The 2nd Greatest Show on Turf; The St Louis Rams 2008 & Beyond

[gruzniak]

On July 16 2008, new General Manager/Head Coach Phil Gruzniak was hired on to lead the rams for the 2008 season, when asked by the media what his initials goals were his comment was

"To get rid of some of the dead weight around here, loosen up some cap room, improve our young talent, and to bring the Lombardi Trophy back to St. Louis by 2013..."It won't be an easy task but we already have superstars such as Steven (Jackson), Torry (Holt), Leonard (Little), and Will (Witherspoon), as well as some up & coming stars such as, most notably Chris (Long), as well as Derek (Stanley), and Ricky (Manning), so it is definetely not out of our each"


Coach Gruzniak than went on to say "As far as my coaching philosophy, i really do want to bring that "Greatest show on turf" mentality back to St. Louis, Mark (Bulger) really does have a cannon for an arm, so if we can get maybe one more deep threat for him, and improve our offensive line a bit, we are set there. On the other side of the ball i would like to rely more on the blitz to pressure the opposing quarterback, and make him throw poor passes, or interceptions, as you can see i have already started with this, which explains why we drafted Chris (Long, the Rams 2008 1st round draft pick).




Goals for 2008:

Win 4 conference games

Win 7 games Total

Mark Bulger +10 TD/INT Ratio

Steven Jackson 4.5 YPC

Give up an average of less than 25 points per game.




The roster i'm using is obviously simply the 2008 Rams Roster that came with FBM2k9, so i won't post it,

But, any changes at all (ie: trades, pickups, drafts etc...) will be posted in here.


I'll start the first season later tonight, i have a college radio show in half an hour so i'll probably start after that.

Thanks for watching guys!

[EVEN11323]

I honestly think that you are the first person to post a FB dynasty here. Good luck to you!

[Arctic Blast]

Indeed...especially with that roster. :D

[gruzniak]

Season 1 2008

Weeks 1-9



Week 1

St Louis Rams @ Philadelphia Eagles

Lost 27-20

current record: 0-1

No suprises here, a battle against one of the more explosive offensives in the game, and there defense isnt to shabby either.

The Good....

-Steven Jackson 12 Rushes, 105 Yards 1 TD 8.5 YPC!!

-Drew Bennett 7 Rec 128 Yds

-Pino Tinoisamoa 7.5 tackles


The not so good...

-Mcnabb threw for 3 tds & 313 yds against me







Week 2 St Louis vs. New York Giants

W 24-3

Current record: 1-1

Beating the reigning Super Bowl Champs so handedly is a good feeling, 'nuff said.


The Good...

-Mark Bulger 16/23 2 TD

- Steven Jackson 143 Total Yds 1 TD

- Chris Long 2 Sacks, first 2 of his career, welcome to the NFL Chris :D !


The not so good...

-Not very much XD






Week 3

St Louis (1-1) @ Seattle (2-0)

Lost 22-10

Current Record 1-2

We lost our first conference game not good, can't say i'm happy with how we played even against a team like the Seahawks, oh well Rome wasn't built in a day.


The Good...

Torry Holt 7 Rec 102 Yards

Will Witherspoon 10.5 Tackles



The Not so good...

Marc Bulger 2 int

Steven Jackson 41 yards







Week 4

St Louis (1-2) vs Buffalo (0-3)

Won 27-10

Current Record 2-2

We our undefeated at home, go figure. This game was one of the few this season i actually expected us to win going into it, and i'm glad we did.


The good...

Marc Bulger 15/21 197 yds 2 TD

Steven Jackson 130 Total Yards 2 TD


The not so good...

Kawika Mitchell sacked Bulger twice

Lee Evans caught for 102 yards against us






Week 5


Bye Week No Game







Week 6


St Louis Rams (2-2) @ Washington Redskins (3-2)


Lost 34-27


Current Record (2-3)


We hung with a very good team till the end which i am glad for...but we lost, which i am not glad about. Nothing to complain about though, everybody played pretty well.



The Good

Marc Bulger 23/31 259 yds 3 td

Steven Jackson 97 total yds 2 td



The not so good


God Dang Jason Campbell threw 32/36 against us...all right i just found out how we lost, crap where was the pressure on him?!?

Clinton Portis 162 total yds 1 td






Week 7



St Louis (2-3) vs. Dallas (3-3)


Lost 34-17


Current Record (2-4)


Suprise, suprise the Cowboys beat us by 17 points.


The good

Randy McMichael 115 yds 1 td

Torry Holt 117 yds 1 td

Will Witherspoon 11.5 tackles



The not so good


Marc bulger 14/27 2 int

Tony Romo threw 29/38 3 tds against us







Week 8



St. Louis (2-4) @ New England (5-1) haha this should be good...


Won 19-6 :eek:


Current record (3-4)


Holy crap, we beat the Patriots, and we held them to 6 points. i'm in shock, Bill Belicheck probably had a seizure after this one.


