~NFC Championship Game~
Sunday, Jan. 23, 2000 @ 4:00 EST

FEATURES-

Vikings post-game coverage

Vikings pre-game Coverage

ZINE Home Page

LAST WEEK. First I'll say that I that the Rams have been brilliant at adjusting to an opponent and finding the perfect solution to whatever might be giving them problems.

But in the Minn. game I'm not so sure they "tweaked" all that much. Minn. got back into the game because of two turnovers, not so much that they had figured the Rams out, or that what the Rams were doing wasn't working.

To me it seemed that something happened at half-time even MORE impressive than "tweaking" by Martz, or anyone else.....that is, they came out having decided not to hand the game to Minn. They kept doing what was working all along. I think that someone in that locker room probably said something like this, "Ok, our mistakes are behind us, now let's kick some ass".

Of course I'm sure there was some adjustments, especially on defense, and some "tweaking" on the offense as well...but mostly I think it was a case of "knowing" they had won the first half, and a refusal to allow themselves to give Minn. even one more opportunity.

THE RAMS OFFENSE. The Rams work best when they are in overdrive, moving quick, balls out. (hope I can say that here). The "shifting" is a direct indication that they are in that balls out mode. As soon as they back off the trouble starts.

Intelligence would be a very good word to describe the type of players Dick & company have brought together this year.

We always mention the varied formations and shifts...and they are impressive, but they are not very hard to actually execute. I think any team could do the same. The difference, and difficulty, lies in being able to always keep the actual play that is going to be run first in mind while going through all the razzle-dazzle. And then, of course, that "razzle-dazzle" has to serve a purpose.

Rams plays start once the huddle breaks, not at the snap of the ball. It is a continuous flow of motion, and adjustment, from the time the huddle breaks until the whistle blows. The only way to accomplish this is to have players that are prepared, well trained, focused, and above all - "intelligent".

DEFENSE.  We have questioned this defense...we have analyzed this defense from every angle possible....And through all that there was never any doubt that our D was a very good defense...In many ways I, and some others, actually think the Rams D surpasses the Tampa D....not in every respect, granted.

As we debated the D one simple fact kept coming up that had many of us shaking our heads...the D was effective, no matter what the stats showed. The points against us and the legitimate threats on the field were few and far between.

The D is taking it's que from the Rams O......If  the Rams O is rockin' the house, then the D steps it up as well. And vice versa. They are playing as a team....D & O in combination... almost like one unit on the field.

TAMPA. I never thought the TB defense was quite as awesome as the stats, an media analysis would have them portrayed...

However, they are very, very good. In a way that no other team the Rams have played this year - the TB defense will probably change the swing of field position that the Rams have enjoyed all year. So...

While their offense has some problems, their D should offer them enough opportunities to score, not much, but certainly score. Punt coverage could play a very important part in this game.

The Rams have shown all year that they can beat a good DL...even though a hard rush can give them trouble. The onus then falls on the Def. LB's to handle Faulk, Holcombe, and what could be Bruce, Hakim, Holt, or Proehl underneath, not to mention Conwell or Williams.

The big problem for TB is double coverage against any "one" Ram receiver, (probably Bruce), is very difficult to do and still manage to cover the shotgun spread of rec's coming off the line of scrimmage. Conwell could give the Buc's fits.

I think the Buc's play straight up and try to overpower the Rams O rather than out guess them. Actually, that's probably the best strategy. My feeling is that this entire week in Buc's camp will be dedicated to pumping themselves up with "we can out muscle them" rather focusing on any specific part of the Rams O.

And there is an undercurrent of thought that I fear is creeping in to some people that the Rams, because of  their "finesse", "execution", "speed", "beauty", and a number of other factors...can not play smash mouth  football.  I beg to differ...in fact, with what I think is superior physical fitness and stamina, the Rams are doing the majority of smash-mouthing..especially in the later stages of the game.

I think Kurt will face a big test, but no greater than what happened with Tenn. The second half of the Tenn. game could be very indicative of what we'll see in the first half against T.B.

THE GAME. On the Road the Buc's are 4 & 4. They average scoring 15.75 pts per game. They allow 17.75 per game.

Just on paper....it will take a near collapse for the Rams to lose. Make that a complete collapse. 

THE FUTURE. One of the amazing aspects of this season is the strength the Rams have going in to next year. It is the consensus here that the Rams currently have on roster players that will elevate this team to another level...even without the draft. ( I'm not saying they can't improve with a good draft, they can, and hopefully will).

