"A QUARTERBACK, A QUARTERBACK, MY KINGDOM FOR A
QUARTERBACK"-ANOTHER VIEW OF THE FOD, BY ZACK NERUDA (Aug 15)Add yourself to The HERD's Official Roster (guestbook), if you think you are man enough!
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(BTW, for the blissfully uninitiated, "FOD" means "Front Office Debate.")
There's been a lot of speculation about how the Rams went about achieving what they did this last offseason. One line out there is that Vermeil is responsible for *none* of the important offseason moves. I am not sure where this started, but I don't think that is a plausible argument-for two reasons (1) the evidence does not support that view. & (2) no healthy football organization can or should be run the way that argument suggests the Rams are being run-by a puppet as head coach.
First, the "other side." Here's what Jack Snow said on the radio recently about the Rams big offseason moves: "The key though is Jay Zygmunt and John Shaw. They brought in Trent Green, Mike Martz, and Al Saunders." Well, sorry, Jack, but that is patently ridiculous.
First, Zygmunt has nothing whatsoever to do with acquiring coaches or players. It's not his area of expertise. Not even remotely.
Second, even if you exclude that as an obvious blunder, it is demonstrably incorrect to say that Shaw was responsible for acquiring either Green or Saunders. The evidence we have will show this.
In fact, let's dispense with one of these real fast. Way back in January, after hiring Saunders, Vermeil came right out and said "he had considered offering the wide receivers position to Rams offensive assistant John Ramsdell, but when he learned of Saunders' interest he felt he needed to pursue him. `He's the best wide receivers coach I've ever seen,' Vermeil said. [PD Jan 26] And that's not all. Saunders said that he came to the Rams for three reasons-" his admiration for Vermeil, the potential of St. Louis' receivers and his family's attachment to the Midwest." [Jam 26]. One prominent reason-his "admiration for Vermeil." Don't exactly sound like a Shaw/Zygmunt hire there, do it? Nope. Sure don't.
There will be plenty more evidence like that further along.
For right now, I'll just say this much. Although there is some evidence that Shaw persuaded Vermeil to look only at outside candidates for the offensive coordinators job, the idea that Shaw, not Vermeil, "brought in Martz" (that is, hired him, specifically chose him, and so more or less forced him on Vermeil) is just plain wrong. As the evidence will show. More on the evidence later.
So you see, Snow is wrong. That's why you always have to study the press, not just blindly accept what it says. Press credentials don't give anyone an automatic purchase on the truth, and it is naive to believe it works like that. The press makes errors. And that statement by Snow is plainly mistaken. Well, it happens-people in the press can be wrong. In fact, it's wrong to overlook it or dismiss it when it happens. We have an obligation to say when the press is wrong.
And my argument is simple. What evidence is out there shows that the Rams work best when they work as a coherent group, in tandem. When advise flows freely and they all listen. In fact, that is what Charley Armey says in a recent interview with Howard Balzer:
"The organization works together and is very cohesive. John Shaw is the ideal man to for. He is open to everyone, he listens to everyone's opinion and adds his input. Of course it's Dick Vermeil who makes the final decisions."
Sounds right. At least, that is what studying the evidence taught me, anyway.
When they are at their best, the Rams consult, formulate plans, but in the end Vermeil has to make up his own mind and pull the trigger. In fact, that is exactly what happened with firing Rhome, choosing Martz as the coordinator, and signing Green. As absolutely everyone involved says.
What follows will include a LOT of quotations from the PD. And that's as it should be...the PD is our only real source of info on any of this. It is important to get the evidence out there.
1B. The Dark Time
2. The 99 Offseason, Near as We Can Tell
A. Rhome
B. The Big PowWow
C. Martz
3. Green and Banks
4. The Other Arguments
5. The Evidence Don't Say Everything