S T.   L O U I S   R A M S
Go-To Guy | Weakest Link | Burning Question | Offseason Movement

Glance Head coach: Mike Martz 2001: Results 2002: Draft picks Training camp: July 26 at Western Illinois Univ. in McComb, Ill.  2002 Schedule Date  Vs.  Time  Sept. 8  at Den.  4:15 p.m.  Sept. 15  NYG  4:05 p.m.  Sept. 23  at T.B.  9 p.m.  Sept. 29  DAL.  1 p.m.  Oct. 6  at S.F.  4:15 p.m.  Oct. 13  OAK.  4:15 p.m.  Oct. 20  SEA.  1 p.m.  Oct. 27  Open     Nov. 3  at Ari.  4:15 p.m.  Nov. 10  S.D.  1 p.m.  Nov. 18  CHI.  9 p.m.  Nov. 24  at Was.  4:15 p.m.  Dec. 1  at Phi.  4:15 p.m.  Dec. 8  at K.C.  1 p.m.  Dec. 15  ARI.  8:30 p.m.  Dec. 22  at Sea.  4:05 p.m.  Dec. 30  S.F.  9 p.m.

By B. Duane Cross, CNNSI.com

Many pundits believed St. Louis would restock its receiver corps in April's draft. After Az-Zahir Hakim jetted for the riches in Detroit and the uncertainty surrounding Ricky Proehl's return -- and who can forget the Cris Carter fiasco? -- the Greatest Show on Turf looked to be losing a step.

But if we've learned anything, it's Mike Martz has a plan. OK, so it wasn't a successful one against New England, but a 20-17 loss in the Super Bowl can be excused. The Rams at least got there for the second time in three years, right?

Instead of taking stock in unproven college receivers, "Mad Mike" opted for Colts underachiever Terrence Wilkins and also cast his lot with Eric Crouch, a quarterback at Nebraska who Martz sees as a wideout.

But possibly overlooked is Dane Looker, who caught 11 passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns en route to MVP honors as Berlin defeated Rhein in World Bowl X. Looker was NFL Europe's top receiver this season with 54 receptions, 661 yards and five touchdowns.

As St. Louis prepared to defend its NFC crown, Martz said the disappointment of losing Super Bowl XXXVII is behind him. "You can't obsess over it," he said. "We got beat. They made some plays and we didn't make some plays at the end, and they deserved to win it. You can't change it any. ... We had a great year. The players need to understand and remember that, and get ready for next year."

In addition to Hakim leaving, the Rams took a few other hits in the offseason. Middle linebacker London Fletcher, a defensive catalyst, moved to Buffalo Bills and tackle Ryan Tucker was released as a salary-cap casualty. But the Rams did acquired linebacker Jamie Duncan from Tampa Bay.

The core of the Rams -- offensively and defensively -- remains: Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Orlando Pace, Aeneas Williams, Adam Archuleta, Grant Wistrom and Leonard Little, who may have had the quietest 14 sacks in NFL history.

Last season, St. Louis was No. 1 in passing, scoring and total offense, while fifth in rushing. On defense, the Rams finished third overall, fourth against the run, 10th in passing. If there's an area for improvement, it's with turnovers; St. Louis was minus-9 last year with 21 fumbles and 22 interceptions.

To help kick the offense up a notch, Martz will have some help this season; offensive guru Ernie Zampese has been hired as a consultant. "He's the godfather," Martz said. "He was at the grass roots of this offense. There is a lot of dialogue between him and me in the passing game."

As if the other 31 teams needed to hear that.

Fact With 59 touchdowns (37 rushing, 22 receiving) in only three seasons, Marshall Faulk tops the franchise's career list, eclipsing Eric Dickerson (1983-87).

Marshall Faulk, RB -- Faulk is the NFL's best player, and a certain Hall of Famer. In three seasons in St. Louis he has averaged 1,374 yards rushing, 84 catches, 907 yards receiving and 20 touchdowns.

He won the league MVP award in 2000, and has been named the Miller Lite NFL Player of the Year for the last two seasons.

Faulk also leads the league in total yards from scrimmage during the past two seasons with 4,336, and scored an NFL-record 26 TDs in 2000.

"We don't think about making marks in history," Faulk said. "We think about going out and playing to the best of our abilities. Kurt Warner wants to make every throw. Isaac Bruce wants to make every catch. The line wants to make every block.

"If we keep playing hard and trying to be our best, then those things will get attached to us."

Since Faulk's arrival, the Rams have set scoring and yardage records while winning 42 of 55 games in the regular season and playoffs. And he seems to be getting better with age; his 1,382 yards rushing last season was a career high. He had five 100-yard games, including a 202-yard effort against Carolina.

Fact Since 1997, tackle Orlando Pace has started 68 consecutive regular-season games, while guard Adam Timmerman has started 67 of 68 games since '96.

Offensive line -- This unit allowed critical protection breakdowns in the Super Bowl, and New England capitalized almost every time.

Nonplussed, Martz was confident enough to expose Tucker in the expansion draft. "We've got the highest-paid offensive line in the league," Martz said in February. "And at Ryan's position, there are two other players with Rod [Jones] and with John St. Clair.

"John's come along very well. So it's the one position where if we lost Tucker, we could recover from that and gain cap room. I don't think they're [Houston] going to claim him. But that being said, that's why he's on there. We'd love to have Ryan back obviously, but that's the business part of it."

As it turned out, the Texans did pass on Tucker. But Cleveland didn't, signing him to a free-agent deal. However, Jones also jumped ship, joining Washington. The Rams did sign veteran free-agent guard Heath Irwin to a one-year contract, adding depth where Martz admitted the team was "awfully young and inexperienced."

With Tom Nutten and Andy McCollum scheduled for unrestricted free agency after the '02 season, the Rams needed to add at least one lineman in the draft and went for relative unknown Travis Scott. During minicamp, Martz praised Scott, a fourth-round draft choice who was a part-time player as a senior at Arizona State. "We've thrown him in with the No. 1s, and he's really handled it very well," Martz said.

How long can the Rams' juggernaut maintain its head of steam?

Fact St. Louis is 54-49 in regular-season dome games, including 8-2 in 2001 to move above .500 in franchise history. The Rams were 6-2 during the regular season last year, improving to 28-24 under its home dome.

Lovie Smith's addition as defensive coordinator was a huge factor in St. Louis' success last season. And while it's easy to overlook the Rams' defense in light of their point-a-minute offense ... we're going to focus on the offense.

In the wake of the Super Bow loss, critics said Martz should have run the ball more, just as he did in winning the NFC Championship Game against Philadelphia. Martz, who went right back to his pass-happy style against New England, believes he should have done even more throwing.

"I thought we had a really good game plan," he says. "The only thing I probably would have done differently -- and I kind of wish we did now -- was open it up by throwing on every snap. I kind of wish we had done that, gone to a two-minute offense to start the game.

"When we did it in the fourth quarter, they wore down so quickly, and we just had so much success. We were going so good in that respect, I think that would have been fun to do. I just didn't have the courage to do it."

A gunslinger even in defeat. And that's what will keep this team among the league's elite. Not to mention the stars are aligned under contract. Faulk, Warner, Holt, Pace, Williams, Wistrom and Little all are signed through at least 2003.

Holt, 25, wants to keep it going much longer. "It would be great if we can [keep the core together]," Holt said. "With free agency and everything, that might mess some things up, but I think this organization has been doing a great job of keeping everybody together. Hopefully, as we go on the next couple of years, everybody can continue to stay together and we can try to make more runs at getting more Super Bowl rings."