Indianapolis Colts at St. Louis Rams (Week 16, 2001)

had the luxury of three number one draft choices the big plus mike zander jack to kick it off to yo murphy in his second year out of the university of idaho the skins down to the four yard line and here comes murphy of the rams waits patiently gets a block cuts across the 30 to the 32-yard line where he's tackled by kevin mcdougall the most valuable player in the national football league two years ago as he led the rams to that super bowl title kurt warner out of northern iowa and look at those numbers two out of three passes complete over 4 000 yards again and tied with brett favre for the most touchdown passes in the league there he is 4 000 passing yards again this year for a man that a couple of years ago was not protected on the opening rounds in the expansion draft cleveland browns could have taken him away from saint louis well they weren't the only team that didn't know that's for sure warner scrambling hit from behind and tackled right at the line of scrimmage by marcus washington who leads the colts and sacks this year they start out in four wide and of course mike mart's the coach of the rams will have some surprises always done a little safety valve to fall and he puts his head down and is hammered at the 38-yard line jim mora we'll talk more about him and uh his future he has one year left on his indianapolis contract and of course you all know about the confrontation earlier this year with his quarterback manning warner under pressure line to ricky parole gratsky made the tackle burris on a corner blitz had warner and you work all week on setting this up it works exactly the way you draw it up except the blitzer doesn't make the tackle kurt warner he's not all that speedy but he's got great pocket awareness and pocket sense and it just took a lateral move of about a yard or so to avoid jeff burst and that is why kurt warner is kurt warner and again the colts had a wonderful opportunity for a three and out and that goes poof first down at the 44. falk's first carry and he's uh wrapped up by mike peterson uh third year out of the university of florida and they have dearly missed his talented linebacker out with a knee he missed six games yeah and that's a and this is uh it's a tough return after being out for that long it's played in the year and you try your best to ride the bike and get your cardio back and and to stay in some kind of shape but you're not in hitting shape so it'll be interesting to track mike peterson as he goes through this game second down and six [Music] warner looks for that second now a third option and now throws to the sideline complete as azir akeem oz is right there just kind of tip total on the sidelines wide open macklin the defender what fabulous pass protection by the ram offensive line just look at the way they stop the four rushers give kurt warner he's moving a little but then again it goes right back to the fact that they buy him enough time to survey the field akeem doesn't do anything but just stand on the that that was so casual thick that's what's frustrating to other teams that just looked like a walking apart too easy under pressure at the one foot line he just was denied by jeff burris and how fitting for jeff burris that he has to save the touchdown this drive is still alive because of that missed tackle on the blitz on third down just a crossing pattern into the middle you know the rams are only going to go so long before they try to stretch the field and jeff burris well maybe something will happen here where they can keep the rams out of the end zone they had a chance for a three and out and this is the price they're paying right now 42-yard gain warner to hold first and goal from the one warner all day and gets back to the last trip maine fumbled the ball there's a scramble and the referee points toward the rams recovering marcus washington there was there to hammer kurt warner and the colts thought they had a turnover corey there as well the defensive end well nothing of it and see this is where kurt warner oh and that ball is out and it looks like it comes right back to kirk that's what winning teams they were demanding and warner were talking about that winning teams the ball bounces right for manning that ball would have rolled to the rams now the inside hand off and straightened is james hodgins the fullback and he doesn't get in yeah that you talk about the mindset that happens when you're not winning dick and that's it exactly back the colts probably figure jim morris thinking if that would have been us not only would we not have got but they'd have picked it up and run it back for a touchdown the other way it has been a difficult season with all the high hopes of maura and the colts and their fans well hodgins only a second carry all year he doesn't get in third and goal three tight ends give it to fall he knows the way how's that for a hole on the left side marshall faulk untouched into the end zone what a job by orlando pace number 76 the left tackle she's going to start with a double team and then big orlando is going to come off and he peels off and hits marcus washington the linebacker and a wise move by marshall faulk going behind big op orlando pace jeff wilkins for the point after and it's 7-0 the touchdown machine for the rams marshall faulk following brilliant blocking that's his 17th score of the season tory hall the number one pick by the rams in 99 his 42-yard reception from kurt warner setting up the one-yard score by marshall faulk and look at warner 4-4 opening drive he finished last week 10 for 10 so he's completed his last 14. wilkins to kick it off to wilkins jeff to terrence and one of 17 undrafted free agents wilkins sprints through a good gap and gets it out to the 32 before tommy polly makes the stop well let's take another look at the touchdown by marshall faulk here's orlando he's going to come down and then come back off watch the double team with tom newton to guard but then he comes off and knocks marcus washington to the outside from the lower level he gets in on the double team keeps his balance comes up and buries another guy outstanding block that by newton but orlando pace that's why he's a pro bowler and fault 106 career touchdowns passes don hudson he's number 10 all time peyton manning with a single back dominique groves the rookie fires to the outside incomplete intended for