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Caption this OTA Pic
- By rdw
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 25 Replies
"OK Jared, lesson number one. I want you to forget everything you were taught last year."
Day #2 of OTA's, in photos!
- By DaveFan'51
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 44 Replies
Just for your enjoyment, and commentary!
" Do you think there is just a LITTLE Holding going on here!!"
Do you notice the Player Number on the Sled!?! " #75!" They are probably being told to Play like you Deacon Jones and your pissed!!"
" Do you think there is just a LITTLE Holding going on here!!"
Do you notice the Player Number on the Sled!?! " #75!" They are probably being told to Play like you Deacon Jones and your pissed!!"
McVay must be engaged
- By Merlin
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 12 Replies
Cleary there's a woman fattening him up. Dude looks like he's puttin on some pounds! 
Joyner: Rams offense is going to score TDs
- By Merlin
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 15 Replies
In his recent one on one with Dani he mentioned that, plus the fact they're making it competitive out there. Now, I know it's a small thing to get excited about, but F it I'm pumped!
NFL will have medical evaluation tent on sidelines
- By Prime Time
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 9 Replies
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/05/23/nfl-will-have-medical-evaluation-tent-on-sidelines/
NFL will have medical evaluation tent on sidelines
Posted by Mike Florio on May 23, 2017
On a day when the NFL would have been wise to borrow college football’s overtime procedures, pro football is instead adopting something else from the amateur game.
Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters at the conclusion of the ownership meeting in Chicago that the league will use a medical tent on the sidelines in 2017. The University of Alabama first employed the device in 2015, aimed at preventing fans or media from seeing physical examinations that otherwise would in plain view of opponents, media, and fans. Other programs began to adopt the device in 2016.
While useful for the evaluation of various physical ailments without taking him to the locker room, it may not be an appropriate substitute for a locker-room concussion evaluation, which benefits from the player being removed from the noise and the elements of the playing area, possibly with a chance to remove his shoulder pads and relax a bit, allowing for a meaningful assessment of his cognitive abilities.
The tent will inject a high degree of secrecy to the medical evaluation process, putting the media and fans at the mercy of the accuracy of the in-game updates by hiding what sideline reporters or binocular-equipped journalists in the press box otherwise would be able to observe in plain view.
While some teams may still do basic evaluations and manipulations in the open, it makes plenty of sense to use and device available to keep prying eyes from nothing anything more than the bare minimum about a given player’s health.
NFL will have medical evaluation tent on sidelines
Posted by Mike Florio on May 23, 2017
On a day when the NFL would have been wise to borrow college football’s overtime procedures, pro football is instead adopting something else from the amateur game.
Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters at the conclusion of the ownership meeting in Chicago that the league will use a medical tent on the sidelines in 2017. The University of Alabama first employed the device in 2015, aimed at preventing fans or media from seeing physical examinations that otherwise would in plain view of opponents, media, and fans. Other programs began to adopt the device in 2016.
While useful for the evaluation of various physical ailments without taking him to the locker room, it may not be an appropriate substitute for a locker-room concussion evaluation, which benefits from the player being removed from the noise and the elements of the playing area, possibly with a chance to remove his shoulder pads and relax a bit, allowing for a meaningful assessment of his cognitive abilities.
The tent will inject a high degree of secrecy to the medical evaluation process, putting the media and fans at the mercy of the accuracy of the in-game updates by hiding what sideline reporters or binocular-equipped journalists in the press box otherwise would be able to observe in plain view.
While some teams may still do basic evaluations and manipulations in the open, it makes plenty of sense to use and device available to keep prying eyes from nothing anything more than the bare minimum about a given player’s health.
How Mike Martz and The Greatest Show on Turf kicked off an NFL revolution
- By Alaskan Ram
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 21 Replies
https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/05/23/rams-greatest-show-on-turf-mike-martz-dick-vermeil
Ben Baskin
Tuesday May 23rd, 2017
Sometimes a catalyzing event occurs, one so extreme that it disrupts the natural order, compelling a species to change. Those are the anomalies, the aberrations, the hurricanes and tornados, extreme mutations, phenomena that upend the system. In those instances the evolution is rapid, sudden and without warning. In biology, they call it the punctuated equilibrium theory. In football, we called it the Greatest Show on Turf.
Dick Vermeil got his first NFL coaching job in 1969, hired by Marv Levy to be a special teams coach with the Los Angeles Rams. Roman Gabriel, the Rams quarterback that season, threw for 2,549 yards and completed 54.4% of his passes—good enough to be named NFL MVP. Thirty seasons later Vermeil returned to the Rams, this time to be the head coach of a very different team, in a new city, with a very different MVP under center.
“I saw the evolution,” Vermeil says. “It was slow. Every year teams threw a little more, scoring went up a little more. When you have 32 teams, they don’t all transcend to a new philosophy at the same time.”
But the 1999 Rams transcended. For decades the NFL had been slowly inching towards putting a greater emphasis on the passing game, with incremental changes coming every year. But then along came the Rams. And they blew the whole damn thing up.
In the three decades between 1969 and ’98 the average quarterback rating in the NFL rose 6.7 points, passing totals increased 27.5 yards per game and completion percentage grew 4.0%. In the seasons since 1999, when those Rams upended and redefined the NFL’s status quo, QB rating has risen 11.0 points, passing output 36.5 yards, and completion percentage 6.4%—nearly double the increase, in roughly half the time.
The Rams were the tornado, the anomaly that compelled a sudden and rapid evolution of football. They were the catalyzing event that disrupted the equipoise of the NFL, a punctuated equilibrium of pigskin.
“At the time, we knew we were doing something special,” Rams receiver Torry Holt says. “But we didn’t know we were revolutionizing the game.”
Last season, the Atlanta Falcons scored 540 offensive points, which tied the Rams for seventh most in NFL history. The Falcons’ offense, led by Kyle Shanahan, was as close to a direct descendent of the 1999 St. Louis team as we’ve seen. Aaron Rodgers leading the NFL in fantasy points? Thank the Rams. Record books that have been razed and rewritten? Blame the Rams. Running backs who now need to run routes and catch passes as part of their job description; tight ends who now are no longer glorified blockers, but athletic freaks and dynamic pass catchers; receivers who now are no longer just big and tall and asked to run one route, but small and shifty and running every route in the book? Rams, Rams, Rams.
“The more and more I sit back and think about it,” Holt says, “I think, damn maybe we were ahead of our time.”
But, as is the case with all innovators, the Rams were not without their detractors. Like the mutants in X-Men, they were seen as unnatural, abnormal, freaks going against the world’s accepted norms. During the 1999 season, Mike Silver summed up the sentiment of the time by writing, in a Sports Illustrated magazine story, that the St. Louis offense “seems to violate all the tenets of traditional football.” Both the players and the coaches could hear the cries from stodgy commentators who felt they were desecrating the game of football.
“You cannot imagine how blistering the critics were, it was like we defamed the pope” offensive coordinator Mike Martz says. “Now it’s celebrated.”