The good

Steven Jackson 92 yds

Piso Tisanomisa 12.5 tackles

Tom Brady threw 2 int against us



The not so good

Tom Brady 338 yards

Ty Warren sacked us twice







Week 9


St Louis (3-4) vs. Arizona (4-3)


Win 20-6


Current Record 4-4


We win our 2nd conference game, and are now in 2nd place at the halfway mark of the season, better than i expected.


The good

Marc Bulger 21/30 241 yds


Steven Jackson 171 total yds 2 td


Leonard Little 2 sacks


Kurt Warner threw for 11/27 against us



The Not so good


nothing really, fortunately








Halfway through our season we are .500 at 4-4, some stats after 8 games are

Offense

Marc Bulger 64.3% 1831 yds 12 td 7 int

Steven Jackson 116 rushes 603 yds 5 rushing td 5.2 ypc

Randy McMichael 26 receptions 345 yds 3 td

Torry Holt 35 receptions 505 yds 2 td


Defense


Leonard Little 19 tackles, 4.5 sacks

Chris Long 15 tackles, 4.5 sacks, can you say NFC DROY? :D

Will Witherspoon 53 tackles, 7 knockdowns

Tye Hill 19 tackles, 6 knockdowns, 2 int





2nd half of season will be played tomorrow sometime...

[RedsoxRockies]

Indeed, this is the first, so it automatically makes the FM hall of fame!

[gruzniak]

Week 10 St. Louis (4-4) @ New York Jets (4-4)

Won 31-13

Current Record: 5-4


Pleasant suprise on the beatdown, our playoff hopes our definetely still alive, parity really does exist in this league...



The good...

Marc Bulger 27/32 349 yds 2 td

Randy McMichael 10 rec. 133 yards 1 td



The not so good...

Steven Jackson only had 41 total yards, oh well we still won.








Week 11


St Louis (5-4) @ San Fransisco (3-6)


won 20-14


BAHHHHHH STEVEN JACKSON TORE HIS ACL AND IS OUT FOR THE NEXT 25 WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!! Antonio Pittman is my new RB, who the hell is Antonio Pittman?!?


The good....

uhhh we won?


The not so good...


we didn't lose, also look above :eek: :(







After the X-Rays came back & it was confirmed that Steven Jackson had in fact torn his ACL confirming early rumors, coach Gruzniak held a press conference concerning how the Rams will deal with this huge blow.

"We fully support Antonio Pittman as our main running back for the remainder of the 2008 season, Antonio has shown us in preseason, as well as in limited playing time last season that he is more than capable of running the ball effectively, i do not believe this puts any damper on any playoff talk about the St. Louis Rams."







Week 12


St Louis (6-4) vs. Chicago (4-6)


Lost 20-7

Current Record (6-5)

A dissapointing game all around, without a running game our passing game struggled having all the burden on them.



The good...


La'Roi Glover 2 sacks




The not so good


Marc Bulger 17/42 2 int






Week 13


St Louis (6-5) vs. Miami (4-7)


Lost 13-3

Current Record 6-6


It is almost depressing to only give up 13 points, and still lose the game, this shows us how truly important Steven Jackson is to this team, we can't seem to do anything without him...


The Good...

Will Witherspoon 1.5 Sacks, 11.5 tackles

Corey Chavous 2 int



The not so good...


Marc Bulger 8/19 80 yds, 1 int ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE







Week 14 St Louis (6-6) @ Arizona (7-5)


Lost 33-21


Current Record 6-7


Ok, so after this loss we pretty have have to go 3-0 our last 3 weeks to even hope of making the playoffs, i wasnt expecting to make the playoffs till season 2 or 3 anyways, so i guess it's a pretty moot poin to begin with.



The Good...

Marc Bulger threw for 2 tds


Torry Holt 5 rec 72 yds 2 tds



The not so good...


Marc Bulger also threw for 2 int


Kurt Warner threw for 4 tds against us







Week 15


St Louis (6-7) vs. Seattle (11-2)


Lost 34-7


Current Record 6-8


God this team is hopeless without a legit running game, i miss Steven Jackson :(




The good...

Since he took over Antonio Pittman is averaging 3.9 ypc, which isn't THAT bad for a backup




The not so good...

We have not won a game since Antonio Pittman took over







Week 16 St Louis (6-8) vs. San Fransisco (4-10)


Won 24-3


Current record 7-8


YES! There is a team more hopeless than us right now!



The good...

Marc Bulger 19/24 234 yds 2td

Antonio Pittman 102 total yds 1 td, 'atta boy! too bad you're a day late and a dollar short, though kid.




The not so good....

Not to much for once, thankfully.








Week 17


St Louis (7-8) @ Atlanta (2-13)



Won 17-14


Final 2008 Record 8-8 2nd Place in the NFC West


The good...


5 total sacks for us



The not so good...


Marc Bulger was sacked 8 times!!! Holy crap!!