terence wilkins good defense by dexter mcleon peyton manning son of a great player archie out of tennessee and his number is 24 touchdowns that's a lot of scores the 21 interceptions have bitten a lot of opportunity and six of those have been returned for scores by the defense well like peyton told a stick that he knows that they were his fault ultimately but he was just trying to win trying to get his team back in some games keep a weak defense off the field plenty of noise against manning second and ten rolls dumped in the backfield by adam archuleta the rookie from arizona state three wide receivers with reggie wayne the rookie in there flanker screen complete to wilkins into the clear at the 50 and all the way to the rams 43 yard line before anias williams can track him down with dexter mcleon well ever since terence wilkins came to the nfl this is the kind of explosiveness he has always shown it's a risky play because wilkins knows coming in on adam's plan that he can take a big hit if his blockers don't get out in front of it explosive is the word that describes terence wilkins and oh does the colts need that on three and 13. third and 13. wow 28-yard play his longest reception of the year manning changing his play or sometimes this is all just window dressing give it to rose and the young running back from midwestern texas state university gets a couple second and nine banning underneath complete the gilder and kendall the tight end has a first down at the rams 32 it is his 29th catch of the year these tight ends for the colt stand have been very productive 72 receptions from the tight end position well they've needed it because they've lost your own path on their second receiver and marvin harrison is really the only real receiving threat they have they have a number one draft choice in reggie wayne and terence wilkins as we just saw but really the tight ends have got to pick up the slack with the loss of paython first down and the rams show blitz and so manning points that archuleta the safety who creeped up to the line of scrimmage here he comes again manning throwing in complete gilga the closest white jersey and he was throwing on retreat archuleta coming archuleta now he's a strong safety now but this is a kid who is a linebacker in college and he's a you know he he makes things happen he's stuffed in the middle tries to peel around the corner and you know right there a good look at manning just anticipating that break by dilger when it didn't happen art uh payton came really close to making a big play and i almost called him archer well i know that was right i was worried about that for both of us we know his dad so well i came into the league with rg i played in a bunch of bowl games a college all-star game with archie it's tough for me i called his early games when he was a new orleans saint here's rhodes on a draw gets a couple to the 30-yard line dominique rose not drafted he's out of abilene texas and a division two uh player at midwestern state university the indians down in wichita falls texas where the dallas cowboys train and really a charming modest you could just he's got as you said an r all over him he's a rookie all the way but he's performed oh and what a surprise of course she's had to perform when they lost edran james on october 25th you would have thought the pulse running game was dead anything but all alone in the shotgun is manning and timeout saying louis that's interesting as the manning showed them a new look 5 42 left in the opening quarter [Music] spectacular 630 foot high gateway arch gateway to the west st louis missouri you can take a tram up to the top of that it's a spectacular tourist visit and that's exactly what the colts hope to accomplish today a spectacular visit here against the rams they trail seven nothing here in the opening quarter have a third down and eight at the rams 30 yard line manning steps up looks throws to the end zone complete just shy of the goal line to marvin harrison and harrison those quick feet of harrison's dancing before he went out of bounds and a tough throw on the run by manning well some confusion on the part of the rams back in the secondary when peyton makes his break out of the pocket two guys think he's going to run and they just release marvin harrison you don't ever release marvin harrison anytime anywhere you see originally he starts off with macleon but then both mcleon and aeneas williams come up appearing to be threatened by the running of manning and they both release marvin harrison harrison now four catches shy of another hundred catch season first and goal fake to rhodes manning fires incomplete intended for harrison there's a flag down there in the back of the end zone dick yeah just a footnote on harrison now he's caught a pass in every one of his nfl games 91 straight out of the syracuse university what a pick holding defense number 21 half the distance to goal automatic first down dexter mcleon with a hole so he's got demand coverage there at the top of your screen and he bites on that outwards outside move by harrison and then when harrison breaks to the inside he reaches out and grabs and yeah peyton could see that not much of a grab but it was enough to slow him by half step and that was the difference in the catch or not well and the official who makes the call is just standing about eight yards directly behind you so that left arm that you reach out with and grab him is in plain view so first and goal after the penalty half the distance at the three yard line harrison wright wilkins left in the movement before the snap i think tarik glenn the left tackled he certainly came up out of his stance offense number 78 five-yard penalty remains well the spirit of st louis all that noise may have helped to create that false start log onto nfl.com and check out phil sims and his thoughts on how home field advantage in the playoffs is not as important as some people think just go to nfl.com or america online keyword nfl.com oh don't tell that to the rams they want to play the rest of the season other than new orleans right here first and goal at the eighth manning to the end zone incomplete yeah that's that's another play that's interference all the way on mcleon not playing the football at all just running in to terence wilkins so back-to-back uh calls against mclean defense number 21 ball will be placed at the one yard line automatic first down