| The day the Super Bowl-champion Rams returned from Atlanta,
Charley Armey was back at work. With the beginning of the free-agency period only a few
days away and a month of preparation lost to the playoffs, the Rams’ VP of player
personnel had to get busy. Not only did he have to prepare for free agency, but the draft
loomed as well. They were long, hard hours, interrupted only by a trip to downtown St.
Louis for the championship parade.
So while coaches and players were out celebrating with family and friends, Armey sat in
his Rams Park office, reviewing videotape and player reports. It’s possible Armey
isn’t resting on his laurels because he isn’t aware he has any to rest on.
"I never got a chance to sit back, other than the parade, to enjoy the fact that
we were world champions," Armey said. "I had to kick it into gear to get free
agency off the ground right."
Though others may have celebrated more than their leader, Armey’s army hasn’t
been lounging this offseason. The Rams face a brand-new set of problems that always seem
to surround championship teams: replacing key players, facing every opponent’s best
shot and surviving a different schedule (three Monday-night appearances).
As Armey likes to say, "Everyone is going to want to knock us off." But what
separates Armey from other Super Bowl personnel men who have uttered that same phrase is
the rags-to-riches path the Rams took to get to the title.
The previous two championship teams, the Packers and Broncos (twice), were conference
powerhouses before they won their crowns. They were used to being perched near the top,
looking down while other teams tried to climb.
That wasn’t the case for St. Louis. A year before their title run, the Rams
finished 4-12, their ninth consecutive losing season. It seemed as if the Rams would go
into their usual routine: obtain a top-10 draft pick, fail to land any big free agents and
resume losing.
But Armey and the Rams didn’t follow the old plan. Instead, they added players
such as Marshall Faulk, Trent Green and Adam Timmerman. They brought in offensive genius
Mike Martz. They stocked their team with undrafted gems, several of whom became starters.
Fast-forward to the Super Bowl on Jan. 30. The Rams were in a completely different
position than they had been in just a year earlier. Along with the Lombardi Tropy, the
Rams came out of Atlanta realizing that the 2000 offseason would be different from the
last.
It quickly became apparent on Feb. 12, the day the free-agency period began. The Rams
didn’t burst out of the gate as they had the year before. In fact, they didn’t
even bring in a player for a visit during the first 10 days of free agency. The Rams
shifted their focus from obtaining players to retaining players.
"The more you win, the more apt teams are to come and steal your football
players," Armey said. "Ask Green Bay."
Competitors raided the Rams’ offensive line, where five of the eight top linemen
were eligible for free agency. Starting ORT Fred Miller bolted for the Titans, and C Mark
Gruttadauria signed with the Cardinals. Charlie Clemons, a key backup at linebacker, also
departed, signing with the division-rival Saints. The Rams plugged the holes with players
already in the system.
"It’s like the old saying: ‘Charity stays at home,’ " said
Armey, who believes his team, by replacing from within, is actually better at every
position.
The team filled its head-coaching vacancy, created by the retirement of Dick Vermeil,
from within as well. Martz will assume the head-coaching duties while retaining much of
his coordinator responsibilities. The difference between Vermeil and Martz has been
readily evident. Martz held only two minicamps this spring (teams are allowed to conduct
three), and even then he wasn’t nearly as rough on the players as Vermeil. While
Vermeil’s "short" practices would rarely run less than 2 1/2 hours,
Martz’s regular sessions seldom run more than two.
The Rams enter the 2000 season in good shape. Thanks to executive VP and salary-cap
whiz Jay Zygmunt, St. Louis should have enough salary-cap room to re-sign league MVP Kurt
Warner, Pro Bowl DE Kevin Carter and top CB Todd Lyght. A majority of Vermeil’s draft
picks are still on the team. Martz has bragged this offseason that the Rams’ defense
is the only one in the league that can keep up with Warner, Faulk & Co. Armey reports
that the weight room was packed nearly every day during the offseason with role players
and superstars alike.
"It’s usually that the guys with the least chance to make it work the
hardest," Armey said. "That’s not the case this year."
Armey said there is no difference between coming to work a winner or a loser, an
attitude reflected in the Rams’ commitment to offseason improvement. It’s all
about attitude, he said, and having the same, consistent mindset regardless of how
comfortable you might feel.
"I won’t change anything from what I’ve done the past 20 years,"
Armey said. "I won’t omit any steps, and I won’t forget how we got
here."
If Armey’s attitude is indicative of the team’s, the Rams could be sitting
pretty for quite a while. |
