For five weeks I have written an article after every Rams game in which I take a look at what went right and wrong for the Rams in their most recent loss.  After watching another beatdown at the Dome by the Minnesota Vikings, 38-10, it is time to say enough is enough with the situation at Rams Park.  It is time for someone at Rams Park to get ticked off and go postal get REALLY upset over what they are seeing.  Someone needs to decide that this is no longer acceptable.  They say that insanity is doing the exact same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.  That is the 2009 St. Louis Rams.  I am going to focus on what I saw today that is a microcosm of everything that is wrong with the Rams organization and why I am more concerned then ever that the Rams are not headed in a new direction and merely just wallowing in the same mediocrity.


Turnovers: The Rams had three turnovers inside the Vikings 10 yard line.  Read that sentence again.  The Rams had three turnovers inside the Vikings 10 yard line.  How does that happen?  How can this continue to happen to a franchise that is supposed to be building their foundation on being accountable and being a smart football team that doesn't make mistakes?  You can't have a missed handoff to your star running back.  Inexcusable.  You can't have two receivers running to the same spot in the endzone.  Poor execution.  You can't have your second string tight end fumble the ball on an everyday tackle. Ridiculous.  If you want to have accountability then people have to start getting benched for boneheaded plays like that.  Even your star running back.  This is not meant to rip Steven Jackson but clearly the responsibility of controlling the football is not being coached properly or being executed properly by the players. The only way to fix this is if you fumble or cause a turnover because of plays like that then you don't get back on the field for awhile.  Ball security is clearly not being taken seriously.  Taking someone's livelihood away from them on the field will back that point up.  You are an 0-5 football team.  We can lose without you.  Hold onto the football.


Penalties:  Again we go back to the "smart" football team we are supposed to be building.   Once again we don't see it on Sunday.  The Rams committed 7 penalties for 82 yards.  Is that the sign of a well disciplined football team?  Week in and week out the Rams continue to take a ridiculous amount of penalties.  They are either not being coached properly, which I doubt, or they are not executing properly.  If you can't execute properly then again we can lose with you or we can lose without you.


Effort:  The coach or the players did not say "the effort was there" after the game today but it was certainly implied that "the effort was there".  It was said in code by saying the defense is playing "pretty good" or the offense did "a lot of things well today."  That is garbage.  The NFL is the ultimate results league.  Win and produce or you are out of a job.  You know what, the defense isn't playing pretty well.  They surrendered almost 300 yards passing and just under 100 yards rushing.  They more importantly surrendered 31 points.  Under what scenario is that playing "pretty good".  The offense garnered 10 points today and that is doing a lot of things well? 


The defense has to understand that the offense is not going to score many points so anything over 14 points allowed is too much to give up.  If they give up more than that then it is a failure.  Conversely the offense has to do better then the 34 points they have scored in 5 games.  You can throw whatever stats you want to at me but the only one that matters is points on the board.  The Rams defense gives up way too many and the Rams offense doesn't do anything. 


Howie Long on Fox may want to tell me the Rams defense is playing "pretty well" at halftime or Charles Davis may want to tell me today that he was impressed with the Rams today saying "I do like the spirit I am seeing from the St. Louis Rams team, this is a team that could have rolled over and died today....but they didn't come close to that today."  Oh Really?  Losing 38-10 and now being 0-5 is not rolling over?  Someone at Rams Park needs to stand up and say that NO ONE on this team is doing enough to win games and EVERYONE has to do much better.  You might be selling some of the national media on the "effort" theme but when you are a franchise that has lost 15 straight games that is inexcusable and embarrassing.  If I were in the football operations at Rams Park I would be embarrassed that media people were having to reach to just say something nice about my team.


Coaching:  I don't question that Steve Spagnuolo is doing everything in his power to make this team better.  I am beginning to question whether or not Spagnuolo is doing enough to reach the players and the team.  He knows defense.  There is no question about that.  But there are too many mistakes again and again to accept.  It comes down to he isn't either coaching the entire team properly or the players aren't listening and can't execute.  Knowing that the team is talent deficient may be a reason but it can't be an excuse.  If they get beat because they don't have enough talent that is one thing but to lose because they don't have enough talent and the talent they do have makes mistakes can't be accepted.  As well you have to question the selection of Pat Shurmer as offensive coordinator at this point.  34 points in 5 games is not reasonable.  At what point does Shurmer get on the hot seat?


Donnie Avery:  I think everything that needs to be said about the current state of the Rams was summed up by Donnie Avery this afternoon.  Here is a guy who arguably cost the Rams their best shot at a win this season in Washington.  A guy who has underperformed in the first five games and a guy who is not living up to his potential.   Avery has a decent afternoon stats wise and scores a touchdown with just over 3:00 to go in a 31-3 game.  He makes a nice catch for a touchdown and decides to do a very choreographed dance in the endzone that not only makes him look stupid but the entire team look stupid as well.  The touchdown brings the Rams to within 3 TOUCHDOWNS and he has the audacity to perform a dance like he just scored the game winning touchdown.  I don't have a problem with celebrating a touchdown but that was definitely not the time or the place for that.  What is worse is that he didn't even realize it.  It was all about Donnie Avery at that point and no one else.  Steve Spagnuolo wants to talk about team.  Where does that fall in the "team category"


One of my favorite movies in the world is Network.  It was a terrific film from 1976 and was way ahead of its time.  I keep thinking of the line from the movie where the lead character says "I'm Mad as Hell and I'm not going to take it anymore."  I keep waiting for someone, anyone, at Rams Park to say it.  Enough is enough.  I am begging someone at Rams Park to do it.  I would hope it would come from the Head Coach but right now I will take it from anyone who wants to take responsibility for the team's future.  I know I am mad as hell....but I can't make the changes in that locker room.  Someone needs to.  Please.


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