as a cornerback you've got to make some effort to play the football and as wilkins heads to the corner dexter mcleon never turns around never looks at the football just makes contact with terence wilkins and that's that will draw the flag 100 out of 100 times so the colts have four shots from the one to tie it up here in the first quarter jim finn at full back to give us to rose rhodes at the goal line and no signal is stopped just shy filling the hole was tommy polly the rookie second round pick from florida state and how the rams and mike martz like this young man well he came in as a as a rookie only at about 218 pounds and when i say rookie i'm talking about the beginning of training camp and he has put on a lot of weight tommy is already up to about 238 almost 240 pounds and that is uh that's a lot of weight to gain during your rookie year most rookies worry themselves into weight loss rose protecting the ball is in the end zone for the touchdown rhodes with six fumbles in the last seven games was really embracing the pumpkin as he scores well this this is one of the better offensive drives that you'll see an offensive team mate good surge at the point of attack but with the rams jumping out to a seven nothing lead uh if this would have been a three and out series for the colts uh we might be looking at a 14-0 ball game if the rams offense got out on the field that quickly extra point brought by vander chat and the game is tied at seven the ninth touchdown of this season for young dominique rhodes it's even at seven old high school hockey player jeff skanina played his college bullet purdue they say he's playing in his ninth year the best ever you could put advertising on those arms he could rent those things well first down for the rams in warner at the 23 and back to pass he goes knocked back in his face fly swatted down by one of the big defensive linemen of the colts might have been bratsky let's take a look at a replay and we'll see if it is chad looks like it it might have been josh williams let's see if it's no it's number 99 we've got brad skioli is the guy that gets up and gets it he was immediately behind ratzke might have got it as skioli wouldn't have he only doing his job second and ten both teams go on to the air not many runs and warner the fire again steps up and then the shuttle pass complete the fall and he has a first down as he sprints out to the 34. tied here in st louis steele is going for their eighth win in a row with the rams both 12 12-2 and marshall falls skipping for another dozen into indianapolis territory to the 49 before adrie's bashir the rookie from memphis the safety man makes the stop boy that's too easy right guard adam timmerman there he comes number 62. he pins brotzky to the inside then he's got jeff robinson number 45 out in front whoa that that's not supposed to be that easy 100 yard rushing games faulk with 14 got a ways to go to catch eric dickerson was a former folk traded here for a couple of picks in 99 bulk again young man from new orleans that he is till young wears his age on his jersey only 28. and uh when you meet him and and hear how he's matured and how he understands the game and the aspects that he appreciates i i like the fact he said i get as big a kick out of making something out of what should have been a loss as i do a long run he is i think maybe the thing that sticks out when you talk about marshall falcon you talk to the people who coach him and play with them universally they will tell you that he's the most intelligent football player they have ever been around not only does he know his job he knows the other 10 players he can write it down and recite second and three balls again he first knows at the 34. and this is the marshall fault drive as the former san diego state star eating up big chunks well three consecutive plays now the rams offensive line has destroyed the colts up front marshall faulk coming in right behind the block of tom newton in orlando pace again timmerman pulled one more time but this is three plays in a row where that side of the colts defense has been obliterated and young man uh sold popcorn at the superdome when jim mora was the coach of the saints of the projects of new orleans warner all day to throw fire and it is incomplete intended for oz burris there to cover for the colts and a reminder this is a cbs doubleheader day to stay with us coming up next you'll either see oakland denver or seattle at san diego check your local listings and for more go to nfl.com america online keyword nfl.com dick you talked about marshall falk selling popcorn at the superdome he plans on going back to the superdome relatively soon and it's not to sell any popcorn he could own the franchise now the super bowl coming up and marshall plans on taking his rams home on second and ten the toss the ball patiently waits for a block can we look at the not only has the speed and the elusiveness when he has to he'll put the shoulder down and run through a tackle again though what a surge by the left side here of the rams offensive line there's the down block by pace here comes tom newton number 61 out in front he obliterates his support and then marshall that's all false news is any kind of a of a heads up right now pace and newton and andy mccollum the center timmerman the right guard and ryan tucker the right tackle they are having their way with the uh with the indianapolis colts front floor third down and three ranks best in the league on third down [Laughter] this is why kurt warner is as good as he is because he can throw it behind people and they'll catch it look at that one-handed stab of a football way behind him by marshall thought oh geez well that's only one quarter the circus continues here in st louis don't wander away that's the final second stick out away here in the opening quarter faulk with 44 yards rushing 30 more on a receiving in the opening 15 minutes it's tied at 7. we'll return to the dome at america center right after these messages and welcome back to st louis we open the second quarter with dan deardorff and bonnie bernstein mike arnold our director and lance barrow our producer and all the gang here from st louis a happy new year everyone hope everybody had a merry christmas and a happy holiday and uh i hope you enjoyed your family and friends at uh wonderful time of year i think uh this year especially we all had a more sincerity in our