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Fast company Rams like their team speed
Posted: Friday January 28, 2000 07:30 PM
By Josie Karp, CNNSI.com ATLANTA (CNNSI.com) -- The Rams didn't just blow teams out this season. They blew right by them. The Rams rewrote an old adage and may have set a new precedent: Team speed kills. "A lot of teams have one or two guys that are extremely quick, extremely fast,” says quarterback and league MVP Kurt Warner. “But we've got whole units that are surrounded that way and I think when you can match up against a team when you've got speed in every position coming from every direction I think its hard to stop." Warner should know because his statistics back him up. Through 16 games, he has thrown for over 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns and just 13 interceptions. And just as impressive, Warner’s completion rate is 65.1% while his quarterback rating is 109. 2. Both tops in the league. "Someone said, ‘speed kills’ and without a doubt you know what our whole defense is based upon," said defensive end Grant Winstrom. "Everybody's usually smaller than whoever they are playing against but those big guys have a hard time handling movement, so we're very quick front, move around, we stunt, we slant." Defense, offense, and special teams. Every Rams unit was built with the team's unique speed vision. "A lot off things go into the puzzle for us when we talk speed and we basically break everything down to play speed, “ says vice-president and director of player personnel Charley Armey. “So we want to know for example, if a DB can run a 4.37 straight ahead, can he play 4.37 with back pedal, plant, close and driving the ball. So we analyze speed a little different than most people do." Players say it’s a philosophy and a mentality that is transferred directly on to the field. "We try to play fast,” says running back Marshall Faulk who is averaging 5.5 yards per carry and knows a little something about speed. “We try to make things happen. We try to attack and we try to get after you. And with that it makes a team that much faster when they're attacking. You can be fast and not attacking. But we attack, we come after people." On an artificial surface like the one they play on at home and the one at the Georgia Dome, the Rams speed is accelerated. Players can stop, cut back and change direction quickly because of the sure footing. It's one of the reasons Rams wide receivers rack up so many yards after the catch. "Before you know it you're turning around looking back saying to yourself, 'whose man is that?'” says wide receiver Az-Zahir Hakim who has scored eight times this year. “All of a sudden we're bobbing and weaving in the end zone." Head coach Dick Vermeil attributes his team’s success to the type of pass plays his Rams use plus of course, there’s that speed thing. "We average over eight yards per pass attempt which is outstanding. And a high percentage for that reason for that high average per pass attempt is ball being caught close to the line of scrimmage and then an explosive player with quickness and speed taking it downfield and making other defenders miss." Having played the Rams before, the Titans have an advantage. At least they've seen the difference between the Rams on film and the team on the field. "I think it would be tougher for an opponent to try to duplicate our speed on the practice field,” Vermeil said. “And I think they would notice a drastic difference between the tempo with which they practice the game and the tempo with which they have to compete against us successfully." Players on Tennessee’s defense know they will be tested, but they also think if they just do their job, they can slow the Rams down. "As difficult as it is get in the right place and make the tackle that's what you’ve got to do,” said linebacker Jason Fisk. “Get them down on the ground so they can't get any yards. That's how you slow them down." Fellow linebacker Barron Wortham thinks the Titans can do more than that. "It's all about getting the right matchups out there. Knowing who's on the field and who's not on the field. If we get the right matchups it won't be that difficult stopping them." The Rams have reduced the Super Bowl to a game of tag. The Titans are it.
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