~ Sunday, Jan. 16, 1999 @ 1:00 EST~

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1. NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT THE RAMS. The Rams have a dominant, breathtaking offense and a very tough defense. And no one has seen them play!

The turnaround is one thing. We could dispute whether teams have turned around this completely. But here you have an offense on a par with the Montana Whiners, possibly better ...and 2/3 of the NFL world has not seen them play. After 13 blowout wins ...we are still a secret weapon.

That's one reason people keep dismissing us. The idea that a team you have never seen could be this good is actually impossible to get your mind around.

Of course, Denny Green is paid to get his mind around the opposition. Good luck, Denny! You will need it! Think-have they finished counting our formations yet?  All Ram fans who have watched this team this year know the answer to that.

2. THE DIVERSITY OF THE RAMS OFFENSE. Think of the year overall. Think of how many remarkably different game plans Martz has put out there. Think of the difference between ATL #1 and ATL #2. Think of how he has developed the running game, from trick plays early to the steady, power, zone-blocking scheme we are running now.

Martz (with help from Hanifan and Vermeil) has laid out a pallette of offensive options of breath-taking variety. He has shown scores of formations and has attacked every inch of the field.

People ask, what tricks does Martz have up his sleeve for the playoffs? While I am sure he has some, the question misses the point. If you were a DC sitting down to review film of the last 16 games, you just might pull a Vermeil and begin to cry. Where do you begin to deal with that level of complexity mixed with the sheer NUMBER of lethal weapons we demonstrate?

How do you deal with Bruce AND Holt running crossing routes, Az coming out of the slot, Az running the option, the screens we throw all over the field, the 1.8 second releases for 25 yard passes, Ike's ability to separate, Holt's ability to get deep, Az's ability to break 3 yard passes... and in the heart of it all is Marshall, who is approaching Hall of Fame level play and is on a mission. Marshall, who throws any defensive scheme completely out of whack--except perhaps for putting a spy on him, in which case Bruce and Holt and Ax can explode ... Marshall, who is a man playing among boys. Marshall needs a league of his own.

Hell--look at blitzes. Marshall can beat them zipping upfield unbelievably fast OR he can pick up the blitzer with nasty cut blocks. Our WRs get separation in a flash and (when Holt reads the play correctly) KW hits them before the blitz gets half way there. Then again, KW has an amazing 6th sense about avoiding blitzes and he stands in and delivers strikes WHILE BEING HIT.

Teams that blitz us pay. Teams that don't blitz us pay.

3. THE RUNNING GAME. This aspect of the Ram team is a testament to developmental coaching. And, of course, to Marshall Faulk. Our running game has gone from last year's futility to the early season's inconsistency, to something to behold. Now I am deeply impressed with how we are running the ball, and there are some key points to look at in understanding this key facet of the game.

When Mike Martz first started demonstrating his talents, some Vermeil bashers worried that Vermeil would ruin things by meddling. I never shared that worry, though I did wonder if Vermeil would act decisively if Martz turned out to be a bust as an OC. 

We must remember that we headed into the season with only one O-lineman in the same place as last year, a TB just converted to FB, and a brand new RB who had missed a good portion of camp. The task was to develop and coordinate the run offense. 

Early on, you could see that it was not always in synch. The OL had trouble sealing off backside pursuit. And I tend to believe the theory that says that Martz had to learn how best to use Faulk, who is an unusual runner. 

During the middle of the season, we had some games in which we didn't run well. Vermeil was frequently quoted as saying we had to run more. I have formed the impression that he pressured Martz somewhat to do some traditional rushing.  Interference? Meddling with a proven formula? Well, Vermeil has that old school commitment to being able to run and I sense that Martz doesn't feel that responsibility quite as much.

But Vermeil wants the running game as part of the mix for 2 main reasons:

#1. To provide balance, to force the D to deal with the whole field. All of this also sets up the play action pass and keeps the D suspended devastatingly between run and pass D. We can absolutely destroy a DC's mind by throwing to the WBs, running Faulk, and throwing to Faulk. And remember that running Faulk is very likely to get you 30+ yards or perhaps a TD from anywhere on the field! And remember, MN's run defense is ALMOST as suspect as its pass D. Emmitt DESTROYED them, twice, and he has NO SPEED left! 

#2. To shrink the clock with a  lead. I see the Minnesota game plan this way: jump on MN early, score 28 points or so as fast as possible. Then, in the second half, just melt that clock away with running and passing mixed in a lethal cocktail of doom.