embraces first down at the 14. all yards 63 by marshall faulk on this drive by saint louis here he comes again boom to the three-yard line and another first down to make that 74 yards on this entire drive all in the pocket of marshall fall well this looks like a friday walk through with the holes that marshall faulk is getting from his offensive line look at this the umpire's got to think i've got to get out of the way nobody else is going to stop him before he gets to me tremendous blocking by the rams and somehow the colts have got to dig in defensively they are being routed at the line of scrimmage so that nine plays 73 yards an entire marshall fault drive first and goal at the four why not bulk again why not a touchdown untouched the linemen are taking turns this time tom newton the left guard number 61 gets the kick out oh take a look at it right there's ernie conwell 84 the tight end newton 61 the kickout between conwell and newton there's about four yards of space that marshall faulk takes a leisurely jaw into the end zone this is this has to be a colts defense that dick back on their heels doesn't do it it's worse than that 14-7 have you ever seen that before 10 plays all by one player 77 yards well that's a tour de force drive for marshall faulk he did it all all 77 yards well what can you say last year's mvp of the national football league and making a very strong case to be a repeat winner here in 2001 even though he's missed two full games because of a knee that's terence wilkins back for wilkins kickoff has to go one yard deep spins and down he goes hit hard by tommy pauley the rookie makes another statement timeout with a minute gone second quarter rams by seven well they've been battered all season long and jim mora knows that that's where the colts are going to have to rebuild next year find some new beef a little light in the defensive line they're very young and they've shown us very generous the most generous team giving up points in the league now it's up to manning trailing 14 to seven underneath he goes complete to harrison then he's across the 25 with another catch a nine-yard pickup how about one more look at that last st louis touchdown and again go ahead watch this ernie conwell number 84 is a tight end down block there by orlando pace here comes newton with the kick out and caught up in the wash his middle linebacker rob morris who just he guessed that's all there is to say he thought marshall thought was going inside marshall went outside and that is way too easy rhodes are trying to add to that one yard rushing total and he's close to a first down as they mark it at about the 27 yard line b squared what do you have for us well dick you think marshall thought would be extremely fired up with two touchdowns against the team that traded him i've watched him on the bench though and he's really looked business as usual absolutely worth noting though bill polia would not renegotiate his contract in 1999 so the colts traded him to a four and 12 team meals to say with the super bowl ring and a couple other good seasons marshall's doing okay he's a happy camper here in saint louis he is a part of this incredibly talented offense for st louis there's just no team in the league like it that's marcus pollard's a tight end in motion on first down manning to this side open and complete is terence wilkins and he's wrestled down by dexter mcleod and you know dick i just want to follow up on on bonnie's report from the sideline the thing you have to keep in mind and what the colts napoleon were thinking about is one they knew that marshall wanted a big contract okay so they knew a lot of money was at stake two they already knew that they were they they wanted edgar and james they knew that they could replace him now who knew that edran james was going to be that good but it's not like they just packed marshall fall off to st louis and figured we'd play all season without a running back they knew they could replace him and we'll give you an update on edger and james from peyton manning right after this play on second and short roads find some opening 40 50 and boy can he accelerate gets that extra gear going and a first down at the rams 46 yard line well what is there not to like about this kid and he gets uh he's a recipient of some pretty good blocking up front right there you see adam meadows his right tackle pins his guy to the inside a lot of pressure on this indianapolis offensive unit dick they know that if they don't keep the football if they don't i i don't know how many points they think they had to score coming into this game but i'll guarantee they talked among themselves and it was somewhere in the 30s 18 yards on that carry first down the fake on that long handoff and then manning down the middle and it's caught by harrison at the 10-yard line the big strike down the middle and that manning laid that perfectly between two ram defenders hearing an archuleta the safety net well this time the rams are sitting in a zone aeneas williams allows him to go deep that's his responsibility he becomes a safety but you've got a rookie there in archuleta and he compensates way too far to the outside now it's a big hit marvin takes a big hit from archuleta but adam overplayed that reception to the outside and we can see that marvin harrison is dinged and holding that right hand as if he may have had that pinch on the tackle by archuleta leaves the game with three catches and 69 yards and such a key ingredient the rookie from miami reggie wayne replaces him first and goal right at the 10. actually they can get a first down without a touchdown manning steps up throws underneath to gilger younger really hadn't been hit and so he just crawls his way to the one-yard line that'll be close to a first down let's go back to the harrison uh hit well adam archuleta is a huge hitter and he'll make his share mistakes in the secondary but it's a helmet to helmet hit right on marvin harrison now when harrison came off he was holding his hand again this former linebacker back there at strong safety he is a guided missile coming in he's when he hits he hits and he hits big they're saying officially it is second and goal take the roads and banning walks it in for the touchdown his fourth rushing touchdown this season he caught the entire rams team looking for rhodes well you can't say enough about jim moore's offense and what they're doing