Could The St. Louis Rams Be The New Miami Dolphins?

A year ago at this time, the Miami Dolphins were the worst team in the NFL. A horrid single-win season and a culture of defeat was pervasive in the locker room.

One year later and the Dolphins are the golden boys for other teams to model themselves after.

So could the St. Louis Rams change a culture of defeat and bounce back into playoff contention in a similar fashion?  The odds are long.

The Dolphins first move was to change the general manager and coaching staff with proven winners, although one was a first-year coach.

The Rams have done the first step.  However, removing the last vestiges of a failed era only works if you follow it with the next two steps.

So what are the next two steps?

One, the team must have an innovative system.

The New England Patriots became a near dynasty with their variable defensive schemes. 

The 1999-2001 Rams did it with all-out offense, which acted almost without a running game.

The Buffalo Bills had the no-huddle offense. 

San Francisco had the West Coast offense. 

The Dolphins brought out the Wildcat.

So what can the Rams do to top that?  It is important to note that most of these teams were sitting in similar spots and just thrived with a new idea.

So what is the final and key point remaining?  A new quarterback.

All of the above teams brought in new leaders to their systems. Joe Montana, Jim Kelly, Kurt Warner, and Chad Pennington all offered a different form of leadership and stability to their teams who struggled at quarterback before that.

Tom Brady, showed that he had the room with him and was able to lift all the players with his never-say-die style of play.

The Rams have Marc Bulger. 

Bulger has never had the arm strength or the success of the other players. He has never carried the team on his back in the playoffs or really showed the leadership needed to get the team to the next level.

His contract is an albatross that no other team will take on so trading him is out of the question. Without new leadership at that key position, success will probably remain elusive.

So the answer to this point is, no, the Rams will not bounce back like the Dolphins because they lack a key component to instant success—a difference-maker quarterback.