Mad Mike

Under the controversial leadership of “Mad Mike” Martz, the St. Louis Rams have once again captured a playoff berth.  Unfortunately for Rams fans, the first round is as far into the playoffs that this team will go.  They are terrible on special teams despite having been criticized all year for not addressing that problem.  With the exception of Leonard Little, they are overmatched at every position on defense; their turnover margin is the worst in the NFL.  On top of all of that they are the 3rd worst team in the NFL at stopping the run.  Mike Martz is behind all of this and he should shoulder the blame when this team loses in the first round to Seattle.
I have said all year long that Martz was the worst head coach in the NFL.  Although, he is quite possibly the most gifted offensive coordinator of all time; but he’s no prodigy as a head coach and GM.  Let’s check out some of his recent greatest hits.

He chose not to run the ball against the New York Jets one week after finding success on the ground against Philly.  The Rams are undefeated this year in games where Stephen Jackson carries the ball at least 10 times, yet Martz only called 6 run plays to his halfback in a loss to the Dolphins-the second worst team against the run in the NFL.  The bottom line is that the Rams are a better team when Jackson runs the ball.  It’s astounding that, even though he hand picked Jackson in last year’s draft Martz fails to see the tailback’s value to the team.  

In spite of this offensive quandary, most of the reason that the Rams will get beaten involves defense.  Just a quick slew of stats.  The Rams have a minus-24 turnover ratio-that’s the worst in the NFL and the lowest of any playoff team in history.  They rank 29th in the league against the run, so the prospect of facing Seattle Halfback Shaun Alexander, who is still disgruntled about missing this year’s rushing title by one yard, obviously not bode well for the Rams.

While the Rams should do better against the pass, injuries in the secondary could become a factor.  They will be without veteran safety Aeneas Williams due to injury, and starting cornerback Travis Fisher is nursing a sore knee.  Adam Archuleta is reportedly suffering from a bulging disc in his back, which will take some of the pop out of his hits.

All of this adds up to disaster.  If Martz does not run the ball and insists on passing, Bulger had better be accurate.  The Seahawks are ranked 18th in the NFL in Turnover margin and have returned 3 interceptions for touchdowns this year. That may not sound great, until you consider that the Rams are ranked 29th.  Also consider for a moment that the three teams ranked lower than the Rams in this category are drafting First, Second, and Third next year.  Simply put if the Rams give the ball away they aren’t likely to get it back.  

All year long the St. Louis Rams have been terrible on special teams.  Last week against the New York Jets fans at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis booed every time their team kicked the ball off, and with good reason.  Les Mouflons, as my French friends say, were the worst kickoff team in the league this year, giving up an average of 25.5 yards per return.  They didn’t fare much better when they punted, ranking third worst and edging out only Indianapolis and Kansas City, two defensive powerhouses.  Here’s a big shocker: they were also the worst kick returning team in the league-they averaged only 19.9 yards per return and scored no touchdowns.  Thus Seattle has a big advantage on special teams, not because they are great but because the Rams are so bad.  Martz also bears the blame for this problem; as acting GM he has failed to seek out special teams players.  It is his responsibility to fill his second and third ranks with players that can be standouts on special teams, a duty that he has grossly neglected.  

In the playoffs defense, special teams, and turnovers win games.  The team that can stop its opponent, dictate field position through kick returns and kick coverage, and take away the ball once or twice usually wins.  It was these three areas that helped the Rams to win the Superbowl in 1999.  Since Martz took the reins as Head Coach and GM in 2000 for St. Louis, all three of these areas have declined.  Nobody but Martz is to blame for that, and nobody but Martz should have to answer when the Rams are bounced from the playoffs in the first round.