to stay in this football game two outstanding drives by the indianapolis colts and folks that is selling the play action and having all 11 defenders fight on it i don't it's been a while since i've seen that clean of a bootleg head to the end zone hang on to your wallets i i'm still not sure if the rams defense knows that man against the ball extra point by vander chat and it's tied at 14 as archie's kid payton with a walk-in touchdown it's 14 [Music] all marvin harrison uh huge in talent but slight of build just six feet about 175 pounds when you walked in the room yesterday it's hard to believe that this is a star nfl receiver he has a very slight build but marvin harrison has been doing it for so long but he's got three catches today that's 98 on the year joe murphy again and down he goes lowell and murphy thank you at the 28-yard line jim finn from the university of pennsylvania made the tackle [Music] scored tied in saint louis good notes for the colts marvin harrison only has a bruised elbow it looks like he'll go back in amazing watching him on the bench though he was an excruciating pain that would have his head down but every time there was a play going on he made sure he looked up and watched what was going on guys now harrison apparently will return that is good news thank you bonnie from the 28th four possessions in the game two each side four touchdowns in the game and that goes warner to throw lots of time deep deep deep at the 20-yard line and it's troy torrey hold again the deep ball and a first down at the colts 20-yard line well it's been a busy first half for jeff burris burris number 20 locked up man on man with torrey holt and really doesn't have all now he he loses some separation there but he comes in and it looks like he's got a play on the football and misses it by about two inches 51 yards away for the rams they mark it at the 21. and what kind of a throw was that from kurt warner but given so much time again well protected wide open i'm not sure david macklin knows which one it is it's just somebody in a blue jersey went by him so fast he couldn't see the number wow big game tory holt sells the post comes back to the outside and david macklin bites all over it wow if he was a fish he'd be in the boat jeff wilkins point after so fault gets all the yards the last touchdown drive tori holt says try me out i'll take care of all the yards this time it's 21-14 [Music] torrey holt living up to his nickname big game all he's done in this first half three catches 42 yards 51 yards 21 yards he accounted for all 72 and that very quick strike by the rams to take the lead again and he's sitting right next to isaac bruce and and isaac's got to be thinking wait a minute tori's in on the action marshall's having a lot of fun guarantee it before it's over michael michael be in the end zone too good kickoff by wilkins and uh terence wilkins uh the colts will take the kneel down on the 20-yard line and have an advantage in a tie breaker should the rams stumble manning underneath complete and it's marvin harrison right back into the game second down and three one catch from 100 now marvin harrison second down and short roads on a delay tries that right side and is stuffed short of the first down by a yard tommy holly leading the defensive charge for the rams dick i i can't begin to tell you how much i admire a guy like marvin harrison for coming back and and playing in this football game you've got a legitimate nfl superstar a guy who let's face it his team is out of the playoffs it would be easy to say hey you know what i'll meet you at the airport and head back to indianapolis that he's only a true competitor hurt comes back into a game like this when the season is lost on third down the draw play and rhodes breaking tackles and he streaks out across the 40-yard line to the 41. and the colts first down well talking about the competitive spirit of the colts you got the feeling from all their players yesterday they're still working hard they you know they're disappointed in five and nine but they haven't given up the ship all right and jim moore was very complimentary of his of his team last week in that loss to the jets he was so disappointed that they lost but all he could do was talk about that the effort they gave was all he asked for that it was a winning effort it's just that they made a few mistakes had a couple of fumbles and lost the football game but pleased with their effort adding the quick throw to delger and a gain of four out to the 45-yard line we mentioned an update on edger and james who is rehabbing down in miami from that knee surgery and peyton manning said i talked to him weekly and he he calls uh young rhodes too every week and gives him a critique and encouragement he's on if not ahead of schedule and his rehab and they expect him to be full bore come training camp next year second down and called it a short six the quickie is complete and tackled immediately as marcus pollard his first reception today he had 43 catches coming in man who didn't play any college ball was a power forward at bradley university in basketball but that pattern is set up for pollard to break the tackle being a big guy at 250 pounds but they didn't count on adam archuleta being the ram defender who came up and put a superb tackle on marcus pollard archuleta is is only a rookie this guy's going to be hitting people in this league for a long time to come quick and great instincts third down along one thank to rogues manning in trouble you won't see very often a referee like terry mcauley having to scramble to get out of the way peyton manning is is running to beat the devil to get out of there and terry mccauley is in harm's way you knew peyton was going to get out of there and get rid of the football but he almost got the referee in the progress in the process rather didn't see a flag on the play but the officials huddling that was also tioka jackson 97 chasing after manning we haven't had a punt in the game yet and there's under five minutes left in this opening half manning was certainly out of the pocket what he has to do is get the football back up around the line of scrimmage i don't know what they're consulting about and there comes a flag i guess they're saying he didn't get it close enough to the line of scrimmage intentional drowning offense number 18. the quarterback was out of the pocket however the ball did not get