Martz could hear the Rams own fans screaming from the stands, imploring him to run the ball more. Now the Patriots are hailed as geniuses when Tom Brady throws 20 consecutive passes. Now the Saints are lauded for their diverse offensive scheme. Now coordinators study the ’99 Rams play-calling, their route concepts, their system. Now the ’99 Rams are emulated.
“The more and more I sit back and think about it,” Holt says, “I think, damn maybe we were ahead of our time.”
As a high schooler in the late 1960s, Martz frequently sat in the bleachers at San Diego Stadium, where he would watch, spellbound, as Don Coryell’s Aztecs dismantled opponent after opponent with a high-powered offensive attack that was nearly impossible to stop. What struck Martz was how different it was.
Martz remembers marveling at how several of Coryell’s opponents would agree to play with a running clock in the second half of games, to spare themselves more embarrassment. He yearned to play for Coryell’s teams, but four years later he found himself suiting up against them as a tight end for Fresno State. Yet, as his playing career morphed into a coaching career, he remained transfixed by Coryell’s vision for what football could be.
“It all began with Don, to be honest with you,” Martz says. “We just expanded upon what Don did.”
The so-called “Air Coryell” system is a vertical offensive attack, one that eschewed the traditional pro set formation (one running back, one fullback, one tight end, two wide receivers) by putting multiple receivers on the field at once and spreading them out wide. It emphasized the passing game, forced defenses to defend the entire field, and, above all else, was exciting as hell to watch.
Coryell later went on to coach the Chargers, his coaching tree branching off to include Ernie Zampese, Joe Gibbs, Norv Turner, Al Saunders, and eventually Martz, his most renegade disciple. Martz studied Gibbs, coached with Zampese and with Saunders, and served under Turner, borrowing from each to eventually form his own version of the offense.
But while the seed had been planted decades earlier, the breakthrough moment came with a joke cracked in a cramped meeting room in Ashburn, Va., circa 1998. Turner, then the Redskins head coach, sat beside Martz, his offensive coordinator, dissecting film and debating ways to make their football team more competitive. They realized that their offense typically faced about eight third downs a game, yet they prepared dozens of designed “third down plays” every week.
Turner remarked that the third-down plays Martz was drawing up were some of his favorites, but he lamented that they were being wasted. He quipped that maybe they should run their third-down plays on first down, to pass when NFL dogma dictated that coaches should run.
“We both just laughed,” Martz says. “Then the next year I leave for the Rams and we started making it up as we went.”
Martz built upon the philosophy, expanded it, tweaked it, evolved it— making it fit his players and his vision. Never before had the system approached the level of success that Vermeil, Martz and the Rams achieved with it, largely because never before had the system seen the level or breadth of talent that the Rams possessed.
“Let’s be honest,” Warner says, “we had a collection of talent that was ridiculous.”
It is a misnomer that Vermeil had to be dragged to compliance to allow Martz to install his offense, that he was a begrudging witness to the revolution. Vermeil took over the Rams in 1997 and in his first two seasons won nine games and lost 23. But amid the losses, he had been slowly restocking his offensive arsenal. When he took inventory of his vast menagerie of talent in the offseason prior to the ’99 season, he realized he could no longer be a ground-and-pound coach.
The best coaches adapt to their roster. So he hired Martz and set him free.
“When I brought [Martz] here I promised him I’d let him do it,” Vermeil says. “I told him: this is your baby. All I’ll do is support you.”
While the 1999 team shocked the football world with their sudden arrival—a nine-win increase over the previous season, a record-setting offense and a Super Bowl win—Vermeil had really been assembling the pieces to make the system hum for a while. For his first move as head coach, Vermeil traded four picks to acquire the New York Jets first overall pick in the 1997 draft, widely considered a weak draft. Vermeil used the selection on Orlando Pace, who went on to become one of the best left tackles in league history and the unsung fulcrum of the Rams machine.
“It took a couple of years,” Vermeil says, “but the whole process eventually came to fruition.”
Peter Read Miller
The process started by retaining Isaac Bruce, a second round pick for the Rams in 1994. It involved the prescient and serendipitous signing of Kurt Warner in ’98, a grocer at the local Hy-Vee in Cedar Falls, Iowa just four years prior, as third-string quarterback. That preceded the unheralded drafting of speedy Az-Zahir Hakim in the fourth round of the ’98 draft, and the free agent pick up of crafty veteran Ricky Proehl that same year. It was officially set in motion with the heist of Marshall Faulk, in a trade from the Colts as a result of a contract dispute; and it culminated with the selection of Torry Holt with the sixth pick in ‘99.
“Let’s be honest,” Warner says, “we had a collection of talent that was ridiculous.”
It was also a collection of talent that all possessed a rare quality, an ineffable quality, a borderline cliché quality, that allowed the Coryell system to operate at a level of efficiency and efficacy that had never before been seen: high football IQ. It enabled Martz, a football savant and audacious innovator, to have full confidence in the system, allowing it to reach its full potential. Martz is the first to admit that coaches always look smarter when they have great players at their disposal.
“Once we realized how in depth and smart [Martz] was,” Holt says, “and he realized that we were equally the same, that helped with the creativity of the play calling. I think some coordinators have those kind of plays in mind, but it’s another thing to have the confidence in the players to call those plays. I think that’s what allowed us to be different.”
In that era of the NFL, defense dominated football. The “zone dog” blitz concept, popularized by Buddy Ryan, had been regularly giving offenses fits, and in an attempt to combat it, teams were forced to keep their running backs and tight ends in to block, oftentimes sending only two receivers out on pass patterns. As a result, offenses had become entirely predictable.
Martz did away with that. Completely. He’d empty his backfield, split Faulk out wide with four receivers, daring the defense to blitz. It was also the perfect system for Faulk— a gifted pass catcher, and skilled route runner— who racked up 1,048 receiving yards that year, the most for a running back in NFL history.
“It was the antithesis at the time of the way the game was being played,” Martz says. “We just said, if you can cover everybody God bless you, but I bet you can’t.”
The Rams passed a whole lot, and by using the pass to set up the run, Martz reversed the common thinking at the time. But contrary to how history remembers them, the Rams were more than happy to run the ball once they attained a comfortable lead. Faulk finished the season with 1,381 yards, a career high and good for fifth in the league. In the second half of games the Rams had the sixth-largest proportion of rush plays in the NFL, and they had the largest ratio of runs in the fourth quarter.
“I like running the football,” Martz says, “but I like running the football well.”
John Biever
The Rams did end up using their third-down plays on first down, just like Turner had joked, passing on a league-leading 59% of such downs. And those plays proved to be wildly successful, netting them 7.6 yards per attempt—11% more than the rest of the NFL averaged on attempts that year on all downs. They scored touchdowns on 7.4% of those first down passes, nearly twice the league average across all pass attempts.
The system proved to be an ideal fit for Warner, who took over as starter after Trent Green was injured in the team’s third preseason game. “I came from arena football,” Warner says, “so I had a different mentality than a lot of people. I expected to score every time I touched the ball.”
