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02.04.2010 3:33 pm
Marshall Faulk on the State of the Rams
By Bernie Miklasz
Let’s begin with some questions for former Rams’ great Marshall Faulk, who is covering Super Bowl XLIV in his role as an analyst for the NFL Network:
* Who is going to buy the Rams? Do you have the scoop?
“I don’t know. Chip Rosenbloom is a great guy. Chip and his sister Lucia Rodriguez are great people. I wish they’d keep the team. But they understand that they’re not St. Louis people. And they want to be in LA where they have their families and lives. And it requires in situations like this, especially in cities like St. Louis, the owner has to live there. You have to be there, You just can’t visit. And they know that.”
* If you could change one thing about the Rams to help turn the team around, what would you recommend?
“I don’t like the road that they’re going down. With guys like myself. And guys who can help deal with what it’s like in St. Louis. And I think that they just don’t know. I’m not out to hurt the team. I want to see the Rams survive. I have a job to do in talking about the Rams, and trust me — it hurts me, it pains me, to see what’s being put out on the field. My objective is not to belittle or down-talk the Rams. I want to talk good about them. I want to praise them. I want to be sitting here right now, reliving the days when we played well, and happy because the Rams are in the Super Bowl. Sometimes, in their cloak-and-dagger atmosphere of shutting down Rams Park, and not inviting guys into this and that, and wanting to keep everything in house, you alienate yourself from getting opportunities of getting inside information. And having guys and people who could be very instrumental to the program help you.
“They’ve taken down photos of some of the great Rams players. For what? Why? I don’t want to take shots. I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure — there’s never been a first-time head coach, a first-time GM and a first-time president turn a team around. You need some experience from somewhere. You need some help. You need some inside information. Because all of your jobs are new.”
* When a new owner takes over the Rams, would you like to join the organization in an executive capacity or do you enjoy being in television?
(Joking): Would you like me to nominate you?
“Listen, I love my job. I really enjoy what I’m doing. If whomever that person is doesn’t know, and he needs for you to tell him, then I’m OK.”
* What do you think of the comparisons of the New Orleans Saints offense to your Rams “Greatest Show” offense?
“I think the comparison comes down to the play callers, Mike Martz and Sean Payton. I know both of those guys and they are very similar. They take chances. They love the big plays. They will run the ball at times. And they have the quarterback to get it done. The biggest thing is, they don’t mind throwing the ball to the backs. They don’t mind throwing it to an Az-Hakim or Ricky Proehl, to a Devery Henderson, a Lance Moore, a Robert Meachem. And they’ll throw it to those guys in clutch times during games. Most teams? They are going to their main guy. These two teams? The Saints and our Rams? With those two coordinators, Mike and Sean, it doesn’t matter. They expect every guy to be prepared. And they are willing to take the heat if, say, a Mike Martz goes to Ricky Proehl instead of Isaac Bruce or Torry Holt on third down and we lose the game. And the writers are all over them for it. They’re willing to deal with that. The attitude of the two coaches is the same.”
* How do you think your old coach Martz will do as the offensive coordinator in Chicago? How will he do with Bears quarterback Jay Cutler?
“I think he’ll do great. And Cutler might be the most skilled quarterback that Mike has gotten in his career before he works with him. Cutler has unlimited potential. For Cutler, it will be an eye-opening experience to deal with Mike Martz.”
* You’re from New Orleans and proud of your NOLA heritage. You want the Saints to beat one of your old teams, the Colts, right?
“That’s my hometown team. I sold popcorn in the Superdome. I talk about it like this: people in St. Louis, they talk about the history of the baseball Cardinals and the St. Louis Blues. And I have friends who work at the network and they’re New Yorkers, and they’re so proud of the Yankees, and how the Jets won the Super Bowl back in the day. I want to have that. I want to have that for my hometown that I love so dearly. I want to say ‘We won a world championship.’ I want that.”
* You played a season with Peyton Manning, in 1998, before coming to the Rams. He was a rookie. What was he like then, and did you envision the kind of career he’d go on to have?
“From the first day he walked in, you knew he was mature and serious about being the best quarterback he could be. He had very high standards for himself and his team. And I respected Peyton immediately. We really got along. He wanted to learn as much as he could, and absorb everything. Anything to get an edge. That’s my kind of player. That’s the kind of competitor and perfectionist I want for a teammate. With his talent and his work ethic and preparation and those high standards he put on himself, you knew he was going to be something special.”
* Should the Rams draft a quarterback No. 1?
“The Rams should take the player that will help them out the best, help them out the most. And you watch this team like I watch it and we know that they have so many holes to fill. If there’s that quarterback out there. If there is a Mark Sanchez or a Joe Flacco or a Matt Ryan – that caliber of guy, on and off the field, who has the charisma, and that can handle the success and even more importantly the failure … someone who can handle all the adversity you go through during that first year … then you draft him. You cannot afford to get those other guys who can’t handle the adversity and who will crumble after they throw five or six interceptions.”