Everyone has a different opinion..but there are currently at least 2 players in the secondary that many fell could, and maybe should, be starting now. There is DEFINITELY a LB in Little. On the OL there are another 2 subs who could easily step into the starting role.

I would say the future couldn't be any brighter.

THREE BALZER REPORTS-
BY MJR (Jan 20)

mjr007 posted on 1/20---KFNS: Howard Balzer Report (1/20/00)

1. Can anything stop Rams? Not really. You can slow them down but not stop them. If they keep it a close game, cause some three and outs, frustration may set in with the Rams. Howard thinks DV was playing coy during yesterday's press conference during which he said they'd be more conservative style of game. They play a deep zone. The Rams can exploit it. Rams will need to be patient and not make mistakes. They need to take Tampa Bay out of their game. Frustrate them.

2. Jacksonville/Tennessee: Can a team beat another team three times in a season? Yes, it's been done before but the third win has NEVER occurred on the road. In the first game, Tennessee had Neil O'Donnell and it was raining. Plays toward Tennessee's advantage. Jacksonville threw a late interception in the endzone to insure the victory for Tennessee. Jacksonville has confidence going into this game but it may be closer than the seven point spread would indicate. But look for Jacksonville to win.

3. Internet tickets / Ebay situation. On the phone with Kevin from Ebay. He suggests users use the laws of state where the event takes place to govern whether or not the purchase / sale is legal. In Georgia there's no scalping law. It depends on where the event takes place, not where you live or where the auction house / seller resides. This is the key factor. Missouri laws apply to any entertainment event. Prosecution is possible. They nailed a predominant scalper in the Bronx, NY during the Yankees/Braves World Series because he violated NY law. Be careful.

4. AFC Championship. Tennessee is battle-tested. They've won two close games and benefitted twice from play official reviews vs. Jacksonville who was able to rest Brunell in their blowout of Miami. You can make a case for both sides. Jacksonville has lots of confidence. Whomever runs the ball better will probably have the upper hand. Taylor and George for Jax and TN respectively have not had a lot of success against each other's teams.

5. Joe Montana's magazine "Redzone": Article talks about parity, free agency and the salary cap and its effects on the NFL. Not so much that the league is down, talent-wise. It's just changing. You can't keep teams together. Upstarts such as Jacksonville, Carolina, Indianapolis and St. Louis get it done. The perception among NFL fans in other cities is to ask "why can't we do that?" Coaches get fired more easily now as a result which creates an endless spiral of instability within the organization.

6. Washington Redskins situation. Ray Rhodes may go to Washington as DC Fazio already going from Minnesota. Rhodes move makes sense. Good defensive mind. Fazio's mother is 90 yrs. old and wants to be closer. Howard asked how much closer is Washington than Minneapolis. How hard is it to jump on a plane? The Vikings' situation is going to be very fluid in this offseason. The inside linebacker coach Olligotta (sp?) got canned. His comment was...I only coach two guys. Fazio takes a demotion to go to Washington. He and Ray Cerrata were together at Notre Dame.

7. Norv Turner. Dallas wants him. Similar to Bellichek situation. Can he go if he wants? No way Dan Snyder allows Turner to go to a divisional rival, especially Dallas. Snyder is basically a six-year old in terms of personal relations. He needs to surround himself with good people.

8. On meeting with players today at Rams Park. Getting players prepared for Super Bowl week. That's the problem with not having the extra week to prepare for the Super Bowl. Team has three days to go before the NFC Championship game and they need to prepare the players in the event they might go to the Super Bowl. There's a need for the off-week for players to get tickets, travel, and family situations resolved. It's smart on the Rams' part to get it handled upfront but hopefully it wont detract from their preparation for this week's game.

II. mjr007 posted on 1/19---KFNS:Howard Balzer Report

1. Media. The throng of media will begin arriving today. Some tomorrow. Some on Friday depending on travel budgets.

2. On media hype. DV said last week, is there anything about this game we haven't talked about? He told his players to enjoy the media stuff. Turn it into a positive rather than a distraction.

3. Super Bowl tickets lottery. The host on KFNS retracted what he'd said earlier that it was based on where your PSL is located. He was corrected by several callers who had nosebleed PSLs who were notified they'd won. Based on number of tickets in your PSL group and the length of time you've had them.

4. Super Bowl tickets have gone for up to $4,000 per ticket. Not that unusual. Incredibly tough ticket to get.

5. What Tampa Bay must do to beat the Rams. We've said it all year. Control the game defensively. In the Washington game Tampa Bay was at home and they only won by one point, yet some people are making a case for the Bucs to come into St. Louis and pull the upset. The Rams will win if they play their game.

