Bernie: Bring back . . . Mike Martz?
• By Bernie Miklasz
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_c370ba7d-7fab-5ff6-ad6c-f9012ef00717.html
You may have noticed that the Rams are struggling to find a qualified individual to fill their vacancy at offensive coordinator.
So it's time to go for the Hail Mary pass ...
Why, hello Mike Martz.
OK, the very thought of Mad Mike returning to St. Louis as OC is so preposterous and incomprehensible on so many levels I know it's wrong to write about it. But I can't help it; I want to go trolling. Blame it on Rams nostalgia.
I'm assuming most readers are familiar with the Martz history in St. Louis. He was truly one of the most creative, innovative, daring, forward-thinking offensive minds in the modern era.
Martz choreographed the "Greatest Show on Turf," the only NFL offense to score 500+ points for three consecutive seasons, 1999 through 2001.
It was the ideal convergence of talent and intellect. Martz had Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Orlando Pace, Az-Hakim, Ricky Proehl and so many others ... and Mad Mike released a scoring frenzy on overwhelmed NFL defenses.
The 1999-2001 Rams averaged 32.7 points per game, went 37-11, won two NFC Championships, and captured Super Bowl 34.
In that three-year stretch of 48 regular-season games, the Rams offense scored 30 or more points 31 times (topping 40 on 12 occasions) and were held to fewer than 15 points only once.
Think about that ... fewer than 15 points in only 1 of 48 games.
That's just crazy.
For context, consider: from 2007 season through 2014, the Rams scored fewer than 15 points in 63 of 128 games — roughly 49 percent.
With Jeff Fisher as head coach the last three seasons, the Rams have scored fewer than 15 points 17 times in 48 games, or 35 percent.
Of course, it the Greatest Show broke up, sooner than expected. But over Martz's six full seasons as the offensive coordinator (1999) or head coach (2000-2004), the Rams led the NFL with an average of 27.6 points per game, and were tied with Philadelphia for the most wins (64.)
Since Martz left the building in 2005 with a serious health issue, the Rams have averaged 17.8 points per game, which ranks 30th among 32 teams. And they rank 31st in the league with 49 wins.
(Yeah, I know that Martz also played a major role in the Rams' demise, so you don't have to send huffy emails or make nasty comments. Of course he made mistakes — big ones — as did everyone in the Rams' front office.)
Overall the Martz Years provided a lot of offense, points, entertainment and non-stop action. His teams could be frustrating, but the Rams were rarely if ever dull.
So you'll have to excuse me for getting a little nostalgic here. I sort of miss seeing things like deep passes, touchdowns, long runs, exotic plays, victories, thrills, playoff games, postseason wins.
The Rams have been so awful and boring for so long, Mad Mike looks even better in retrospect, warts and all.
Remember how so many irate fans would blow a gasket and all but threaten to march to the Edward Jones Dome with pitchforks in hand every time Martz botched a timeout, or made an unwise decision to challenge an officials' call?
Those things don't seem quite so outrageous anymore, eh? We were spoiled as could be. If the present-day Rams hung up 30 points a game and won games on a regular basis, no one would be having convulsions over the poor usage of a timeout.
So the idea of Martz coming back to Rams Park for a second act ...
Well, it's fantasy. It isn't going to happen. And if I'm honest about this, a Martz return doesn't make much sense. Not in a pragmatic way.
Let's review the reasons:
1. Coach Fisher would never agree to allow Martz to run the kind of offense that Martz prefers. Fisher likes leather-helmet football. Martz likes to run complex, dramatic, exotic stuff that would confuse the folks at NASA. This would be possibly the worst philosophical mix in the history of professional sports. And about eight games into it, Fisher and Martz would be throwing punches, and police would be called to Rams Park to haul them away.
2. The Rams don't have the kind of talent to make a Martz offense fly. No Warner, Faulk, Bruce, Holt, etc. Even though I think Martz could move things forward a bit, a poorly manned aerial experiment would crash.
3. If Martz came back to town as the OC, he would immediately become the most popular figure (non-player) at Rams Park. No one else would be close, including Fisher. Do you think that Coach Fisher wants to be upstaged by Martz? Do you think he wants fans pleading for Martz to take over as head coach?
4. If Martz returned to install a Mad Mike offense, the town would be buzzing. The Rams would immediately generate curiosity, excitement, and a higher level of expectation. Even those (like me) who are convinced that a Fisher-Martz coaching union would blow up welcome the chance to watch SOMETHING that's interesting, colorful, risky and perhaps a bit dangerous in that everything-will-go-boom kind of way.
5. And if a Martz hiring pumped up the excitement, the Rams would sell more tickets, and the Dome would have larger crowds in 2015. I know what you are thinking: wait a second, wouldn't an improvement in ticket sales be a positive thing? Under normal circumstances, yes, absolutely. But we live in strange times.
The owner is plotting to move the Rams to Los Angeles for 2016, and I'd venture a guess that the last thing the owner wants is a stimulated STL football audience scooping up more tickets than anticipated.
When (if?) Stan Kroenke proceeds to seek league approval to move the team, part of the strategy will be to convince NFL owners that the Rams are suffering from soft support in St. Louis. So in these circumstances the excitement, the buzz, an upturn in ticket sales, enlivened action, a fresh reason to watch the team, bigger crowds, and momentum to build a new stadium in St. Louis ... well, none of that would be helpful to the owner's case for justifying a move.
Thanks for reading ...
— Bernie