Martz also, in football parlance, did a lot of “formationing” and personnel changes— something he says he “kind of stole” from studying Gibbs’ Redskins squads. That means that the Rams would often run the same play out of several different formations, with a variety of personnel on the field. They purposefully toyed with defenses, sending players in motion, sometimes changing their formation three times before the snap.
“Half the time defenses were so misaligned and had people in the wrong places, they couldn’t get lined up at the snap of the ball,” Martz says. “They just hadn’t seen any of that before.”
The system was ideal for the St. Louis receivers— which had four dynamic and well-rounded pass-catchers, able to run every route in the route tree, utilize double moves, and spread the field in a way that had also never before been seen. Their playbook was filled with 30-yard throws—dig routes that broke 25 yards down the field with the quarterback taking a seven-step drop. (Hence why Pace, the left tackle, and the entire offensive line was so imperative to the offense’s success, sometimes needing to bide the quarterback three or four seconds in the pocket for the play to develop.)
“That was unheard of,” Holt says, repeating a common refrain. “The league had never seen anything like that before.”
Or as Bruce puts it: “It was like when Muhammad Ali first came on the scene.”
The NFL simply didn’t know how to react. Holt remembers watching defenders cycle through different pairs of cleats pre-game, in a futile attempt to find the right footing that might allow them to stymie the Rams attack. Bruce remembers receivers on other teams longing to play in St. Louis, asking him to put in a good word. Warner remembers opponents approaching him and remarking that their offense resembled a video game, both unfair and unstoppable.
But once the NFL saw what could be accomplished—two Super Bowl trips in three years with an offensive salvo of excitement and a subsequent surge in fan interest—they were hooked. After the Rams ended up narrowly losing to the Patriots in the 2001 Super Bowl—after a three-year stretch in which they scored 1,659 points, an NFL record—the league began making changes that favored offenses.
They adjusted rules (and made it a point of emphasis to strictly enforce existing ones) that provided receivers with more space and freedom at the line of scrimmage, more safety across the middle of the field, and more leeway in pass interference calls. This coincided with separate rule changes that made the quarterback a walking “Do Not Touch” sign. It was if the league was setting up artificial parameters so that other teams could replicate what the Rams achieved.
“I think the National Football League fell in love with that part of the game and wanted to see more of it because of the reaction of the fans,” Holt says. “They took what we were doing and tried to transition the game and make things easier for offenses.”
L.G. Patterson/AP
In 1999, Warner’s 109.2 passer rating ranked as the second-best all time. Now, it has fallen to 13th. His 65.1% competition percentage was the third best mark in league history. Now, it’s fallen all the way to 74th, surpassed by three other seasons by Warner himself. At the time, the Rams 32.9 points per game was the second highest total ever. Now, it ranks ninth. Actually, of the top 20 highest scoring teams in NFL history, 17 are either teams that came after the Rams three-year run or those Rams teams themselves.
“There’s times we do say, oh man what would we do if we were in this league,” Warner admits. “But at the same time we take great pride in the fact that we were able to accomplish all we did before those rules were made.”
Vermeil mentions how that offense will “soon have five Hall of Fame” players, projecting the imminent inductions of Bruce and Holt to join Warner, Faulk and Pace. Many have surmised that the two receivers have only been snubbed by the Hall for this long because of how good those Rams teams were, claiming that their success was merely a result of the conditions on the team they played for.
That idea rankles Martz. He points out that the game is about, has always been about, players. Not systems, not coaches. And for a few years there, he had a collection of offensive talent that was rare and fleeting.
“We had a three-year run that I don’t know if anyone will ever be able to duplicate,” Martz says. “I don’t think the league will ever see anything like that again.”
That’s because they were the first. Anything that comes after is merely a facsimile, one that will never be able to match the radical innovation that shocked our systems and changed a sport. No matter how many rule changes are made, no matter how much the NFL tries, there will forever be only one Greatest Show on Turf.
Ben Baskin
Tuesday May 23rd, 2017
Sometimes a catalyzing event occurs, one so extreme that it disrupts the natural order, compelling a species to change. Those are the anomalies, the aberrations, the hurricanes and tornados, extreme mutations, phenomena that upend the system. In those instances the evolution is rapid, sudden and without warning. In biology, they call it the punctuated equilibrium theory. In football, we called it the Greatest Show on Turf.
Dick Vermeil got his first NFL coaching job in 1969, hired by Marv Levy to be a special teams coach with the Los Angeles Rams. Roman Gabriel, the Rams quarterback that season, threw for 2,549 yards and completed 54.4% of his passes—good enough to be named NFL MVP. Thirty seasons later Vermeil returned to the Rams, this time to be the head coach of a very different team, in a new city, with a very different MVP under center.
“I saw the evolution,” Vermeil says. “It was slow. Every year teams threw a little more, scoring went up a little more. When you have 32 teams, they don’t all transcend to a new philosophy at the same time.”
But the 1999 Rams transcended. For decades the NFL had been slowly inching towards putting a greater emphasis on the passing game, with incremental changes coming every year. But then along came the Rams. And they blew the whole damn thing up.
In the three decades between 1969 and ’98 the average quarterback rating in the NFL rose 6.7 points, passing totals increased 27.5 yards per game and completion percentage grew 4.0%. In the seasons since 1999, when those Rams upended and redefined the NFL’s status quo, QB rating has risen 11.0 points, passing output 36.5 yards, and completion percentage 6.4%—nearly double the increase, in roughly half the time.
The Rams were the tornado, the anomaly that compelled a sudden and rapid evolution of football. They were the catalyzing event that disrupted the equipoise of the NFL, a punctuated equilibrium of pigskin.
“At the time, we knew we were doing something special,” Rams receiver Torry Holt says. “But we didn’t know we were revolutionizing the game.”
Last season, the Atlanta Falcons scored 540 offensive points, which tied the Rams for seventh most in NFL history. The Falcons’ offense, led by Kyle Shanahan, was as close to a direct descendent of the 1999 St. Louis team as we’ve seen. Aaron Rodgers leading the NFL in fantasy points? Thank the Rams. Record books that have been razed and rewritten? Blame the Rams. Running backs who now need to run routes and catch passes as part of their job description; tight ends who now are no longer glorified blockers, but athletic freaks and dynamic pass catchers; receivers who now are no longer just big and tall and asked to run one route, but small and shifty and running every route in the book? Rams, Rams, Rams.
“The more and more I sit back and think about it,” Holt says, “I think, damn maybe we were ahead of our time.”
But, as is the case with all innovators, the Rams were not without their detractors. Like the mutants in X-Men, they were seen as unnatural, abnormal, freaks going against the world’s accepted norms. During the 1999 season, Mike Silver summed up the sentiment of the time by writing, in a Sports Illustrated magazine story, that the St. Louis offense “seems to violate all the tenets of traditional football.” Both the players and the coaches could hear the cries from stodgy commentators who felt they were desecrating the game of football.
“You cannot imagine how blistering the critics were, it was like we defamed the pope” offensive coordinator Mike Martz says. “Now it’s celebrated.”
