Eagles look for luck of the Rams with own third-string quarterb

PHILADELPHIA -- The Rams went 5-0 with a third-string quarterback. The Philadelphia Eagles are hoping to get through one game with their No. 3 signal-caller.

A.J. Feeley, who hasn't started since his junior season at Oregon in 1999, leads the NFC East-leading Eagles (8-3) against the Rams (5-6) today in a rematch of last year's conference championship game.

A fifth-round pick last season who was released before being re-signed by the Eagles two months ago, Feeley takes over for Donovan McNabb (broken ankle) and Koy Detmer (dislocated left elbow). McNabb, injured in a victory over Arizona two weeks ago, could miss the rest of the season, including playoffs. Detmer, hurt during last Monday's win at San Francisco, is out two to five weeks.

"I'm going to walk into that huddle with the same expression on my face regardless if we're down by 40 or we're up by 40," Feeley said. "I hope the guys will rally behind me like they did to Koy.

"I'm not going to do anything out of the ordinary for me. I'm not going to step outside of myself. I'm not a big rah-rah guy. I'm not going to walk into the huddle and give a big speech or anything. I'm going to come in there and give the play and execute it. If we score points, then we'll come off the field and get ready and go back out and do it again."

Feeley has thrown just 17 passes in his pro career. He completed all three of his attempts for 17 yards and a one-yard touchdown to Chad Lewis against the 49ers. The 24-year-old Feeley lost his starting spot at Oregon after getting hurt eight games into his junior year. Joey Harrington replaced Feeley and never relinquished the job.

"He has great confidence in his talent, and he's done a good job of studying this offense," offensive coordinator Brad Childress said of Feeley. "He comes from a throwing offense. Some things are the same for him. He'll be fine."

The Rams started 0-4 and lost NFL MVP Kurt Warner for five games with a broken pinkie. Backup Jamie Martin lost his only start before No. 3 quarterback Marc Bulger stepped in and won five in a row. Warner returned last week and threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns, but the Rams still lost to Washington 20-17.

While Warner is back, St. Louis could be without star running back Marshall Faulk for the third straight game because of a high sprain of his right ankle. The Rams probably need a victory to maintain their playoff hopes.

"Obviously, we've got our backs to the wall," Rams coach Mike Martz said. "It seems like we've been here before, somehow. We were going real good and last week was certainly a game that we could have won and probably should have won very easily at the end there, but we didn't get it done. So now we're in a position that our approach is that this is basically a playoff atmosphere.

"Each game now is sudden death for us. We understand that. We know that. We've got to prepare as such. The intensity level has to be that of a playoff game, and our preparation is certainly that way."

Both teams are well-acquainted. The Rams opened last season with an overtime victory at Veterans Stadium, then ended Philadelphia's Super Bowl hopes with a 29-24 win in St. Louis in the NFC title game 10 months ago.

Warner knows Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson loves to blitz, and realizes scoring against the NFL's fifth-ranked defense won't be easy.

"You have to work for everything you get against these guys," Warner said. "They are talented. They have very good linebackers and their corners are solid. They can put some pressure on you up front and they are very, very good. We are going to be in a difficult situation to do what we want to do. We are going to have to work for it, but we know we have a test. We just have to execute.

"They do a lot of different things and they make you have to be sharp or they can get you for a big negative play very quickly. It is going to be a challenge for us both physically and mentally to go out there and play this game."