Martz holds no grudge against Warner for comments

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz holds no grudge against Kurt Warner for his remarks about faith possibly being an issue in his benching last season.

Martz, at a meeting Tuesday to introduce four new coaches to his staff, wouldn't give specifics about his quarterback plan for next season. It has been speculated that there will be an open competition between Warner, the two-time NFL MVP, and Marc Bulger, the Pro Bowl MVP, in training camp.

"I have an idea of where we're headed with that but we've got another three months yet," Martz said. "We'll deal with that at another time.

"They're going to be here, so we'll worry about that later."

Martz did say that Warner's Super Bowl day speech in Houston, during which he speculated that his religious beliefs helped knock him out of a starting job, would not be a factor in whatever happened.

"I don't have an issue with Kurt; I really don't," Martz said. "I know my only concern about any comment by any player is how it reflects on the organization and the rest of the team.

"My relationship with Kurt is not damaged or changed in any way. It's too strong for that. It's just one of those things and it's time to move on."

Bulger became the starter after Warner fumbled six times in a season-opening 23-13 loss to the New York Giants, and led the Rams to a 12-4 record. But he threw three interceptions in his first career playoff apperance, a second-round loss in overtime to the Carolina Panthers.

Bulger threw a Pro Bowl-record four touchdown passes to lead the NFC to a come-from-behind 55-52 victory over the AFC on Sunday.

"Probably the thing that stands out the most with Marc in that game is his ability to avoid the pass rush, step up and make a very accurate throw," Martz said. "He had a couple of impromptu plays that I thought were just outstanding."

It goes without saying, however, that Bulger's showing won't have much impact on Martz's decision. The Pro Bowl is a decidedly low-key event.

"If I had to look at the Pro Bowl and how he played to make a decision on him, I'm not much of a coach I guess, am I?" Martz said. "We've know him intimately for quite some time and I know what he's capable of.

"I think the opportunity he had at the Pro Bowl was terrific and he took advantage of it."

Martz, who doesn't have an end-of-season news conference, publicly discussed his strategy at the end of the Panthers loss for the first time. Martz elected to kick a game-tying field goal and take his chances in overtime even though the Rams had a first down at the 15 with 39 seconds to go and one timeout remaining, and ended up losing 29-23.

He said he took this tack because the Rams struggled all day inside the 20.

"I didn't like what we had to choose from play-wise from a protection standpoint and I did not want to put our team into that position where it would take us out of field goal position or a potential bad play," Martz said. "It's contrary to what we've done in the past and before the game I'd have never done that.

"But the feel of the game, and how we performed in the red zone earlier in the game, made me swing into that mode more than anything else."

Martz spoke at a luncheon to introduce new defensive coordinator Larry Marmie, linebackers coach Joe Vitt, special teams coach Mike Stock and offensive line assistant John Benton.

"We're excited about our new staff, when you look at the years of experience and the success they've all had."

Marmie replaces Lovie Smith, hired as head coach by the Chicago Bears. He and Martz have been friends for a long time, but Martz emphasized the two also mesh philosophically.

"Obviously, Larry is a good friend," Martz said. "But if you hire somebody to coach because he's a good friend you're going to end up getting fired. It's just the way it is."