Thanks to No. 28…
Marshall Faulk on the State of the Rams
By Bernie Miklasz
Let’s begin with some questions for former Rams’ great Marshall Faulk, who is covering Super Bowl XLIV in his role as an analyst for the NFL Network:
* Who is going to buy the Rams? Do you have the scoop?
“I don’t know. Chip Rosenbloom is a great guy. Chip and his sister Lucia Rodriguez are great people. I wish they’d keep the team. But they understand that they’re not St. Louis people. And they want to be in LA where they have their families and lives. And it requires in situations like this, especially in cities like St. Louis, the owner has to live there. You have to be there, You just can’t visit. And they know that.”
* If you could change one thing about the Rams to help turn the team around, what would you recommend?
“I don’t like the road that they’re going down. With guys like myself. And guys who can help deal with what it’s like in St. Louis. And I think that they just don’t know. I’m not out to hurt the team. I want to see the Rams survive. I have a job to do in talking about the Rams, and trust me — it hurts me, it pains me, to see what’s being put out on the field. My objective is not to belittle or down-talk the Rams. I want to talk good about them. I want to praise them. I want to be sitting here right now, reliving the days when we played well, and happy because the Rams are in the Super Bowl. Sometimes, in their cloak-and-dagger atmosphere of shutting down Rams Park, and not inviting guys into this and that, and wanting to keep everything in house, you alienate yourself from getting opportunities of getting inside information. And having guys and people who could be very instrumental to the program help you.
“They’ve taken down photos of some of the great Rams players. For what? Why? I don’t want to take shots. I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure — there’s never been a first-time head coach, a first-time GM and a first-time president turn a team around. You need some experience from somewhere. You need some help. You need some inside information. Because all of your jobs are new.”
* When a new owner takes over the Rams, would you like to join the organization in an executive capacity or do you enjoy being in television?
(Joking): Would you like me to nominate you?
“Listen, I love my job. I really enjoy what I’m doing. If whomever that person is doesn’t know, and he needs for you to tell him, then I’m OK.”
* What do you think of the comparisons of the New Orleans Saints offense to your Rams “Greatest Show” offense?
“I think the comparison comes down to the play callers, Mike Martz and Sean Payton. I know both of those guys and they are very similar. They take chances. They love the big plays. They will run the ball at times. And they have the quarterback to get it done. The biggest thing is, they don’t mind throwing the ball to the backs. They don’t mind throwing it to an Az-Hakim or Ricky Proehl, to a Devery Henderson, a Lance Moore, a Robert Meachem. And they’ll throw it to those guys in clutch times during games. Most teams? They are going to their main guy. These two teams? The Saints and our Rams? With those two coordinators, Mike and Sean, it doesn’t matter. They expect every guy to be prepared. And they are willing to take the heat if, say, a Mike Martz goes to Ricky Proehl instead of Isaac Bruce or Torry Holt on third down and we lose the game. And the writers are all over them for it. They’re willing to deal with that. The attitude of the two coaches is the same.”
* How do you think your old coach Martz will do as the offensive coordinator in Chicago? How will he do with Bears quarterback Jay Cutler?
“I think he’ll do great. And Cutler might be the most skilled quarterback that Mike has gotten in his career before he works with him. Cutler has unlimited potential. For Cutler, it will be an eye-opening experience to deal with Mike Martz.”
* You’re from New Orleans and proud of your NOLA heritage. You want the Saints to beat one of your old teams, the Colts, right?
“That’s my hometown team. I sold popcorn in the Superdome. I talk about it like this: people in St. Louis, they talk about the history of the baseball Cardinals and the St. Louis Blues. And I have friends who work at the network and they’re New Yorkers, and they’re so proud of the Yankees, and how the Jets won the Super Bowl back in the day. I want to have that. I want to have that for my hometown that I love so dearly. I want to say ‘We won a world championship.’ I want that.”
* You played a season with Peyton Manning, in 1998, before coming to the Rams. He was a rookie. What was he like then, and did you envision the kind of career he’d go on to have?
“From the first day he walked in, you knew he was mature and serious about being the best quarterback he could be. He had very high standards for himself and his team. And I respected Peyton immediately. We really got along. He wanted to learn as much as he could, and absorb everything. Anything to get an edge. That’s my kind of player. That’s the kind of competitor and perfectionist I want for a teammate. With his talent and his work ethic and preparation and those high standards he put on himself, you knew he was going to be something special.”
* Should the Rams draft a quarterback No. 1?
“The Rams should take the player that will help them out the best, help them out the most. And you watch this team like I watch it and we know that they have so many holes to fill. If there’s that quarterback out there. If there is a Mark Sanchez or a Joe Flacco or a Matt Ryan – that caliber of guy, on and off the field, who has the charisma, and that can handle the success and even more importantly the failure … someone who can handle all the adversity you go through during that first year … then you draft him. You cannot afford to get those other guys who can’t handle the adversity and who will crumble after they throw five or six interceptions.”
Thanks to No. 28…
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