Give Rams credit for plugging gaps

[RamDez]

Give Rams credit for plugging gaps
By Bernie Miklasz
Of the Post-Dispatch
Wednesday, May. 18 2005

Because there are so few games in the NFL calendar year, fans and media have
too much time to agonize and overanalyze. It's one of the reasons I've cooled
on the NFL draft and related offseason hokum. Given a choice, I'd rather be
held at gunpoint and forced to watch the new reality-trash TV show featuring
Britney Spears than listen to hours of pre-NFL draft talk radio.

I used to be addicted to the NFL draft, but I've reformed. I do more meaningful
and serious things with my free time now, such as playing Strat-O-Matic
baseball on my laptop computer.

I'm a big-picture guy. When evaluating an NFL team's offseason, diving into all
of the minutiae can leave you blind. It's best to keep it short and simple by
looking at two key questions:

What were the team's primary weaknesses at the end of the previous season?

Did the team make an aggressive attempt to address those
needs?

And in St. Louis, of course, we must assess a third issue: Where is Mike
Martz's head? Is our town's controversial, unconventional head coach behaving
himself?

From what I can tell, the Rams are a better team as they emerge from this
offseason.

The Rams reinforced their weak spots by stabilizing the offensive line, hiring
free-agent linebackers to police the run and by flooding the roster with
safeties and other defensive backs. They also dismissed the annual
training-camp imbroglio by signing Hall of Fame-caliber offensive tackle
Orlando Pace to a long-term deal.

The Rams' fatal defensive flaw was exploited throughout 2004. They ranked 29th
against the run and were 25th in average yards allowed per rush. That weakness
was exposed to embarrassing proportions in the NFC playoffs when Atlanta ran
the Rams out of the Georgia Dome with 327 yards rushing.

Martz, defensive coordinator Larry Marmie and assistant head coach Joe Vitt
didn't hesitate when the free-agent market opened, quickly reaching agreements
with middle linebacker Chris Claiborne and outside linebacker Dexter Coakley.
The Rams also wisely scuttled a silly plan to move OLB Pisa Tinoisamoa to
safety. For the first time in many years, the Rams will line up with three
tough, physical linebackers. I'm not saying the Rams are now made of steel on
defense, but this is a major upgrade over the wimpy collection of starting Rams
linebackers that littered the field in 2004.

Last season, the Rams had a useless bunch of safeties. Aeneas Williams flamed
out (age) and Adam Archuleta played most of the season with a painful back
injury. Their safeties were double bad; they couldn't stop the run, and they
didn't hawk many footballs. The Rams finished last in the NFL in interceptions.

The 2005 Rams at least will have strength in numbers. They signed free-agent
safeties Michael Stone, Michael Hawthorne and Corey Ivey. (Hawthorne and Ivey
also can play cornerback.) They drafted safeties O.J. Atogwe and Jerome Carter.
They moved wideout Mike Furrey to safety. And No. 2 draft pick Ron Bartell, who
enters as a cornerback, might audition at safety.

The moves give Marmie more with which to work. He can now install the kind of
defense he wants. But this also increases the pressure on Marmie to show that
he wasn't a bad hire; Martz won't be able to make excuses for him now.

Presuming that the Rams can instill some toughness in abundantly talented No. 1
draft choice Alex Barron, who was often indifferent at Florida State, the
offensive line will be set at the tackle position for a long time. The Rams
also improved their depth at guard by bringing in Rex Tucker, who played at a
high level in Chicago when healthy. No more patchwork on the line; the Rams
finally have a foundation up front.

As for Martz, he belatedly discovered the value of having quality special
teams. In a series of candid confessionals, Martz admitted to past negligence
in his commitment to special teams. But he backed up his apologies with
actions.

Virtually all free-agent signings and draft picks were made with special teams
in mind. Martz hired not one, but two, special teams coaches (Bob Ligashesky
and Charles Bankins). For the first time since he became head coach and
football CEO in 2000, Martz made the special teams a priority.

Before last season, I wrote that the Rams would be around .500 because of their
porous, soft defense and an overall talent drain. For that I was maligned by
fans and the team's media cheerleaders. Well, the Rams finished 8-8 and
finished 25th in points allowed during the regular season, then were humiliated
by Atlanta.

My pessimism was accurate. But after the Rams' productive offseason of clearing
out dead wood and replacing it with fresh talent, I'm optimistic that we'll see
a dramatically improved team in 2005.

[HUbison]

Bernie, I was prepared to give you a little credit for writing a decent (though painfully obvious & nearly a month late) article...more of an olive branch for my own soul than anything. But then, you have to make a "look at how smart I am" comment

Before last season, I wrote that the Rams would be around .500 because of their porous, soft defense and an overall talent drain. For that I was maligned by fans and the team's media cheerleaders.

Why, BM? Why?

[AvengerRam]

If only there was still someone on Bernie's Pressbox willing to take him to task for his defensiveness and back-patting article...

[AvengerRam]

I SAID.... if only....

[AvengerRam]

Tap, tap...

Is this thing on?

I SAID....

[HUbison]

Dude, you're going to blow your cover.

[AvengerRam]

Cover? Whatever do you mean by that?


On an entirely unrelated note, I really like the things that this guy NakamAyil is posting on Bernie's site.

Interesting name...

Nakam Ayil.

Almost sounds... Hebrew.

I wonder if those words have any meaning in Hebrew?

Hmmmm...........

[HUbison]

Why I don't know AVENGER RAM, I wonder what it means?

[AvengerRam]

Ain't I a stinker!

[ZigZagRam]

Holy masquerade, Batman!

[evil disco man]

"That's hot."

[ZigZagRam]

Thanks. I got the basic conceptual idea from some college team banners I saw on another website. I'm working on a couple others for some other players and I'll be rotating them in every so often.

[RAMMAN68]

When does the season start? :confused:
I'm ready to see the new D tear the opposition apart. :ramlogo:

[AvengerRam]

"That's hot."

Jake, please refrain from posting photos of the Stupid Spoiled ***** on this board. Some of our readers may not have had all their shots.

[ZigZagRam]

Despise much?

BTW, Aviator. GO PISTONS!