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Rams head coach
Mike Martz
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ST. LOUIS — Heading into Sunday’s NFC title clash, the Philadelphia Eagles
might have been the only team with the right to support an argument that the Rams should
have had a 14-3 record, instead of 15-2.
When the Rams came to Veterans Stadium for a Week One battle on Sept. 9 — it seems
like years ago, doesn’t it? — they snuck out with a 20-17 overtime victory. In
fact, Philadelphia was the lone team to take the Rams to an extra session.
In that game, Rams QB Kurt Warner was blitzed, battered and bruised by Eagles defensive
coordinator Jim Johnson. Johnson, who hasn’t met an offensive riddle he couldn’t
solve, unveiled a 3-3-5 defense to take advantage of his speedy LB corps while covering as
many weapons as possible with five defensive backs. The Eagles didn’t match speed
with St. Louis’ "Greatest Show on Turf," but they came as close as any
other team at accomplishing that task.
Rams head coach Mike Martz is Johnson’s equal on the other side of the ball,
cerebrally speaking. The chess match between the two coaches Sunday was fascinating. In
fact, it ended up taking 58-plus minutes before Martz and the Rams scored checkmate,
outmaneuvering Philadelphia in a tense, hard-fought 29-24 victory. That earned Martz the
right to match wits with another brilliant defensive mind, New England’s Bill
Belichick, in Super Bowl XXXVI Feb. 3.
Johnson stuck with a base 4-3 look for 95 percent of the Eagles’ defensive plays
in the first half. With less than 41 seconds to play in the second quarter and the Rams
trailing 17-13, Johnson pulled back and used nickel coverage once and dime four times in
five plays. It was in that final minute that Warner attempted his first pass longer than
25 yards, taking a shot in the direction of WR Torry Holt down the left sideline. Holt had
one-on-one coverage against Eagles CB Al Harris, but it was Harris who got his hands on
the ball although he didn’t come up with the interception.
Having seen the Eagles five months prior, Martz felt the best way to attack
Philly’s rugged defense was with short timing patterns, almost taking a page out of
the West Coast offense with slants and quick posts and outs. All-Pro RB Marshall Faulk
played the biggest role among Martz’s weapons in the first half, rushing for a
playoff career-high 84 yards on nine carries (9.3 yards per carry) in the opening 30
minutes.
The other difference between this meeting and the Week One meeting was a lack of
pressure applied by Johnson’s defense. Perhaps helping to cover for injured CB Troy
Vincent and unwilling to commit an extra defender from pass coverage, Johnson stuck with
his 4-3-4 defense with Vincent and Bobby Taylor playing straight man on Holt and WR Isaac
Bruce, who caught five passes for 60 yards in the half.
The lack of a blitz from Philadelphia came only after the Rams’ first possession,
when St. Louis took over on the Eagles’ 21 after a Donovan McNabb fumble. Johnson
played his 4-3 personnel, meaning his regular package or four down linemen — LDE
Brandon Whiting, DTs Corey Simon and Paul Grasmanis and RDE Hugh Douglas — in front
of LBs Jeremiah Trotter, Mike Caldwell and Carlos Emmons and four defensive backs.
On that drive, the first of the game for the Rams, Johnson showed a five-man front on
three of the five plays, sending Emmons on the outside, once from the right and another
time from the left. When the Rams picked up the extra blitzer and countered with Faulk
runs of 3, 4 and 4 yards, Johnson backed Emmons off the line and didn’t show the look
during the next 25 minutes. That showed Martz two things: Johnson was not going to go
after Warner and his injured ribs at the risk of allowing a big play and, because of that,
St. Louis would have to attack elsewhere, probably using Faulk.
