Sam Bradford will get one-on-one coaching for the first time since Dick Curl was let go. Photo by Chris Lee, Post-Dispatch.

The Rams followed through on Jeff Fisher's commitment to hire a quarterbacks coach this week, reportedly recruiting former Rutgers offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. The move is welcome just from the standpoint of having this position filled, and a Ram-nation-wide panic finally quelled. But his resume, like Brian Schottenheimer's, winds a long path through mediocrity.

The Rams may be getting more stable offensively under Jeff Fisher, but are they getting better? 

Mike Sando tells us that Schottenheimer's offense is based on Don Coryell's numbers-based scheme (like half of the offenses in the NFL), but his specific mentors were Jerry Rhome (Martz's predecessor here in St Louis) and Jimmy Raye in Washington. Both offenses trended toward bland, befuddled messes. But nevertheless, having a quarterbacks coach familiar with that terminology would seem to be a prerequisite. For Cignetti, that experience was learned from the scraps of Norv Turner's playbook being held by Jim Hostler (a former college teammate) in San Francisco.

Yes, that Jim Hostler, and that San Francisco. This was 2007, or year four in the seven-year revolving-door method of bringing along Alex Smith. Cignetti was his quarterbacks coach for one year, before departing to Pittsburgh. And to say that Alex Smith and the offense struggled under Hostler would be putting it mildly. Notably, Hostler's offense did not contain the concept of the "hot read" - you know, the basic concept of finding a receiver to throw to when you identify a blitz. 

Smith was sacked 17 times in 210 dropbacks that year. If Smith had thrown in that offense as often as Bradford did in his rookie season, he would have been sacked 50 times. Hopefully, as quarterbacks coach during that carnage, Cignetti picked up a few lessons on what not to do.  

Bradford is now entering his fourth offensive system in as many years, dating back to his days in Oklahoma, and appears to be on a dangerously similar path. The hope is that this hire, and the stability brought to the team overall by Fisher's presence, will save Bradford from further experience in the "confuse-a-cat" method of coaching. 

But Fisher's offensive tendencies in the past have never typically required quarterback heroics, preferring creativity and power in the running game. And here, ironically for Bradford's development, is where Cignetti and Schottenheimer have both excelled. 

We will  have to wait and see how this offense shapes up, and what new pieces are added to it in the draft and free agency. But if Cignetti's past experience is any guide, we're not sure Bradford needs any more help in knowing how to hand off, or how to pick himself up off the turf. 

For Josh McDaniels, returning to the New England Patriots after architecting the NFL's worst offense with the St Louis Rams must have felt like waking up from a horrible nightmare. At first. Before his moment of redemption in the Super Bowl was taken down by the same freak occurrence that haunted his existence in St Louis: dropped passes.

There's no more damaging thing to an offensive coordinator than a drop. You can drill players until you're hoarse in training camp (as McDaniels did) to get them to understand their routes, their timing, and the fine points of execution. You can put your quarterback and receiver on a metronome until the footwork, the head fake, the precision-timed crossing routes are run to perfection.

Then the ball arrives.

As I wrote over at ThisGivenSunday.com in our Super Bowl analysis. Wes Welker's drop appeared to introduce a contagious panic among Patriots receivers. Immediately after Welker's drop, Deion Branch got separated from the ball by Corey Webster to force a punt. Hernandez dropped Brady's first pass of the next drive, Branch dropped another, and Brady was sacked while trying to buy time on a third.

Suddenly the Patriots faced fourth down, literally and figuratively, as the clock and their hopes for winning eroded away.

It was a scene that was all too familiar to Rams fans. It was pretty much the summary of our entire season, and Sam Bradford's nightmare passing year in particular. While injuries limited him to 399 dropbacks, he lost more yards to dropped passes per game than any other quarterback in the NFL, according to stats kept by ProFootballFocus. And it started in week one, with a Lance Kendricks drop on the team's second drive of the year. 

Kendricks' drop on a simple swing pass out of the backfield was the first of a mind-boggling eight passes from Bradford that were flat-out dropped in this game. If panic is contagious, this was an epidemic worthy of the CDC. And it went counter to the way the Rams wanted to build.

In April, McDaniels and the Rams made a statement in the draft - that the current crop of pass catchers wasn't good enough. And the common factor among each of the players drafted in the second, third and fourth rounds - Kendricks, Austin Pettis and Greg Salas - was the quality of their hands. The Rams went out of their way to build a "good-hands" team, centered around Wes Welker's clone in blue and gold, Danny Amendola.

Amendola did his job for 45 minutes of the 2011 season, catching five of the six passes sent his way. Then he pivoted awkwardly on his left arm, dislocating an elbow and ending his season.

Among the rest of the Rams receivers, only Greg Salas had a catch percentage higher than 60% the rest of the way. (Supposed savior Brandon Lloyd had 7 drops by himself and a 48.6% catch rate.) And the group accounted for 31 dropped passes, by far the most in the NFL.

