Rams freshen up for Colts

ST. LOUIS -- No more traveling or short work weeks for the St. Louis Rams.

Coach Mike Martz is hoping a stable work environment will energize his team, which didn't look like one of the NFL's best on short rest and on the road in a shaky six-point victory over the 1-13 Carolina Panthers last week.

Now the Rams (12-2) can wrap up homefield advantage for the playoffs at home, playing the Indianapolis Colts (5-9) this week before finishing with the Atlanta Falcons (7-7).

"I feel like we should be back on track," Martz said. "We've been able to regroup."

The Rams are coming off an emotional three-game stretch. First, they beat San Francisco in a battle for the NFC West lead, then clinched a playoff berth with a victory over the defending division champion Saints at New Orleans. The Panthers shouldn't have been a major hurdle, except the game came six days later and again, on the road.

Martz gave his players two days off to recuperate from the Saints game, not that it helped.

"We were a tired, tired team," Martz said. "Defensively, we were exhausted.

"We had gone through that San Francisco game and the Monday night game and I know it's an excuse, but I believe it."

St. Louis can ensure no more trips before the Super Bowl with a victory and a loss or tie by the Chicago Bears in either of the last two games. At this point in 1999 -- the Rams' Super Bowl season -- they already had things locked up.

"To know everything is sewed up, that's always a good feeling to have," quarterback Kurt Warner said. "But we're still in a position to get what we want.

"We've just got to take care of business."

The Rams are 13-point favorites against the Colts, who have lost six of seven. The Colts are without running back Edgerrin Games, lost Edgerrin James for the season with a knee injury, and turn the ball over nearly as often as St. Louis. Indianapolis has 36 turnovers, four fewer than the league-leading Rams, and they've paid dearly for their mistakes.

Not the Rams, who piled up 14 turnovers in their two losses but otherwise have shrugged off the giveaways much as they have blown timeouts and ill-advised challenges.

"They're the only team that I've ever seen in the history of this league since I've been in it that can turn the ball over like they have and win," Colts coach Jim Mora said. "Their margin for error is so much bigger than other teams."

Now, if the Rams can just turn the Dome at America's Center into an advantage again. They had dropped five of nine at home before beating the 49ers earlier this month.

Martz, whose team was bedeviled by loud rock music in the huddle at New Orleans two weeks ago, wants Peyton Manning's audibles to be lost in a wall of noise. But he wants it to occur naturally, with Rams fans providing the roar.

"That's really the appropriate time to get loud, whenever the quarterback is up there at the line," Martz said.

A high-scoring game is likely for several reasons. The Rams have the NFL's No. 1 offense and the Colts have yielded 434 points, by far the most in the league. Plus, the Rams' defense has been struggling lately, yielding 402 yards to the Panthers and dropping from second to third in the league.

"No one's feeling too good about what we did last week," Rams tackle Tyoka Jackson said. "We just didn't answer the bell."

Offensively, St. Louis has been leaning lately on Marshall Faulk. Last year's league MVP is coming off his third career 200-yard rushing game and has accumulated 77 carries and 16 receptions the past three games.

"Teams come out and they protect against the pass and they want you to grind it out a little bit, and that puts the emphasis on myself and the offensive line," Faulk said. "When the game dictates that, that's how we play."

The Colts' attack is a mixture of Manning throwing underneath or handing off to rookie Dominic Rhodes, who has 880 yards in eight starts filling in for the injured James. That's an NFL best for an undrafted rookie, although he's also fumbled six times in the past seven games and coughed it up on consecutive carries in last week's one-point loss to the New York Jets.

Manning also has been error-prone, throwing an NFL-leading 21 interceptions. He's gotten a lot of bad breaks on tipped balls.

"I don't make any excuses whatsoever," Manning said. "I will say I've had some funny bounces."