Look at the result. Vermeil has not messed up the O. Indeed, in the last 2 games, the O has begun to show its potential in balancing the pass and run. The results are awesome. I'll take that kind of meddling.

And I sense that Martz has been maturing as an OC, too. There has been talk of re-establishing the medium pass, too. And the O has been FLYING! 

To focus on running the ball, I want to establish 3 principles: 

#1. Marshall Faulk has a lethal combination of patience and aggressiveness. Getting the ball deep in the backfield, he will glide to the point of attack and then, frequently, slow down, hesitate, even stop to let the blocks clear some seams. Then, when the seam is there--and sometimes when it is not--he will explode decisively forward and run very hard. He is hitting the hole fiercely--but also with those subtle twists and spins. Generally, he delivers the blow--seldom do defenders get a clean lick on him. Then in the open field, he just embarrasses DBs and LBs who try to get to him. On network color guy, Jeff Lageman, said Faulk was "nifty," and I agree. He isn't a Mexican jumping bean like Sanders. He is very economical. He sells a certain route and speed, then switches it and glides past the DB with little apparent effort. 

Now, Martz had to learn to use all this to best advantage. And the key to this has been ... 

#2. The mobile, athletic, powerful OL. The blocking schemes in our OL are fascinating, and they are coordinated niftily with formations that create overloads and mismatches. But for these schemes to work, the OL must do 2 things. It must pull and lead block effectively. And it must seal off backside pursuit effectively.  The schemes are sometimes complex, sometimes simple. But the O-linemen must know when to aggressively attack and when to be sure to seal things off. This is where we were so spotty early in the year. If you watch the early tapes, you see numerous plays run down from the backside, often by one player, when everything else is blocked but the RB can't get to the hole. Huge improvement here.  As for pulling and lead-blocking, I think at times I am watching the Hogs (hmm, didn't Hanifan have something to do with them?) or even Lombardi's Packers. Our pulling is superb. The guys get there, fast, and they deliver a blow. Martz uses this along with TEs and H-Back's in motion to create angles that make the blocks easy to make and sustain. 

Now, I could not leave the general principle of mobility and power without mentioning Holcombe. I don't know about you guys, but I think he is ALREADY a superb blocking back. He lead blocks hard and tough. I watched him do this throughout the game, and I never caught him missing the block. He hits the LB or D-lineman, stands him up, and screens him while Marshall glides by.

#3. Our best running comes off of sweeps, tosses, and off tackle slants. These are the plays that best exploit our combination of mobile, powerful lineman, and Marshall's magnificent patience, vision, and explosiveness. When Marshall goes off tackle, he can sweep very quickly, or he can cut back. He seldom cuts back all the way against the grain. Instead, he will just create an angle, then slip back a few degrees into the seam that opens. Then he hits that seam so hard and fast that he runs PAST many LBs and DBs, and runs THROUGH them also because he sets up their bodies to miss. Thus, we can sweep, run off tackle, or cut back just inside the tackle to create "inside" running that is really just hitting the seam that develops, which is sometimes back inside of the planned P O A (point of  attack). 

The result of all this is not just a power running game. Several of these plays have been just that in running situations. But with Marshall, we have the ability to gain big, big chunks of yards with runs rather than with passes. Amazing potency. We are LITERALLY a team that can score fast at any time, and not necessarily by passing. Combine this with our passing and--fogeddaboudit! 

The wild card here is Conwell. Notice Vermeil's response to Conwell coming back: far more enthusiastic and up beat than Vermeil has been with the return of Little or Bush originally, or last year with the developing young  talent. Uncharacteristically, Vermeil has come out and enthusiastically embraced the idea of Conwell becoming a big part of the O during the playoffs. What he brings, of course, is superb blocking. I think Vermeil sees Conwell as a key to a power running game that becomes genuinely elite. The Rams were thrilled with 3-4 big blocks made by Ernie against Philadelphia. Expect to see Conwell play a lot and the Rams to run a lot.

4. OFFENSIVE BALANCE. I continue to believe that the bedrock strength of our O lies in establishing the quick, medium length pass to the WBs. When our WRs are catching the ball, no D alive can even slow us down! I believe that we must in EVERY game establish our ability to complete that pass in a way that the D cannot touch. It breaks the D's will and forces them to realize, "You can't touch this!" When we get away from this, we start to become stoppable.

