Rams face surprising Brady bunch

FOXBORO, Mass. -- When Kurt Warner takes the field against New England, he will be able to look across the field and see another former backup quarterback who just needed a chance to play.

"I love to watch stories like that, guys that get an opportunity to come in and play well and see the excitement that guys like that generate," Warner said as the St. Louis Rams prepared for tonight's game against Tom Brady and the Patriots. "It's fun to see those guys that nobody expects to do well come out of the woodwork, so to say, and do well."

Warner is familiar with the story, having led the Rams to a Super Bowl victory after filling in when Trent Green was injured in 1999. Brady hasn't quite gotten there yet, but he has gone 5-2 since Drew Bledsoe was injured in Week 2 -- which is why Patriots coach Bill Belichick isn't rushing to put Bledsoe back in now that doctors have cleared him to return.

"It is a difficult situation, because obviously it's Drew's team, and they have made the commitment and built the organization around him. But Tom's going to be a great quarterback," Warner said. "He's obviously showing that and he's winning football games, which is always the bottom line."

The feeling is mutual.

"He's a heck of a player, and when you watch him on film, you realize why they score a lot of points, because he makes a lot of good throws," Brady said. "And he throws to guys who can do a lot of things with the ball. They have a lot of playmakers."

Brady has developed into a playmaker himself for the Patriots, and with Antowain Smith running for at least 100 yards in consecutive games, New England is finding the running game to back him up. With wins in five of their last seven games, the Patriots (5-4) have matched their win total from last season and moved above .500 for the first time since Belichick arrived.

Now comes the biggest test yet -- both for Brady and his team.

"We are going to need our best game this week," Belichick said. "I don't think there is any doubt about it."

St. Louis (7-1) has the No. 1 offense and the fourth-rated defense in the league; New England is 21st and 17th, respectively. The only thing that seems to be slowing them down is an injury to Warner's right thumb.

The 1999 league MVP took fewer snaps in practice this week to keep from aggravating the injury, though he is expected to play the whole game.

Warner said the thumb troubles him most when he is not set in the pocket.

"I know it is there and it has bothered me," Warner said. "I feel for the most part I'm throwing the ball well and doing those things and putting the ball where I wanted to put it. But there have been some balls that have gotten away from me and I think it has a little bit to do with the thumb, but I can't say that for sure."

The only other thing the Patriots have going for them is the weather.

In the Rams' first eight games, three were outdoors, but none of them had the kind of cold weather that could greet the teams for a night game at Foxboro Stadium near Thanksgiving. The good news for St. Louis is that six of its last seven games are indoors, the exception being Dec. 23 at Carolina.

"If you go on the road and it's cold and it's windy or whatever and you allow it to affect your focus, at some point it becomes a problem," Warner said. "We've done that before on the road outside, but I don't think it necessarily pertains completely to the fact that we are playing on grass or that we are playing outside, whatever the conditions are."