Martz could hear the Rams own fans screaming from the stands, imploring him to run the ball more. Now the Patriots are hailed as geniuses when Tom Brady throws 20 consecutive passes. Now the Saints are lauded for their diverse offensive scheme. Now coordinators study the ’99 Rams play-calling, their route concepts, their system. Now the ’99 Rams are emulated.
“The more and more I sit back and think about it,” Holt says, “I think, damn maybe we were ahead of our time.”
As a high schooler in the late 1960s, Martz frequently sat in the bleachers at San Diego Stadium, where he would watch, spellbound, as Don Coryell’s Aztecs dismantled opponent after opponent with a high-powered offensive attack that was nearly impossible to stop. What struck Martz was how different it was.
Martz remembers marveling at how several of Coryell’s opponents would agree to play with a running clock in the second half of games, to spare themselves more embarrassment. He yearned to play for Coryell’s teams, but four years later he found himself suiting up against them as a tight end for Fresno State. Yet, as his playing career morphed into a coaching career, he remained transfixed by Coryell’s vision for what football could be.
“It all began with Don, to be honest with you,” Martz says. “We just expanded upon what Don did.”
The so-called “Air Coryell” system is a vertical offensive attack, one that eschewed the traditional pro set formation (one running back, one fullback, one tight end, two wide receivers) by putting multiple receivers on the field at once and spreading them out wide. It emphasized the passing game, forced defenses to defend the entire field, and, above all else, was exciting as hell to watch.
Coryell later went on to coach the Chargers, his coaching tree branching off to include Ernie Zampese, Joe Gibbs, Norv Turner, Al Saunders, and eventually Martz, his most renegade disciple. Martz studied Gibbs, coached with Zampese and with Saunders, and served under Turner, borrowing from each to eventually form his own version of the offense.
But while the seed had been planted decades earlier, the breakthrough moment came with a joke cracked in a cramped meeting room in Ashburn, Va., circa 1998. Turner, then the Redskins head coach, sat beside Martz, his offensive coordinator, dissecting film and debating ways to make their football team more competitive. They realized that their offense typically faced about eight third downs a game, yet they prepared dozens of designed “third down plays” every week.
Turner remarked that the third-down plays Martz was drawing up were some of his favorites, but he lamented that they were being wasted. He quipped that maybe they should run their third-down plays on first down, to pass when NFL dogma dictated that coaches should run.
“We both just laughed,” Martz says. “Then the next year I leave for the Rams and we started making it up as we went.”
Martz built upon the philosophy, expanded it, tweaked it, evolved it— making it fit his players and his vision. Never before had the system approached the level of success that Vermeil, Martz and the Rams achieved with it, largely because never before had the system seen the level or breadth of talent that the Rams possessed.
“Let’s be honest,” Warner says, “we had a collection of talent that was ridiculous.”
It is a misnomer that Vermeil had to be dragged to compliance to allow Martz to install his offense, that he was a begrudging witness to the revolution. Vermeil took over the Rams in 1997 and in his first two seasons won nine games and lost 23. But amid the losses, he had been slowly restocking his offensive arsenal. When he took inventory of his vast menagerie of talent in the offseason prior to the ’99 season, he realized he could no longer be a ground-and-pound coach.
The best coaches adapt to their roster. So he hired Martz and set him free.
“When I brought [Martz] here I promised him I’d let him do it,” Vermeil says. “I told him: this is your baby. All I’ll do is support you.”
While the 1999 team shocked the football world with their sudden arrival—a nine-win increase over the previous season, a record-setting offense and a Super Bowl win—Vermeil had really been assembling the pieces to make the system hum for a while. For his first move as head coach, Vermeil traded four picks to acquire the New York Jets first overall pick in the 1997 draft, widely considered a weak draft. Vermeil used the selection on Orlando Pace, who went on to become one of the best left tackles in league history and the unsung fulcrum of the Rams machine.
“It took a couple of years,” Vermeil says, “but the whole process eventually came to fruition.”
Peter Read Miller
The process started by retaining Isaac Bruce, a second round pick for the Rams in 1994. It involved the prescient and serendipitous signing of Kurt Warner in ’98, a grocer at the local Hy-Vee in Cedar Falls, Iowa just four years prior, as third-string quarterback. That preceded the unheralded drafting of speedy Az-Zahir Hakim in the fourth round of the ’98 draft, and the free agent pick up of crafty veteran Ricky Proehl that same year. It was officially set in motion with the heist of Marshall Faulk, in a trade from the Colts as a result of a contract dispute; and it culminated with the selection of Torry Holt with the sixth pick in ‘99.
“Let’s be honest,” Warner says, “we had a collection of talent that was ridiculous.”
It was also a collection of talent that all possessed a rare quality, an ineffable quality, a borderline cliché quality, that allowed the Coryell system to operate at a level of efficiency and efficacy that had never before been seen: high football IQ. It enabled Martz, a football savant and audacious innovator, to have full confidence in the system, allowing it to reach its full potential. Martz is the first to admit that coaches always look smarter when they have great players at their disposal.
“Once we realized how in depth and smart [Martz] was,” Holt says, “and he realized that we were equally the same, that helped with the creativity of the play calling. I think some coordinators have those kind of plays in mind, but it’s another thing to have the confidence in the players to call those plays. I think that’s what allowed us to be different.”
In that era of the NFL, defense dominated football. The “zone dog” blitz concept, popularized by Buddy Ryan, had been regularly giving offenses fits, and in an attempt to combat it, teams were forced to keep their running backs and tight ends in to block, oftentimes sending only two receivers out on pass patterns. As a result, offenses had become entirely predictable.
Martz did away with that. Completely. He’d empty his backfield, split Faulk out wide with four receivers, daring the defense to blitz. It was also the perfect system for Faulk— a gifted pass catcher, and skilled route runner— who racked up 1,048 receiving yards that year, the most for a running back in NFL history.
“It was the antithesis at the time of the way the game was being played,” Martz says. “We just said, if you can cover everybody God bless you, but I bet you can’t.”
The Rams passed a whole lot, and by using the pass to set up the run, Martz reversed the common thinking at the time. But contrary to how history remembers them, the Rams were more than happy to run the ball once they attained a comfortable lead. Faulk finished the season with 1,381 yards, a career high and good for fifth in the league. In the second half of games the Rams had the sixth-largest proportion of rush plays in the NFL, and they had the largest ratio of runs in the fourth quarter.
“I like running the football,” Martz says, “but I like running the football well.”
John Biever
The Rams did end up using their third-down plays on first down, just like Turner had joked, passing on a league-leading 59% of such downs. And those plays proved to be wildly successful, netting them 7.6 yards per attempt—11% more than the rest of the NFL averaged on attempts that year on all downs. They scored touchdowns on 7.4% of those first down passes, nearly twice the league average across all pass attempts.
The system proved to be an ideal fit for Warner, who took over as starter after Trent Green was injured in the team’s third preseason game. “I came from arena football,” Warner says, “so I had a different mentality than a lot of people. I expected to score every time I touched the ball.”
