Closer Look

Faulk's day mirrors Rams' struggles of 2002

By Don Banks, SI.com

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Kurt Warner wasn't the only St. Louis Rams offensive star who entered Sunday's regular-season opener intent on quickly burying the disappointment of an injury-shortened and defeat-studded 2002 season.

And like Warner, Rams running back Marshall Faulk's return to glory is going to have to wait at least one more week. Rest assured, the Rams didn't bury anything or anyone Sunday at Giants Stadium.

Unlike Warner, Faulk can take solace in at least walking away from St. Louis' 23-13 loss to the New York Giants with a healthy body, if not healthy first-week statistics: He carried just nine times for 28 yards, with 18 of those yards coming on one third-quarter scamper. He caught seven passes, tying for second most among Rams, but they produced just 27 yards. As for the goal line, Faulk didn't even get a sniff of it.

Little wonder he met the media in a brusque, irritated mood just outside the Rams' locker room.

"They outplayed us,'' Faulk said of the Giants, who held him to just 9 yards rushing on seven carries in the first half. "They did everything right and we did everything wrong today.''

Things weren't quite that simple in a game where both teams lost three first-half fumbles, but after enduring a season in which he missed two games and parts of six others with an assortment of leg injuries, and fell short of the 1,000-yard rushing mark for just the second time in his nine NFL seasons, Faulk felt like generalizing.

The Rams' four turnovers cost them mightily on the scoreboard, and Faulk found the scenario dangerously familiar to 2002, when St. Louis missed the playoffs for the first time in four seasons thanks in large part to throwing 27 interceptions and losing 18 fumbles.

"You turn it over, you're going to get beat,'' Faulk said. "We've been here before and we've made these mistakes. We've had games where we've been able to overcome it, and we've had games where we haven't. This is one of the have nots.''

Faulk and the rest of the Rams are getting a tad too used to being one of the have-nots. Including its February 2002 loss to New England in Super Bowl XXXVI, St. Louis has now dropped 11 of its last 18 meaningful games. That's why there  was already a sense of urgency in Sunday's losing locker room.

"There's a lot of football to be played, but we can't let this snowball,'' Faulk said. "We've got to correct some things now.''

St. Louis head coach Mike Martz will correct one thing starting next week in the home opener against San Francisco. Count on him getting Faulk the ball more than 16 times. Faulk may top 20 touches in the running game alone.

"It's hard to know [how to evaluate Faulk] because we didn't give him the ball enough,'' Martz said. "I don't think I did a good job of getting him the ball. We just didn't do a good job of calling plays today.''

As is the custom in St. Louis, the Rams' star players see very little preseason action. Faulk played only in the first half of the Rams' third preseason game at Buffalo, being held out of the other three exhibitions entirely.

Suffice it to say that the Rams' sloppy performance against the Giants -- four turnovers, six fumbles and 0-of-3 in the red zone -- didn't strengthen Martz's contention that NFL teams can get ready for the season with just two preseason games. St. Louis didn't look near ready against the Giants, and even Martz noticed.

"I think that has a significant part in [the mistakes],'' Martz said, of his starting offense's limited preseason work. "But I just didn't know it'd be to this extent.''

With games against NFC West rivals San Francisco, Seattle and Arizona coming up in the three weeks before their Week 5 bye, the Rams know they can't afford to let Sunday's outcome deepen into a season-opening slide. Last year's debacle started with an 0-5 getaway, and St. Louis never recovered.

"We won't make a big deal about it,'' Rams receiver Tory Holt said. "We just have to go back to the drawing board and get better. As a unit we didn't play quite as well as we wanted to.''

Don Banks covers pro football for SI.com.