 COACH VERMEIL, BY TOM RIVERS (Nov 28) |
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SOME
HISTORY. Some of my closest friends played for or
coached for DV in Philly. I was very involved in the pro game myself at one time in my
life, and use to compare how DV did things with experiences I had with other teams. Nobody
shows up on Sundays better prepared than Vermeil's coaching staff. Joe Gibbs's, Tom
Landry's, and Bill Walsh's coaches also had their players ready for almost
everything. Nobody, player or coach, ever has a perfect game, but all owe the paying fan a great effort. Well, DV is a good as anybody I know at getting the best out of his players and coaches. Although I have been out of the league for a number of years, I still have a lot of friends in coaching. I know very few of the players who are playing today. I still have friends who coach against the Rams, but since Vermiel went to the Rams, I have been a Rams fan. DV still has a lot of friends in the Philly, South Jersey area. I was with several NFL teams, but was never with a team where the players were more loyal to their coach as Vermiel's Eagles were. You will never run into an ex Vermiel player who wouldn't do anything for the old coach. I enjoy the games right now from my living room, but I am starting to plan some weekends in the mid west during the month of January. THE VERMEIL EAGLES. DV's Eagle Teams always played great defense. After 1977 when Marion Campbell became the coordinator, his defenses were always in the top 5 and some years they were the very best. Dick concentrated on putting together a great defensive line--- he had been an assistant when the Rams had the fearsome foursome and felt that was where championship teams started. Overall, most people would say that with the exception of his defensive line and Wilbur Montgomery his great runner, they had just average talent. But they all played their butts off and would do anything for their coach. Carl Haiston, his fine defensive line coach with the Rams, was Dick's defensive captain at Philly from 1977-1982. John Bunting, the co-coordinator and linebacker coach, called defenses for Dick and played the left outside backer. As a player, he was like having another member of the coaching staff on the field. He studied the game the same way the coaches did and often knew what play was coming because his film study was so thorough. Players and coaches alike always complained about the long practices, but kept playing very good football on Sunday. By the way, it takes a certain kind of player to play for Dick and that's why his first two Eagle Teams and his first two Ram teams didn't look very good to the fans. DV does not pick his team on talent alone---he wants a certain kind of guy. Once Dick fills the room with his kind of players you better bring your lunch because beating a Vermiel team becomes an all day job. Sometimes Dick's team is pretty, sometimes it is not, but it is always relentless. Once Dick has his kind of player in the locker room, there are no excuses---every player and every coach is accountable, and they are accountable to each other. At any level it is hard to beat 50 guys who are always prepared and never quit. EXAMPLE---THE NEW ORLEANS GAME---WHY TAKE A KNEE BEFORE THE HALF? Before the half DV saw that his team was out of sync, so his thoughts were focused on getting into the locker-room and getting his players and coaches back on the same page. When you have a game plan that's floundering, you want to make your half time adjustments before you call any more plays. Dick's staff was probably already formulating their second half plans, since it is an ongoing process. NOTE ON THE NEXT FEW GAMES. Most teams, even the best, lose games to a team they should beat. As we come down the stretch losing coaches and losing players still feel the need to make their mark on the league. All games go on tape and there are no hiding places---everybody wants a job next year and nobody wants the reputation of mailing it in. The Rams could easily lose a game or two to teams which on paper are not as good they are. It takes real maturity not to get over-confident when things seem to be coming so easy. It wasn't easy. But after the fact sometimes it seems so. |
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