Isaac Bruce said the Patriots would be making a mistake if they played man-to-man defense on Rams receivers.
“I’m a big believer that I cannot be covered one-on-one,” Bruce said. “Torry [Holt] believes the same and so does Az [Zahir Hakim] and Ricky [Proehl]. If you’re going to play one-on-one, we have to do what we have to do to get down the field and make big plays.”
Evidently the alternative isn’t a great idea either, however, as Bruce talked about whether the Rams’ offense has peaked.
“We have a couple times this year,” he said, “once against Miami and a couple other games this year where they played a lot of zone, allowing Kurt [Warner] to stand back there and pick them apart. “
On target: The accuracy of Warner is what sets him apart from other quarterbacks, Rams coach Mike Martz said.
“When we look at a quarterback, we try to hold him to three things–accuracy, first and foremost, his intelligence, and then his toughness,” Martz said. “Everything else is just kind of icing on the cake. Kurt is off the charts in all three of those areas, but primarily his accuracy is truly unusual. He can put the ball wherever he wants to.
“There’s one throw that comes to mind in New Orleans in the Monday night game [against the Saints]. Az Hakim is blanketed … and he had room for error of about six inches and he dropped it in there. I don’t know how he did it.”
Warner has heard the accolade before.
“I think some guys have that ability, just like great jump-shooters,” Warner said. “They have the ability to make a shot no matter what the situation. The Arena League had to help fine-tune that a little bit with the tightness and quickness of the game. But really first and foremost it was a God-given ability.”
Practice report: Warner looked sharp in the Rams’ first practice Wednesday and was not affected by the bruised ribs that bothered him in the NFC championship game last week.
Left tackle Orlando Pace (knee), defensive tackle Jeff Zgonina (elbow) and Hakim (ankle) did not practice, but all are expected to play Sunday.
The Rams worked out at the Saints’ facility and coach Martz invited Saints coach Jim Haslett to watch, dispelling the notion that the two NFC West coaches are bitter rivals.
“Obviously, we wouldn’t feel comfortable with their [entire] staff out here,” Martz said. “But I extended an invitation to Jim to watch and he did.”
Always a fan: Rams cornerback Aeneas Williams said he was a fan of the St. Louis offense even when he played for Arizona.
“I was so excited about this offense. I’ll never forget something in preseason that happened,” Williams said. ” . . . I don’t know if it was Torry or Issac, but they fell down on the ground and Kurt threw the ball and the ball hit them on the chest on the ground. That’s when I was reminded of how special this offense is capable of being.”
Good move: Rams starting free safety Kim Herring is trying to become only the third player to win consecutive Super Bowls with different teams.
Linebacker Ken Norton did with Dallas and San Francisco after the 1993 and 1994 seasons and cornerback Deion Sanders won with the 49ers and Cowboys after the 1994 and 1995 seasons.
The Baltimore Ravens couldn’t find salary cap room to re-sign Herring last winter.
“I would never have thought that would happen, especially when I thought I could have been in Baltimore a little longer,” Herring said. “Unfortunately that didn’t work out, but now I have a great opportunity to win another one with St. Louis. I’m in a very fortunate situation.”