The ultimate goal, then, is balance: if we establish the WBs, AND Marshall out of the backfield AND Marshall on sweeps and pitches and flips AND power running ... then the D might as well take the rest of the day off and phone it in, cause we will score 40+

So while a good running game is invaluable, the DANGER  is to lean to power running a little too much. The thing about power running is that it is SO HARD to sustain. You run hard for a 1st down or two, then you get stopped a couple of times and it is 3 and 9. Now your QB and WRs are out of rhythm, you miss one pass, you must punt, and the D gets pumped and energized! You lose touch with the fundamental, bedrock strength of the quick, medium passing game.

So, I see a danger there. BUT, I have also seen Martz do exactly what I hoped for---he has grown as an OC over the year. He has developed a better sense of balance, timing, and game situation. SO, in the end, I am pretty optimistic. As I said, I think Vermeil's pressure of Martz to develop the running game is a good one--so long as Martz maintains a good feel for balance. I think he will. He WILL NOT come out and sit on things. Just running the ball is dangerous and limits production. Martz knows that and won't do it. I expect to see us throwing early and often. Martz knows he has huge mismatches downfield. He will go to them. Minnesota's  LBs and DBs will be caught between run and pass, not knowing which way to turn.

5. MINNESOTA. Granted-this MN team is DANGEROUS! Start with this:

This will be the best running game we have faced this year. Smith backed by Hoard behind that big OL? If our O stalls at all, MN may be the first team with a 100 yard runner. Sherman is not a typical Viking play caller. He is calling a tough, conservative, old-fashioned style of game--between throws downfield to Moss. To stop Smith, we will have to focus people.

Meanwhile, Moss frequently beats the double team downfield.

Defensively--the Vikings are an extreme version of us. They make plays. They go for turnovers. They are not sound downfield. But they do MAKE PLAYs!

Our D should be able to get MN into that funk it goes into for part of the game. But if we do not cash in our scoring chances early, often and consistently, if we stall on drives with flags, fumbles, red zone picks, and let the Vikings hang around ...they could beat us.

But. Let me tell you something about this team, its coaches, and its fans.

Every Viking fan is trained before puberty to make the following assumption AT ALL TIMES:

The MN Vikings are "obviously" the best team in the league, more talented than anyone, and "should" win the Super Bowl every year. Doesn't matter who they have at CB or how many games they lose to miserable teams, or how many yards their D gives up. After playing like manure for 3 quarters, they will simply get 3 key turnovers, score in the 2:00 drill and steal another game. Every week. Against every opponent.

Then, every year, reality strikes. Some team refuses to give them the perfect gift turnover and they lose. A genuinely GOOD playoff team smokes them with superior play.

This fact doesn't sit well with Assumption A. So they fall back on Assumption B:

IT'S THE COACH'S FAULT. Oh, and the corollary: It's the play calling!

When the Vikings are 2-4 after going 15-1 last year, fans were ready to lynch Denny. They STILL BELIEVE that they lost to Atlanta BECAUSE Green told Cunnigham to take a knee before the half last year! Honestly! Thousands of them believe that! It's all Denny's fault.

UNTIL the Vikings reel off 8 wins or so against really bad teams and get back in it. Suddenly, Viking fans discover the fact that Denny has had them in the playoffs every year but one. Now Denny is the second coming of George Halas.

See, it never occurs to them to imagine that ...

Their team is not all that good!

On Denny.

* Denny has a good relationship with the team. He fields competent teams. His players seem to genuinely like him.

* He is a poor judge of talent. Jeff Diamond built the team, but Denny pushed him out in a power ploy last year. Result: drafting Culpper and Underwood!

* Denny coaches in a solid, meat and potatoes, but uninventive way. He has a tendency to be out-coached in big games.

* He is SUPREMELY stubborn! He will hammer away at something that isn't working. I hoped he INSISTS on running Smith when THAT is noot working.

* He is defensive, thin-skinned, and lousy with the media.

* He is overseeing a team in decline and he does not know what to do about it. He misses Dungy and Billick desperately. He milks Carter, Moss, and Smith, but has let the D slide into mediocrity.

* He is an ordinary, a bit above average coach. He will freeze up in big games and back away from the task. Our coaching staff is DRAMATICALLY better, and will eat him alive.

6. HOW THE RAMS MATCH UP. Our edge on MN:

#1. Our run D vs. Smith/Hoard. I have a lot of respect for Smith right now. I think he COULD gain 100 yards, if the game fell right for him. But he will struggle to run against us. We have much better team speed than DAL does and we pursue much better. I say slow Smith down distinctly: assuming something less than a complete blowout by our O, I say he gains about 70 yards ... that don't add up to much. That's ultimately the key--the Viking running game gains 5-20 yards on big plays. They don't break plays the way Marshall does. It just is not enough to beat us even if it gets going some. Which it may not do!