Martz also, in football parlance, did a lot of “formationing” and personnel changes— something he says he “kind of stole” from studying Gibbs’ Redskins squads. That means that the Rams would often run the same play out of several different formations, with a variety of personnel on the field. They purposefully toyed with defenses, sending players in motion, sometimes changing their formation three times before the snap.
“Half the time defenses were so misaligned and had people in the wrong places, they couldn’t get lined up at the snap of the ball,” Martz says. “They just hadn’t seen any of that before.”
The system was ideal for the St. Louis receivers— which had four dynamic and well-rounded pass-catchers, able to run every route in the route tree, utilize double moves, and spread the field in a way that had also never before been seen. Their playbook was filled with 30-yard throws—dig routes that broke 25 yards down the field with the quarterback taking a seven-step drop. (Hence why Pace, the left tackle, and the entire offensive line was so imperative to the offense’s success, sometimes needing to bide the quarterback three or four seconds in the pocket for the play to develop.)
“That was unheard of,” Holt says, repeating a common refrain. “The league had never seen anything like that before.”
Or as Bruce puts it: “It was like when Muhammad Ali first came on the scene.”
The NFL simply didn’t know how to react. Holt remembers watching defenders cycle through different pairs of cleats pre-game, in a futile attempt to find the right footing that might allow them to stymie the Rams attack. Bruce remembers receivers on other teams longing to play in St. Louis, asking him to put in a good word. Warner remembers opponents approaching him and remarking that their offense resembled a video game, both unfair and unstoppable.
But once the NFL saw what could be accomplished—two Super Bowl trips in three years with an offensive salvo of excitement and a subsequent surge in fan interest—they were hooked. After the Rams ended up narrowly losing to the Patriots in the 2001 Super Bowl—after a three-year stretch in which they scored 1,659 points, an NFL record—the league began making changes that favored offenses.
They adjusted rules (and made it a point of emphasis to strictly enforce existing ones) that provided receivers with more space and freedom at the line of scrimmage, more safety across the middle of the field, and more leeway in pass interference calls. This coincided with separate rule changes that made the quarterback a walking “Do Not Touch” sign. It was if the league was setting up artificial parameters so that other teams could replicate what the Rams achieved.
“I think the National Football League fell in love with that part of the game and wanted to see more of it because of the reaction of the fans,” Holt says. “They took what we were doing and tried to transition the game and make things easier for offenses.”
L.G. Patterson/AP
In 1999, Warner’s 109.2 passer rating ranked as the second-best all time. Now, it has fallen to 13th. His 65.1% competition percentage was the third best mark in league history. Now, it’s fallen all the way to 74th, surpassed by three other seasons by Warner himself. At the time, the Rams 32.9 points per game was the second highest total ever. Now, it ranks ninth. Actually, of the top 20 highest scoring teams in NFL history, 17 are either teams that came after the Rams three-year run or those Rams teams themselves.
“There’s times we do say, oh man what would we do if we were in this league,” Warner admits. “But at the same time we take great pride in the fact that we were able to accomplish all we did before those rules were made.”
Vermeil mentions how that offense will “soon have five Hall of Fame” players, projecting the imminent inductions of Bruce and Holt to join Warner, Faulk and Pace. Many have surmised that the two receivers have only been snubbed by the Hall for this long because of how good those Rams teams were, claiming that their success was merely a result of the conditions on the team they played for.
That idea rankles Martz. He points out that the game is about, has always been about, players. Not systems, not coaches. And for a few years there, he had a collection of offensive talent that was rare and fleeting.
“We had a three-year run that I don’t know if anyone will ever be able to duplicate,” Martz says. “I don’t think the league will ever see anything like that again.”
That’s because they were the first. Anything that comes after is merely a facsimile, one that will never be able to match the radical innovation that shocked our systems and changed a sport. No matter how many rule changes are made, no matter how much the NFL tries, there will forever be only one Greatest Show on Turf.
The time has finally come to pay Aaron Donald what he rightfully deserves
- By JKBOGEN
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 25 Replies
The time has finally come to pay Aaron Donald what he rightfully deserves
The first day of Rams OTAs is in the books, but the fact the Rams were on the field all together for the first time including all of the rookies wasn't the big headline however. It actually was the Rams elite interior defensive lineman Aaron Donald who was a no-show at OTAs.
Donald appears to be holding out of OTAs with an impending contract negotiation under way. The Rams picked up Donald's fifth-year option, but it appears as though Donald has no interest in playing under that, and wants to be signed long-term. Can you really blame the player that was passed on by 12 teams including the one that picked him in the first round because of his undersized label? Donald was passed on for the likes of Jadeveon Clowney, Blake Bortles, Greg Robinson, Anthony Barr, Khalil Mack, Eric Ebron and Odell Beckham Jr. Donald has proven everyone who passed up on him wrong and now it's time for him to receive that contract extension that is ever-so-rewarding for a transcendent player like Donald.
When asked about why Donald missed OTAs, Sean McVay said it was an internal and non-injury related matter. Les Snead finally came out and told us all just what we speculated originally as soon as we heard the news. Donald and the Rams were in serious contract negotiations. It remains to be seen how long the Rams versus Donald saga goes on til, but he did mention them being in 'serious' discussions.
Some fans and analysts have actually pitched the idea of trading Aaron Donald, but that is just incomprehensible for me to even pay much attention to. Donald, in my honest opinion, could retire as the greatest defensive lineman of all time. He just is unblock-able, he has a nonstop motor, passion, love for the game and he is an excellent character on and off the field. Any team would be lucky to call Donald their face of the franchise and the lucky team happens to be the Rams.
It may or may not be fair to say, but this team needs to get a deal done with Donald because they haven't been able to do that in the past with the majority of their better players, most notably: Janoris Jenkins, Rodney McLeod and Trumaine Johnson. It doesn't matter now what has happened in the past, all that matters is that the Rams give Donald his contract as soon as possible.
The Rams drafted Aaron Donald with their second of two picks in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft. Ever since then Donald has been a godsend for a struggling franchise. Donald has accumulated 164 tackles, 28 sacks and four forced fumbles at defensive tackle. He has picked up accolades such as Defensive Rookie of the Year, three Pro Bowls and was even named two first-team All-Pro. All while playing on a four-year, 10.13 million dollar rookie contract. The Rams have definitely received their bang for their buck and now it is time to pay back Donald.
It's important to first realize Donald has not missed an NFL game yet, he averages more than a half of a sack per game, two and a half solo tackles per game, almost three stops per game and and three quarterback pressures a game. Spotrac puts his market value at 6 years. $109,903,154 million which averages out at $18,317,192 annually. Now take a look at how Donald stacks up against top notch peers.
