here's some additional balzer comment/int. from the herd's board:
SMITH40: Why is it no mentions Martz failed attempt at a power grab within the organization?
HOWARD: He didn't need a power grab. He had a lot of the power. A big problem is that Zygmunt began exercising his power grab in the coaching and personnel end, an area in which he has no expertise.
SMITH40: Last time I checked, Zygmunt has been with the Rams 24 years and apparantly has the trust of the team president, John Shaw. How can the franchise be stable when the Head Coach is requesting who in the front office should work where?
I always suspected Martz was the problem. Now we have proof with the little clown act Martz tried to prove by playcalling from his living room. Hmmm...I wonder who called the Post Dispatch and told them that his little move backfired?
HOWARD: How can it be stable when Zygmunt throws roadblocks in Martz's way to get things done he wants to improve the team? Martz has been blamed by a lot of people for the team deteriorating, but why don't people even consider that maybe someone else is at fault? Suppose Martz wanted certain guys, but Zygmunt couldn't get it done? How was what Martz did Sunday a "clown act?" Fairchild called Martz at halftime, asking for help, and they agreed to talk later. Fairchild wanted the help. I'm curious why there are those that think it odd that the creator of this offense was asked to help with that offense during a game, yet, no one questions why Zygmunt is looking over Fairchild's shoulder in the coach box. What is his role there? He's not a coach.
One other note: I have been told people will be shocked when they hear the entire story of what happened when Dan Linza arrived at the coach's box. I don't know the details yet, but I'm told it was pretty ugly.
Oh, yeah. Martz is the problem and a clown, but Zygmunt's assistant can call a major columnist, make threats about throat-slashing, and that is not seen as a problem?
But this is typical of the "Martz is evil" cabal. It's all him, and everyone else in the organization is fine. How about some balance? How about Shaw's lie about
Leonard Little, throwing Vitt under the bus at the press conference, saying he expected Little at the game? Vitt then says he never expected Little at the game.
Shaw and Zygmunt talked about fining Little, which would have gone over real well in the locker room.
Martz has issues, and he has acknowledged making mistakes. But he also feels he wasn't given support by the front office. That seems obvious.
SMITH40: I respectfully disagree H. Fans purchase tickets. If a move is unpopular, then in order to maintain that fan base or appease the fans, the team usually acts accordingly. I could see a team like the Texans, who have a moribund offense hire someone like Martz in order to perhaps inject some life into the franchise. But in reality, Martz coaching follies are pretty well known around the league and I just cannot see a team who wants to turn the keys to the franchise over to him.
I believe that Martz could be a successful head coach only if he is stripped of his personnel duties so he can devote time to all 3 phases of the game. When he is distracted, he is only an offensive coordinator with his nose in the play book on Sundays, while the defense and special teams collapse.
HOWARD: First, his "follies" are talked about by fans and the media, but football people know that those things happen to all coaches. As for his "personnel duties," does anyone know what they are? This is overblown. Martz is not a scout. He relies on his personnel department to scout the players and rank them, and when the season is over, all the coaches then also go to workouts and evaluate players.
When the coach has the power, all it means is that he makes the final decision, which is based on input from the scouts and other coaches. The bottom line is that all coaches and teams make personnel misjudgments. I realize here, there are those that want to blame everything on Martz, but virtually all of the time, his choices are done based on someone else's recommendation.
It was Lovie Smith that didn't want London Fletcher, and pushed for Jamie Duncan. It was Lovie that wanted to bring back Rich Coady, leading to the release of Nick Sorensen. I'm not banging on Lovie, becasue he made a lot of great suggestions. I just bring it up to give a big-picture view of how choices are made.
SMITH40: From what is has been reported by you, Bernie, Jim Thomas, ect. The organization, Shaw and Zygmunt, are trying to reign in Martz power and Martz wants more I think.
These bad drafts appear to be the genesis if you will, combined with the Superbowl loss to New England. These things keep popping up when the topic is broached.
HOWARD: This is a contradiction. How can Martz want more power when he already has the power. What he wants is support from others in power, and he believes he's not getting it. There are also legions of stories of those others bad-mouthing Martz in the building. It's one thing to have disagreements in private and then hash them out. It's quite another for people to rip Martz openly inside Rams Park. And that stuff happens. It's why Bernie wrote what he originally did that led to the throat-slashing incident. Bernie said whoever the coach is, he deserves support from others, not back-stabbing.
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