| NEW ORLEANS — Super Sunday draws ever nearer, and
although football is a game of passion in which fired-up play is a good thing, the
remaining pregame hours and the actual game itself also require a sense of calm. Asked
what will be going through his mind the night before the game, Rams QB Kurt Warner said,
"Just preparing and going over the game plan one last time. The big thing is I am
still trying to relax. When you get to that point, you start getting anxious because it is
a late game, all the festivities. Every time you turn on the television, the game is all
that they are talking about. It is tough to really get your mind off it, so the biggest
thing is to relax, not get too anxious, not get too nervous, and try to hold those
emotions in the best you can."
That is easier said than done, because the Super Bowl is unlike any other game.
"I don’t think you know anything about it until you get here," Warner
said. "You kind of have to feel your way out. You think you do, you think you have
gone through all of the media stuff, but it is a little bit different here every day, and
the amount of time to prepare is shortened. … Sunday is just one of those things
where you want to get to the game. The anticipation before the game is hard. Halftime is
longer, pregame is longer, and you can’t wait to get to the game. As long as you can
relax and try not to get too emotional before the game, I think you will be fine."
If you think the players have a difficult time staying calm, just imagine how difficult
it will be for Rams fans to remain cool and collected if their worst nightmare comes true.
Just imagine the horrified reaction of Rams fans if Warner goes down with an injury during
the game and the team must turn to virtually untested backup Jamie Martin, who has thrown
only three passes this season.
"It’s the same offense," Rams RB Marshall Faulk said. "I’m
sure that Mike (Martz) would delegate more duties to myself and the offensive line, but
it’s the same offense. We expect Jamie to get up there and make throws. Maybe not
with the same oomph that Kurt has on them because he’s the guy in there and maybe the
timing will be a little off because Jamie hasn’t been in there with us for us to know
how he throws the ball. We have been in practice enough. He gets a lot of reps with the
ones (first team) just because it’s a long season and Kurt throws so much in the
games."
Speaking of injured quarterbacks, let’s turn our attention to the Patriots’
Tom Brady.
His injured ankle is passing the eyeball test.
"I watched him walk around, and he looked fine," Patriots C Damien Woody.
"He didn’t show anything to me as far as any pain from walking around."
In fact, there is a positive that has developed because of the ankle injury.
"I’ve had a lot of questions about (my) health status and how (I’m)
going to feel, but I think in one sense it keeps you focused, too," Brady said.
"Because I’ve been in the training room getting treatment, I haven’t been
able to run around Bourbon Street and get in trouble, so it’s probably better for me
than most of my teammates."
Don’t expect Brady to give much thought to his ankle come game time. His mind will
be on other things.
"He wants to win, and he hates being second," Patriots S Lawyer Milloy said.
Drew Bledsoe, meanwhile, continues to earn rave reviews for the mature manner in which
he has handled having to play second fiddle throughout most of the regular season, most of
the playoffs and now the Super Bowl because of an early-season injury that opened the door
for Brady.
"It was tough, very tough," Woody said. "He was used to being the man.
You get hurt and you expect to get your job back after you come back from an injury. When
you don’t, it hurts a lot, but you have to credit him for being a true professional
while the whole thing was going down. I’m just glad I’m working with a guy like
Drew. He is one of the most professional guys I have ever been around."
Naturally, Bledsoe wanted to start in the Super Bowl, especially after getting a taste
of playing time when Brady got hurt in the AFC title game.
"Of course," Woody said. "He didn’t let it out to his teammates
because he is such a professional, but everybody wants to play in a game of this
magnitude. Especially how everything went down in the AFC championship game. I know he
really wanted to start and wanted to play."
He may not be first string, but he still decided to act first class.
"One of the messages that we present in our foundation is that you can handle
yourself with some dignity and self-respect regardless of what the situation is,"
Bledsoe said. "That’s always an option. There’s definitely something to
that — practicing what you preach. In that part of it, it would be awfully hard for
me to throw a fit and be a distraction and then go and try to profess that somebody else
should act differently."
Faulk and Warner may have been the two best players in the NFL this season in the
eyes of many league insiders, but the Rams’ wide receivers should not be overlooked.
It is hardly going out on a limb to say that starters Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce, along
with backups Az-Zahir Hakim and Ricky Proehl, give the Rams a devastating WR corps.
"We pride ourselves on being complete receivers, not only catching the ball well
but blocking, being better route runners, being students of the game," Holt said.
"I think right now what we do best is we use our ability to get open, and when we
catch the ball, we make big plays. I think the yards after the catch is something that we
do particularly well.