6. Washington Redskins. The had two Turks on their roster. Now they have none. Their owner Dan Snyder is a maniac. When Matt Turk suffered a finger injury in practice and then further aggravated the injury the next day playing basketball, Snyder had an investigation conducted to see if he could get out of having to compensate Turk. After the loss to Tampa Bay, Snyder stood outside the locker room and was cursing some of the players as they came off the field. Then he goes into the locker room and starts throwing things around. Threw a temper tantrum basically. The following day, he then calls a meeting and calls only those players he intends to have on the team next year. Completely classless guy. Other NFL players and owners are calling him "Boy George." Becomes a question of whether any FAs will want to go there, a situation which existed here in St. Louis before. Middlestein, who was one of the possible suitors to become owner of the Redskins, dropped out because of the rap placed on him by media types and look who they ended up with. Norv Turner did a heck of a job with that team this year and was a strong candidate for coach of the year.

7. Rams' kicking situation. Nick Lowery could obviously get the job done. It all depends on Wilkens' knees. How he feels today and tomorrow. Wilkens will have to be honest with the organization on his health assessment. Difficult for doctors to determine. Tough call for Wilkens cause he wants to be there. But for the betterment of the team, he needs to be honest.

8. Keith Lyle. Howard has a sense that he will dress this week. DV will tell us more today. Don't want to take the chance now with a game when there might be a more important game later. (DV). Howard says there may not be a more important game later. He really has a feel that Lyle will be out there. DV on Keith: Keith says he'll be there (this was last week). If you activate him you sit somebody else. If he then goes down you might be putting yourself in a potentially bad situation of not having that someone available should the need arise.

9. Jack Snow on Keith Lyle. You run the risk of reinjurring it. It could end his career. You can't surgically repair nerve damage. Never injuries are completely different injuries. Take Robert Edwards' injury playing beach volleyball in an NFL-sanctioned game prior to the pro bowl. He suffered extensive nerve damage and now he's useless.

10. As a Ram fan, who does Howard want to win? Tennessee would be the best matchup. It would be nice to beat virtually everyone's preseason favorite to win it all in Jacksonville. There's the revenge factor going with Tennessee. Fred Miller would get his second chance to handle Jevon Kearse.

11. Who do the networks want to win? Rams because they have the LA factor still going. Probably want the Rams to play Jacksonville because it could be hyped as a tremendous offensive battle.

III. mjr007 posted on 1/18---KFNS: Balzer Report

1. On the extension of Mike Martz' contract. It's good that they got it done now. He doesn't have to be asked about it all week. That would be a distraction. Timing of it was smart. DV hates distractions and does all he can to eliminate them. This eliminates this distraction. It was better to get this done sooner rather than later. DV may stick around to groom Martz. There's no one better with the media than DV. You could tell Martz was a bit nervous in the press conference yesterday. Howard hopes DV's leaving happens later rather than sooner.

2. On Charlie Armey. Making him the General Manager is the next logical step. It's already in place. It's not urgent that this be done right now. Although, if things take place up in New England as they very well could, making Armey GM could become more urgent. Being GM would give Armey the final word on personnel decisions working, of course, in concert with Martz.

3. On replacing coaches. Continuity and stability has a lot to do with keeping teams successful. It keeps the same system in place. The players become familiar with it and like it. With the coaching carousel that is today's NFL, players are oftentimes learning a new scheme with different terminologies every 2 to 3 years.

4. On the co-defensive coordinators situation. Losing one or both of them could be a possibility. It comes with success. Bunting could be a head coach. Howard doesn't know about Giunta. There is a positive in all of this though. Teams are hiring offensive guys over defensive guys, i.e. Mike Sherman with Green Bay. They may leave Bunting and Gunta alone.

5. Caller (Mark). Congratuations to the Rams on not only the turnaround on the field but also the turnaround in upper management. (Howard) The turnaround doesn't happen in the first year. Last year they brought in Ricky Proehl and Tony Horne, an unsigned free agent. The deal to get Orlando Pace. London Fletcher another unsigned street free agent. The key acquisitions this year were obvious with Trent Green, Timmermann, and Faulk. Play makers. It's an evolutionary process. Lots of things in place prior to this year. Some free agents didn't want to come here. We got more aggressive. Signed guys quickly. Trent Green could have resigned with Washington if it not for the ownership situation. Adam Timmermann was close to signing with Philadelphia but he wanted to be close to his farm / stay in the midwest. Two years ago, Zygmunt and DV flew to Baltimore to try to land Wilkens. He went to SF. Patten resigned with Washington. A lot of it is luck. We were not successful not due to lack of effort