Rams halt hands of time, Saints

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams are so powerful that coach Mike Martz gobbles up timeouts like candy.

Noise in the Superdome interfered with the relaying of calls to quarterback Kurt Warner throughout the Rams' playoff-clinching 34-21 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Monday night. Rather than panic, Martz burned four timeouts in the first and third quarters to make sure the signals were straight.

"As soon as the quarterback stepped into the huddle to call the play, the music came up," Martz said Tuesday. "That's happened plenty of times before, but this music was exceptionally loud."

No timeouts left for crunch time? So what?

Martz has never been one to hoard timeouts. Last year, he took one to give defensive end Grant Wistrom a breather after a long fumble return was called back by penalty.

"Otherwise, he's got nothing on that next down and they may score on that next down because of it," Martz said.

Earlier this year, he burned another because wide receiver Isaac Bruce was winded.

The Rams (11-2) lost their other two timeouts against the Saints because Martz made two unsuccessful replay challenges. He's been very aggressive in this area, even to the point of futility, just to show he's behind his players.

After Ernie Conwell fumbled following a 33-yard gain to the New Orleans 6 in the third quarter, players came off the field saying Conwell's knee was down. So Martz made the challenge before even seeing one replay.

"There are other situations for me that apply to game management and that deal with the psychology or emotion of your players," Martz said. "Nobody else may understand, but that's the world according to Mike, I guess."

Martz can afford these luxuries because not only does he have the NFL's No. 1 offense, the Rams are ranked No. 2 on defense. Wistrom had three sacks and an interception against the Saints, the first player to do that since Pittsburgh's Chad Brown in 1996.

"We're stopping a lot of good offenses," said Bruce, who caught three touchdown passes. "We're getting a lot of three-and-outs. That's a huge difference, even from the Super Bowl year."

The Rams controlled the Saints even with a banged-up secondary. Strong safety Adam Archuleta missed the game with a concussion and his backup, Rich Coady, was held out with a sprained ankle. Cornerback Aeneas Williams missed time during the game with a thigh bruise.

It was just the latest challenge for new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, who has quickly integrated eight new starters.

"It's kind of like the flag and the drums and the fife or whatever," Martz said. "They're just kind of taped together and they just keep playing."

Archuleta, one of three first-round picks taken to upgrade the defense, is expected to reclaim his strong safety job next week at Carolina. Coady also should be available, and Williams had full range of motion the day after his injury.

"We don't think he's going to skip a beat," Martz said.

The Achilles' heel is turnovers. The Rams lead the league with 37, three more than anyone else, with 14 giveaways in their two losses. Their differential is minus-8, tied for third-worst in the NFC.

Players and coaches have often said the only team that can beat the Rams is themselves, and then only barely. They committed eight turnovers and lost by only three points in October to the Saints, and had six turnovers in a seven-point loss to the Buccaneers last month.

Two turnovers barely slowed them against the Saints in the rematch and they could easily enter the postseason at 14-2 with only Carolina (1-12), Indianapolis (5-8) and Atlanta (6-7) remaining.

"If we play solid on defense, don't give the ball up on offense and play decent on special teams," linebacker Mark Fields said, "I think we can go get a Super Bowl."