Aaron Donald
Games Played %: 100%
Sacks per Game: 0.59
Solo Tackles per Game: 2.5
Stops per Game: 2.81
QB Pressures per Game: 2.94
Average Rating: 96.05
Elite Positional Averages
Games Played %: 96.88%
Sacks per Game: 0.48
Solo Tackles per Game: 2.23
Stops per Game: 2.14
QB Pressures per Game: 2.31
Average Rating: 88.61
Obviously, these numbers shouldn't surprise anyone who has seen Donald in action. According to Spotrac, Donald is projected to become the second highest paid defensive lineman in all of football only behind Ndamukong Suh. Now, in my honest and humble opinion, I think Spotrac is going to be wrong. Aaron Donald will sign a contract in some capacity that will make him the highest paid defensive lineman in the NFL.
What are your thoughts Rams fans? Do you think Donald should be the high paid player at his position? Let us know!
The first day of Rams OTAs is in the books, but the fact the Rams were on the field all together for the first time including all of the rookies wasn't the big headline however. It actually was the Rams elite interior defensive lineman Aaron Donald who was a no-show at OTAs.
Donald appears to be holding out of OTAs with an impending contract negotiation under way. The Rams picked up Donald's fifth-year option, but it appears as though Donald has no interest in playing under that, and wants to be signed long-term. Can you really blame the player that was passed on by 12 teams including the one that picked him in the first round because of his undersized label? Donald was passed on for the likes of Jadeveon Clowney, Blake Bortles, Greg Robinson, Anthony Barr, Khalil Mack, Eric Ebron and Odell Beckham Jr. Donald has proven everyone who passed up on him wrong and now it's time for him to receive that contract extension that is ever-so-rewarding for a transcendent player like Donald.
When asked about why Donald missed OTAs, Sean McVay said it was an internal and non-injury related matter. Les Snead finally came out and told us all just what we speculated originally as soon as we heard the news. Donald and the Rams were in serious contract negotiations. It remains to be seen how long the Rams versus Donald saga goes on til, but he did mention them being in 'serious' discussions.
Some fans and analysts have actually pitched the idea of trading Aaron Donald, but that is just incomprehensible for me to even pay much attention to. Donald, in my honest opinion, could retire as the greatest defensive lineman of all time. He just is unblock-able, he has a nonstop motor, passion, love for the game and he is an excellent character on and off the field. Any team would be lucky to call Donald their face of the franchise and the lucky team happens to be the Rams.
It may or may not be fair to say, but this team needs to get a deal done with Donald because they haven't been able to do that in the past with the majority of their better players, most notably: Janoris Jenkins, Rodney McLeod and Trumaine Johnson. It doesn't matter now what has happened in the past, all that matters is that the Rams give Donald his contract as soon as possible.
The Rams drafted Aaron Donald with their second of two picks in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft. Ever since then Donald has been a godsend for a struggling franchise. Donald has accumulated 164 tackles, 28 sacks and four forced fumbles at defensive tackle. He has picked up accolades such as Defensive Rookie of the Year, three Pro Bowls and was even named two first-team All-Pro. All while playing on a four-year, 10.13 million dollar rookie contract. The Rams have definitely received their bang for their buck and now it is time to pay back Donald.
It's important to first realize Donald has not missed an NFL game yet, he averages more than a half of a sack per game, two and a half solo tackles per game, almost three stops per game and and three quarterback pressures a game. Spotrac puts his market value at 6 years. $109,903,154 million which averages out at $18,317,192 annually. Now take a look at how Donald stacks up against top notch peers.
Aaron Donald
Games Played %: 100%
Sacks per Game: 0.59
Solo Tackles per Game: 2.5
Stops per Game: 2.81
QB Pressures per Game: 2.94
Average Rating: 96.05
Elite Positional Averages
Games Played %: 96.88%
Sacks per Game: 0.48
Solo Tackles per Game: 2.23
Stops per Game: 2.14
QB Pressures per Game: 2.31
Average Rating: 88.61
Obviously, these numbers shouldn't surprise anyone who has seen Donald in action. According to Spotrac, Donald is projected to become the second highest paid defensive lineman in all of football only behind Ndamukong Suh. Now, in my honest and humble opinion, I think Spotrac is going to be wrong. Aaron Donald will sign a contract in some capacity that will make him the highest paid defensive lineman in the NFL.
What are your thoughts Rams fans? Do you think Donald should be the high paid player at his position? Let us know!
Simmons: 5 Takeaways from Day 1 of OTAs
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 17 Replies
he Rams began Phase III of their offseason program on Monday with their first organized team activity practice. Here are five takeaways from the first session of OTAs.
1) Aaron Donald
absent
The biggest story from Monday was the absence of All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald. General manager Les Snead confirmed following practice that it’s a contract-related issue with Donald, and that the club was aware he would not be in attendance at OTAs.
[MORE: Snead, McVay discuss Donald’s absence from OTAs]
There have been discussions between the Rams and Donald’s representation, which Snead said have reached the serious stages.
“These things — it’s a process,” Snead said. “We like Aaron, there’s no doubt. He’s a really good player. We want him to be a Ram. That’s our goal. I think his goal is to be a Ram, and that’s what we’re working toward.”
“I’m very hopeful that this thing will get done,” Snead added.
2) Goff picking up offense well
While second-year quarterback Jared Goff is learning a new offense head coach Sean McVay, he said he’s picking up this scheme well.
“It’s a way different offense. But personally, from my brief experience with it, I’ve had a quicker time learning it — an easier time learning it,” Goff said. “I don’t know whether that’s scheme or the way it’s taught or what not. But I’ve enjoyed spending time with the coaches and picking it up pretty quickly.”
[MORE: Goff exhibiting quality leadership during offseason program]
Offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur recently praised Goff for being a quick study.
“He’s really grasped the offense surprisingly fast, especially for a new guy,” offensive coordinator LaFleur said at rookie minicamp earlier this month. “When you get a new guy in an offense, there is a transition period with that, but he’s done a nice job at picking it up at a surprisingly quick pace.”
3) Goff has added weight
Last year, Goff came in sporting 215 pounds on his 6-foot-4 frame. Now, he’s added some weight as he begins OTAs in Year 2.
“I’ve probably put on five to 10 pounds,” Goff said. “I feel good. I feel strong. I feel like this is the best shape I’ve been in in a long time. But that’s kind of been every year. Every year I’ve kind of gotten bigger and stronger and I’m still growing. I don’t think I’m growing in height, as much as I’m getting a little bit wider.”
4) Woods developing chemistry with Goff
The Rams brought in free agent wide receiver Robert Woods to be a reliable target for Goff, and so far the two are doing well to get on the same page.
“We’ve been connecting,” Woods said. “The biggest thing is we’re talking in the meetings, and we’re coming out here and seeing it on the field. We’re seeing how the defense plays, and the biggest thing is we’re coming out here and executing what we’ve talked about.”
Woods brought up one play in particular from Monday, where conversations between the two paid off.
“Just coming out here when we work, he listens. We’re out here communicating,” Woods said. “The same pass we completed today, we had the same look a few weeks ago. And this time, he threw it and it was a perfect pass. He just puts the ball in perfect position for the receivers to make plays.”
5) What about a third quarterback?
