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Sunday, October 06, 2002

Quarterback Jamie Martin has been hanging around the NFL since the year after Tommy Maddox was drafted. In all that time, he has started one game.

Now, like Maddox, Martin is being asked to save the season for a team that was favored to get to the Super Bowl from its conference.

Only Martin's job is even bigger because the St. Louis Rams are 0-4.

Martin is 32, a year older than Maddox. He began with the Los Angeles Rams in 1993 as an undrafted rookie from Weber State. He spent time on practice squads and regular rosters with the Rams, Redskins, Jaguars, Browns, back to the Jaguars and back to the Rams.

He has been on the injured-reserve and physically-unable-to-perform lists. He played in NFL Europe. He was signed 11 times, released six and awarded unrestricted free agency three times.

"I've never thought about hanging it up, if that's what you're asking," Martin said. "My wife's always been real supportive, too. Whenever I would get frustrated, she'd say, 'Stick with it.' She kind of believed in me. So it never got to that point."

A time to run

Maybe the Rams were trying too hard this year to live up to their reputation under Mike Martz. They've run 28.8 percent of the time through their four games, passing 71.2 percent of the time.

"The Greatest Show on Turf" might need a little more Marshall Faulk. During their 1999 Super Bowl run, they ran 43 percent of the time. Last year, when they made it to the Super Bowl, they ran 41 percent.

The league average last year was 56 percent running plays. The Rams had 44 turnovers last year, but have 13 after four games this year, second most in the league.

Teams are dropping safeties into cover two zones schemes against them, and they've been trying to force the ball into it. Maybe with Jamie Martin at quarterback, they won't rely on the pass as much.

Slap in the face

They eliminated the head slap in football a long time ago, but only by opponents. Detroit's Desmond Howard was the first head slap victim this season at the hands of a teammate.

After Howard returned a 70-yard kickoff Sunday against New Orleans, he returned to the sideline, where defensive end Robert Porcher celebrated by slapping him upside the helmet. Howard dropped to the Ford Field turf, writhing in pain.

"It's the way guys celebrate in the NFL," Howard said.

Maybe the Lions, if they ever have cause to celebrate again, should go back to the old high-five.

"It just so happened I was coming off a neck injury, so it wasn't the proper way to celebrate at that time," Howard said. "It hurt."

Howard's neck was injured in the second game of the season, and he missed one game before returning against the Saints.

"I just forgot all about his injury," Porcher said.

Running back James Stewart said, "I was saying to myself, 'Down goes Frazier!' "

Quick slants

Atlanta, which has not scored on defense in the past 34 games, faces Tampa Bay, which has returned three interceptions for touchdowns this season.

Buccaneers defensive tackle Warren Sapp on the offensive thinking of Coach Jon Gruden: "He gets the ball, he thinks he can score from anywhere. You can put him in Afghanistan, he thinks he can score a touchdown."

Winless Minnesota Coach Mike Tice on what would count as a good week: "Nobody gets hurt, and I don't have to go down to Hennepin County." Randy Moss was held in the Hennepin County Jail one night last week.

Atlanta's Michael Vick is the only quarterback with at least three starts this season who has not thrown an interception. None of his past 105 passes have been picked off.

Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre is 16-4 against the Bears and has won eight games in a row at Soldier Field, but the teams play in Champaign, Ill., tomorrow night.