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After a fourth straight loss on Sunday, 31-7 to the Cincinnati Bengals, St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher suggested that critics of his team’s effort could kiss a typically hidden part of his anatomy.
“It’s not an effort issue right now,” Fisher said. “It’s execution. It’s 70 percent offense and 30 percent defense.”
The Rams have alternated close and blowout losses during their current losing streak, which has put them at best on the fringes of the NFC playoff race with a 4-7 record. A potentially promising season has now trended back toward mediocrity, and St. Louis is now 24-34-1 in Fisher’s three-plus seasons as head coach with a high mark of 7-8-1 in his first season (2012).
Fisher got fairly petty a few weeks ago at the suggestion cornerback Lamarcus Joyner intended to injure Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater with a helmet-to-helmet hit. Another venture into condescension on Sunday is a clear sign of building pressure that is being felt, and if Rams’ owner Stan Kroenke is paying attention to his team’s on-field results, amid a potential effort to move to Los Angeles, firing Fisher should be an easy decision when the season is over.
Not having a capable quarterback, due to injuries (Sam Bradford) or simple ineptitude (Nick Foles), has not helped the Rams win games under Fisher. Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti deserves credit for making an effort to get wide receiver Tavon Austin more involved this year, and running back Todd Gurley is a budding star, but St. Louis’ lack of talent offensively is alarming and has driven poor results.
Even a typically strong Rams’ defense has been bad at times lately, with 37 points allowed to the Chicago Bears in Week 10 and 24 offensive points allowed to the Bengals in Week 12. Defense is supposed to be Fisher’s area of expertise, even with Gregg Williams carrying the title of defensive coordinator, so the recent inconsistency there is a bad sign even when injuries are considered.
Regardless of their future location, the Rams need to make some changes in order to take the step from middle of the road team to legit NFC playoff contender. Firing Fisher would be a nice step toward changing the culture of the franchise, if nothing else, and a new head coach with a fresh voice can only make things better going forward.
Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter.
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