Injury, Meet Insult: Laurent Robinson Goes Off in Dallas

By Aaron Schafer Tue., Oct. 4 2011 at 12:20 PM

Categories: Aaron Schafer, Rams

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Laurent Robinson's biggest game as a Ram.

You want to know just how bad things are for the Rams' offense right now? Things are so bad right now the football gods are now casting about for any way possible to just pile abuse on one of the NFL's worst units.

To wit: while the Rams were struggling to get into double digits on the scoreboard against the Washington Redskins on Sunday and trying to figure out who forced all of their receivers to take the field wearing oven mitts, Laurent Robinson took the field for the Dallas Cowboys and caught 7 passes for 116 yards with a long of 44. What's more, it looks as if Robinson may very well have found himself a home, at least if reports of the Cowboys' opinion of him are accurate.

This just seems like unnecessary salt in the wound, football gods. I mean, seriously, Laurent Robinson?

Laurent Robinson played for the Rams the last two seasons, and he was terrible. The 2009 season could be overlooked safely due to the massive problems the Rams had at quarterback, but not 2010. He had a full season with Sam Bradford under center, and it isn't as if the rest of the receiving corps was lighting the world on fire and Bogarting all Laurent's chances.

Robinson started 11 games for the Rams and appeared in 14 in 2010, accumulating 34 catches for 344 yards. He was always a tease, showing off tremendous physical talents and an almost shocking lack of actual football ability in equal measure. Not once in all the games he played was there anything resembling a 7-for-116 day thrown in there. He dropped passes. He was never open despite the speed. He's 6'2" but never came down with a single jump ball. He was basically everything the Rams needed to fix in their receiving corps.

He was released early in camp, and there was absolutely no outcry. It wasn't even really a tough call, like cutting Donnie Avery loose or giving up on Mardy Gilyard. No one spoke up and said, "Man, the Rams are really going to regret letting Laurent Robinson get away." Robinson was just a toolsy guy who never really turned it into production no matter how much we all hoped he would. He went and signed with San Diego, but couldn't latch on there either on their regular season roster.

So how is it he goes to Dallas and suddenly looks like a legitimate veteran receiver? Maybe Tony Romo is some kind of quarterbacking genius after all...

Of course, it's also possible Robinson just had one good game, and he'll shortly turn back into a pumpkin, disappointing yet another fanbase. But even so, it raises an odd issue with the Rams' offense: how is it they haven't had even one of those performances, when a journeyman player suddenly lights it up for one or two games? We see those all the time in the NFL, yet the Rams can't even catch lighting in a bottle just once.

It basically leaves us with one of two scenarios: either the football gods are good and pissed, and are just effing with the Rams by making 'Romo to Robinson' the new 'Montana to Rice', or there's something about the Rams so toxic, so stifling, it makes it literally impossible for any receiver to succeed wearing the blue and gold.

Frankly, I'm willing to believe either one at the moment.

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