Rams turn NY into a Giant underdog

ST. LOUIS -- Somehow, the game matching the last two NFC champions has the look of a mismatch.

The St. Louis Rams' high-powered offense has a way of creating that perception, even against a New York Giants team fresh off a Super Bowl appearance. The Rams, who won the Super Bowl in 1999, are the lone unbeaten team in the NFL and have outscored their opponents 77-10 the past two weeks.

"They can hang points on you real quick," said Giants coach Jim Fassel, whose team is a 10 1/2-point underdog today -- also the biggest underdog in the NFL.

Kurt Warner never has been better, completing 72 percent of his passes, and he's 16-0 in the Dome at America's Center. After four games, Warner believes this year's team is better than the 1999 Super Bowl winners.

He'd hate to be a defensive coordinator trying to come up with a game plan to stop them.

"We have so many guys that are so explosive and so many guys that can hurt you," Warner said. "I've seen teams that say, 'We're going to make them run the ball to beat us.' I've seen teams that say, 'We're going to blitz them, we're going to make them throw it quick.'

"I've seen a lot of different schemes. We've seen everything."

A posse of speedy receivers led by Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, not to mention MVP Marshall Faulk, is getting the ball delivered right on the numbers.

"He's got tremendous touch," Giants cornerback Jason Sehorn said. "Everything's on the run. It's a difficult team, because they've got so much talent across the board."

The NFC West-leading Rams (4-0) don't care if the other side knows what's coming, either. They ran 16 straight passes against Detroit in the first half of a 35-0 rout on Monday.

"It's just about moving the ball," Rams coach Mike Martz said. "When guys get hot you kind of like to feed them, so to speak.

"If it's a running back, maybe you run the ball 16 straight times."

A rebuilt defense featuring eight new starters also is holding its own, throwing its first shutout since 1994, a year before the move to St. Louis. Last year, the Rams allowed 29 points per game, the highest total ever by a playoff team.

On Monday, they had six sacks, forced three turnovers and scored a touchdown on Dre' Bly's 93-yard interception return. They would have had two, except coaches and players were on the field as Grant Wistrom was making a long fumble return.

"They may be as improved as any team in the league," Fassel said ominously.

As for the NFC East-leading Giants (3-1), they've won three in a row without being overly impressive. They were tied 9-9 against winless Washington last week before scoring a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns.

"We're a bunch of old, boring codgers," defensive end Michael Strahan said.

Plus, with Warner and Faulk sidelined, they lost 38-24 last year to the Rams, who ended up as wild-card playoff losers. The last three times these teams have met, St. Louis has outscored New York 99-44 and won all three.

The Giants didn't overwhelm anybody last year, either. They just minimized mistakes and won.

"I just don't think anybody's had a perception that we're that talented of a team," Fassel said. "Where's their weapons? On and on and on ..."

On Sunday, the question is: Where's their running backs? Ron Dayne missed the second half of the Redskins game with a neck injury and Tiki Barber didn't suit up due to a hamstring injury.

Third-stringer Damon Washington, who entered last week with only one career carry, filled in with 90 yards on 25 attempts. But he has a shoulder injury.

"Day by day, it's hard to predict where they're going to be," Fassel said. "We'll just have to make do."

The Giants defense, led by Strahan, causes some concern for the Rams. Since the season-opening 31-21 loss at Denver, New York has allowed only 25 points.

Sehorn had two interceptions last week, and the Giants had 4 1/2 sacks and held the Redskins to 181 yards and nine first downs, bailing out an offense that committed four turnovers.

"We understand the caliber of this team," Martz said. "It's a slugfest, it's a title bout."

But as he's said many times this year, it all comes down to his team's performance.

"You look at the tape and we can be a lot better," Martz said. "They understand that. We've got to get a lot better, particularly this week."