The Los Angeles Rams have one game remaining in a regular season filled with plenty of drama. After the relocation to Los Angeles was complete, fans saw the Jeff Fisher tenure unravel, while quarterback Jared Goff is now under center as the quarterback of the future.
Interim head coach John Fassel took over for the Rams, with three games remaining in the season. Alas, Fassel went 0-2 in their first two contests, in winnable games. While Goff continues to develop, the Rams have one last chance to make an impression moving forward.
While looking at the state of the organization, one can understand why the team has failed to meet the expectations. The offense has been lackluster all season long, while the defense produces in the running game, but not against the pass.
With a 4-11 record, the Rams face off against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. When asked about the outlook of the players going into the last game, Fassel stated that his team is ready to play on all cylinders, via Myles Simmons of TheRams.com:
“There hasn’t been any resistance from any players where you could imagine some of them maybe, they don’t want to play in the last game because they don’t want to risk an injury,” Fassel said. “But there hasn’t been any resistance, really from any guys with that mindset, which I think is good because you play football and if you start ducking out of piles or kind of standing around piles, that’s when you get hurt. You play football the right way, there’s a good chance you’re going to be perfectly fine.”
With one game left in the season, it gives the entire roster a chance to contribute and leave an impression going into the offseason.
The organization certainly has their focus towards their head coaching search in the offseason, in order to provide a promising environment for seasons to come.
During the press conference, Fassel stated that the Rams are ready to play, but he also has a trick up his sleeve. A head coach is always responsible for having his team prepared to play, but coaches also take pride in having their team fired up for the game ahead.
Fassel stated that he does have a speech ready to go for their last game, as a final conversation before they head into their final battle. However, while not leaking the speech, players have come up to him asking about the significance of it.
When asked about the speech, Fassel laughed it off and said he hopes they take something away from it:
“I feel like, ‘Gosh I’m going to disappoint them’ — because they think it’s going to be hot, and it’s really going to take about a minute,” Fassel said with a laugh. “It’s just something I remember when I got it from a coach a long time ago. Maybe 15 years down the road when some of these guys are coaching, they’ll yank it out when they feel they need it.”
The Rams face off against the Cardinals at 1:25 P.M. on Sunday, with the game being slated locally on FOX.
Against a NFC West rival, the Rams have one more opportunity to grow and evolve, in order to put a winning performance one last time this season.
