Warner's ability will undergo a Giant test

ST. LOUIS -- Preseason numbers are one thing. Now, Kurt Warner has to prove again that's he's as good as new.

The Rams' opener on Sunday against the New York Giants is the first chance for the two-time MVP to erase the bad taste from a shaky, injury-plagued 2002 season in which he was 0-6 as the starter with only three touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.

"To me, there was never a cloud," Warner said Wednesday. "There was never anything like 'Oh, boy, last year I just played horrible and I'm never going to be able to play like I did.'

"That stuff was blown all out of proportion and it's nothing I'm going to worry myself about."

Warner, who was indecisive behind a porous line early last season and then had a broken pinky and broken hand, had a productive August. He was 23-for-26 for 198 yards, playing about one full game, although he sat out the final preseason game.

"When I was in there, I felt good," Warner said. "It wasn't hard to focus and it wasn't hard to see things, and that's usually a good sign that you're close."

Teammates have full confidence in Warner.

"Kurt's Kurt," Marshall Faulk said. "He's going to be there, he's going to be prepared, and he's going to give us all he has."

So does coach Mike Martz.

"I think every time you play, a good player of his caliber has something to prove to himself," Martz said. "I don't know what he has to prove to anybody else."

The Giants saw the old Kurt Warner, the prolific passer who threw 41 touchdown passes to lead the Rams to the Super Bowl after the 1999 season and 36 more in 2001.

"He's really in a rhythm, for the amount of throws he's had," Giants coach Jim Fassel said. "He's got all the tools and can make all the throws.

"He just looks very comfortable."

Still, Warner knows that doubts remain and that it might take a while for fans to stop championing backup Marc Bulger, who was 6-1 as the starter last year.

"I don't think it's going to be answered for a while for those people that still have the questions," Warner said. "I can't concern myself with that and worry about that."

All summer, Warner has proclaimed himself healthy. He clearly re-established himself as the No. 1 quarterback.

"I just feel like I am throwing it like I normally do," Warner said. "I don't want to say I'm throwing it better than I ever have, but it's as well as I ever have."

Warner doesn't want to spend a lot of time revisiting his lost 2002 season. To him, it's just as productive as celebrating the successes.

"It's like when you win the Super Bowl you can't focus on last year then, either," Warner said. "It's a whole new season, a new team, a new atmosphere around here.

"It's time to go out and win some games."

Warner believes the Rams, who slumped to 7-9 last year after playing in two Super Bowls in a three-year span, will be back on top. The key to Warner's thinking is a fast start.

"I think this team definitely has the capabilities of being back in the Super Bowl," Warner said. "It all starts this week, but we've got to set the tempo right out of the blocks and get this thing going.

"You can look around this locker room and see the talent level, but we had the same talent level last year and we didn't get it done."

The biggest concern on the team is youth. There are 13 rookies on the roster, including 10 of the 11 draft picks.

"The veterans are going to have to lift up their game to compensate for those guys early, but those young guys have to step up and get into a rhythm," Warner said. "They are going to be a key for how far we go and how much success we have."