Bye-Bye, Vacation: Martz, Rams back to work

[RamWraith]

Bye-Bye, Vacation: Martz, Rams back to work
By Jeff Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch
Monday, Nov. 01 2004

As far as the Rams are concerned, the NFL bye week is the pause that refreshes.

For basically the fifth season under coach Mike Martz, the Rams have gone
through their entire bye week without a practice. Such a regimen - or
non-regimen - was almost unheard of in the NFL when Martz first instituted it
in 2000, his rookie season as Rams head coach.

"It was hard to do initially, because people just don't do it," Martz said
Monday, after the Rams' first practice since their loss Oct. 24 to Miami. "You
don't know how the players will take it. You trust these guys, and you tell
them why you're doing it."

The only asterisk to the Martz bye week plan came in 2001, when 18 players
engaged in seven-on-seven passing drills on Wednesday and Thursday of the bye
week. Everybody else was off. Most of the participants were special teams or
scout team players, and almost all were rookies or young players.

In 2000, '02, and '03 - and now, '04 - the bye week routine has consisted of
only two weightlifting and conditioning sessions sometime between Tuesday and
Friday. Otherwise, the players are off.

"When you look at camp, and the preseason, and the first half of the season,
their bodies kind of need the break," Martz said. "And when they come out of a
bye, they usually feel pretty good. ... When we first did it, I was a little
nervous about it, but I just felt like it was the right thing to do. It seems
to work pretty good."

It's hard to argue with the results. The Rams are 4-0 coming out of bye weeks
under Martz, and an emphatic 4-0 at that. The combined score of those games has
been 156- 57.

Granted, the Rams had some very good teams in 2000 and '03. But even in '02,
when given a week off for the bye following a 2-5 start, the Rams returned with
a 27-14 victory at Arizona.

"Hopefully, we can make it 5-0 on Sunday," linebacker Trev Faulk said.

Easier said than done, considering Sunday's opponent is New England- 6-1 this
season and the reigning Super Bowl champ.

In five seasons with Tampa Bay, defensive lineman Tyoka Jackson remembers
practicing every year during the Buccaneers' bye week.

"And after the week was over, it didn't feel like a bye week at all," Jackson
recalled. "It just felt like you had the weekend off."

Things are done differently in St. Louis, at least under Martz. Under
predecessors Rich Brooks and Dick Vermeil, the Rams usually practiced on
Wednesday and Thursday of the bye week. In 1997, Vermeil's first year with the
Rams, the team practiced Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of its bye week.

Martz changed the routine in 2000, after the team got off to a 5-0 start.

"The way he handles our (bye week) schedule, I think he does it the right way,"
Jackson said. "You come back fresh and re- energized. It gives everybody a
chance to take a deep breath, refocus themselves."

When asked if he liked the bye-week concept, veteran offensive guard Tom Nutten
replied: "What's not to like? Especially when it's in Week 8, halfway through
the season more or less. It's nice the way Coach Martz has it, where it really
gives us a good break, mentally and physically.

"You get your lifts in, and you're done. You almost feel like doing extra. More
than you have to do."

Once the bye week ends, the Rams get an extra practice in on Monday - a day
almost never used for practice in today's NFL. Martz uses it to knock the rust
off from the bye week. And on this Monday, the team went at it in full pads.

Many players used the time off to go home, or visit their alma maters.
Offensive guard Chris Dishman, for example, attended Saturday's
Missouri-Nebraska football game in Lincoln, Neb. The former Cornhusker
participated in the 10-year reunion of Nebraska's 1994 national championship
team.

"It was a fun time," Dishman said. "A lot of guys came back, about 95 to 100
guys, from that time. It's amazing how much memory loss you have. You come back
and you don't recognize people. Ten years is a long time. I'm glad we had name
tags."

Tight end Cameron Cleeland didn't go home. He went to Arizona to work on some
real estate business, and then took his wife to Chicago.

"I got to shop with my wife, if that's fun," Cleeland said. He added,
sarcastically, "That's really exciting."

Rookie defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove stayed in St. Louis and played Mr.
Fix-it.

"Painted on my garage and my walls," he said.

Jackson stayed close to Rams Park, getting treatment on his hamstring injury,
but also found the time to attend Game 3 of the World Series and see the movie
"Ray," about singer Ray Charles.

"If Jamie Foxx doesn't win an Oscar, it's a shame," Jackson said. "That's one
of the best performances I've ever seen."

Offensive tackle Grant Williams spent some quality time - Halloween style -
with his three daughters.

"A couple costume parties that you have to do," he said.

So was the 6-foot-7 Williams in costume?

"Yeah," he said. "We're not going to talk about that."

[adarian_too]

Bye-Bye, Vacation: Martz, Rams back to work
By Jeff Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch
Monday, Nov. 01 2004

For basically the fifth season under coach Mike Martz, the Rams have gone
through their entire bye week without a practice. Such a regimen - or
non-regimen - was almost unheard of in the NFL when Martz first instituted it
in 2000, his rookie season as Rams head coach.

I think the measuring stick is misleading. Just because the immediate game after the bye week has been a success, does not mean that there were elements of the game not needing addressed. Repeatedly sMartz has acknowledged the lack of preparation being a contributing factor in the team's failures at the most inopportune time.

Although I can see easing speed and contact drills during this time, I don't see why the mental aspects shouldn't be addressed during the free time. Belichik refers to "situational training" where groups of people are forced to walk through dress rehearsals of possible game time situations. Whether it was STs in the past or the D in the present things need worked on. The Rams are not that good that they can ignore using their time more productively.

[sbramfan]

I think every starter should have the week off and every guy who is not a starter and plays on special teams should be doing 2-aday's until they get it right.

I was really frustrated to see the jets rip Miami, given the rams performance vs. Miami.

[ZigZagRam]

This defense needs a lot of work, work that should've been done in the bye week. It's nice to let your players rest up, but I still think they should've had practices on Thursday-Saturday.