Letters to Gordo: They'll always be mad about Mike

[RamWraith]

BY JEFF GORDON
Post-Dispatch Online Sports Columnist
Thursday, Aug. 18 2005

Our friends who produce the Pro Football Prospectus (FootballOutsiders.com)
crafted an interesting analysis of the Rams, including a generally supportive
piece on Mike Martz.

Naturally, STLtoday.com readers were only too glad to use some of this
information as another excuse to debate the merits of Mad Mike. Here we go
again:


* * *

“We don't know how good we have it. Nick Saban is another psycho jerk. Jon
Gruden's act, personality and bedside manner is wearing thin in Tampa, etc.
Yes, we call him ‘Mad Mike’ for a reason. He keeps us on edge. Great!!!”

Ed Chandler, Las Vegas


GORDO: Yeah, Saban is out there. Berating players until they cry, complaining
that talking to certain players is like talking to a fish . . . this dude
better win, or his run in the NFL will be very short. There are a lot of
franchises out there striving for the sort of success Rams Nation has taken for
granted lately.


* * *

“You are forgetting the one stat that really matters -- Super Bowl Wins. Martz
is 0 for 1. Martz took a team with superior talent that absolutely should have
won and blew it. I put that Super Bowl loss squarely on his head because of his
egotistical unwillingness to adapt his game plan to the situation. I will never
forgive him for blowing that game as long as I live. Every time I see the
highlights from that game, it kills me.

Super Bowl wins is the one thing that really matters, everything else is just
‘wait till next year’ fluff. Martz is a good head coach, but he will never
truly be a great head coach until he WINS a Super Bowl. I so hope he gets it
done this year.”

James Greenlaw, Salt Lake City


GORDO: The continued success of the New England Patriots takes some of the
sting off of the Super Bowl XXXVI loss, since Bill Belichick managed to defy
the power of parity and build a dynasty. The Patriots weren’t as overmatched as
we thought. When I see highlights of that game, I see fumbles, dropped passes
and missed tackles that were well beyond Martz’s control. Take away just one of
the mishaps -– like Ricky Proehl’s fumble -– and the Rams probably win that
game.


* * *

“I can’t argue with those numbers. It is a shame we had to watch him learn on
the job. There should be two more Super Bowl titles in St. Louis. Why do so
many people dislike this man? What is it about him that just plain rubs people
the wrong way? I hope the Rams have a good season, but I don’t believe they
will. The head coach only sees half the field. Even with all the great talent
the Rams have, this guy will not take them all the way.”

Bill Gust


GORDO: Two more Super Bowl titles? Now we’re dreaming. The balance of power in
the NFL has shifted to the AFC. The best five or six teams in the league are in
that conference. It’s been that way for a couple of years. The Rams should have
beaten the Panthers at home, true, but, in retrospect, I’m not sure THAT team
was the best in the league.


* * *

“With the talent that the Rams have had for the past four seasons they should
have been in the NFC Championship game (at least) a couple more times then they
have. Martz has made several dunderhead decisions as a head coach. No doubt
that he is a great offensive coordinator and that the players like him (most of
them) but that team is way too talented to go 8-8 and 6-10 in 2 of the last 4
seasons.

“As a Rams fan for my whole life I hope that you are right, but I am very
skeptical. I also do not trust Larry Marmie and that was also Martz's call.
Just 'cause they exceed the low expectations that have been heaped on this very
talented team does not make them good coaches.”

Jeff Schwager


GORDO: This team has had talent, for sure, but it also has had flaws since
Super Bowl XXXIV. There has been plenty of turnover, as dictated by the salary
cap/free agency system. I would argue that Mad Mike did well to sneak his boys
into a couple of postseasons, including last fall. Just look what happened in ’
04 with the offensive line. That playoff berth may have been a more significant
achievement than his NFC Championship.


* * *

As a fan who lives WAY out of the St Louis area, I can tell you that the Rams
get NO respect in the national press. It has been speculated that the reason
for this is because Martz does not ‘cow-tow’ to the press or kiss up to them
in any way and, therefore, gets panned every year. This year is no exception.
They have panned the Rams' draft and particularly the Alex Barron pick, saying
he's not physical enough to make it to the roster. Judging from the
mini-camps, they might be right on that one. I, for one, could care less about
the national press, but unless we do something impressive with the defense and
special teams, they will continue to disrespect the Rams nationally.”

