Establishing An Identity

526 + 540 + 503 = 1,569.  The St. Louis Rams scored an absurd 1,569 points during the 1999, 2000 & 2001 football seasons.  During this run of the “Greatest Show on Turf,” they established themselves as the first offense in NFL history to amass over 500 points in three consecutive seasons.  Obviously, the numbers were just astonishing.  Those seasons all concluded with Rams being voted as the league’s Most Valuable Player (Kurt Warner in ’99 & ’01, Marshall Faulk in ’00.)  In the 2000 season, the Rams blazed (no pun intended, Tony Horne) to a league record 7,335 total yards.  They also set an NFL single season team record that year with 5,492 passing yards from scrimmage.  Most importantly, the team won 37 regular season games over those three seasons, made the playoffs all three years, went to the Super Bowl twice and won it once.  It was simply a period of excellence. 

The Rams entered that 1999 season with a rebuilt roster.  They traded for Marshall Faulk, signed Adam Timmerman and drafted Torry Holt.  The organization looked at their home field, the dreary “Trans World Dome” at the time, and realized that it was built for speed.  The conditions were ideal indoors.  72 degree temperatures, no wind, no rain or snow, and an Astroturf surface that played fast.  The Rams decided to hire a mad genius offensive coordinator in Mike Martz and open up the offense.  They keyed on precision and WRs who ran perfectly executed timing routes.  None of these WRs were 6’5’’, and none were college high-jump champions.  It didn’t matter.  They had the change of direction and attention to detail needed to fit the scheme.  The offensive line didn’t feature maulers,  but it was athletic and could hold up in pass protection and in the zone-blocking running game.  The QB threw a wobbly ball and didn’t have the monster arm to consistently throw deep.  Warner was accurate though, and deadly on the intermediate passes that the offense relied on.  The defense also didn’t feature a ton of muscle and was often overlooked.  While never dominant, the defense was built perfectly to play with an early lead … Which that Rams team often did.  Two good pass rushing DEs in Grant Wistrom and Kevin Carter could get after the QB in obvious passing situations.  The LBs and Secondary could play it safe and keep opposing offenses in front of them.  The defense was again predicated on speed and utilized undersized players whose strength was to run to the football on that fast playing surface. 

I’m sure you’re asking yourself, why take this trip down memory lane?  What does this have to do with the 2011 Rams?  Well, in my mind, it proves the significance of the current Rams' lack of identity.  I wasn't alone in 1999.  Many fellow fans went to the Dome during that era, and they all knew what they were there to see: A team built on speed and a team built to play on turf, with a lead.  Marshall Faulk, Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce didn’t scare anyone when they got off the bus,  but they terrified opponents on the turf.  Those players were obtained with a scheme in mind, with an identity in mind.  Opposing teams knew what the Rams were all about when they arrived at the stadium, they just couldn’t stop it.

Now, look at the current version of the Rams.  What is their identity?  Can anybody tell me?  When you show up at the now named “Edward Jones Dome,” do you have any idea of what to expect?  Is this a power running team, featuring an expensive interior offensive line and a pro bowl running back in Steven Jackson?  Is it a spread formation passing team with new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels calling plays for Sam Bradford?  Or, is this a defensive oriented team with head coach Steve Spagnuolo bringing the pass rush like it’s 2007?  The unfortunate answer is that it’s none of the above.  The Rams seem to draft players (Jason Smith, Donnie Avery, etc.,) and sign players (Jacob Bell, Jerious Norwood, etc.,) without an apparent fit for their franchise, or for their scheme. 

To further explain my point, let’s take the Pittsburgh Steelers.  We’re not fans in Pittsburgh, nor do we closely follow the team.  But, when they select a college DE / LB in the draft, we all know that player is going to be positioned as an outside, rush LB in their 3-4 defense.  We know that player will be brought into the NFL to do one thing: Rush the QB.  That player won’t be in coverage and they won’t have to define their role in training camp, it was conceived for them on draft day.  All good teams do this.  They all have an identity.  And they sign, draft and develop players based on it. 

I don’t know if the Rams will be searching for a new head coach or a new general manager after the season.   But if they do, I have one request: Hire someone with a vision, someone that wants to build an identity for this franchise, and someone willing to stick to it.  Please.

Written by: Michael Handshear