anywhere near the line of scrimmage and of course the ball we placed at the spot of the pass loss of down fourth down and of course it was obvious that terry mccauley running backwards wasn't able to assess where the ball went you know it's that tight end a tight end box and we're going to see that peyton manning is well outside of that he leaves it there so what he has to do now is get it back near the line of scrimmage which was the 50-yard line and there's the yardstick it was pretty close but that was the yardstick at the 41-yard line where the last first down occurred mccauley did what he had to do he consulted with the officials working that side of the field tried to get an assessment of where the ball went out of bounds and after talking to his uh fellow crew members made the call hunter the punter hunter smith for the colts the kick and we experience our first condolence former notre dame kicker this end over end and fielded on the fly by bray bly at the 45 and down at the 48 yard line in excellent field position for kurt warner warner and the rams evan punted the entire half they lead 21-14 start from their own 48 little flanker screen that's complete to isaac bruce ellis johnson makes the stop for indianapolis well there are the rams take a look at that how about that touchdown touchdown touchdown and long drives 68 68 and 72 yards number one in the league in offense number one passing team number one scoring team and mike martz saying that actually hated coaching last year was just too much for him he was exhausted he's learned to delegate responsibility he said it's really been fun for him he feels well rested this year the toss to fall drawing the crowd back picks up the block and it's close to a first down at the bolts 42 and a half rob morris made the stop that's about one of the best plays by the colts defense so far in this first half only giving up about what five yards on that play you hate to say it but this has to be a group right now that is well shell shocked isn't even the right word they have to be staring at each other in that huddle wondering who's going to step up and make a play third down less than a yard well this is a case where we'll see if they can dig in because they have been blown off the line by the rams his way easily to a first down at the 39 jim mora said it's not only the fact they have great athletes and it's everyone thinks of them being faster than everyone else he said it's the tempo with which the rams play you can't practice to uh ready yourself against st louis well and and one thing about the rams and jim moore is aware of this is you know they got tagged with a label earlier this year of the finesse team and mike martz in the entire rams organization took exception to that well they have an offensive line that can be very physical and they're demonstrating that in the first half of this game this is hard-nosed physical football being played by these guys up front for the rams james hodgins in motion from his fullback position and warner steps out throws wide open again isaac bruce and bruce is out of bounds at the colts 11-yard line morris got him out of the field of play you knew they'd let isaac come out and play sooner or later it's all been marshall and tori to this point ike wants in on the action he works out of the slot and again working against the colts zone gets right between the linebackers and the safeties again the missed tackle and rob morris has to come all the way across and force him out about but look at the look at kurt warner he's in a rocking chair sitting back there just surveying the field and he does what he does better than any quarterback in this league hitting his players his receivers in stride 60 catches now for bruce on the year into the flag to fall and there's a rare open field tackle rob morris gets full down not many times will falk hit the ground on the first hit we've approached the two-minute timeout the rams leading by seven uh threatening to add to that 24 114 lead they're down at the 11 yard line of the colts and it is a breathtaking offense again it is and uh we knew that the colts were challenged defensively coming in the 27th ranked defense in the league but but physically i thought that they might challenge st louis a little more than this they have not been able to penetrate the front wall of the rams they've not been able to create any chaos in the backfield they've not put any pressure on kurt warner to speak of and it's because of that that they're looking at you know trying to keep from going two touchdowns down here right before the end of the first half big holes for marshall faulk and warner's head all day to find open receivers and that leads to an 11 for 13 and here comes fault on a delay down to the five where it'll be third down and four for the first down five yards for the touchdown josh williams makes the stop for indy and timeout by the colts with 150 left in the half [Music] a reminder coming up the next el halftime report jim mike randy jerry have all the scores and highlights of our first game of this doubleheader day a report from the oakland denver game as well so stay with us at the half third down [Laughter] [Music] fall just organized chaos out in front of marshall faulk crisscrossing receivers confusing indianapolis defense and wow jimmy kimmons our cameraman i i think that's what you would call getting inside the players see an nfl official who's shaken up on the play jimmy getting the picture all away staying with it right through the the contact nice going he gets the medal of honor today with a three touchdowns isaac bruce had three in the new orleans game and makes it look so easy they're going to review this play to determine whether or not marshall faulk got into the end zone let's take a look at it where was the ball now marshall was carrying the ball back he was carrying it back on his body this is again from our cameraman jimmy kimmel's down there boy that's uh that is a tough call to try to determine remember now it was ruled a touchdown so terry mcauley our referee is going to have to go under the hood and find definitive evidence that it was not a touchdown remember it's it's where is the ball when marshall faulk goes out of bounds well it's close we have to remember as well though if it's not a touchdown it'll be first and goal from the one foot line but that's what he's looking for right now mccauley is