 A LOT TO THINK ABOUTBY WV RAM (Nov 28) |
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STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES. While I think we should be
happy about any regular season "W", we shouldnt just pretend that the Rams
secondary is playing well enough to win a championship. They have got to get better to win
a championship. I'm still happy about the "W" -- but they have to get better. I really dont know what to think at this point, especially considering the state of the NFC. I think the Rams may win the Super Bowl---or they may get bounced in the first round. I've never seen a team (or a League) quite like this before. The assortment of strengths, weaknesses and unknowns on this team (and across the NFC) is unique in NFL history, IMHO. I dont think we really learned anything from the New Orleans game that we didn't know before. Just more of the same. I think we all knew Warner would play well in the second half. Warner's strengths and weaknesses are known to us now. I'm not worried about the offense, even with the offensive line problems and penalties. Faulk and Bruce can save any offense, I would think. And Warner will struggle but he won't throw interceptions. That is terribly important. He will rely on Faulk and Bruce to win games, and that is a good plan for a new QB. Even AZ looks like he is concentrating on catching and tucking the ball better on punt returns. That's a good sign. The coaches are working on him. But that defense is exasperating. All year long I have watched teams drive the length of the field on them with medium and shortpasses. Usually the D stiffens in the red zone---but man, that's a dangerous game against a good offense in a tight playoff game. A good quarterback is going to make them pay in the red zone (Favre, Aikman, George, Batch/Frerotte, Johnson are all capable) I know many fans are enamored with the Defense's rankings and numbers and all, but I am afraid they have real problems that will be exposed by a good offense. This defense just doesn't look as good as the average Super Bowl winning' defenses of the past. But then, I look at the other NFC contenders: Vikes, and Redskins defenses arent good at this point; Lions are OK, but not scary, especially on the road. That leaves Dallas and Tampa. Good Defenses. But then their Offenses suck. So the whole conference is full of teams with major weaknesses. In a nutshell, I dont know what to think at this point! So I'm just gonna enjoy the wins for now. FAULK. Marshall is like an artist out there Faulk has got to be the most exciting player to watch in the league. I've never had this much fun watching a Rams player. I've heard Marshall talk about the fact that he is 'durable' cause he never takes direct hits. At first, when I heard that, I thought to myself---"geez, what a wimpy thing to admit." But then, after watching him for several games, I realized his running style is more of a running philosophy. He knows exactly what he wants to do, and it's not about avoiding contact---it's about gaining the most yards. It's all about angles. He always takes the right angle. If two or three defenders are approaching him, he ALWAYS hits a crack in between them and thus "pushes the pile"---or, he cuts away from them completely and flies around or past them. He is an artist at work and a joy to watch. Marcus Allen had the same philosohpy and durability, only Marshall Faulk has more explosive moves and speed. Electrifying. VERMEIL. I used to think DV was an idiot, but I have changed my mind. (I still think he is strange---but we just have to overlook some things). DV built the Eagles up in three years and now the Rams are on the same course. That's hard to pass off as coincidence. He has put together a great coaching staff and he has drafted well and has played the free agent game well. And most importantly of all, the players he has now, seem to play very hard on every down. If not DV, who should get credit for that? Also, I'm not sayin he hasn't had a LOT of help from others in building this team (Armey, Martz, Gansz, White, Giunta) in building this team. But so what. Before this year, I always thought a head coach had to "know" everything about offense and defense and special teams. I thought the assistant coaches were really just "carrying out" instructions they received from the head coach. My images of head coaches came from Lombardi, G.Allen, Halas, Paul Brown... Well, one of the things I learned this year is the notion of the modern head coach as a kind of "CEO". A CEO sometimes just hires good people, who know "more" than him/her, and then he leaves them alone --trusts them, cause they know more. Apparantly it works. I was watching Jim Mora do an interview, and someone asked him why his offense was so good this year. (Cause Mora's offenses always sucked in New Orleans) Well, Jim Mora was real candid. He said, "I hired an offensive coordinator and I stay out of it". He went on to elaborate a little, but the point was, He didnt really have much to do with the offensive success of the Colts. He delegatd that responsibilty. Vermeil, obviously, takes the same approach. He delegates. At the beginning of the season, I heard DV "admit" that he "couldnt" be an offensive coordinator because times had changed so much since he last coached in the 70s, and he hadnt kept up. Well, when he said that, I remember my mouth just dropped open. Here was the "Head Coach" admitting that the offenses of today had passed him by! How can HE possibly be a good coach then! Well, later on, I learned that many head coaches arent "dictator-coaches". They hire good people and then just let them coach. Sometimes a coach just recognizes that others can do a job better than him, and his job is just to put everyone together, and create an atmosphere where everone can thrive. Apparently, it works. So I'm turning in my DV-hater badge. I'm not tellin' anyone else what to think, but I have to give Strange ole DV credit when it's due ---and I think it's due now. And DV always looks for the good in people (whether its there or not!) I dont think I've ever heard DV say a negative thing about ANY player, at any time. That's just his nature, I guess. I don't have a problem with that. My only real doubts about DV involve the last two minutes of a game. Over the last 3 years, I have not seen much evidence that he knows what he is doing at that critical time. Can he teach/coach Warner and the offense well enough in the art of clock-management and proper decision-making in the final minutes of a close game? The 49ers under Walsh and Seifert were masterful at this. So far, the Rams are not. It bothers me. I would also like to see the Rams practice their two-minute offense from time to time during a game. Warner needs to practice it. Why not do it every now and then in the upcoming games? In fact, it just seems so OBVIOUS to me that they need to practice the hurry-up offense---and yet they haven't practiced it in their games. They have had many opportunites in their blow-out games. That's my only remaining concern about DV. |
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