- Joined
- Jun 20, 2010
- Messages
- 35,576
- Name
- The Dude
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=m ... kim_033012
Kurt Warner remembers the moment when the Greatest Show on Turf lost its luster, doomed to degenerate into just another good show. The tipping point came a little more than a decade ago, when the St. Louis Rams said goodbye to a key supporting cast member that the organization was unwilling to overpay.
[wrapimg=left]http://l.yimg.com/iu/api/res/1.2/15Fl0jy7Sf2PQmCtxp7gkg--/YXBwaWQ9eXZpZGVvO2NoPTI0MDtjcj0xO2N3PTE4MDtkeD0xO2R5PTE7Zmk9dWxjcm9wO2g9MjQwO3E9MTAwO3c9MTgw/http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/ipt/Az-Zahir-Hakim-GstoryPay.jpg[/wrapimg]Back in March of 2002, the departure of No. 3 wideout Az-Zahir Hakim to the Detroit Lions via free agency didn’t seem like a crushing blow to a record-setting offense that had played in two of the previous three Super Bowls. The Rams’ two-time MVP quarterback, however, knew better.
“There’s no question it changed our whole dynamic,” Warner recalled Thursday. “As good as we were, and as good as the people were around him, Az was an integral part of what we did. When we lost him, the whole dynamic of what we did offensively had to change ‐ and we had to fit guys into places they weren’t as suited to.”
Remembering the ripple effect caused by Hakim’s departure is instructive when assessing the current Super Bowl champions and their looming decision on how to deal with an unhappy but highly productive pass rusher. With Osi Umenyiora in the final year of a below-market contract with which he has long been displeased, the defensive-end-rich New York Giants are surely reticent to offer a new deal to his liking. The team may be tempted to trade him; more likely, the Giants will let him play out the string and depart a year from now.
On paper, I can see the logic of that approach, just as Warner still understands the rationale behind the Rams’ decision not to blow up their salary structure for a backup receiver. When you’re so strong in one specific area, it’s natural to adopt a philosophy favoring a reallocation of resources aimed at bolstering weaker positions.
The Giants, who also have accomplished veteran Justin Tuck and emerging star Jason Pierre-Paul at defensive end, probably believe it’s impractical ‐ if not impossible ‐ to keep all three standouts at market value. Yet I believe there’s great value in trying to make it work, because sometimes a team’s obscenely overloaded potency in one area is the driving force behind its excellence.
Hakim, a shifty slot receiver with breakaway speed, helped Warner exploit matchups for which most defenses had no answer. While star wideouts Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt commanded much of the attention, and versatile Hall of Fame halfback Marshall Faulk was the key to Mike Martz’s aggressive attack, role players like Hakim and No. 4 wideout Ricky Proehl took it to an even scarier level.
Kurt Warner remembers the moment when the Greatest Show on Turf lost its luster, doomed to degenerate into just another good show. The tipping point came a little more than a decade ago, when the St. Louis Rams said goodbye to a key supporting cast member that the organization was unwilling to overpay.
[wrapimg=left]http://l.yimg.com/iu/api/res/1.2/15Fl0jy7Sf2PQmCtxp7gkg--/YXBwaWQ9eXZpZGVvO2NoPTI0MDtjcj0xO2N3PTE4MDtkeD0xO2R5PTE7Zmk9dWxjcm9wO2g9MjQwO3E9MTAwO3c9MTgw/http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/ipt/Az-Zahir-Hakim-GstoryPay.jpg[/wrapimg]Back in March of 2002, the departure of No. 3 wideout Az-Zahir Hakim to the Detroit Lions via free agency didn’t seem like a crushing blow to a record-setting offense that had played in two of the previous three Super Bowls. The Rams’ two-time MVP quarterback, however, knew better.
“There’s no question it changed our whole dynamic,” Warner recalled Thursday. “As good as we were, and as good as the people were around him, Az was an integral part of what we did. When we lost him, the whole dynamic of what we did offensively had to change ‐ and we had to fit guys into places they weren’t as suited to.”
Remembering the ripple effect caused by Hakim’s departure is instructive when assessing the current Super Bowl champions and their looming decision on how to deal with an unhappy but highly productive pass rusher. With Osi Umenyiora in the final year of a below-market contract with which he has long been displeased, the defensive-end-rich New York Giants are surely reticent to offer a new deal to his liking. The team may be tempted to trade him; more likely, the Giants will let him play out the string and depart a year from now.
On paper, I can see the logic of that approach, just as Warner still understands the rationale behind the Rams’ decision not to blow up their salary structure for a backup receiver. When you’re so strong in one specific area, it’s natural to adopt a philosophy favoring a reallocation of resources aimed at bolstering weaker positions.
The Giants, who also have accomplished veteran Justin Tuck and emerging star Jason Pierre-Paul at defensive end, probably believe it’s impractical ‐ if not impossible ‐ to keep all three standouts at market value. Yet I believe there’s great value in trying to make it work, because sometimes a team’s obscenely overloaded potency in one area is the driving force behind its excellence.
Hakim, a shifty slot receiver with breakaway speed, helped Warner exploit matchups for which most defenses had no answer. While star wideouts Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt commanded much of the attention, and versatile Hall of Fame halfback Marshall Faulk was the key to Mike Martz’s aggressive attack, role players like Hakim and No. 4 wideout Ricky Proehl took it to an even scarier level.
