Rams' health takes turn for the worse

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams' depth, especially on defense, is about to get sorely tested.

A rash of injuries couldn't keep the Rams from going to an NFL-best 8-1 with a 24-17 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday night. But they could have a lot more stand-ins going the distance for a while.

"I think it's pretty standard, really, for all teams in this league to have that number of injuries," coach Mike Martz said Monday. "We just happened to have them all at one time.

"You've just got to fight through this."

This week's injury report will be voluminous, starting with defensive tackle Damione Lewis (broken foot). There's also safety Adam Archuleta (concussion, sprained ankle), defensive end Leonard Little (sprained knee ligament), wide receiver-punt returner Az-Zahir Hakim (sprained ankle), linebacker Mark Fields (sprained ankle) and tight end Ernie Conwell (shoulder).

Last week's report was brief, including only linebacker Don Davis (dislocated wrist) and offensive guard Tom Nutten (sprained ankle) among frontline players.

The injury to Lewis, the first of the Rams' three first-round draft been splitting time with Brian Young, will be out an estimated 6-8 weeks after undergoing surgery Monday morning.

Lewis broke the foot in the same place in college, and a screw was inserted. The Rams are hesitant to place Lewis on injured reserve because Martz wants him back at the end of the season if possible.

In the meantime, the third first-round pick, Ryan Pickett, will get some playing time.

Archuleta, another rookie first-rounder and a starter all season, sustained both of his injuries on the same play, taking on a block of Patriots lineman Greg Randall-Robinson.

Martz said the ankle is more of a concern, but believes Archuleta, who suffered a broken thumb earlier this season, may recover in time for next Monday's game against the Buccaneers.

Little, who has at least one sack in each of the last six games and is among the league leaders with nine overall, is expected to miss 1-2 weeks. Martz said, however, that an examination on Monday was encouraging.

Injuries to Hakim, Fields and Conwell are less serious. Martz said all have a chance to play, at least partly because the team has an extra day to prepare.

The Rams' two biggest stars, though, are not on the injury list.

Running back Marshall Faulk banged his right knee, the one that has been operated on twice in the last year, near the end of the game. But Martz said Faulk, who missed only one play and made several big plays down the stretch, was fine.

"He's got no problem with the knee whatsoever," Martz said.

Martz believes quarterback Kurt Warner put to rest talk about his sprained thumb with a 401-yard passing effort. Martz downplayed two more interceptions, giving Warner, who was 30-for-42, nine in three games.

"He's always thrown the ball well, but this was just extraordinary," Martz said. "I don't think you can question that thumb at this point."

Martz said Warner was surprised after the game how good it felt.

"The thumb had gotten gradually sorer and sorer," Martz said. "He didn't realize how sore it was until it felt good, if that makes sense."

Notes: Martz is giving players Thanksgiving off, at least partly because the team has an extra day to prepare. ... The Rams promoted S Nick Sorensen to the active roster for Sunday's game and released DL Jonathon Brown. ... According to team statistics, linebacker London Fletcher had 17 tackles against the Patriots, eight of them solo stops.