| St. Louis head coach Mike Martz, who served as the
Rams’ offensive coordinator when St. Louis edged Tennessee 23-16 in Super Bowl XXXIV,
spoke with the media in New Orleans at a Rams press conference. Here’s a look at his
responses: Q: What’s the reason for playing your starters even when you have a
big lead?
A: There were two games in particular I recall. In the Detroit game, the defense had a
gallant performance and I felt we owed it to the defense to keep them off the field and do
whatever we could do to continue to make first downs. That’s my rationale for it and
I know that can be misconstrued as an intent to do something else, but when the defense
plays that well, you’ve got to reward them. It’s up to us on offense to give
them the opportunity to have a shutout like we had at Detroit. Against Green Bay, our
whole intent was to move the ball because we were not moving it and we wanted to get some
first downs.
Q: What did you learn while you were an assistant coach under Norv Turner at
Washington?
A: I learned so much from Norv Turner that I can’t write it all down. He had a
very aggressive approach to play calling that I’ve always respected. His preparation
and how he went about putting a game plan together are things that I’ve drawn from
the two years I was with him.
Q: How big of an impact did Ernie Zampese have on you?
A: Ernie has had a huge impact on my life, not just as a coach but as a person —
who he is and how he treats people. I guess his humility is impressive and inspiring.
He’s had more of an impact on me than probably any other coach.
Q: Did you have any input in the trade for Marshall Faulk?
A: I had no input whatsoever. I wish I could tell you I did. That was Jay Zygmunt and
Dick Vermeil who orchestrated that and did a great job pulling that thing off. I walked in
the office and sat down and they said, "By the way, Marshall is here, we’ve
signed Trent (Green) and drafted Torry Holt." I thought it was Christmas.
Q: What do you see when you look at this New England team?
A: It’s like looking in the mirror in a lot of respects when I look at that team.
Bill (Belichick) has done a great job of coaching that team. The breaks that they have
had, they have created. That Oakland game was not a gift or a miracle or anything else.
They are an outstanding team and we felt that way when we played them up there.
Q: Did you second-guess yourself on the decision to keep QB Kurt Warner in the game
when he got hurt late in the blowout win over Green Bay?
A: Sure. Anytime something like that happens you have to second-guess yourself. We were
trying to do the right thing by the defense ultimately, and that was a three-step drop.
They rushed four and that’s something that should never happen, but it did. I feel
bad about that. It was a risk as you look back at it. I know what the intent was. Was it
the smartest thing to do? Probably not, but that’s over with and is something you
just have to resolve in your mind.
Q: Compare and describe your offensive philosophy to other great offensive teams.
A: We probably use a lot more personnel groupings than what Don Coryell probably did.
We’re into a lot of four wide receiver, three wide receiver, even multiple tight end
sets, which is a little more like Joe Gibbs, I guess, with the three tight ends and two
tight ends and those kinds of things. It’s probably a blend of Joe, Ernie Zampese and
Don and we’ve probably put our stamp on it with the four wide receivers. The shifting
and the moving kind of stem from Washington with Norv and we’ve just continued to do
that. We’ve had the same guys for three years and we could not do offensively with
movement and formations in ’99 what we do now. We just keep building and moving out
there. If you have new players, each mini-camp you have to go back and start all over
again with the basics.
Q: When did you first see improvement in the defense this season?
A: The first week of mini-camp. The drills that Lovie (Smith) used and the demands that
he put on these guys to do things right and the technical aspect of what to do defensively
was impressive that first mini-camp. |
