|
| | | | | | | |  Thursday, December 14, 2000
Rams Outlook: Dancing again in St. Louis
By Marc Connolly
MondayNightFootball.com
Let's address the "Bob 'N Weave" issue first, shall we?
Some pundits have bashed the Rams for "needing" their hokey little end zone dance, saying a team worth picking to get to the Super Bowl isn't one whose psyche is so fragile that they need to induce fines and act out their ritual after each touchdown. I fervently disagree.
|  | | Marshall Faulk is an MVP candidate despite missing two games with an injury. |
Obviously, the Rams will be a force to be reckoned with not only this week against Tampa Bay on Monday Night Football (ABC, 9 p.m. ET), but deep into the playoffs with Kurt Warner back to his unconscious self. That'll happen whether they bob, weave, samba or crochet. Has the triumphant return of their end zone antics helped them? Of course. And the biggest reason why it aided them last week in destroying the Vikings -- because in their minds, it just did.
A perfect example of this philosophy was described by the catcher-turned-sage Crash Davis in Bull Durham:
"A ballplayer on a streak has to respect the streak. They don't happen very often. You know how hard this game is? ... If you believe you're playing well because you wore red silk panties -- then you are."
That's the way an athlete's mind works. Call it fragile, call it insane. It's just how it is. Which is why a defensive back doesn't feel like himself if he put his left sock on first, or why Jerry Rice gets weirded out if his shirt isn't perfectly tucked into his uniform.
So, with the dance back in vogue and their 2-5 midseason record a memory, the Rams are once again firing on all cylinders. And after watching Warner mesmerize the Vikings defense for 346 yards and four scoring passes in a key 40-29 win, they might have rediscovered the magic fuel that had people comparing their offense to that of Joe Montana's Niners juggernauts.
"We got into a pretty good rhythm in the early going," said head coach Mike Martz. "We were playing fast like we did early in the year and it was a good feeling. There is just an air of confidence when you get going like that. When you find your rhythm you just go ... Kurt was as good as he has ever been. He had a couple of throwaways, otherwise I don't know if he throws an incomplete pass."
No one has said it yet, but the Rams may actually be a more dangerous unit now than they were during their 6-0 run to start the season. Though they weren't given their due respect coming into the season since it was chic for prognosticators to go with Tampa Bay or Washington in the NFC, the Rams hadn't taken such a bludgeoning they took throughout the past two months since they were NFL nobodies. Not only was their defense toasted -- and rightfully so -- before Bud "We need you back, Grampa" Carson got back on the payroll, the once-indestructible offense was bad-mouthed to Daniel Snyder-like proportions.
The receivers were questioned. The offense was called out for being too complicated. They were criticized for being too reliant on Marshall Faulk for both their ground and aerial attack. Even Warner, whose Hall of Fame induction had already been drawn up by the media in late September, felt the heat after his return performance a week ago resulted in four interceptions.
All this has resulted in a chip the size of the Gateway Arch on the Rams' collective shoulders -- something that should scare the Buccaneers as they prepare for the invasion of St. Louis this week. The us-against-the-world attitude is something many a defending champion hasn't been able to summon late in the season, yet this Rams team feels wronged. They feel they were unduly criticized while many of their key cogs were hurt. They think they were written off too soon.
Combine that prevailing attitude with the overstocked talent in the cupboard and the continued improvement of their health, and you have one indomitable formula.
It'll be a matchup of Clash of the Titans proportions, with one of the top-ranked defense in the Bucs on the other side of the ball on Monday night. Led by quarterback-killer Warren Sapp, who ranks second among alldefensive tackles with a club-record and career-high 13.5 sacks, this swarming defense has been the driving force behind their current fortunes of winning six out of the last seven games. In that time, they have allowed 17 points or less in each game. They are masters at not only stopping an offense dead in its tracks, but in stealing the baton in the process, with 34 forced turnovers (20 INTs, 14 fumbles) largely via bone-jarring hits by safety John Lynch and All-World linebacker Derrick Brooks and the seven interceptions from corner Donnie Abraham.
In last year's NFC Championship game, they held the vaunted Rams offense down, yet lost 11-6 due to the offensive's inability to get in the end zone. While the Rams defense hasn't resembled last year's unit, they are taking on an offense that has been forced to rely solely on Warrick Dunn. And defending the run is something they have excelled at this year, with opponents averaging 101.4 yards per game. To put it in perspective, that's less than what TB's heralded unit has yielded (101.6).
The Bucs will have no such luck in being able to focus on one facet of the Rams offense, as they can break your spine from all avenues. They have perhaps the most explosive player in the NFL in Faulk, who can burn a defense out of the backfield or as a pass-catcher. When Warner drops into the pocket he has every quarterback's dream in receivers Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt and slot specialist Az Hakim spread out downfield, with Faulk as his safety valve.
No matter what scheme the Bucs come up with on offense, it's doubtful any team will halt the Rams in a win-and-your-in game if Warner's targets aren't contained. That was the case last January, but the Bucs know the Rams won't try to offset Tampa Bay's ferocious pass rush via underneath routes and screens like they did last year. In other words, look out for the deep ball.
"We expect them to come in with all of their guns blazing," said Tony Dungy, who has long been considered one of the NFL's defensive masterminds. "So we'll have our work cut out for us on defense."
The most critical slave work will be needed from Abraham and Ronde Barber. Contain Holt and Bruce -- a likely Pro Bowl duo -- and find paydirt.
Get burned like the Vikings defensive backs did, and do what the rest of us will be forced to do: Watch the "Bob 'N Weave."
Marc Connolly is a senior writer for ABC Sports Online.
| | |
| | | | |
ESPN.com:
HELP |
ADVERTISER INFO |
CONTACT US |
TOOLS |
SITE MAP
Copyright ©2000 ESPN Internet Group. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site. Employment opportunities at ESPN.com.
| |
| 
 |
Marshall Faulk talks with ESPN's Andrea Kremer after scoring a team-record four rushing touchdowns.