The Second Comings Part 2: The Greatest Show On Turf

Everybody remembers the years between 1999-2001 that became known as the Greatest Show On Turf. And to think it happened all because one of those gut wrenching, head shaking preseason injuries that everyone despises. Quarterback Kurt Warner then took over and the rest is history. The Rams now have a young group of speedy, explosive players that has fans wondering, could they be the second coming of the Greatest Show On Turf?

Mike Martz was the mastermind behind one of the best offenses of all time and none of it would have been possible with a different group of players. Kurt Warner, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, and Marshall Faulk made the Greatest Show On Turf possible. In the three years that was the Greatest Show On Turf, Warner won the MVP twice and Marshall Faulk once, the offense scored 500+ points (1569- the most by any team in a three year period)  in three consecutive seasons, and had the record for most offensive yards in a season with 7,335 yards which was recently broken by the New Orleans Saints. The Greatest Show On Turf made the playoffs all three years of its existence and went to the Super Bowl twice, winning one while technically being cheated by the referees and spy-gate scandal  in the second.

Since then the Rams havent had an offense that somewhat resembled that. At times you would have never guessed that the Rams at one point had one of the most explosive offenses in NFL history as the team has been an embarrassment on offense and have failed to average 20 points or more for much of the past decade. However, with some offseason additions and by building through the draft, the Rams finally have something that could be an explosive offense. It wont be anything like the Greatest Show On Turf, but it will be the closest the Rams will have came to it in a long time.

In 2010 the Rams drafted their franchise quarterback in Sam Bradford. Bradford has struggled at times and then looked really good at other times as he did win rookie of the year his rookie season. For Bradford it’s always been about surrounding him with weapons, and the Rams have finally done that by adding Jared Cook and Tavon Austin, and then Chris Givens has put in the extra work to possibly become a very special player. The Rams just went from a team that didnt have any offensive weapons to having a handful. These players arent anything like Holt, Bruce, or Faulk, but they are fast playmakers that can stretch the field and create explosive plays, something the Rams have been lacking.

Dont expect the Rams to go out and score 500+ points this season as they do play in a division in which you can almost guarantee that two of the teams in the division will have top-10 defenses, and we all know which two teams I am talking about. What makes this group possibly being the second coming of the greatest show on turf is their potential to create big plays and their potential to be an explosive offense which we got to see small glimpses of in the first preseason game. It is probably too soon to call these guys the Greatest Show On Turf as they are all young players with a lot to prove and a lot of potential. This offense may not be the Greatest Show On Turf but they could be The Fastest Show On Turf and possibly become the second coming.