Well Skeeter B,
I got home, saw your "Long" Green dribble, and was just about to slice and dice your FANatical abuse of Websters Dictionary, when to my "shocked surprise" I saw this article. ...After recovering my senses and recognizing that we are, after all, only facing the Eagles, I have decided that I still want those "kudos." ...But I know now that I will just have to accept them with a final score of RAMS 21 - Eagles 9. Imagine how embarrassing it will be to lose this game against a QB named "Jamie Martin." <Hoo Hoo Haaa>
Bernie Miklasz: Sound the alarm -- rib injury might sideline Warner
By Bernie Miklasz
Post-Dispatch Sports Columnist
01/24/2002 09:55 PM
The Rams' newspaper-clipping service hasn't provided any choice material this week. Coach Mike Martz likes to recycle trash talk and turn it into a pile of weekly motivational material for his team.
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Pin this comment to the bulletin board:
Kurt Warner is in trouble, and so are the Rams.
Better give the defense some extra vitamins.
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If the Rams are to prevail in Sunday's NFC Championship, they may have to get the dirty job done without the spirals contributed by their two-time National Football League MVP.
Warner is listed as ``probable'' on the team's official medical report for Sunday's NFC Championship. That's a questionable, or even doubtful, assessment.
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Explanations were confusing and conflicting. Martz first said Thursday's problems were caused by Warner's adverse reaction to an electrical-stimulation treatment. But trainer Jim Anderson clarified Martz's version and attributed Warner's discomfort to the original prognosis: bruised ribs.
One high-ranking team executive visited the media workroom in an attempt to get a straight answer about Warner's status. He was puzzled by the contradictory answers he got from other members of the organization.
All we know is that Warner couldn't make it through practice about 72 hours before the NFC Championship.
And that's an ominous development.
Warner's availability is anybody's guess, as is his viability. Even if Warner does start Sunday, how effective can he be? If Warner can't make it through a simple, non- contact practice, how can we expect him to endure the savagery of Philadelphia's stinging blitzers?
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The feeling in the locker room: it will be difficult to beat the Eagles without Warner.
Warner has never wavered in his toughness. In Super Bowl 34, he attempted 35 passes in the first half, exposing his torso to the constant stinging of the Tennessee blitzers. Warner was squirming in pain at halftime, and Martz told No. 2 quarterback Paul Justin to get ready to play. But Warner refused to give up, and was named the game's MVP after passing for 414 yards and two TDs.
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If that historical episode means anything, Warner will grit his teeth and try to go Rambo against the Eagles. And according to one Rams source, Warner already has informed Martz and his teammates that he'll take a painkilling injection before Sunday's game. But that doesn't mean Warner will be ready to play. His routine has been disrupted by so many ailments. And you wonder if he can be fine-tuned by Sunday.
The heat will be turned up on Martz now. Warner suffered the rib injury with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 45-17 win over Green Bay. The Rams were leading 38- 10. Angry Rams fans continue to howl. They're blaming Martz for subjecting Warner to a needless injury in a game that the Rams had in the safe.
I give Martz the benefit of the doubt on one aspect of his decision. A lot can happen in eight minutes, and I don't care if Brett Favre was having a shaky day; he's still dangerous. But after Warner took that hit from Packers defensive end Vonnie Holliday, get him to the safety of the bench.
``That was my trepidation in the game, where the Packers just recovered an onside kick, and No. 4 (Favre) is on the other side,'' Martz said. ``What happens if you do lose the ball and they get a pep rally going? What if it turns into another Houston at Buffalo playoff game from a few years ago? We were still playing that game. It wasn't over with eight minutes left.''
Thursday, Mad Mike was calm and composed.
``Kurt will be fine,'' Martz said. ``The look about him is one of confidence. He'll be fine.''
He'd better be, or irate fans will never allow Martz to forget this. Martz didn't trust Martin to mop up against the Packers. And now, with a Super Bowl and an entire team's dreams on the line, Martz may need Martin to save the season.
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