Can drops be coached out of a team? I don't know the answer to that. Would a few more catches have prevented the plague of injuries that kneecapped the Rams' season and dropped the guillotine on our coach and general manager? Probably not. But the offense would certainly been better, we would probably have a few more wins on the season, and it's possible that the marriage of Bradford and McDaniels might have stuck.

So perhaps there was a drop of bitter justice for Rams fans that Josh McDaniels, Sam Bradford's runaway bride, found the same troubles waiting for him in New England as he did here in St Louis.

The points in the CVC's message to Stan Kroenke's London plan can be counted on one finger.

When it comes to the big question hanging over the St Louis Rams' future - where will they play home games in 2015 - the ball is in the court of the St Louis Convention and Visitor's Center. The STL CVC for short. They owe Stan Kroenke and the Rams a proposal for dome improvements that would elevate the building into the upper tier (read: revenue-producing, not gimmicky design elements like video lightboards) of the NFL. 

Before they tender that proposal, though, they offered a few choice words for Kroenke and his plan to move three of the team's next 24 regular season home games to London: "No f***ing way." 

Well, that's a paraphrase. But it isn't too far off the mark, according to a report from the St Louis Post-Dispatch: 

The Rams stand to benefit not just in "awareness" when it comes to playing in London -- they get paid, too. The NFL guarantees revenues in excess of a sellout for these caravan games, and a sellout at 82,000-seat capacity Wembley Stadium is nothing to sneeze at in comparison to revenues from the Dome. While the team has already offered to reimburse season ticket holders for those tickets, the CVC can't be happy about the impact on local businesses of losing these three keystone events. And the Rams have not stated or implied any plan to pay back vendors, local bars, parking lots, or the like. 

While it's honorable for the CVC to be sticking up for the little guy in this dispute between power brokers, it strikes me as exactly the wrong approach if they want to keep the team here for the long term.

Remember, these games are all about leverage. And Stan Kroenke has all of it. He has exercised only the tiniest amount by moving games to London, and publicly opining about co-owning the Dodgers. If he was serious about burning bridges with St Louis, he could simply sew up the pocketbook and refuse to put a good product on the field. (For example, he could have let Jeff Fisher go, and signed a college guy on the cheap like his fellow cross-pond-er Malcolm Glazer, and saved himself tens of millions of dollars.) 

For the CVC to be playing these penny-ante games when the stakes are in the billions is frankly ridiculous. Kroenke is waiting to hear how the Dome and the St Louis region is going to pay back the "jack" that he has put into this team. What he's hearing right now is essentially an open invitation to look elsewhere. 

Not a good sign if you're a fan of the St Louis Rams.  

Dear Stan,

Where there is smoke, there is fire.

A tired cliché, I know, but one very applicable to the current situation regarding the Rams’ future in St. Louis and the potential blaze burning behind your office door.

As bidders emerged for the Los Angeles Dodgers this week, you threw your name in among those listed as interested, although we know you did not put in an official bid for the team, according to the Los Angeles Times.

This news came on the heels of the Rams three year agreement to play one home game per season in London, home of your Arsenal FC and a testing ground for the potential of a full-time NFL team in the future.

With both moves, you exacerbated fears the team will take their leave of the Show Me State as soon as 2014 and move to greener pastures in sunny California or across the pond.

You could very well be leveraging those interests against St. Louis county for quick action on improving The Edward Jones Dome but L.A. and London are also realistic options.

So all I’m asking as a Rams fan is for you to be a little more straightforward. Don’t reveal all of the cards because we all understand you are a shrewd businessman, but also don’t leave us second-guessing and speculating on each public move.

Rams COO Kevin Demoff tried to stomp the rumors out on Twitter last week, but some kind of reassurance from the owner himself would be appreciated. We can’t help but believe some of this is a PR scheme, using Demoff as a puppet while the real dealings are made behind doors to possibly move the team.

The point is, Rams fans were excited with the Jeff Fisher hire, only to be undercut again by your forays into other sports markets.

We have suffered through some bad football and have every right to be paranoid and upset after years of disappointment.

But we understand you are a hands-off owner and will give you the benefit of the doubt in ongoing negotiations with St. Louis County.

A little reassurance would be nice though, now and then.

Maybe you could throw a little water on that fire.

Sincerely,
Rams Fans

‘Twas the day of Black Monday, and all through Rams Park

A franchise was emerging, back from a seemingly eternal dark

Stan came with his axe and off came their head

Devaney and Spags, an error of Rams football fell dead

Their standard wouldn’t cut it, 10 wins in three years

Kroenke said “enough, our fans have cried enough tears”

Thusly, the coaching search began

Shrouded in mystery, the true style of “silent Stan”

Suddenly, a name emerged, one that energized the fan base

A man with a great track record and a mustachioed face

Jeff Fisher it was, an experienced head coach for once

Stan wasn’t looking for the next Linehan or Spagnuolo dunce

But the Dolphins stepped forward, they wanted Fisher too

Using south beach and tropical climate to woo

The dolphins had the deep pockets of owner Stephen Ross

But just ask Sparano, he’s not the best boss

‘Twas a battle of epic proportions, The media asked “which billionaire wins?”

