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Losing your starting quarterback for the season during the preseason is obviously not an ideal situation, but after a 13-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, the St. Louis Rams are 3-5 and just a game behind the 49ers in the NFC West. A previously dismal pass rush led the way on Sunday, with eight sacks of Colin Kaepernick, and the Rams have won two of their last three games to put themselves on the fringes of playoff contention as the stretch run of the season gets going.
The Rams surprisingly beat the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks 28-26 back in Week 7, as they took some calculated chances on special teams that paid off, and if not for blowing an early 21-0 lead against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3, St. Louis would be a .500 team right now. For that possibility alone, head coach Jeff Fisher will surely get some votes for NFL Coach of the Year at season’s end and, as of now, he is making a very strong case to win the award.
Fisher had a lengthy tenure as head coach of the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans, with a 142-120 regular season record over 16-plus seasons (1994-2011), and by the end of this season, the Rams will have had former No. 1 pick Sam Bradford available for just 23 of 48 games in Fisher’s three seasons at the helm. Nothing against Austin Davis, Kellen Clemens or Shaun Hill, who have started under center for St. Louis over the past two seasons in Bradford’s absence, but “The Greatest Show On Turf” is not coming back anytime soon and St. Louis stands out as one of the least-talented offensive teams in the league.
Bradford is not the only key player the Rams have had to do without this year, as defensive end Chris Long (ankle) has only played one game so far after being placed in injured reserve/designated to return, while wide receiver Brian Quick (shoulder) and offensive tackle Jake Long (torn right ACL) are both out for the season after being injured during a 34-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8.
The schedule does not let up for the Rams over the next few weeks, with road games against the Arizona Cardinals (Week 10) and San Diego Chargers (Week 12) surrounding a home game against the Denver Broncos. But the two games after that are very winnable, against the Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins in Week 13 and Week 14 respectively, so if the Rams can get an upset win or two between now and Thanksgiving Day, they may have a legitimate chance to earn a playoff spot when the calendar flips to December.
Bruce Arians and Chip Kelly have to be considered the top two candidates for Coach of the Year right now, but after that, things aren’t as clear and Fisher stands out due to how the Rams have overachieved again. Two blowout losses stand out as black marks, but the Rams have been very competitive in every other game this season and it’s worth noting they held their own against Kelly’s Philadelphia Eagles in Week 5, with a late comeback falling just short in a six-point loss.
Two remaining games against Arians and Arizona look fairly pivotal for Fisher’s chances to get more attention on a national scale, and thus get more votes for Coach of the Year. A win over the division-leading Cardinals in at least one of those games could make him the clear front runner, while also keeping the Rams afloat in the NFC playoff picture far longer than anyone expects.
Fisher deserves credit for keeping the Rams competitive despite being far less talented than most of the teams they play, which is only partly due to injuries in my view. St. Louis will probably have to earn a surprising Wild Card berth, with the winning record that will have to come along with that, for Fisher to have a legit chance to be the league’s Coach of the Year for the first time in his career. But Fisher belongs on a short list of dark horse contenders for the award right now, even with a long way to go in the season and candidates sure to rise and fall continually. If things go a certain way, his chances to win could easily rise each week between now and the end of the regular season.
If the Rams’ season goes downhill quickly over the next few weeks, which is not out of the question at all with some tough games coming, any possibility for Fisher to win Coach of the Year would obviously be eliminated in short order. But as of now, I really like his chances to finish highly in the voting when the time comes, even if the Rams finish 7-9 or 8-8 and fail to make the playoffs.
Brad Berreman is a Columnist at Rant Sports.com. Connect with him on Twitter or Google +.
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