This is dejavu with McVay on the excitement and energy he has brought to the Rams similar to what Martz did in that 6 year stretch when the Rams went to the playoffs 5 times.
so many Parallels!
Faulk went from a 4.0 yard per carry runner to a 5.5 yard per carry back and doubled his touchdown production
He had one season with the Colts where he had like 587 yards and 3.0 ypc, but he just exploded into an all-time great from a player that just put up yards because of volume of plays. The key with Faulk was he finally was used correctly and got the ball in space by spreading out the defense and making the defense defend the entire field, sideline to sideline, and vertical. The running game play calling were designed to get something done versus occupying plays and just burning the time.
Gurley,
Like Faulk Gurley was limping along in battered runningback syndrome with no room to run. Going against 9 man fronts and no creativity in offensive design he was stuffed at the line of scrimmage time after time and started to be a runningback who just prepared himself for taking a hit versus trying to read a defense and make a cut.
He had a 3.2 ypc season and 885 yards, but McVay gets him and he does the exact same thing that Martz did with Faulk, Creates a passing game that creates space. Gurley starts becoming an option in the passing game, he gets used on various running plays that are creative that gave him time to read the feel and make a burst or a cut. He goes from a struggling player to a MVP candidate.
Quarterbacks development and knowledge of game.
Warner, Green, Bulger
3 guys out of the scrap pile with no signs of success in future and limited NFL experience become so smart, accurate, well-schooled fundamental QBs. They learn the game of football and see plays before they develop and have a feel for the game. Unbelievable with Warner becoming a Hall of Famer and Green and Bulger pro bowl players. These QBs were all Cinderella Stories and showed how playing up to your maximum potential that you can outperform other QBs that are more physically talent. Martz was masterful in preparing them for the rigors of the NFL.
Goff
a disasterous rookie season and a player that looked lost and a complete bust in the NFL because there is no plan on getting receivers out in space and creating pressure on the defense. McVay gets Goff and now he looks to be a Kurt Warner with more athletic ability. He reads things well and is accurate. He plays with confidence and a love for the game.
WRs
Bruce, Holt, Hakim, Proehl, Curtis, McDonald, Furry
All of them just overachieved. Bruce a skinny little guy that was embarrassed once in a superstars competition that focused on raw athleticism become a top 10 all-time WR. Holt like Bruce, a complete overachiever. These guys were great route runners and new how to play the game. Hakim and Proehl so good in coming in on 3rd downs or in sets and figuring out how to take advantage of space opened up by Bruce and Holt. Martz was actually Bruce's first WR coach in the NFL and he came out firing in year 2. Martz disappears and there is a significant drop off for a couple of years until Martz returns again as the OC. I have never seen an overachieving group of WRs that this bunch was. The Warner Brothers. And most of it was the creative offense of Martz and challenging these players to play the game fast and furious and have fun doing it. When players play with energy, confidence, and have fun, they just go to another level.
Heck Furry was a bottom of roster player that actually led the NFC in receptions one year in Detroit. Talk about overachieving and maximizing talent.
McVay
Woods, Cooks, Kupp
While these players are good athletics, they are not going to win any Olympic Track and Field events. They too are good like Holt, Bruce, and company because they are fine tuned WRs playing with space, with energy, confidence, and love for the game. All are overachieving. Woods was a very average player in Buffalo and McVay gets him and now he appears to be a pro bowler. The spacing in the patterns and the way they work together as a unit is a thing of beauty.
Before Martz, the team was lost, and played without mojo, energy, and confidence. Martz comes as OC and it all changed and players play their absolute best football of their lives. They all reach another level of play that on paper didn't seem possible.
Here we are many years later and we get treated to the 2nd coming with some of the best offense since the Martz Machine many years earlier.
What McVay did with Gurley and Goff is so comparable how they just elevated their game because of player development, mentoring, and approach to the game, as well as, the wonderful space management.
So on this Thanksgiving, I give blessing and thanks for the memories of the past Martz team and the newer version of the modern age. Rams fans have been blessed to the best entertainment in sports over 50 years 2 times now.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/2018 09:32AM by Rams_81.
