Rams know how it feels to be around the horn

Rams know how it feels to be around the horn

Sam Farmer / On the NFL

No one would blame the Rams for sounding the alarm after losing consecutive games and dropping back to .500.

Actually, though, Rams Coach Jeff Fisher sounded it before his team played at Detroit on Sunday. In order to prepare his players for an early game in the Eastern time zone, one that kicked off at 10 a.m. PDT, he carried an air horn with him and twice blared it to make sure the Rams were on their toes.

Fisher sounded the annoying, ear-splitting blast on Saturday night at the hotel during a team meeting, and again at the pregame breakfast Sunday.

“He scared a lot of guys at breakfast with it,” punter Johnny Hekker said. “He said, ‘Listen, we can’t let timing be an excuse. Time zones are what they are. We’re here to play football. We’re professionals.’ If you can’t get up for a game, then you’re not cut out for the league. That’s the reality of it.”

According to the betting site Sportsinsights.com, heading into this season, West Coast teams were 61-111 (a .355 winning percentage) since 2003 when playing in the Eastern time zone.

The Rams were offensively sharp for most of their game against Detroit, and didn’t look sluggish despite what for them was a mid-morning kickoff.

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