2000 St. Louis Rams season
St.louis rams textlogo.png
OwnerGeorgia Frontiere
General managerCharley Armey
Head coachMike Martz
Offensive coordinatorBobby Jackson
Defensive coordinatorPeter Giunta
Home fieldTrans World Dome
Results
Record10–6
Division place2nd NFC West
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs (at Saints) 28–31
Pro BowlersQB Kurt Warner
RB Marshall Faulk
WR Isaac Bruce
T Orlando Pace
WR Torry Holt

The 2000 season was the St. Louis Rams' 63rd in the National Football League (NFL) and their sixth in St. Louis. For the first time in franchise history, the Rams entered the season as the defending Super Bowl champions. The Rams finished the regular-season with a record of 10–6 but would go on to lose to the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. They led the NFL in scoring for a second straight year with 540 points. The Rams became the first team in NFL history to score more than 500 points on offense, while allowing more than 450 points on defense.[1]

Running back Marshall Faulk was named the MVP of the regular season. It was the second straight time a Rams player was named MVP.

After the resignation of Dick Vermeil, who had been the Rams' head coach through St. Louis' 1999 championship season, Mike Martz took over as head coach, and attempted to defend the Rams' Super Bowl XXXIV title. The Rams' "Greatest Show on Turf" continued its offensive dominance, scoring 33.7 points per game.

Statistically, Football Outsiders calculates that the 2000 Rams had the most efficient rushing attack of any single-season NFL team from 1993–2010.[2] The 2000 Rams are one of only three teams in NFL history to score 35 points or more nine times in a single season.[3][note 1] The Denver Broncos did it 10 times in 2013. The Rams' offense offset the team's defensive struggles: St. Louis' 471 points allowed in 2000 is the most ever surrendered by an NFL team with a winning record.[4] The Rams had the best offense in the league, but had the worst defense in the league.

The season saw the Rams change their logo and add a new color scheme of navy and gold, replacing blue and yellow, donning new uniforms in the process. The Rams' new logo consisted of a charging blue ram outlined in gold with a matching gold outline. It would be their logo for 16 years.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 2000 NFL Draft
2000 St. Louis Rams draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 31 Trung Canidate  Running back Arizona
5 139 Brian Young  Defensive tackle UTEP
      Made roster  

[5]

Staff

2000 St. Louis Rams staff
Front office
  • Chairman – Georgia Frontiere
  • Vice chairman – Stan Kroenke
  • President – John Shaw
  • President of football operations – Jay Zygmunt
  • General manager – Charley Armey
  • Senior vice president of administration – Bob Wallace
  • Director of scouting – Lawrence McCutcheon
  • Administrator of pro personnel – Jack Faulkner

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Chris Clausen
  • Strength and conditioning – Dana LeDuc

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 August 5 Oakland Raiders W 31–17 1–0 Trans World Dome Recap
2 August 14 at Tennessee Titans L 3–30 1–1 Adelphia Coliseum Recap
3 August 19 Buffalo Bills L 27–31 1–2 Trans World Dome Recap
4 August 24 at Dallas Cowboys W 24–17 2–2 Texas Stadium Recap

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 4 Denver Broncos W 41–36 1–0 Trans World Dome Recap
2 September 10 at Seattle Seahawks W 37–34 2–0 Husky Stadium Recap
3 September 17 San Francisco 49ers W 41–24 3–0 Trans World Dome Recap
4 September 24 at Atlanta Falcons W 41–20 4–0 Georgia Dome Recap
5 October 1 San Diego Chargers W 57–31 5–0 Trans World Dome Recap
6 Bye
7 October 15 Atlanta Falcons W 45–29 6–0 Trans World Dome Recap
8 October 22 at Kansas City Chiefs L 34–54 6–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
9 October 29 at San Francisco 49ers W 34–24 7–1 3Com Park Recap
10 November 5 Carolina Panthers L 24–27 7–2 Trans World Dome Recap
11 November 12 at New York Giants W 38–24 8–2 Giants Stadium Recap
12 November 20 Washington Redskins L 20–33 8–3 Trans World Dome Recap
13 November 26 New Orleans Saints L 24–31 8–4 Trans World Dome Recap
14 December 3 at Carolina Panthers L 3–16 8–5 Ericsson Stadium Recap
15 December 10 Minnesota Vikings W 40–29 9–5 Trans World Dome Recap
16 December 18 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 35–38 9–6 Raymond James Stadium Recap
17 December 24 at New Orleans Saints W 26–21 10–6 Louisiana Superdome Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 1: Denver Broncos at St. Louis Rams – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Broncos 7 10 10936
Rams 7 14 14641

at TWA Dome, St. Louis, Missouri

Game information

Week 5: vs. San Diego Chargers

The Rams opened their offense with Kurt Warner throwing 14 consecutive passes.

Week 8: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week 8: St. Louis Rams at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Rams 0 14 14634
Chiefs 20 7 131454

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Standings

NFC West
W L T PCT PF PA STK
(3) New Orleans Saints 10 6 0 .625 354 305 L1
(6) St. Louis Rams 10 6 0 .625 540 471 W1
Carolina Panthers 7 9 0 .438 310 310 L1
San Francisco 49ers 6 10 0 .375 388 422 L1
Atlanta Falcons 4 12 0 .250 252 413 W1

Postseason

Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap
Wild Card December 30 at New Orleans Saints (3) L 28–31 0–1 Louisiana Superdome Recap

Game summaries

NFC Wildcard Game: vs. New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints 31, St. Louis Rams 28
1 2 34Total
Rams 7 0 02128
Saints 0 10 71431

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans

The Saints won their first playoff game in their 34-year history with quarterback Aaron Brooks' 266 passing yards and four touchdowns, by holding off the defending champion Rams, who scored three touchdowns in the final quarter. Overall, the Rams committed five turnovers while the Saints committed none. Rams quarterback Kurt Warner lost four turnovers (three interceptions and a fumble), while running back Marshall Faulk, who shredded the Saints with 220 rushing yards when they played against them in the regular season, was held to a season low of 24 yards on the ground.

Best performances

Statistics

Roster

2000 St. Louis Rams final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
data possibly incomplete


Practice squad

data incomplete


Rookies in italics
 , 0 practice squad

[8]

Awards and records

Notes

  1. ^ The other two are the 1948 49ers and the 2011 Packers

References

  1. ^ Sports Illustrated
  2. ^ Final 2010 DVOA Ratings
  3. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the regular season, requiring Points For >= 35, sorted by most games in season matching criteria.
  4. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2012, in the Regular Season, team with winning record, sorted by descending Points Allowed.
  5. ^ "2000 St. Louis Rams draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  6. ^ a b NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 439
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 215
  8. ^ 2000 St. Louis Rams Statistics & Players – Pro-Football-Reference.com
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 202
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 201
  11. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 450
  12. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 203
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