I had the chance to ask some questions of Ryan Van Bibber of Turf Show Times,which is the top blog on the St.Louis Rams about his thoughts on Pat Shurmur's stint as the Rams offensive coordinator and to try to get some ideas on what Shurmur will be bringing to Cleveland.Thanks to Ryan for his time in getting back to me and check out his site for any other Rams information that may interest you...
TRS: I know Pat Shurmur is a West Coast offense coach,but with the Rams did they run the true WCO or more of a mixture due to Steve Spagnuolo's preferences?
RVB: They did run a scaled back version of the WCO under Shurmur in St. Louis for a couple of reasons. First, they lacked talent at WR, and once Mark Clayton was lost for the season, they had no way of stretching the field with any consistency. Second, Shurmur kept the short passing game to help Sam Bradford's transition to the NFL. Another factor was a relatively young offensive line featuring a rookie LT and a second year RT, who didn't play much in his rookie season
RVB: Like I said above, the Rams low scoring offense was mostly a product of missing playmakers at WR and TE and inexperience at other key positions. They did improve their scoring by slightly more than a TD per game, but that was coming off a 2009 campaign in which they averaged less than 11 PPG. Spagnuolo kept it pretty conservative too, putting more of the onus for holding leads on the defense, a unit with more talent and experience. The question we all had was whether or not Shurmur and Spags would open it up in 2011 with more talent and another year in the system.
TRS: How popular was Shurmur with close followers of the Rams?
Were Rams fans pleased with his work or frustrated?
RVB: Fans got frustrated with Shurmur, mostly as a straw man for the offense's inability to score points, the reasons for which are mentioned above. I think once the season ended and fans realized just how far the Rams had come, and how much they still needed, there was much greater understanding and tolerance for what they did on the field this year. However, another season of too conservative play would not have been tolerated.
TRS: Do Rams fans feel like their offense took a hit with the loss of Shurmur,a bump up with his replacement or generally blase'?
RVB: The biggest concern is the impact on Sam Bradford. As you know, Shurmur played a big role in his development, guiding him to one of the most successful rookie seasons in history. Bradford's smart though, and nobody is going to confuse him with Alex Smith. He should be able to handle a change in offense should the Rams go that way with their new OC.
TRS: I saw only two Rams games this season,but did see the final "play in" game vs Seattle.
Shurmur's play calling seemed pretty mundane and the lack of running the football with Steven Jackson against a less than strong defense raised some red flags for me.
Is that reasonably accurate?
RVB: Yes. Nobody can explain that game. In the days after, though, Spagnuolo took the blame for the way the team approached it. If the Rams don't improve next year, fans will not forget that game.
TRS: Sam Bradford seems to be a big fan of Shurmur and the hope is that Colt McCoy will feel the same way about the tutelage.
Shurmur's reputation is of a QB guru with Donovan McNab in Philly and Bradford.
Should Browns fans expect McCoy to show improvement right away from working with Shurmur?
RVB: I would hope so. It's kind of funny to see Shurmur going from Bradford to McCoy, given the Red River Rivalry those two had in their college careers. McCoy seems well-suited to run that type of offense. Shurmur's great skill with QBs is to play to their strengths and set them up to be successful before asking them to press the limits.
TRS: What should Cleveland fans expect from a Pat Shurmur offense other than the WCO?
Any variations that he will mix in a bit?
RVB: That's a good question that I'm not sure I have the answer for. Fans in St. Louis were waiting to see what the offense would really look like with some playmakers around Bradford. Losing Donnie Avery and his replacement, Mark Clayton, really took something away from what the Rams could do. I suspect he'll take it slow since McCoy hasn't had a full season of NFL experience and since the Browns will also be looking to bring in some receivers around him.
TRS: Finally,After seeing Shurmur for two seasons,do you think the Browns made a good or bad hire and why?
RVB: I think it is a smart move, from this point in time anyway. It seems like Mike Holmgren is going to be something of a de facto head coach, bringing along Shurmur the way Shurmur brings along young QBs
Thanks again to Ryan for taking the time to talk with us.
I will be back later tonight with a look at the Devils afternoon game against the Islanders....
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