John Robison, San Antonio


GORDO: That’s a fair point about the defense and special teams. They MUST
improve, dramatically. And if they do, the Rams could do some damage in the NFC
this season. I expect Arizona to be far more competitive, but that is still a
pretty easy schedule this team is looking at.


* * *

“As they say, you can prove anything you want with statistics. Holding on to a
lead in the fourth quarter, or coming back to win the game in a seesaw battle,
might be more of a testament to the fight embodied in your players. Now
whether the coach had something to do with their attitude -- I don't know. I
do know that you have been blessed with some pretty darned good players over
the last several years. Like the Eagles, though, it seems to me that the Rams
have been underachievers in relation to the talent on the team. Like the
Eagles and particularly the Steelers, it's pretty easy to come back with a
strong record after a Super Bowl, if you're playing in a (lousy) division like
(in your case) the NFC West.

“The Greatest Show on Turf turned out to be a dud. Always fielding a
competitive team is a great thing -- great for your fans, and great for the
attitude of your players. But lacking the knockout punch, or pulling some
bonehead clock management in the waning seconds of a game, sure leads to a lot
of frustration. A lot of coulda, woulda, shoulda. The Rams shoulda. They
haven't. And they sure won't now with an aging roster, and the same pompous
clunk of a coach.”

William Maselunas


GORDO: If Steven Jackson, Kevin Curtis, the young defensive linemen and the
young defensive backs play to their potential, this will NOT be an aging
roster. In fact, if the Rams do succeed this season, then we’ll have to give
them credit for reloading for the long haul. Isaac Bruce, Marshall Faulk, Adam
Timmerman and Andy McCollum can’t play forever, but Martz HAS developed some
potential replacements. I just don’t see the window of opportunity slamming
shut.

[HUbison]

RANT WARNING:

Martz is a good head coach, but he will never truly be a great head coach until he WINS a Super Bowl.......There should be two more Super Bowl titles in St. Louis.......With the talent that the Rams have had for the past four seasons they should
have been in the NFC Championship game (at least) a couple more times then they
have. .....Like the Eagles, though, it seems to me that the Rams
have been underachievers in relation to the talent on the team......The Greatest Show on Turf turned out to be a dud

Have these people lost their collective freakin' minds?!?! Has everyone lost all memory of the 90's? Are we so bloodthirsty for another Lombardi that we can't recognize our own success? Since '99 we are one of the winningest franchises in the NFL. We've dealt with injuries, free agent losses, court cases, draft duds, and everything short of a tornado ripping the roof off the Ed Dome. Yet we still find ways to win. Every year 62.5% of the league is done after week 17; that has been true for us only once in the past 6 years! The average team misses 2 out of every 3 playoffs; again, we've missed 1 in 6!

And isn't it possible that some people have overstated just how "talented" we are? We've stayed ahead of the curve, no question, but the Rams aren't a team of superhumans that just walk through their opposition. Those are numbers on their chest, not an "S".

Momma Bison always told me if I had nothing good to say, I should say nothing. So momma for this I apologize.

You are forgetting the one stat that really matters -- Super Bowl Wins.

This is one of the stupidest arguments I continue to hear. SB Wins are great and should be the ultimate goal of every team. However, they ARE NOT the deciding factor of a team's success. To say that SB wins is the only measure of success is to say that 97% of the teams in the NFL are failures. How silly is that?

[txramsfan]

Mike Martz is the best thing ever to happen to St. Louis Football, not just the St. Louis Rams, but St. Louis Football.

Damn glad MM is our HC.

[Rambos]

Martz is so under rated! I think Dicky V quite on us, I could live with that but then he came back. Martz is getting better every year, all he does is take us to the playoffs with a shot to win it all. What more can you ask for.

[UtterBlitz]

If Martz is underrated it is a good thing, since many teams will be overlooking Martz and the Rams.

[Scidog68]

[QUOTE=RamWraith[B]]“You are forgetting the one stat that really matters -- Super Bowl Wins. Martz
is 0 for 1.[/B] QUOTE]

Then using this logic, Dan "The Man" Marino (one of my all-time Faves) was crap 'cuz he never won the big one. You pompous piece of ****e! Rot and Stew, you Know-Nothing, wannabe achiever. Unconditional success and total domination or nothing at all, eh? I'd hate to be your kid.

Bashers and haters like this can kiss my wrinkled bag. Martz is no Saint, and he ain't perfect, but how many flawed coaches have gone all the way? Every damn one of 'em, that's how many.