looking can i can i get the perfect picture that shows me the football out of bounds prior to marshall faulk getting it across the goal line or marsha or any part of marshall's body being out of bounds before the football breaks the flame if he can't see that then he's obligated to go with the ruling on the field which was a touchdown we wait for that decision to see jim mora and mike martz and maura definitely wants to come back he has a uranus contract but certainly hopes it'll continue and it's important that we write to you what peyton manning told us and he said i am and this is a quote 100 in favor of jim moore being our head coach not only next year but to continue i like this offense it was a very strong endorsement here it is from behind see when marshall faulk touches the pylon the pylon is in when your body hits it the pylon is out of bounds but where is the football at that point i don't see how you can rule that it isn't a touchdown there just isn't you know from that angle of course it doesn't look like a touchdown but that camera is well behind the goal on it after review there's no indisputable evidence that the ball did not cross the goal line when the runner's foot stepped out of bounds in the end zone the ruling on the field stands touchdown i've seen the reasonable result i don't think he had any other choice but to to say that and that was a good use of the microphone by the referee in explaining exactly what he did not see 7 52 yards in seven plays for the rams fourth touchdown and wilkins adds the extra point and with uh less than two minutes left in this opening half the rams extend by 14. [Music] 28 to 14 the score and marshall faulk with three more touchdowns he's got 19 on the season he's rushed for over a thousand yards of course leads his team he came into the day with 71 catches that's number one with the rams as dan pointed out earlier here's a man who sat down for two games with an injury and still has those glossy numbers interesting that morrow used to time out there and that rams possession knowing that this is a scoring fest that he's got to give himself a chance at the end of the half give manning an opportunity to perhaps get one of those scores back terence wilkins just tripped up as he crosses the 25-yard line well this is a case of wake me when it's over that's john baker the rams punter my what a busy half he's had he just had to take off his baseball cap he must be exhausted that's his season numbers he's had to punt only 39 times now in 14 and a half games so maybe three times a game you can expect to loosen up that right leg well the last time he punted was in warm-ups so from the 26 yard line peyton manning with 141 left in the half and two time outs to use goes to rhodes and rose trips so he lost a little speed and then barrels out to the 34-yard line you know when you lose a great player like edgar and james and you find this undrafted free agent nominee roads there are some good things that come out of disaster quick throw is incomplete and that'll bring up third down and about two tonight it's nostalgia night on 60 minutes and who better to get us in a happy nostalgic move than carol burnett tonight on 60 minutes following our doubleheader action here on cbs regular still talking about that carol burnett special that aired what maybe a month ago spectacular television great stuff third and two for manning and the colts three wide receivers incomplete as manning had to hurry his throw as the pressure was coming from leonard a little the rams top sackmaster [Music] leonard little comes in untouched and peyton manning knows he's got a hot rusher and he had the break he wanted he had the receiver but they just can't hook up [Music] and now unfortunately for indianapolis plenty of time for this rams offense to tally another one minute 16 left as hunter smith to kick it to dray bly fly has taken the job from akeem because of the team's fumble problems beautiful a 52-yard punt i'm assuming the rams will just kneel on the ball and let the clock expire you're assuming that's normally the way they do it huh yeah that's uh when they score so quickly 12 yards average on first down and the throw into the flat wide open to isaac bruce and bruce with another catch as he with each reception moves toward henry ellert's all-time ram reception record he's well over 500. well somehow some way the colts can't stop trying to get to kurt warner they can't just allow him that you know come at him with some sort of a three or four man rush they're going to have to take some chances because there's no way this receiving core won't get open if you can't force warner into some hurried throws second and two they rush only four on this occasion and warner throws underneath complete akeem tackled at the 40 and did not get out of bounds so the clock runs and we're at the 49 48 seconds left timeout called by warner and they have one left so many weapons that come at you so many different ways right off the bat torrey holt comes up with the first big play of the game then he just spreads it to anybody and everybody there's isaac bruce of course the catch of the game by marshall faulk with that stab of a ball well behind him but it is an embarrassment of riches offensively here for the saint louis rams and nobody knows that more than their head coach slash play caller mike marks it's like going into a card game they always give you a couple extra cards just to play with yep here's who's gotten a chance to play today faulk holt bruce hakeem and pro ricky's only got one and you know ricky pro is just a wonderful example here's a guy that such a high quality receiver who comes through big for these guys but not not this often doesn't get much incomplete and that one to torrey hold who got away with a little push in the back of the colts defender david macklin well here's warren that's only the third ball to hit the ground thrown by warner he's 14 for 17. right up along the sideline that's macklin and holt and not much of a wish at all oh and you see tory trying to make a one-handed catch he knows if he goes over there to try to catch it with two hands it's going to pull one of his feet out of bounds so he did the only thing he thought he could do just try to make that one-handed catch why not everybody else on the team does 215 yards in this opening half he's broken his own ram record now nearly 4 400 passing this year he