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Tuesday, May 31, 2011
In 2010, the St. Louis Rams came within one victory to win the NFC West with a rookie QB at the helm. Due to their road woes, the Rams lost to the Seahawks in week 17 and missed out on their chance to go to the playoffs. Their QB Sam Bradford was only one of two QB's to take every snap under center in 2010. The other, Peyton Manning. Over the past five years, the Rams dominating run attack of Steven Jackson is what St. Louis has been known for. This is what the Rams have been known for over their history.
One of the most emotional coaches in NFL history, Dick Vermeil did more in two years then most coaches do in a life time. Vermeil's coaching history begins with the Philadelphia Eagles and he took the team to Super Bowl XV. After the Eagles lost, Vermeil retired as a head coach for good, or so it seems. Nearly 17 years late, Vermeil took over a very disgruntled franchise in the Rams. Vermeil's first two years in St. Louis weren't anything to be proud of after the team went 5-11 and 4-12, respectively. In 1999, after an offseason where Vermeil was rumored to be thrown out, star QB Trent Green got injured in the preseason and he would be out for the season. With Green out, the Rams had nowhere else to go but to undrafted free agent Kurt Warner. That season, Warner and Vermeil made one of the greatest single season turn arounds in NFL history and the Rams went 13-3. Vermeil would go on to lead the Rams to a 23-16 victory over the Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV. After a great season, Vermeil won Coach of the Year and soon retired again. Even though Vermeil went on to coach the Kansas City Chiefs, what he did for the Rams makes him the best head coach in franchise history.
When you think of the best feel-good stories in NFL history, you can't overlook Kurt Warner. The Rams signed Warner after the undrafted free agent played three seasons in the Arena Football League. In Warner's 11 year career, he made four Pro Bowls, was a NFL MVP twice, and first team all pro two times. Despite all those accolades, nothing beats Warner's unbelivable determination to get to the professional level. Even though Warner started out as a third string QB, after the Rams released Tony Banks and Steve Bono, Warner was promoted to the back-up QB position. After starter Trent Green went down in the preseason, veteran's like Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce rallied around Warner. With the help of offensive coordinator Mike Martz, the Rams offense became known as "The Greatest Show on Turf." Over the next three seasons, that show would go on to post 500 point seasons, a NFL record. At the end of the season, Warner won the league's MVP award and after a successful postseason eventually got the Rams to Super Bowl XXXIV. In the game, Warner threw for two touchdowns and 414 passing yards to pave the way for a 23-16 victory and the Super Bowl MVP. Warner became only the seventh player to win the MVP during the regular season and the Super Bowl. In 2001, Warner returned to MVP form as he threw for a league high 36 touchdown passes and 4,830 passing yards. The Rams had the best record in the league at 14-2 and Warner was again named the NFL's MVP. In Super Bowl XXXVI, many people considered the Rams to be one of the greatest teams ever, but they lost to the underdog New England Patriots 20-17. Warner left the Rams in 2004 and will go down as the greatest Ram of all time because of all he did for a disgruntled franchise. Plus the dude was undrafted, can't get any better then that.
I wish I could put the whole Rams defensive line 1960's on this list, but Deacon Jones is the one that deserves it the most. The Rams selected Jones 186th overall out of Mississippi Valley State. In his ten year career, Jones was elected to eight Pro Bowls, was a first team all pro five times, and is part of the NFL's 75th anniversary team. In 1980, Jones was honored by getting inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. Jones became known by playing alongside some of the greatest defensive linemen of all time (Lamar Lundy, Rosey Grier, and Merlin Olsen). The five would go on to become known as the "Fearsome Foursome." Jones is the one who we should credit for revolutionizing the defensive end position. Most notably, he was the first to use the head slap on opposing offensive linemen. Another thing that Jones was known for was getting to the QB, but sacks did not start being credited until 1982. During one season, Jones claimed he had 26 sacks, which would be a NFL record if true. Wether it is or not, Jones changed the way you get to the QB and is the biggest draft steal in Rams history.
Issues, issues, issues... That is what Lawrence Phillips had as a NFL player. With their sixth overall pick in the 1996 Draft, the Rams drafted Phillips out of Nebraska despite many of his character issues. What really killed the Rams about this draft pick, they traded RB Jerome Bettis to the Steelers the same day as the draft. We all know Bettis went on to win a Super Bowl with Pittsburgh, while Phillips did absolutely nothing in his career with the Rams. After running for 632 yards and four touchdowns his rookie season, Phillips' issues that came out with him in the draft started to show. While on pace to a 1,000 yard season, Phillips refused to show up for a mandatory team meeting and then got into a heated argument with head coach Dick Vermeil over playing time. The Rams soon cut Phillips, but Rams fans wouldn't fret with Marshall Faulk coming to St. Louis just three years later. If the Rams didn't want to waste that pick, they could of selected Eddie George who is one of the best Titans of all time. The best player who came out of this draft was Ray Lewis and the Rams passed on him. Not only would that be a mistake, but so would picking Phillips.
Defining Moment: Trent Green gets injured (1999)
This moment was just like the one that happened with the Patriots. Drew Bledsoe gets injured leading to Tom Brady's suprise uprising. Well the Rams went through a similar situation, but you can make an argument that theirs was more suprising. After two dissapointing seasons into the Dick Vermeil era, things were starting to look up with Trent Green at the helm. After Green went down in a preseason game, Kurt Warner, an undrafted free agent that was just made the back-up QB, was set to replace Green. Vermeil, emotional like always, said "we will rally around Kurt Warner and we will play good football." The Rams did. In the next three seasons, Warner led the "Greatest Show on Turf" to two Super Bowls winning one of them. If Green would of never went down, who knows if Warner would of ever played and if Vermeil would of coached another game for the Rams. Instead of this happening, Green's injury led to one of the worst franchises of all time to become one of the most respected of all time. It defines Vermeil as a coach, Warner as a player, and the Rams as a franchise.
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