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Mike Martz's cure for underachievers on defense was simple: Get rid of 'em

By Michael Silver

With game-breakers like Az-Zahir Hakim, the Rams' offense is still the greatest show on turf. Scott Halleran/Allsport Enemy Lines An opposing team's scout sizes up the Rams "Everyone says there's no dominant team in the conference, but St. Louis is pretty close. There have been some great offenses, but these guys have a chance to go down as the best of all time.... Most teams are happy if they have two outstanding skill-position players. The Rams have a spectacular quarterback, three dangerous wideouts and a running back, Marshall Faulk , who should count as two weapons because he's so versatile.... Most of the offensive line is solid, and then there's Orlando Pace . He might not always crush people like he should, but he's still one of the top five tackles in the league.... I think you'll see teams blitz a lot; otherwise Kurt Warner is unstoppable. He got banged up last year, and maybe he'll rush his reads because he's worried about getting hit in the head.... The defense will be more athletic and active. Aeneas Williams still has what it takes, and he'll be faster on turf. I also like Kim Herring , who may not be terrific against the run or the pass but is good against both and is smart. That's important because I'm not sure if Adam Archuleta will be ready. They're asking him to switch positions and start at safety as a rookie, which is equivalent to putting a rookie at quarterback.... Kevin Carter dogged it last year, so getting rid of him will help.... Grant Wistrom isn't the most gifted pass rusher, but he makes up for it with his effort, cunning and toughness." In the Year 2000 Record: 10-6 (second in NFC West) NFL rank (rush/pass/total) Offense: 17/1/1 Defense: 13/27/23 2001 Strength of Schedule NFL Rank: 9 Opponents' 2000 winning percentage: .512 Games against playoff teams: 7

It wasn't exactly an all-out blitz, but Mike Martz didn't like the line of questioning -- and he didn't run from it. A few days into his second training camp as the Rams' coach, Martz was asked if he wished he had devoted more attention to his defensive players during the team's disappointing 2000 season. Walking off the practice field at Western Illinois in late July, Martz became hotter than the sweltering sun as he pondered the question's implications: Had Martz, former coach Dick Vermeil's offensive coordinator during the Rams' Super Bowl-winning '99 season, failed to make the team's defenders feel as loved as had his touchy-feely predecessor?

"I coached those defensive guys the same way I coached the offensive guys," Martz said sharply. "I don't care how many dinners Dick took them to or how many times he put his arm around them. Those guys can rip me all they want, but the bottom line is, they didn't produce or perform, and that's why they're not here."

Forgive Martz for being defensive, because last year's team certainly wasn't. St. Louis surrendered 471 points (28 more than the next-worst team), gave up 29.4 per game and held just one opponent under 20. In the off-season Martz got out his sling blade and hacked at the wreckage of the previous season. The defense will have as many as eight new starters, along with three new coaches.

While Martz's high-speed offense remained the greatest show on earth, the second-greatest show was whichever team's offense was playing the Rams. Even the innocuous Buccaneers looked like a run-and-gun outfit against St. Louis, rolling up 446 yards in a 38-35 victory last Dec. 18 that nearly squashed the Rams' playoff hopes. On the flight home from Tampa halfback Marshall Faulk, who was the league MVP last season, approached Martz and pleaded, "Let me play cornerback" in the regular-season finale in New Orleans. "We were in a desperate situation," Faulk says. "I wasn't trying to disrespect anyone."

Under the circumstances, failure to show respect would not have been inappropriate. By then many Rams were furious at two defensive leaders, end Kevin Carter and cornerback Todd Lyght, for what they perceived as lack of effort. Both players were bothered by the team's failure to meet their contract demands in the wake of Pro Bowl seasons in '99, and their performances fell off dramatically. After the season Carter was shipped to the Titans for a first-round draft pick; Lyght's contract expired and he was not re-signed. (The Lions picked him up.) Several other defenders were released, including Super Bowl hero Mike Jones, now a backup inside linebacker with the Steelers. Martz also jettisoned defensive coordinator Peter Giunta, whose varied schemes were regarded as confounding by some players, and replaced him with Lovie Smith, a protégé of Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy and the Buccaneers' linebackers coach for the previous five seasons.

Among the free agents signed as replacements were free safety Kim Herring, a former Ravens starter; Mark Fields, a Pro Bowl outside linebacker for the Saints; and outside linebacker Don Davis, formerly of the Bucs. On draft day St. Louis pried six-time Pro Bowl cornerback Aeneas Williams from the Cardinals for second- and fourth-round picks, then used six of their first eight selections on defensive players. Two first-rounders are projected as starters: defensive tackle Damione Lewis, whose quick inside burst has been compared to the Bucs' All-Pro Warren Sapp, and safety Adam Archuleta, a converted linebacker whom Smith likens to Tampa Bay's hard-hitting John Lynch.

Take the players' names off the backs of their jerseys, and even the Rams' vets might get confused. But at least Smith's scheme, a knockoff of Dungy's successful system, will be simple. Right now the players are lovin' Lovie, who promises lots of two-deep coverage and a single-minded pursuit of excellence. "What our offense does is great," Smith says, "but as far as we're concerned, we have to win the football game ourselves."

The conventional wisdom is that the electrifying Rams, barring an injury to Faulk or quarterback Kurt Warner, need only an average defense to return to the Super Bowl. Martz doesn't want to hear that. "Our goal is never to be average in anything," he says. "That would be hard to stomach."

Issue date: September 3, 2001