Right now, the Rams have two quarterbacks on their roster in Goff and backup Sean Mannion. Teams typically carry three if not four quarterbacks during the offseason, but right now head coach Sean McVay appeared content with where the Rams are.
“I think something we’ve got to do a good job of monitoring the pitch count with Jared and with Sean Mannion, just making sure we’re not wearing them out,” McVay said. “I think we will look into [adding another quarterback] at some point. When that happens is in the offseason or for training camp — we’re kind of evaluating that right now. The way that we’ve got it set up with going two OTAs, then kind of a phase one day and then that last OTA for the week, we feel good about those two right now and we’ve got a couple of coaches that can throw it around if necessary as well.”
View: http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/5-Takeaways-from-Day-1-of-OTAs/3ca82a9e-677f-4c92-b801-527e0dbea7ad
1) Aaron Donald
absentThe biggest story from Monday was the absence of All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald. General manager Les Snead confirmed following practice that it’s a contract-related issue with Donald, and that the club was aware he would not be in attendance at OTAs.
[MORE: Snead, McVay discuss Donald’s absence from OTAs]
There have been discussions between the Rams and Donald’s representation, which Snead said have reached the serious stages.
“These things — it’s a process,” Snead said. “We like Aaron, there’s no doubt. He’s a really good player. We want him to be a Ram. That’s our goal. I think his goal is to be a Ram, and that’s what we’re working toward.”
“I’m very hopeful that this thing will get done,” Snead added.
2) Goff picking up offense well
While second-year quarterback Jared Goff
is learning a new offense head coach Sean McVay, he said he’s picking up this scheme well.“It’s a way different offense. But personally, from my brief experience with it, I’ve had a quicker time learning it — an easier time learning it,” Goff said. “I don’t know whether that’s scheme or the way it’s taught or what not. But I’ve enjoyed spending time with the coaches and picking it up pretty quickly.”
[MORE: Goff exhibiting quality leadership during offseason program]
Offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur recently praised Goff for being a quick study.
“He’s really grasped the offense surprisingly fast, especially for a new guy,” offensive coordinator LaFleur said at rookie minicamp earlier this month. “When you get a new guy in an offense, there is a transition period with that, but he’s done a nice job at picking it up at a surprisingly quick pace.”
3) Goff has added weight
Last year, Goff came in sporting 215 pounds on his 6-foot-4 frame. Now, he’s added some weight as he begins OTAs in Year 2.
“I’ve probably put on five to 10 pounds,” Goff said. “I feel good. I feel strong. I feel like this is the best shape I’ve been in in a long time. But that’s kind of been every year. Every year I’ve kind of gotten bigger and stronger and I’m still growing. I don’t think I’m growing in height, as much as I’m getting a little bit wider.”
4) Woods developing chemistry with Goff
The Rams brought in free agent wide receiver Robert Woods
to be a reliable target for Goff, and so far the two are doing well to get on the same page.“We’ve been connecting,” Woods said. “The biggest thing is we’re talking in the meetings, and we’re coming out here and seeing it on the field. We’re seeing how the defense plays, and the biggest thing is we’re coming out here and executing what we’ve talked about.”
Woods brought up one play in particular from Monday, where conversations between the two paid off.
“Just coming out here when we work, he listens. We’re out here communicating,” Woods said. “The same pass we completed today, we had the same look a few weeks ago. And this time, he threw it and it was a perfect pass. He just puts the ball in perfect position for the receivers to make plays.”
5) What about a third quarterback?
Right now, the Rams have two quarterbacks on their roster in Goff and backup Sean Mannion
. Teams typically carry three if not four quarterbacks during the offseason, but right now head coach Sean McVay appeared content with where the Rams are.“I think something we’ve got to do a good job of monitoring the pitch count with Jared and with Sean Mannion, just making sure we’re not wearing them out,” McVay said. “I think we will look into [adding another quarterback] at some point. When that happens is in the offseason or for training camp — we’re kind of evaluating that right now. The way that we’ve got it set up with going two OTAs, then kind of a phase one day and then that last OTA for the week, we feel good about those two right now and we’ve got a couple of coaches that can throw it around if necessary as well.”
View: http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/5-Takeaways-from-Day-1-of-OTAs/3ca82a9e-677f-4c92-b801-527e0dbea7ad
Hall of Famer Cortez Kennedy dead at 48
- By Prime Time
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 11 Replies
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/19444913/pro-football-hall-famer-cortez-kennedy-dies-age-48
Seahawks icon and Hall of Famer Cortez Kennedy dead at 48
ESPN.com news services
Cortez Kennedy, an icon with the Seattle Seahawks who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012, has died at age 48, the Orlando Police Department said Tuesday.
Orlando police confirmed to ESPN that they are investigating the former defensive tackle's death but said "there is nothing suspicious to report" at this time.
Kennedy died alone, according to police.
Kennedy was a force inside, both as a run stopper and in threatening quarterbacks. The 1992 Defensive Player of the Year made eight Pro Bowls, had 58 sacks -- an unusually high total for a tackle -- and spent his entire 11-season career with Seattle, starting 153 out of 167 games.
Named to the Associated Press 1990s All-Decade team, Kennedy was credited with 448 tackles, six forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries and three interceptions during his NFL career.
"Tez was the heart and soul of the Seahawks through the 1990s and endeared himself to 12s all across the Pacific Northwest as a player who played with a selfless and relentless approach to the game," the team said in a statement.
"Tez was an NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Pro Football Hall of Famer, and Seahawks ambassador, but more than his on-field accomplishments, he was a loyal son, father, teammate and friend to many, possessing a larger-than-life personality and an infectious laugh. ... We are proud to have been represented by such a special person."
Kennedy retired in 2000, was named to the Seahawks Ring of Honor and had his No. 96 retired by the team.
"Cortez will be remembered not only for all his great achievements on the football field but how he handled himself off the field," Pro Football Hall of Fame CEO David Baker said in a statement. "He epitomized the many great values this game teaches which serves as inspiration to millions of fans."
The third overall pick in the 1990 NFL draft was an All-America honoree at the University of Miami and was on the Hurricanes' 1989 national championship team. Kennedy also was inducted into the Miami Hurricanes Ring of Honor and the university's Hall of Fame.
Jimmy Johnson, who coached Kennedy at Miami, said he was "shocked" by Kennedy's death.
Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/JimmyJohnson/status/867075534869733376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.espn.com%2Fnfl%2Fstory%2F_%2Fid%2F19444913%2Fpro-football-hall-famer-cortez-kennedy-dies-age-48
Even though he last played for the Seahawks in 2000, he remained a significant part of the organization. He was a mainstay around the team during training camp and would occasionally roll through the locker room during the regular season grabbing a few minutes with anyone -- players, coaches, media -- up for a chat.
Seahawks players past and present expressed their condolences on social media.
Kennedy also spent the past several years as an informal consultant with the New Orleans Saints because of his close relationship with general manager Mickey Loomis, dating back to their days together with the Seahawks
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Seahawks icon and Hall of Famer Cortez Kennedy dead at 48
ESPN.com news services
Cortez Kennedy, an icon with the Seattle Seahawks who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012, has died at age 48, the Orlando Police Department said Tuesday.
