ST. LOUIS -- So far, the Arizona Cardinals' quarterback job share is a success. The St. Louis Rams lack healthy bodies for a similar approach.
For the third straight game, Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt will stick with a combination of starter Matt Leinart and no-huddle reliever Kurt Warner, and why not? The arrangement helped Arizona beat the Steelers last week and Warner nearly rallied them to a victory over the Ravens the previous week.
The result: though it's modest, the Cardinals (2-2) have matched their best four-game record in 20 seasons (2002) since moving from St. Louis to the desert. They'll be trying to win in their former home base for the third straight year.
"It seemed to work for us pretty good," Whisenhunt said. "Both of our guys seem good with it, seem OK with it, and we are going to proceed that way."
OK with it? Maybe. Maybe not.
Leinart, the Cardinals' first-round pick in 2006, isn't all that enthusiastic, although he's acknowledged Warner's playing time has pushed him to improve. And this week it'll provide an opportunity for Warner, a two-time MVP with the Rams who led them to a Super Bowl win in 2000, for a homecoming that's more than ceremonial.
While Warner will get some playing time, the man who replaced him as the starter in St. Louis in 2003 will be an emergency option for the Rams. Playing with two broken ribs, Marc Bulger is 28-for-50 for 230 yards, four interceptions and no touchdowns the last two weeks, numbers that have landed him on the bench for some recovery time.
Warner said he and Bulger had not spoken this week, but he knows from experience how tough it has been for the player who used to back him up. Injuries that led to ineffectiveness led to Warner's departure from St. Louis, although he still roots for his old teammates.
"It is kind of a double-edged sword when you try to go out and play, but you can't play up to your level or expectations, or anyone else's, when you're not healthy," Warner said. "I just know that it's a frustrating situation and I hope that he can get healthy and get back in there and do what he does."
Just like the Warner-Bulger rivalry that made his final days in St. Louis a soap opera, Warner considers himself and Leinart friends and not adversaries.
"The funny thing is that what most people would probably think in a situation like this is that we might talk less or not communicate as much, but we probably have communicated more," Warner said. "I think that I have always been, in Matt's mind, one of his biggest allies."
Coach Scott Linehan temporarily handed the Rams' quarterback job to backup Gus Frerotte on Wednesday, two days after insisting the team just needed to find a better way to protect Bulger.
Reviewing the last three games convinced Linehan, who also is returning to calling plays this week, it was time to make a change.
"I watched the pass plays and there was no way in my mind that some of the throws Marc missed, he would miss in his sleep," Linehan said. "There's no question in my mind that it's because he's in extreme discomfort as he's trying to throw and move in the pocket."
Marques Hagans, a wide receiver and return man who was a quarterback at Virginia, will be the emergency third quarterback. Like a handful of teams, the Rams are carrying only two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, with a third, Brock Berlin, on the practice squad.
"Like I tell my boys all the time when they play football, you can't control anybody else except yourself," Frerotte said. "You can't control who's in the game, who's playing receiver, who the center is, anything like that.
"I'm just doing my job, so hopefully I'll do it well enough that it helps."
Entering the season the winless Rams appeared to be loaded on offense, but have totaled only two touchdowns. Five offensive linemen have been hurt, most notably Orlando Pace's season-ending shoulder injury in the opener, and Bulger was sacked six times behind a patchwork unit in a loss to the Panthers in Game 2.
St. Louis will also be without running back Steven Jackson (partially torn groin) for a second straight game, and safety Corey Chavous (pectoral) might not play, either. Linehan won't lean on these excuses.
"We all have our little piece to this struggle we're in. I just refuse to go down the road with the issues with the injuries up front or the performance of our quarterback or anything like that," Linehan said.
Arizona also has injury issues, and could be without Pro Bowl wide receiver Anquan Boldin and right tackle Levi Brown for a second straight game. Despite their recent success in St. Louis, they're also 7-33 on the road in the last five years.
"I mean, that's staggering when you think about that," outside linebacker Bertrand Berry said.
All four of the Cardinals' games have been decided by three points, and in the final minute. Another Arizona win would make the Rams 0-5 start for the first time since 2002, the year after their second Super Bowl appearance in three years.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
