No rivalry here, insist QBs Warner and Bulger

MACOMB, Ill. -- You can forget about a quarterback controversy or feud with the Rams.

Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger insist things have never been better, even though last season was a breakthrough for Bulger and a breakdown for Warner.

Warner also discounted any lingering friction between he and coach Mike Martz. The two clashed last year after Warner's wife, Brenda, called a radio station to complain that she and not the Rams had insisted on an X-ray for Warner's broken hand.

"The bottom line is coach and my relationship is great, Marc and my relationship is great," Warner said. "It's all good. We just want to go out and win a Super Bowl and we're going to do it together.

"People will try to stir some things up, but there's absolutely no problems at all."

Warner was 0-6 as the starter last year, with only three touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. He was a major culprit in the Rams' 0-5 start, and then he missed a lot of time with breaks to his pinky and hand.

Bulger, formerly a lightly-regarded backup, won his first six starts while Warner was out. Warner said that's good for everybody.

"Marc and I have a great relationship and it's fun," Warner said. "Now you've got a guy that's played and been there, and we can really feed off each other.

"He's a guy you can really lean on and look to."

For his part, Bulger appears happy to take a backseat once again. Coach Mike Martz, after at first announcing the two would compete for the job in training camp, gave the job to Warner not long after the Rams' 7-9 season ended.

Like Warner, Bulger said the biggest change is that the team knows he can be counted on.

"If I don't take a snap this season, that means Kurt is healthy and we're winning, and that's what we want," Bulger said. "All me and Kurt think about is the St. Louis Rams.

"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."

Martz expects a big rebound from Warner.

"Last year I put an awful lot of pressure on Kurt and I think there were a lot of things around Kurt that started to deteriorate somewhat," Martz said. "There's nothing wrong with Kurt.

"What I saw in him in the spring is worth really getting excited about."

Warner's leash might be shorter this year considering Bulger's emergence. But Warner, a two-time MVP who led the Rams to a pair of Super Bowls, said he won't be looking over his shoulder.

"As far as I'm concerned, my job is to play the way I'm capable of playing," Warner said. "It's not worrying about who's behind me or what I have to do.

"That stuff doesn't bother me one bit."

Warner said he's watched film of all of his games last year, and came up with a surprising conclusion: He did fine.

"I know people are going say 'You're crazy,"' Warner said. "I still feel I made better decisions and threw the ball as well as I ever have last year.

"There were more interceptions than touchdowns, and I understand that, but when I look at the big picture that's how I feel."

Warner enjoys training camp as a getaway from his myriad responsibilities at home, including speaking engagement and charitable concerns. There, he can concentrate just on football.

"As much as I love my family, I enjoy just getting to be able to focus on football for a couple of weeks," Warner said. "So it's really not that much of a burden as far as I'm concerned."