Exhibiting some defense

ST. LOUIS -- Offense got the St. Louis Rams to two Super Bowls in a three-year span. Defense might be the team's strong suit now, however.

A line that features four first-round draft picks finally started to assert itself in the preseason, setting the tone. Linebacking has been solid after a shaky 2002 and the secondary hasn't missed departed corner Dre' Bly or Aeneas Williams, still recovering from a broken leg and torn ankle ligaments last season.

In the first two preseason games, the Rams' defense handled the Raiders and Bucs -- the two teams who played in the Super Bowl last February. The Bucs' first-stringers were held to 111 yards in the first half.

"What's funny is a lot of guys still think that was too much," said free safety Kim Herring, a member of the dominant Ravens defense that won a Super Bowl in 2001. "That was the kind of mentality we had at Baltimore.

"We want to shut them out; that's the kind of mentality we have on this defense."

Improved play by the defense ranked 13th in the NFL last year, would take a lot of pressure off the offense, largely to blame for a 7-9 season last year.

"I think we're all excited," quarterback Kurt Warner said. "The whole team has to show up to win a championship."

The Rams used to be known as the Greatest Show on Turf, leading the NFL with 500 or more points three straight years behind the dazzling moves of Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. The last few years, though, the franchise has invested heavily in defenders to balance the package.

In the first round of the 2001 draft, they took tackles Damione Lewis and Ryan Pickett, plus strong safety Adam Archuleta. Last year, they got linebacker Robert Thomas in the first round. This year, they took another tackle, Jimmy Kennedy, in the first round, and got outside linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa in the second.

Now, the team feels, it's time for the payoff.

Archuleta was coach Mike Martz' favorite player in training camp. Martz said the hard-hitting safety acts like a savvy 10-year veteran.

"I'm disappointed he probably doesn't get more recognition than he should," Martz said. "He's probably one of the more dominant players in the league."

The arrival of the speedy Tinoisamoa has allowed Thomas to move to middle linebacker, his natural position.

The secondary appeared to be a question mark with the free agent departure of Bly and Williams' uncertainty. Then Jason Sehorn, who was supposed to be the new starting free safety, broke his foot early in camp.

The emergence of Jeremetrius Butler at cornerback and a solid showing from Herring, who got his free safety job back for the time being, has filled those holes. Williams hasn't played in the preseason, but only because Martz is saving him for the Sept. 7 opener at New York against the Giants.

Of course, the offense isn't exactly in tatters. The big-play principals remain in place for a unit that slumped to 13th in the NFL last year, except for holdout All-Pro offensive tackle Orlando Pace. Players believe they can reach 500 points once again.

Warner is healthy after an inconsistent and injury-plagued 2002, during which he was 0-6 as the starter and missed significant time with a broken pinky and broken hand.

"When you're able to keep a core of players like we've got, who knows what's going to happen?" Warner said. "There's no limit to what these guys are capable of doing."

There's no friction, either, between Warner and backup Marc Bulger, who emerged from obscurity and went 6-1 as the starter last year.

"All me and Kurt think about is the St. Louis Rams," Bulger said. "It's not about Kurt or Marc or anything like that.

"What I did last year is in the past, and I have to improve this year and make this team better if something happens to Kurt."

Players feel last season is an aberration. They've put it behind them and are acting like contenders.

"When you're good, which we are, it doesn't really matter what anyone says," defensive lineman Tyoka Jackson said. "It doesn't even matter what the other guys are doing.

"We're tending to the Rams, we're putting the building blocks together."