Isaac Bruce: These Chiefs simply can’t compare to Rams’ ‘Greatest Show on Turf’ teams
If people think the accomplishments of quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense are unprecedented, a number of former Rams players are quick to disagree.
Those Rams players say their “Greatest Show On Turf” teams are superior the Chiefs for a number of reasons.
Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner said days before the Super Bowl that his Rams team have the best offense in NFL history. Former Rams receiver Torry Holt said in January those Rams squads were better because they “changed the way teams drafted.”
Those were some amazing teams. From 1999 to 2001, the Rams led the league in scoring each season and made two Super Bowl appearances, winning once.
Last week, former Rams wide receiver Isaac Bruce, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer, was in Canton, Ohio, and explained why those St. Louis teams are superior to the Chiefs.
The biggest reason? NFL rule changes that have helped offenses to the point where the Chiefs are basically running “spring practices.” Bruce believes the Rams would have been even more explosive in this era.
“I think just about every year you have a team that ... we get compared to,” Bruce said. “This year, it’s the Kansas City Chiefs. What I’m asked about the Chiefs is, there are some similarities. They’ve got the speed on the outside from a perimeter standpoint. I think we may have been better at the run game than they are. I think our defense was probably a little bit better than what they had.
“But I always say this: From a personnel standpoint, I think we were better, and from a mentality standpoint, I think we were better. Because what you see with the Kansas City Chiefs right now is pretty much our spring practices where there’s no tackling allowed. What we had, we went up against a totally different gauntlet where guys were looking to take your head off and it was being promoted.
“You put us in this era, I don’t think it’s fair. It wouldn’t be fair because we had guys who were not afraid to go across the middle of the field, make plays, run slants and be there for the next play to do the exact same thing. Just with the rule change, it’s totally different. I just think we would’ve — it wouldn’t have been fair.”
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