There’s no question that most football players don’t’ like to play on artificial turf. At the dome in St. Louis the only thing separating the turf and a concrete floor is a padding which is wearing thin, according to head coach Mike Martz. “It’s like a parking lot. What ever cushion used to be there is long gone.” Martz blames the turf for running back Steven Jackson’s sore knee, saying “It’s amazing he didn’t blow his knee out.” Martz also blamed the turf for former Rams running back James Hodgins broken foot in 2002. Martz said, “He didn’t hit anybody. He was just coming out of a start and was going to make a cut block and planted his foot and his foot snapped because there was just no give to the surface.” Martz says the team has offered to pay for a new surface but the owners of the dome have declined that offer. One reason is that turf is easier to remove when the dome is needed for other events. FieldTurf, which has become a popular alternative would not be as easy to remove. Martz is ashamed that his players and other players have to play on their surface, saying “It’s embarrassing to have to ask a professional team to play on that surface.”
