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Rams LB
London Fletcher
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The story of the St. Louis Rams throughout this season, just as the two previous
seasons, has been about weapons.
St. Louis set the tone for its divisional playoff against the Packers last Sunday in
pregame introductions, when head coach Mike Martz elected to introduce the defensive
starters, lights out, pyrotechnics exploding in the south endzone. Lovie Smith’s unit
would turn the lights back on only before turning them out on the Packers.
The last three MVP awards belong to the Rams. The Lombardi Trophy won in Super Bowl
XXXIV can be found in The Dome at America’s Center. And the favorites to find a match
for that hardware are back to their old tricks, boasting more weapons than some
third-world countries and an offensive killer instinct unmatched by any team in NFL
history.
How aggressive are they? Martz elected to go for a first down, not a field goal, on
4th-and-1 with eight minutes, six seconds to play — leading 38-10. And it wasn’t
just a get-the-first-down, QB sneak play call. It was a pass-into-the-endzone,
get-me-six-more play call.
Yes, the Rams’ offense is indeed the Greatest Show on Earth, but it is the
defense, like last week, that will carry it to New Orleans.
Upstaged nationally in a game billed as a battle of gunslinging quarterbacks, the
NFL’s No. 3 defense made a statement. As it turned out, the shootout was a slaughter
by the Rams, and the ammunition came almost solely from the St. Louis stop unit.
"In all my years in coaching, I don’t know that I’ve seen anything like
that," Martz said. "They were called out by the national media; this was an
upset group of men."
Martz named ESPN analyst and former NFL RB Merril Hodge as a key instigator; DB
Dre’ Bly confronted Chris Mortensen in the postgame locker room. Other national media
members weren’t innocent of predicting a high-scoring battle.
"We heard it all, 45-40, 38-31," Rams MLB London Fletcher said. "This
isn’t last year’s defense."
Indeed it is not. The Rams ranked 23rd in the NFL in overall defense last season and
allowed more than 29 points per game. Things are different now. DE Grant Wistrom, who had
two pressures and tipped a pass that landed in the arms of LB Tommy Polley, was motivated
by the attention the Packers’ offense received leading up to the game. He hopes the
Eagles are afforded the same respect.
"The defense picked up the slack," Wistrom said. "We played our butts
off. Keep counting us out. Keep figuring we aren’t a good defense, that this is last
year’s defense. It’s not. Come in and underestimate us. Then get on the field
with us."
Packers QB Brett Favre was picked off six times for the first time ever, RB Ahman Green
and WR Antonio Freeman had costly fumbles and the Rams led the Packers by four touchdowns
— with eight minutes to play in the third quarter.
CB Aeneas Williams’ efforts — an interception and 29-yard return for a score,
another pick and subsequent 32-yard TD return, as well as a forced fumble that quashed any
chance of a Packers comeback early in the third quarter — were huge and are a big
reason the Rams have a future.
"Aeneas is playing big," Freeman said.
Some 75 minutes after the final bell had sounded, Williams was still spinning circles
around the opposition. Dressed in his street clothes, Williams chased his two young sons
from endzone to endzone as his father looked on from a distance.
"I wanted everyone to be a part of this thing," Williams said. "It is
like when you are a little kid in Little League. You want to do good for everybody that is
there to see you."
Said Smith: "Aeneas has been the veteran to come in and show the young guys how to
practice, how to make plays. He has made big plays, critical plays, in big
situations."
Favre had arguably the worst showing in his playoff career. His miscues led to 21 Rams
points. He generated only 17 points.
"Just looking at film, because Brett is so confident he can get the ball in, we
needed to catch the ball well," Williams said. "This is the best defense
I’ve been around at attacking, getting to the ball."
During his week of preparation, Packers offensive coordinator Tom Rossley was counting
on a couple of things. Rossley said the offense had to be balanced, Green had to be at his
best and 3rd-and-long was not an option.
The Packers converted 42 percent of their third downs. Green, who had 18 rushing yards
at halftime, finished with 94. But the offense was hardly balanced. Favre attempted 44
passes, and Green Bay ran 22 times.
"That is not us," Rossley said. "Our identity is not to throw 40 or 50
times. We’re about balance. Any team can attempt 40 passes, but can any team do it
well? I don’t think so. You play into the defense’s hands if you do that."
Which is exactly what happened; Smith, Williams and the Rams made puppets of the
Packers.
"They scored more points than the Packers did today," Warner said of the
defense. "I was checking down in a lot of situations. I felt like we could sit back
and get off the field to let the defense play."
That is the statement of the year to the other three teams remaining in the title hunt.
It seems unfathomable any opponent would rather see the Rams’ offense than its
defense.
"We’re a better team than we were in ’99," Warner said.
"We’re more solid in every phase. The offense is basically the same, but guys
have matured. Our defense in ’99 scored, but this defense doesn’t give anything.
It’s a whole different mentality. We know the sky is the limit if we play like we
know we can play."
If Sunday’s manhandling of Green Bay is any indication, clear the runway —
the Rams are prepared for takeoff. |
