rolando McClain
12. Dolphins take WR Dez Bryant
13. 49er’s take RB CJ Spiller
14. Seahawks take OG Mike Iupati
15. Giants take DT Brian Price
16. Titans take DE Derrick Morgan
17. 49er’s take S Taylor Mays
18. Steelers take S Earl Thomas
19. Falcons take DE Jason Pierre-Paul
20. Texans take WR Golden Tate
21. Bengals take TE Jermaine Gresham
22. Patriots take OLB Sergio Kindle
23. Packers take OLB Jerry Hughes
24. Eagles take OLB Sean Weatherspoon
25. Ravens take WR Arrelious Benn
26. Cardinals take OT Trent Williams
27. Cowboys take ILB Brandon Spikes
28. Chargers take DT Dan Williams
29. Jets take DT Jared Odrick
30. Vikings take QB Sam Bradford
31. Colts take CB Devin McCourty
32. Saints take DE Brandon Graham
Ok St. Louis, it’s time for your second pick.
You shocked us a little bit when you took Jimmy Clausen last time around, but as of late it seems more and more likely that the Rams could make a quarterback the top pick in this draft.
The question now, is who they’ll take in the second round. My recommendation would be best player available, but it’s debatable who that even is.
So once again, and as always, we need the fans to tell us who the pick will be.
Let’s hear it guys! Who do you want?
Polls will close in 24 hours.
The Rules: Each day for the next 32 days we’ll post a continuation of this article at 6 p.m. Eastern time where the fans can comment, discuss, and decide who their team will pick.
At 5 p.m. Eastern the following day, we’ll look at the best comments and opinions and announce the selection your team has made, along with the next team who will pick at 6 p.m. A list of previous selections will be included and fans will not be allowed to vote for players who are already off the board.
Note: you do not have to use the player’s full name in voting for your vote to count. If there is a tie at the 5 p.m. cut-off, whichever player is ranked as the higher pick on CBS sports’ “overall player ranking” will be the selection.
Example: If the Bills have six votes for Ndamukong Suh and six votes for Gerald McCoy, then Suh, who is ranked No. 1 overall, would be the selection over McCoy who is ranked No. 3.
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