No more hard feelings, Sehorn says of Martz

ST. LOUIS -- It took the Rams and new safety Jason Sehorn a lot longer to come to terms on a contract than it did to settle their differences.

Sehorn, who signed a one-year deal Monday, said he and coach Mike Martz cleared the air when they went out for lunch during his visit.

Sehorn had called the Rams' offense "impatient" after St. Louis' 15-14 victory over the New York Giants in 2001, and Martz retorted that he'd like to play against Sehorn "every day of the week."

"We sat down and there was just a bit of uneasiness," Sehorn said Wednesday in a conference call with St. Louis media. "Then he just came right out and said 'You know what, basically what you did is you attacked my offense and I had to attack back.'

"I was OK with that."

Sehorn said Martz' counterattack was "genius" because it deflected to the personalities involved.

"No one remembered what I said, they just know that he attacked me," Sehorn said.

Sehorn wasn't surprised that the Rams were the most interested bidder for his services after he was released by the Giants in March after he refused to accept a pay cut of more than $3 million. He had been due to make $4.3 million next season, plus a $1 million roster bonus.

"In all seriousness, no one was really running by anybody on either side," Sehorn said. "I also understand when somebody's not on your team you really don't care what they think or what they say about you.

"Nor do you have regard for what you say about them sometimes -- they're not on your squad so what do you care?"

Sehorn was on the market for a long time despite interest from several teams. He believes all of them were just waiting for somebody else to make the first offer.

The Rams held off on signing Sehorn because they were working on a long-term deal for wide receiver Torry Holt, who is in the final year of his contract.

"What was ironic about the decision is I made up my mind last Thursday when they called me and I was like 'Let's go play,"' Sehorn said. "All of a sudden all these other teams started calling because 'Oh wait, he's willing to play for that?' It was too little, too late."

Sehorn chose the Rams because he wants to play for a contender. St. Louis is coming off a 7-9 season but played in two Super Bowls the previous three years.

"Not that I'm a fortune teller, but I just think they have a much better shot at winning than a lot of teams," Sehorn said.

"If you have a choice and you're picking a new job, I think most people would prefer to pick a place where you think you're going to win as opposed to a place where there isn't much of a shot."

For most of his nine seasons with the Giants, the 6-foot-2, 213-pound Sehorn was a starting cornerback with 19 interceptions for three touchdowns and 10 fumble recoveries. Last year he made only five starts, losing his spot to Will Peterson, and he knew a position change was in order because he's lost quickness.

He'll contend with Kim Herring, who has been a bit of a disappointment in two seasons with the team, for the starting job at free safety.

"They made it quite clear that I've got to produce first," Sehorn said. "Nobody knows what I can do. There were no guarantees, there was just an opportunity, and that's all I can ask for."

Sehorn told defensive coordinator Lovie Smith and secondary coach Perry Fewell that he's eager to be coached.

"I've never played this position, and while I think I have the athletic ability to do it, I'm not naive in thinking I can just do it," Sehorn said. "I'm going to need a lot of coaching to understand the nuances of safety."