Fisher debated for what seemed like weeks over the Rams and the ‘Fins

The main issues it seemed were money and power

Ross had more cash but denied Fisher the leeway of Bill Cowher

So in the end, it was the blue and gold

Fisher got a franchise QB and a roster he can mold

Excitement rang out in Rams nation, the first sign in a while

For the first time since the Greatest Show on Turf made us smile

Now it’s time for a new era, hopefully one filled with Super Bowl glory

And Jeff Fisher will be the author of this new St. Louis story

Jeff Fisher kept us waiting, and all credible reporters depicted him as being evenly torn between becoming the next coach of the St Louis Rams, or the Miami Dolphins. NFL.com's Albert Breer summed it up like this: 

@AlbertBreer: My sense of it, talking to folks who know him, is the football side pulls him to St. Louis, the lifestyle side to Miami. 

Today, Peter King and Adam Schefter report that Fisher has made his choice: and he's not ready to put his feet up in the Florida sun just yet. Fisher Chose The Rams. 
 
Right now, Rams fans are elated on two fronts: for one, Fisher brings with him an establish mode of doing business, something that has been missing from Rams park since... really, since Dick Vermeil's heyday. Mike Martz was a learn-on-the-job head coach, as was Scott Linehan and Steve Spagnuolo. In Billy Devaney, Spagnuolo at least had a willing partner, but despite undergoing a successful culture change, the results did not justify a long-term stay. 

So Fisher inherits a team with a few cornerstone talents, but otherwise has a clean slate to impose his blueprint upon.

Secondly, as far as a comparison of cities, Miami holds nearly every advantage over St Louis. We accept that. So to have Fisher choose us -- based on the potential of our team and only that -- over a palm treed paradise... to have Fisher choose the "girl next door" over "the hot chick" ... well, it feels mighty good.

Thirdly, if I can add a third point, I think this move demonstrates that Stan Kroenke is willing to do what it takes to get his man, and that he is willing to commit fully to this team. Jeff Fishers don't come cheap. With a renewed boost of local pride in the team, and with a renewed sense of commitment between team and community, suddenly I feel just a little bit better about the prospects of the Rams finding a way to stay in St Louisl ong term.   

Jeff Fisher is at the point in his career where doesn't do job interviews in the conventional sense. He is the proven commodity, the best available guy not named Bill Cowher. (And only a true marquee job will move Cowher off his mountain of TV money.) Unlike the rest of us, Fisher doesn't have to sweat his resume, or worry about his references, and he doesn't have to worry about what questions he might be asked by his future employer. 

When Jeff Fisher visits your team for a five-hour interview, you aren't interviewing him; he is interviewing you. He knows, and we know, that it isn't about what he brings to the table; it's about your ability to set the table for him, and keep piling good things on top of it. Talent. Money. Freedom to run the football team the way he sees fit. And not necessarily in that order. 

Fisher has now spent the same amount of time "interviewing" in Miami and in St Louis. He's gotten a good look at each organization, or what's left of them after housecleaning. He met with Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and GM Jeff Ireland. He met with Stan Kroenke (in Denver) and Rams money man Kevin Demoff. 

Perhaps most importantly, he spent a good chunk of time sitting down with Sam Bradford, this franchise's Franchise.

ESPN's Mike Sando talked about the choice that Fisher faces earlier this week, and suggests that the decision might be an easy one, if he follows Jim Harbaugh's path. After all, last year's hot coaching prospect "took one look at Stephen Ross' organization and hired on with the San Francisco 49ers." 

The decision won't be quite that simple, but I believe St Louis will be the choice, and Bradford will be the reason why.

The Rams have not fired offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as of Monday. This point was emphasized by Rams COO Kevin Demoff and has since sparked both curiosity and debate.

NFL Network's Jason LaCanfora confirms that the Rams "would like to retain" Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator.

Owner Stan Kroenke is a prominent McDaniels backer and wants to maintain stability in Sam Bradford's development even if the 2010 first-rounder took a step back in 2011.  However, with a new GM and head coach on the way in McDaniels is no lock to remain in St. Louis.

Jeff Fisher would probably look in a different direction if hired as the Rams' next head coach, but McDaniels is sticking around for now. It's no secret that owner Stan Kroenke is a big McDaniels supporter and personally pushed for his hiring this past offseason. Strongly working against McDaniels, of course, is the fact that the Rams had the NFL's 31st-ranked offense in terms of yardage this season. They were dead last in points scored.

A wild card in all of this is Brandon Lloyd. Coming over to the Rams from Denver midseason Lloyd lead the Rams in receptions (51), reception yards (683), and touchdown catches (five) despite the extra attention he gets from opposing defenses. Counting his time with the Broncos this season, Lloyd had 70 catches for 966 yards.