"We try to use our skills and take things that we’re taught as football
players. We try to go out there and use our speed and quickness to try to grab the line of
scrimmage and get open down the field."
Warner is especially effective at taking advantage of this WR corps.
"We have a great rapport with Kurt," Proehl said. "He knows each of us
do things differently. That’s what makes him special. Some quarterbacks throw the
same passes to different receivers. He knows I will run a certain route different from the
way Torry does it, and he throws the ball accordingly."
More on the Rams wide receivers:
Bruce, when asked if it is important for him to realize his place in the game, said,
"That’s more important than salary. That’s second to winning championships.
That’s one of the reasons I play this game."
Patriots S Tebucky Jones, when asked to rank the Rams’ receivers, said, "I
can’t. They are all dangerous. Torry Holt is more of a straight-line guy who can beat
you deep. Isaac Bruce is more of a possession receiver, but he also can go deep. They are
all good, and they all do good things."
Before we move along from the Rams’ receivers to another subject, mention should
be made about Ernie Conwell. He’s not a wide receiver, but as a tight end he’s
certainly a part of the passing game.
"This is one of the all-time stories in the NFL, in my opinion," Rams head
coach Mike Martz said. "This guy had a knee injury that was so severe everybody said,
‘You are not playing again.’ It took him two years to overcome this, and I
don’t know if there is a more complete tight end in the league. I haven’t seen
one. He can block a defensive end by himself and has the speed and agility to get up the
field with routes and catch the ball as well as he can catch the ball. I think he is the
complete package, and we are very fortunate to have him."
Speaking of guys who have done a nice job of rebounding from physical ailments,
Patriots S Lawyer Milloy is worth mentioning. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick sure did
at his Friday press conference. In glowing terms.
"I think Lawyer has given us great leadership since the first day practice started
this year. Lawyer had offseason surgery on his shoulder, and he was rehabbing his shoulder
all spring. He was in great attendance for the offseason program. He worked very hard to
rehab his shoulder. It’s probably more work than he’s done in the offseason than
any of the previous years. He was there the first day of training camp with all the
rookies when it’s 100 degrees and 80 percent humidity, and they were all out there
dying. He was out there dying with them since the first practice.
"He’s got a great heart. Lawyer is a smart guy. He really picks up things in
a hurry. He makes great adjustments on the field, but he brings a real physical presence
for our defensive football team, and I think that carries over into the offense and
special teams, too, because Lawyer displays for us in the kicking game, as well. But I
think that that physical style of play that he brings carries over to other areas of the
game. But the competitiveness and the heart and the toughness that he brings to our
football team is really hard to put a price on. He’s got great intangibles, as well
as being a great football player."
Rams DE Grant Wistrom was named the NFL’s 50th-best player this season
in Pro Football Weekly’s poll of NFL insiders in the current issue of Pro Football
Weekly.
"That’s awesome," Wistrom said. "It’s a team game, but every
now and then you get some individual accolades. It’s nice to be recognized."
What makes Wistrom so effective?
"You have certain leaders, and he’s definitely one of them because of the way
he performs," Rams DL coach Bill Kollar said. "You can be a guy that does a lot
of talking, but if you’re not playing on Sunday, I don’t give a darn what
you’re thinking. But if you’re producing on Sunday, that has an effect on the
overall team. Every game, there always seems to be a time where we need a big play on
defense, and he seems to come up with one. The Giants game, he makes an interception; last
week he makes a sack; two plays later, he clips the heels on (Donovan) McNabb and stops
him from making a big gain. He just has that knack. He has that instinct that, boy, we
need a big play and he’s going to make it."
Rams DE Leonard Little said, "He’s nice off the field, but out on the field
he’s a real hard worker. He’s always getting to the ball. He’s a playmaker
too. He’s our big playmaker on the defensive line. I’ve learned a lot from him
this year.
"He works hard. Most people in this league don’t want to work hard.
They’ll sit around and watch the ball go down the field without running to the ball.
With him, he runs to the ball on every play. He wants to make every play."
When asked about Wistrom’s improvement this season, Kollar said, "It’s
in the run game. He’s always hustled. But when I watched film on him last year, he
didn’t play with a base and he didn’t use his hands as well as he needed to. In
March we started working in the chutes and the sleds and the boards to get him playing
with a base and using his hands better. Boy, he picked it up. Howie Long mentioned to me
awhile ago, ‘I can’t believe how small Wistrom is but how strong he plays in the
run game.’ That’s the biggest thing right now. His feet were too narrow, and he
didn’t have a good base in his stance. The more narrow your feet are, you have a good
chance of getting thrown to the ground. With a better base, you have balance and
don’t get thrown around." |