We have reason to be proud of our run D, which is 1st in the league. Our defense of the interior of the line is generally very good. Our DEs close down hard and often tackle a run from the side, sometimes for losses. Wistrom is great at this. And our D-linemen hold their own pretty well. Wistrom and Collins, especially, can stuff the run. Jones has become much better at stopping the run. 

Our front 7 can defend between the tackles. When backs run into our DL and LBs, we get many stuffs.  Yet--we get burned at times because we are susceptible to the same plays that our O shines at: sweeps and off tackle plays. We are susceptible because of 2 habitual problems: 

* Our scheme often has D-linemen and LBs flying upfield or off to one side--away from a RB running in an easily recognizable direction.

* This exposes our DBs, who are not really good tacklers.

Here is a principle:  WHEN WE STAY AT HOME AND HAND FIGHT WE MAKE STOPS! Our interior can fight the blocks and make the tackles. We get burned by aggressive over-pursuit and poor tackling in the secondary.

#2. Our DBs against Moss/Carter. See the edge there? Moss/Carter against ... Bly, McCleon, Lyght, Allen, Bush, maybe Coady.  MN has nothing after Carter. Reed is a joke--has no heart and no hands. Once in a great while, he explodes for yards, but not often. Chances are, not this time. Double the hell out of Moss (and take away the inside cut, not the outside!). Contain Carter. Slow that unit down.

#3. Our DL vs. George. Big advantage to us. The Viking OL is shakey pass protecting. George is not only slow, he is TERRIBLE passing when on the run. We will get to him on key passing plays and get stops maybe 5-6 times in the game: sacks, knock downs, balls batted down, hurries, maybe hurries turning into interceptions!

#4. Our D against MN screens. They hurt DAL with screens today. Listen, we have D-linemen who eat screens for lunch. London pursues like lightening on plays like that. I say we do much better on screens than Dal did.

#5. Our WRs against the MN secondary.  Please. Be serious. One of the biggest mismatches in playoff history.  If our WRs don't catch passes for 250 yards and 3 Eds I will be amazed.  To me, Moss and Carter against our play-making, though not always solid DBs cannot match what the WBs will do to MN's DBs. Ike Bruce is so pumped. He is going to EXPLODE! He did it last year against these guys in a routine game. Think of how he came out against SF. Ike is gonna be one nasty MF on Sunday. Think of Ike on Jimmy Hitchcock! Think about that!

#6. Our OL against MN's weak DL. Randle is not what he was, nor is Doleman. Pace will handle Doleman with ease. The interior of the line has handled tougher guys than Randle. They will not pressure KW that badly, and we will blow them off the LOS running the ball.

Plus. KW is SUPERB at maneuvering and avoiding a rush and still getting a good pass off. He is a better runner than people realize, but he is ALWAYS looking to throw.  He has been criticized for holding the ball. He has been criticized ... by me! But the up-side includes some impossible completions. His toughness and awareness under duress are amazing. Anyone who think pressure is going to knock him off his game is nuts!

#7. Our secret weapon--Marshall Faulk! Secret weapon? Yes! Few casual observers, especially those who seldom watch us, realize the level at which Marshall is playing right now. Not just numbers--he is doing jaw-dropping things! With our OL (and Conwell) opening holes, he will drive through that weak-tackling MN secondary like a Ferrari through a residential street!

#8. MN's D quandary: cover Marshall or cover the WBs? There is no correct answer to this. None.

#9. Our Red Zone O. The Vikings rely on stops in the Red Zone. We attack the Red Zone like the tanks in Desert Storm. We throw, run, draw, play action--anything you want. Preparing for our Red Zone O off of game films will be a nightmare for the Vikings. The already established options, from Tackle eligible passes to TE play action, to power running to quick silver WBs zooming across the back of the end zone, are mind-numbing.

#10. Mental superiority. The Rams have played like champions all year long. They are far more consistent, far more disciplined, far more willing to play every down than the Vikings, who CANNOT play hard consistently.

#11. Coaching. Ours is superior. I have already mentioned Green. But which OC do you trust: Martz or Ray Sherman? Which DC? Giunta/Bunting or Foge Fazio?

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General conclusion: advantage Rams!