Orlando police confirmed to ESPN that they are investigating the former defensive tackle's death but said "there is nothing suspicious to report" at this time.
Kennedy died alone, according to police.
Kennedy was a force inside, both as a run stopper and in threatening quarterbacks. The 1992 Defensive Player of the Year made eight Pro Bowls, had 58 sacks -- an unusually high total for a tackle -- and spent his entire 11-season career with Seattle, starting 153 out of 167 games.
Named to the Associated Press 1990s All-Decade team, Kennedy was credited with 448 tackles, six forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries and three interceptions during his NFL career.
"Tez was the heart and soul of the Seahawks through the 1990s and endeared himself to 12s all across the Pacific Northwest as a player who played with a selfless and relentless approach to the game," the team said in a statement.
"Tez was an NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Pro Football Hall of Famer, and Seahawks ambassador, but more than his on-field accomplishments, he was a loyal son, father, teammate and friend to many, possessing a larger-than-life personality and an infectious laugh. ... We are proud to have been represented by such a special person."
Kennedy retired in 2000, was named to the Seahawks Ring of Honor and had his No. 96 retired by the team.
"Cortez will be remembered not only for all his great achievements on the football field but how he handled himself off the field," Pro Football Hall of Fame CEO David Baker said in a statement. "He epitomized the many great values this game teaches which serves as inspiration to millions of fans."
The third overall pick in the 1990 NFL draft was an All-America honoree at the University of Miami and was on the Hurricanes' 1989 national championship team. Kennedy also was inducted into the Miami Hurricanes Ring of Honor and the university's Hall of Fame.
Jimmy Johnson, who coached Kennedy at Miami, said he was "shocked" by Kennedy's death.
Login to view embedded media View: https://twitter.com/JimmyJohnson/status/867075534869733376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.espn.com%2Fnfl%2Fstory%2F_%2Fid%2F19444913%2Fpro-football-hall-famer-cortez-kennedy-dies-age-48
Even though he last played for the Seahawks in 2000, he remained a significant part of the organization. He was a mainstay around the team during training camp and would occasionally roll through the locker room during the regular season grabbing a few minutes with anyone -- players, coaches, media -- up for a chat.
Seahawks players past and present expressed their condolences on social media.
Kennedy also spent the past several years as an informal consultant with the New Orleans Saints because of his close relationship with general manager Mickey Loomis, dating back to their days together with the Seahawks
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Still photos from OTA Day #1
- By DaveFan'51
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 0 Replies
I though you would enjoy these:
Just for Kicks!!
Just for Kicks!!
Report: Owners vote to abolish 75-man roster cuts
- By Memphis Ram
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 17 Replies
Report: Owners vote to abolish 75-man roster cuts
Posted by Darin Gantt on May 23, 2017, 11:58 AM EDT
Getty Images
There are about to be more bodies available for those all-important fourth preseason games.
According to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com, owners have just voted to abolish the roster cuts to 75.
Those cuts, a step between the 90-man offseason roster and the 53-man regular season roster, came between the third and fourth exhibition games.
And since most teams won’t use starters in the final tune-up, that left a handful of players to play the majority of the most meaningless of the meaningless games. That gives the guys on the fringe one more game of tape to show prospective employers.
It will also make the week before the start of the regular season rather more chaotic.
Now, 1,184 players will enter the workforce at the same moment, creating a land rush for waiver claims and practice squad signings in the days leading up to the opener.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/category/rumor-mill/
Posted by Darin Gantt on May 23, 2017, 11:58 AM EDT
There are about to be more bodies available for those all-important fourth preseason games.
According to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com, owners have just voted to abolish the roster cuts to 75.
Those cuts, a step between the 90-man offseason roster and the 53-man regular season roster, came between the third and fourth exhibition games.
And since most teams won’t use starters in the final tune-up, that left a handful of players to play the majority of the most meaningless of the meaningless games. That gives the guys on the fringe one more game of tape to show prospective employers.
It will also make the week before the start of the regular season rather more chaotic.
Now, 1,184 players will enter the workforce at the same moment, creating a land rush for waiver claims and practice squad signings in the days leading up to the opener.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/category/rumor-mill/
MMQB: The 10 Best Edge Rushers in Football - Robert Quinn #7
- By Prime Time
- RAMS / NFL TALK
- 23 Replies
Click the link below and scroll down to listen to the podcast.
************************************************************
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/05/22/nfl-best-edge-players-pass-rushers
The 10 Best Edge Rushers in Football
The top 10 players at what might be the defense’s most important spot
By Gary Gramling and Andy Benoit
Steve Nehf/Getty Images; Jason O. Watson/Getty Images; Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Edge rushers, in the conversation for the most valuable non-quarterbacks in football. We’re unveiling the top 10, based on the votes of myself, Andy Benoit and researcher Cal Klyman.
I’m not sure if anything here will make you spit out your froot loops, but we do have a second-year player on the verge of making the Big Two a Big Three. Plus we have a little talk about how there are no good football movies.
* * *
Number 10—3:23 - Vic Beasley(Falcons)
Number 9—7:14 - Whitney Mercilus(Texans)
Number 8—12:58 - Chandler Jones(Cardinals)
Number 7—15:06 - Robert Quinn(Rams)
Number 6—22:51 - Justin Houston(Chiefs)
Number 5—23:56 - Cliff Avril(Seahawks)
Number 4—28:46 - Olivier Vernon(Giants)
Number 3—31:57 - Joey Bosa(Chargers)
Number 2—35:33 - Khalil Mack(Raiders)
Number 1—37:58 - Von Miller(Broncos)
Others receiving votes—41:09
************************************************************
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/05/22/nfl-best-edge-players-pass-rushers
The 10 Best Edge Rushers in Football
The top 10 players at what might be the defense’s most important spot
By Gary Gramling and Andy Benoit
Steve Nehf/Getty Images; Jason O. Watson/Getty Images; Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Edge rushers, in the conversation for the most valuable non-quarterbacks in football. We’re unveiling the top 10, based on the votes of myself, Andy Benoit and researcher Cal Klyman.
I’m not sure if anything here will make you spit out your froot loops, but we do have a second-year player on the verge of making the Big Two a Big Three. Plus we have a little talk about how there are no good football movies.
* * *
Number 10—3:23 - Vic Beasley(Falcons)
Number 9—7:14 - Whitney Mercilus(Texans)
Number 8—12:58 - Chandler Jones(Cardinals)
Number 7—15:06 - Robert Quinn(Rams)
Number 6—22:51 - Justin Houston(Chiefs)
Number 5—23:56 - Cliff Avril(Seahawks)
Number 4—28:46 - Olivier Vernon(Giants)
Number 3—31:57 - Joey Bosa(Chargers)
Number 2—35:33 - Khalil Mack(Raiders)
Number 1—37:58 - Von Miller(Broncos)
Others receiving votes—41:09