As he had done in the first half, Martz changed formations, using two tight ends and
two-wide receivers as blocking formations for Faulk. To open the second half, Faulk
carried four straight times, behind TE Ernie Conwell, TE Jeff Robinson, and others. Each
carry was for four or more yards against Philly’s base 4-3. On his fifth straight
rush, Faulk picked up three yards and a first down. The Eagles made the adjustment with
St. Louis now on the Eagles’ side of the field, sending Emmons and LB Barry Gardner
on either edge on first and second downs, both Faulk carries, for gains of one and two
yards, respectively.
On third down, with Simon on the sideline with a stinger, the Eagles went to a 3-4,
sending Emmons, S Damon Moore and Gardner. Warner connected with Bruce for a 21-yard pass
play. Just when Martz was getting revved up, Simon returned, and he and Grasmanis got push
up the middle, stuffing Faulk. Martz went to pass plays before finishing the 12-play drive
and settling for a 26-yard Jeff Wilkins field goal. The Eagles held serve, held their
ground and still held a 17-16 lead.
With Faulk running effectively, Warner went to the air. Johnson stayed with his base
defense of choice, and Warner ate Philadelphia’s well-regarded secondary alive. The
St. Louis quarterback was 4-for-5 for 60 yards on a 10-play, 71-yard drive that put the
Rams up 22-17. With Vincent’s groin hurting — he left the game during the drive
and did not return — Warner hit Bruce for gains of 15, 12 and 17 yards before
connecting with Holt on 16-yard out. Faulk fit in five carries during the drive.
Johnson stayed with the 4-3 for the duration of the Rams’ march, until Douglas was
called to the sideline with St. Louis in a 2nd-and-goal from the Philly six.
Johnson went back to the 3-3-5, and Faulk went back to the middle, notching a five-yard
gain before punching it in from one yard out.
St. Louis punted for the first time in the game on its next drive, with 13 minutes
remaining in the fourth quarter. When the Rams’ offense returned to the field, they
ended up back in the endzone, again on a Faulk one-yard run.
On 3rd-and-1 at the Eagles’ 48 and staring at the 4-3, Faulk broke a
25-yard run to the Philadelphia 22. Moore was injured on the play and the Eagles inserted
S Tim Hauck in his spot. Johnson went to a 5-2-4 defense with Derrick Burgess and Brandon
Whiting at the end positions. The next four plays were classic Faulk, capped by the
one-yard plunge with a 10-yard swing pass and an eight-yard jaunt behind TEs Jeff Robinson
and Ernie Conwell blended into the mix.
The Rams would get the ball back with 2:56 left, needing only to run out the clock on
the heels of QB Donovan McNabb’s three-yard TD run that cut St. Louis’ lead to
29-24. On the first play following the Eagles’ score, Faulk ran left behind pulling
ORG Adam Timmerman for a one-yard pickup. Warner looked for Faulk on second down, but
missed the connection, stopping the clock with 2:36 left. Facing a 4-3 for the third
straight play, Faulk ran for a short loss on third down when S Rashard Cook made a great
tackle. DE N.D. Kalu then just missed blocking the punt on fourth down.
The final stats told the story in the Martz vs. Johnson battle. The Rams ended up with
369 yards of total offense, with Faulk getting 159 rushing yards on 31 carries and Warner
completing 22-of-33 passes for 212 yards. St. Louis finished with 22 first downs, ran 66
plays and possessed the ball for 35:30. There’s no question that took a toll on a
game but fatigued Eagles defense in the second half. As good as the Eagles are, it’s
awfully tough to keep Warner, Faulk, Bruce, Holt, et al, in check.
The next, and only, challenge left for the Rams is Belichick and the defensive-minded
Patriots. Johnson may be a defensive mastermind, but Belichick is also considered to be a
genius in his ability to devise schemes to take away his opponent’s best weapon. In
fact, after St. Louis escaped with a 24-17 victory at New England in Week 10, Martz told
his team after the game "I didn’t want to tell you … but that was a Super
Bowl contender right there."
Turns out Martz is more than a genius, he’s a prophet. |
