Warner, Rams look past 0-5 beginning

ST. LOUIS -- Kurt Warner's back, and this time it's with a Rams team that looks more like the Super Bowl contender of the last three seasons than the outfit that began the year 0-5.

"I'm excited to see the team playing like it is," Warner said Wednesday. "It's fun to see the team you expected to be out there, and to make this thing interesting."

Warner was 0-4 as the starter during the Rams' 0-5 start, with one touchdown pass and eight interceptions, before breaking his right pinkie. But there were several mitigating factors for his poor start.

The offensive line was shaky with guard Adam Timmerman nursing a knee injury and tackle John St. Clair, who had never played a down, taking more than his share of lumps in on-the-job training. That led to Warner becoming uneasy in the pocket.

Fullback James Hodgins, one of the best lead blockers in the NFL, was out with a broken foot. That hampered the running game.

Busted routes accounted for half of Warner's interceptions.

Overall, the team suffered from a Super Bowl hangover from their upset loss to the Patriots. Coach Mike Martz was tight, the players were tight, and the Rams played like it.

Martz also blames himself for allowing Warner to take a physical pounding by giving him perhaps too many options.

"We'll make sure he's protected," Martz said. "He's such a good passer, we'll expose him a little bit less. That was a mistake on my part over the last few years."

The NFL's MVP two of the last three seasons took the brunt of the blame. He knows it wasn't that simple, just as it wasn't that simple that Marc Bulger was a savior during the Rams' five-game winning streak that brought the team to .500 heading into Sunday's game at Washington.

"It's tough when everyone looks at the one position," he said. "They think, 'Well, the reason we lost those first few games was because I was playing bad and had nothing to do with anybody else.

"And then they switch it around when we're playing well and they look at that one position, that's probably the most difficult part about it."

Now, Warner gets a chance to be part of an offense that is clicking. The Rams (5-5) might also get running back Marshall Faulk back from ankle and foot injuries that kept him out of Monday night's victory over the Bears.

Faulk again was listed as questionable, but trainer Jim Anderson said he likely would practice today when the Rams return to work after an extra day off.

Warner was in the minority of those wanting to get back on the field on Wednesday. Most considered it a vacation.

"Guys were coming in with their long faces, and it was like here we go," linebacker Don Davis said. "When we got the schedule, it was like a bomb going off in the meeting room. Most of the special teams guys had no idea."

As for Warner, he can't wait to hone his timing.

"I'm a little bit anxious right now," he said. "It's what I love to do and have been waiting to do."

Both quarterbacks said they've done their best to ignore the controversy that's swirled around their position the last few weeks. The topic dominates sports talk radio, with many callers wanting Martz to ride the hot hand (Bulger), or wanting to trade either Warner, who's due a $6 million roster bonus after the season, or Bulger for a high draft pick.

"It's pretty funny, some of the stuff," Bulger said.

The Rams almost assuredly will keep both quarterbacks at least one more year. Bulger will be an exclusive rights free agent and likely will earn the league third-year minimum of $375,000 next year.

"Obviously you can't get away from it," Warner said. "Everywhere you go and everybody that asks you a question, it's brought up.

"It's part of the blessing of having a guy come in and play as well as Marc has played, that you do kind of have to deal with it."