Frerotte likes fit with his former coach

~ The Rams backup quarterback played for Linehan in Miami and Minnesota.

ST. LOUIS -- After practice Monday, Gus Frerotte wore a T-shirt around Rams Park that read: "Life is good."

So far in his brief tenure with his new team, life has been good for the 35-year-old quarterback entering his 13th NFL season.

Joining a team with a strong offense that includes Pro Bowl receivers like Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce suits Frerotte, even if he comes in as the backup to Marc Bulger.

"It's been great here," Frerotte said. "We have an intelligent team. We have a great mix of old and young here. It's been really easy for me so far."

The Rams are Frerotte's seventh team. He spent last year with the Miami Dolphins, who traded a second-round draft pick for Daunte Culpepper in the offseason.

Frerotte, who guided Miami to a 9-7 record, including wins in the final six games, was released after the trade. In St. Louis, he rejoins new coach Scott Linehan, who spent last season as offensive coordinator in Miami. Frerotte also played under Linehan in Minnesota.

"We've got a good situation with Gus, who knows how to play and knows our system," Linehan said. "He can go in and is proven he can be a real, real good quarterback and play at a high level in this league. That's what you want in your backup."

Having a relationship with Linehan made coming to St. Louis and signing a three-year contract easy, Frerotte said.

"We get along really well," Frerotte said. "It's just kind of weird because I can go in there and I can talk regular to him."

Originally selected as a seventh-round choice in 1994 by Washington, Frerotte spent five seasons with the Redskins. He then played a year with Detroit, two with Denver, one with Cincinnati, two with Minnesota and last year at Miami.

Frerotte said he and Bulger have bonded in camp. Bulger said he has leaned on Frerotte because of his knowledge of Linehan's offense.

"He's been in six or seven offenses so he knows verbiage that I knew and he can correlate it," Bulger said. "We spent some time together in Pittsburgh, he's from there, so we have a good relationship already and I think it'll pay off more on game day."

The Rams open preseason play Thursday night at home against Indianapolis. Bulger figures to play sparingly and Frerotte expects to see a little time before giving way to Ryan Fitzpatrick and Dave Ragone, who are battling for the No. 3 job.