So as a wrapup for the 2008 season we finished 8-8 which was good enough for 2nd place in the NFC West, not great but better than i expected.

My preseason goals for this year were the following lets see how i faired with them...

Win 4 conference games: Fail we were 3-3 in conference, not horrible, but not quite what i wanted.

Win 7 games Total: Pass we won 8 games total

Mark Bulger +10 TD/INT Ratio: Fail he threw 23 td, 17 int, that's only +6.

Steven Jackson 4.5 YPC: Pass He averaged 5.1 ypc in the 9 games he played before getting hurt.

Give up an average of less than 25 points per game: Pass we only gave up 17.9 points per game, not shabby at all.



Here are some final stats fo the 2008 season



Offense

Marc Bulger 308/496, 62.1%, 3676 Yds, 23 td, 17 int


Steven Jackson 123 Rushes, 627 yds, 5 tds, in only 9 games


Torry Holt 76 rec, 1044 yds, 7 td


Drew Bennet, 54 rec, 851 yds, 3 td


Randy McMichael 61 rec, 735 yds, 6 td probably our most pleasant suprise...





Defense


Chris Long 35 tackles, 7 sacks dissapointing 2nd half


La'Roi Glover 25 tackles, 6 sacks


Will Witherspoon 104 tackles, 9 knockdowns


Fakhir Brown 49 tackles, 19 knockdowns!, 3 int


Corey Chavous 36 Tackles, 6 knockdowns, 4 int




08-09 Offseason including draft will be in next post

[RedsoxRockies]

Who is Antonio Pittman Lol?

[DarthJaker]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Pittman

[gruzniak]

2008-2009 offseason




Offseason signings

G Andrew Whitworth 4 yr/2.15 mil yr


QB Kyle Boller 4 yr/1.615 mil yr good & fairly cheap backup in case Bulger gets hurt/sucks


RB Joey Schroeder 7 yr/400k yr awesome upside, and already decent, also anything is a better backup than Antonio Pittman




2009 NFL College Draft


Round 1 Pick 14

Michael Crabtree WR Texas Tech

Michael Provides us with one more deep threat to get us back to our deep passing game, Michael is not the fastest WR in the game, but he is a physical beast, and can jump higher than just about anybody.




Round 2 Pick 46

Chris Cress DE SDSU

An excellent pass rusher to compliment Chris Long as a defensive end.




Round 3 Pick 78


Victor Rogers G UTAH


Still a very raw player, but he has a ton of upside, should be a project to get to the front 5, but if he gets there he will be good.





Round 4 Pick 110


Simon Nowak WR Notre Dame


A 6 footer with 4.46 40, with good hands, should be a good slot receiver some day.





Round 5 Pick 142


Jecarius Ward FB Boston College


Solid run blocker, and excellent hands for a fullback.






Round 6 Pick 174


Ted Smith TE Georgia


Big tight end with a HUGE upside, could turn out to be great.






Round 7 Pick 206


Dusty Donahue K Arizona State


mediocre NFL kicker plain & simple




2009 Season coming up in next post.

[boomboom]

Wow, you just made me buy Football Mogul 2009 :)

[EVEN11323]

Who won the Super Bowl?

[Arctic Blast]

Hell, that's a pretty good first season, ESPECIALLY with Jackson going down! Just curious...I'm a little surprised you didn't try and beef up the defense in the offseason...any reason you decided to load up on more offensive players?

[gruzniak]

Who won the Super Bowl?


Patriots beat the Packers 33-16





Hell, that's a pretty good first season, ESPECIALLY with Jackson going down! Just curious...I'm a little surprised you didn't try and beef up the defense in the offseason...any reason you decided to load up on more offensive players?


For one i have a pretty young defense so they will get better automatically, also i may not have any stars other than Chris Long & Will Witherspoon, but i also don't have any weakest links everyone is at least solid, that being said there wasnt a need to put down any more money when i believe the offense had bigger holes needed to be filled.. Also the way i see it unless i have a horrible defense, if i have an offense capable of putting up 28+ week in and week out i'll naturally win the vast majority of my games anyways.

[RedsoxRockies]

What is the Greatest show on earth?

[Arctic Blast]

For one i have a pretty young defense so they will get better automatically, also i may not have any stars other than Chris Long & Will Witherspoon, but i also don't have any weakest links everyone is at least solid, that being said there wasnt a need to put down any more money when i believe the offense had bigger holes needed to be filled.. Also the way i see it unless i have a horrible defense, if i have an offense capable of putting up 28+ week in and week out i'll naturally win the vast majority of my games anyways.

Makes sense to me. Actually come to think of it, once you get past Bulger, JAckson, Holt and Pace, the Rams don't exactly have a ton of weapons when they have the ball, so not a bad set of moves in retrospect.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

I've been thinking about doing a Football Mogul Dynasty to supplement by Royals one for Baseball, this may have convinced me to do so :).