High-powered Rams wary of lowly Panthers

ST. LOUIS -- There's little danger of the St. Louis Rams taking their latest opponent for granted, even though the Rams are double-digit favorites.

For one thing, they lost twice to a so-so Carolina Panthers team last season. The first one ended their 15-game home winning streak and the rematch was a seven-turnover, 16-3 loss at Carolina in early December.

"I don't know how you take anybody lightly that's swept you the year before," coach Mike Martz said. "I don't understand that. Obviously, we don't feel that way."

For another, the Rams (6-1) are coming off their bye heading into Sunday's game and have had two weeks to stew about their first loss of the year. Kurt Warner threw four interceptions in the Rams' eight-turnover disaster against the New Orleans Saints, and it made for a somewhat restless week off.

"There were certain plays that I thought about over and over and over," Warner said. "I still think about them, and things I could have done differently."

For yet another, Martz has been portraying this game for weeks as the Rams' second opening day.

"I just feel like we're all at zero, at the ground floor," he said. "I think there's real danger in approaching it any other way."

The Rams might need even more hunger on Sunday, though, considering how much the Panthers (1-6) have struggled. Carolina has dropped seven in a row after an impressive season-opening victory over the Vikings, and figures to have trouble keeping up with the Rams' high-powered offense.

Faulk is back

St. Louis is No. 1 in the NFL in total offense, passing offense, points and third-down conversions. Plus, the Rams have Marshall Faulk back after missing two games with a bruised right knee.

Martz said Faulk's mere presence in the huddle makes a difference.

"It's incredibly huge," offensive tackle Ryan Tucker said. "That guy brings so much to the offense, you really don't know what you've got until it's gone."

Rare admirer

Panthers coach George Seifert, who won two Super Bowls with the 49ers, is a rare admirer -- at least in the coaching ranks -- of the Rams' attack. Whereas others sniff that the Rams run a finesse game, Seifert calls Martz's attack "ingenious."

He doesn't mind Martz' bottomless bag of gadget plays and go-for-broke style, either, or his onside kick with a 31-7 third-quarter lead against the Jets a few weeks ago.

"To be honest with you, I think it's awesome," Seifert said. "I hate to say this because we've got to play them.

"In my distant past I remember having offenses that scored points and I always felt and I'm sure he feels the same way, that teams can jump back on you. So I don't buy into holding off the horses."

The Panthers have few horses, having totaled 32 points the last three games and having gone without an offensive touchdown for eight quarters. The Rams scored 31 points, despite those eight giveaways, in their 34-31 loss to the Saints.

Quarterback problems

The Panthers also have a major problem at quarterback. Chris Weinke missed the second half of last week's 23-6 loss to the Dolphins with a sprained throwing shoulder and is questionable this week. Backup Dameyune Craig was placed on injured reserve Tuesday with torn ligaments in his foot, leaving third-stringer Matt Lytle as the only healthy quarterback.

The situation is so dire that the Panthers signed Jim Harbaugh, 37, earlier in the week.

The adversity is unchartered territory for Seifert.

"Obviously, everybody involved with this is having a difficult time," Seifert said. "It's quite difficult and the redeeming thing, the one thing that keeps you going, is the fact you've got a game the next week that you can totally immerse yourself in."

Panthers force turnovers

Like most teams, the Panthers will undoubtedly try to keep it a low-scoring affair. A defense that has forced 20 turnovers, fourth-best in the NFL, and scored two touchdowns in the last three games, is Carolina's strong suit.

"I don't think they're a team that you're going to get a lot of big plays on, or they're going to make a lot of mistakes," Warner said. "I think the biggest thing is you just have to be patient against them."