The Building of a top flight NFL Offense -- the Dick Vermeil Archetype

[NBlue]

I wonder what the St Louis Ram message boards would have looked like in 1998?

That year, in Vermeil's second season with the Rams, the team finished 4-12 -- in his first season the team had gone a mere 5-11 and things, no doubt, looked bleak.

I'm certain that few, if any, Rams supporters predicted the 13-3 Superbowl Championship season that was to follow.

In Vermeil's inaugural season in KC, the Cheifs went 6-10. Last year the Chiefs were 8-8 and this year the offense looks incredible and the team looks like the best in the AFC if not the league.

Is Spurrier a Vermeil? I think it is simply too soon to tell. What amazes me is that many seemingly reasonable, logical minds who post on this board are ready to throw him out with the trash.

Like many, I am very frustrated with this team's play. However, I think the emotive Fire Spurrier threads fail to take into account the time delay usually required to establish an offensive juggernaut and overall superior team.

It is my opinion that the offense and team generally has to reach this bottoming level to seperate those that are willing to give it all to win (imo Hall, Ramsey, Thomas, Ramsey, Lavar, Ohalete and several others) from those that are simply here collecting a paycheck. Vermeil was able to help identify those players in both St. Louis and KC and get them the heck off his team within the first two years.

Also during those two years, his offense also had time to gel in order to reach its full potential.

At this point, the FNG looks like a muddled mess and the players seem like undisciplined schoolgirls. Plainly, the responsibility for this rests with the HBC.

However, just as plainly, he should be and he must be given the opportunity to have his offense come together and rid the team of the bad seeds.

It is amazing how many references to Norv Turner I hear on these boards. However, what I fail to understand is how Norv's SEVEN seasons with the Skins are equated to Spurrier's 1.5. Not only is that unfair, its based on flawed logic.

Spurrier may well fail as a NFL coach and his offense may never reach the lofty goals of his or our expectations, but to fail to support him now, imo, removes any hope of him or anyone reaching these goals in the near future.

It is my opinion that Redskin fans should stand behind their head ball coach at this moment and allow him the opportunity to succeed.

[sashae]

The question is... WHO are just the paycheck collectors, and who are the effort players? It's hard on the outside to tell.

-s

[Leonard Washington]

well the key to vermeil O's in stl and kc have been a good running game. vermeil has never been scared to run the ball if it keeps working. if you gotta run the ball 48 times with 4 different running backs and still averaging 5yds a carry, you keep running the ball. its going to make the playaction deadly and the deep ball much deeper. we paid spurrier for his passing schemes but they aren't going to work if he doesn't do a better job running the ball. i'm tired of the draw plays too. lets just let the big guys line up and punish these d-lineman that have been hitting their qb all day.

[NavyDave]

The comparison is that both coaches think of the running back as the 5th option in a passing game and running the ball is for giving WRs a down to catch their breath.