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Inside the NFL
The Saints dumped the mighty Rams, then labeled their bitter rivals a finesse team By Peter King "The Rams can say whatever they want," Haslett, who loves being the burr under the saddle of the best team in football, told SI. "But they're a finesse team. You start hitting them, and it affects them. Make no mistake about it. That's what happened out there today."
"Did we lay down and die? No," said quarterback Kurt Warner, whose four interceptions helped hand the Saints this one. He shook his head. "Maybe we are a finesse team. What is a finesse team anyway? I've never seen us back down from anything physical." While sitting in the coaches' room, Martz chose his words carefully. "We are what we are," he said, "and whatever that is, we've won more games than anyone else in the last three years. Certainly more than New Orleans. I believe in this team, and I believe in what we do. I promise you we will not change." Since the start of the 1999 season, when Martz arrived as offensive coordinator and turned the attack into an air show, the Rams have a league-best 29 wins, one more than the Titans. Still, the question is, If the Rams don't change, are they good enough -- and physical enough -- to win their second Super Bowl in three years? The answer is yes -- but the Rams did not lose to the Saints because they're a finesse team. They lost because they turned the ball over eight times, running their giveaway total to 17 in the three defeats they have suffered to New Orleans since Haslett took over in 2000. The physicality of the Saints contributed to the turnovers, but Warner didn't throw a screen pass into defensive end Darren Howard's breadbasket because New Orleans is tougher than St. Louis. The Rams have shown us two things this season. One: They are not pushovers in the knock-down, drag-out affairs that games sometimes become, but they have had trouble running the ball. Already this year they've played four back-alley-brawling defensive teams -- the Eagles, Dolphins, Giants and Saints -- and beaten three of them. However, in those four games, they've rushed for a below-league-average 3.5 yards a carry. If they'd mounted just one long drive on Sunday, they would have stemmed the momentum of the Saints' 25-0 third-quarter rally. Instead, their four third-quarter possessions ended with a sack and three interceptions. (They also fumbled on a kickoff return.) No drive lasted longer than three plays, and the Rams ran the ball only once in that stretch. Two: Even though he's tough as nails, when Warner is chased and hit, he can be mortal. With the quarterback operating out of so many empty-backfield sets, the Rams are taking a big risk. Hitting the quarterback has been so ingrained in the Saints that when Howard intercepted that screen pass and lumbered downfield, he lowered his shoulder and rammed into Warner rather than trying to deke him. The Saints believe that the more Warner throws, the better it is for the defense -- because he's exposed to more hits and because they have such a good track record of forcing turnovers. In his last two games against New Orleans, Warner has been picked off seven times in 87 attempts. Strong safety Sammy Knight had two interceptions in the Saints' playoff win last season and two more on Sunday. "If you try to read Kurt's eyes, he'll kill you, because he never gives away where he's throwing," Knight said. "You have to let him keep throwing deep, and you turn into one of the receivers." Nevertheless, if Warner stays healthy, the Rams remain the team to beat. After taking a month to rest a right knee bruise, Marshall Faulk is expected back when St. Louis returns from its bye week on Nov. 11 against Carolina. You want physical? Faulk had a brilliant 220-yard rushing game against the Saints in the playoff-clinching win at the Superdome last Christmas Eve. Martz is certain to use Faulk to eat up the clock as the season winds down. Let's face it: Although on occasion they'll need to stand toe-to-toe with the Tysons of the league, the 6-1 Rams still have the fewest weaknesses of any team in the NFL. Plus, seven of their final nine games are against teams that are at or below .500. Haslett, whether he meant it or not, was right when he told Martz after the game, "You've got the best team in football." St. Louis is the best team for football too. The game needs more mad scientists and fewer grind-it-out coaches. In the first half on Sunday, shortly before Warner stepped under center to start another in a series of anything-is-possible drives, the crowd murmured excitedly. What's next? An inside handoff to the tight end? A hook-and-lateral sprint-out by Az Hakim? The Rams would be foolish to do anything more than tinker with what got them this far. If this is finesse football, keep it coming. Issue date: November 5, 2001
For more Inside the NFL see this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands Wednesday, October 31. Click here to subscribe to SI.
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