2004 Toronto Argonauts The 92nd Grey Cup Championship Ring

 2004 Toronto Argonauts The 92nd Grey Cup Championship Ring

The 2001 St. Louis Rams season was the 64th season for the team in the National Football League and seventh season in St. Louis. The Rams set a franchise record for wins in a season, while also going a perfect 8-0 on the road. Quarterback Kurt Warner would go on to win his second league MVP award. Along with Warner's 1999 MVP award and Marshall Faulk's 2000 award, the Rams had amassed the last three NFL MVP awards.
 2004 Toronto Argonauts The 92nd Grey Cup Championship Ring
The Rams also became the first team in NFL history to open three consecutive seasons with six straight wins and the first to score 500 or more points in three consecutive seasons .
With one of the worst defenses in the NFL in 2000 (allowing 471 points), the Rams knew an overhaul was needed in this area. First, Lovie Smith was hired away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to serve as defensive coordinator. Smith brought some of his key contributors from the 1999 Buccaneer team that almost went to the Super Bowl, namely linebacker Don Davis and defensive linemen Chidi Aphanite and Tekoa Jackson. Linebacker Mark Fields, who led the 2000 New Orleans Saints in tackles, and defensive back Kim Herring, a key member of the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens defense, were both acquired via trade or free agency. The Rams had three first-round draft picks, and all were used on defense. Defensive tackles Damiana Lewis and Ryan Pickett, and Adam Archuleta, a linebacker at Arizona State who would be converted to strong safety, were all drafted, along with Florida State linebacker Tommy Polly in the third round. All would be key contributors 
 2004 Toronto Argonauts The 92nd Grey Cup Championship Ring
The most important acquisition (other than Smith), however, was the trade for veteran cornerback Aeneas Williams. Williams' leadership was the key element in a much-improved Rams defense in 2001 

 2004 Toronto Argonauts The 92nd Grey Cup Championship Ring