just gets this one away in time and it's complete isaac bruce at the colts 44 and that stops the clock 35 seconds nick harper was the man on a corner blitz and he comes right between the left guard and the left tackle where he knows there's nobody to pick him up it's an empty backfield and kurt warner kurt warner is oblivious to pass rush and it's one of the most complimentary things you can say about a quarterback he is fearless in the pocket and when that's a term that you'll hear coaches use he doesn't see the rush it's hard to pay a quarterback much more of a complimentary thing than him and that last rush macklin hit him just as he threw the ball goes to the end zone this time and it's caught what a catch by holt he seemed to be blanketed by nick harper and he still took it away the flag is in the secondary of the colts you suspect it's against them it is touchdown st louis again i remember asking middle linebacker rob morris yesterday are you afraid that when you get out on that field you're going to find out that the rams are even quicker and faster than they look on tape and he said yeah we're concerned about it and you know i guess i won't know till i get out there well they are faster than they appear on tape and they appear really fast oh wilkins just squeezes that extra point inside the right upright 35-14 st louis another big catch by tory holt at a 46-yard score well torrey holt right now he's being shadowed that's nick harper but it's he's expecting a little help from the inside harper trying to run with him and look at that again harper has good coverage that is good coverage that ball might have just even grazed his glove on the way to torrey holt but you know what kind of concentration it takes as a receiver to catch a football falling down the other guy's all over the top of you his arm is sweeping across your field of vision and yet you look that ball right in for another touchdown not many people can do that and make it look that easy you can see the appreciation from his teammates to tory holt two touchdowns caught today he has seven on the season and kurt warner his statistics the first half would make most nfl quarterbacks proud for a game 274 yards 16 for 19 and three touchdown throws well kurt warner uh honored with a pro bowl trip last year tory holt got his first pro bowl trip last year because i bet you a lot of people don't know this but his 1635 yards last year led the national football league in receiving yardage torrey holt it wasn't randy moss it wasn't a lot of the other high profile guys it was torrey holt yeah he averaged almost 20 yards of catch last year he's around 17 this year he goes up to an up batch in 10 the locking back and full back and he takes it to the 34-22 seconds left in the half well torrey holds he's he's had a career for some people just here in the first half and they're running all kind of crossing pattern there he goes on a post this time he works the left side wide open for that touchdown and this is just beautiful concentration but again the guy who's getting it done is number 13 as he is dropping the football in precisely where it needs to be 40 yards of cats four catches two of them touchdowns so manning with 22 seconds left leonard little who leads the rams with ten and a half sacks coming in former tennessee star and teammate of peyton manning gets the first sack of the day well they were in the same class at tennessee so yes they leonard and peyton know each other very well and i don't know that peyton manning has played many football games where he must feel as far behind as he is right now you know this isn't just a question of points this is oh we don't need any of that that's kaioko jackson the defensive lineman but peyton manning just must feel so overwhelmed by what he's watching this rams offense do it's got to be a little depressing let's go down to bonnie marshall with three touchdowns tory hall with two warner with all day to throw where do you go from here jim well we just got to try to make plays you know like on that last touchdown right there we've had a guy right in perfect position to knock the ball down he doesn't knock it down you know we gotta we gotta get a little bit more pressure on the quarterback and we're trying but we just haven't got there and we gotta we gotta make plays you know we've had a we had an opportunity to make a play in the very first series to sack the quarterback we had a guy free he didn't get it done i don't know we gotta we gotta make plays on defense that's all good it was a very accurate summary exactly the first 30 uh minutes of this game through the eyes of head coach tiamora his team trails the saint louis rams 35-14 coming up next the next nextel halftime report back in st louis the rams 30 minutes away from clinching the nfc west and a bye in the opening round of the upcoming playoffs 14 and uh we're a new dictionary of adjectives to describe this often well i i you know i think of indianapolis dick because i've been on the well i've been in that position before but most often it's because you've made some mistakes and you always can look at some things and say if we just don't do this we'll be in this game but they've been overwhelmed and and the statistics here will will back that up 347 yards of total offense for the rams in one half of football and here's a case where you know the time of possession that it really does and as jamora ruefully said you know we've been in position to make defensive plays and our halfbacks or cornerbacks are unable to knock it away oh it's one thing to to have some something tangible to grab hold of and say well if we just do this better we'll be we'll win this game but this you can't tell me that the members of the indianapolis defense didn't sit in there and saying we're over our heads colts get it first to start the second half jeff wilkins to terence wilkins again who takes it at the goal line 20 and out of bounds at the 27-yard line as we go down to bonnie bernstein dick mike martz walked out of the locker room he said boy this is fun of his team's five touchdown performance he said the good thing defensively is with us having a 21 point lead it takes a lot of the guesswork out we know the colts have to throw one interesting tidbit though kurt warner 16 for 19 passing 274 yards but he has a perfect passer rating of 158.3 for the first half i don't know how that all works but it has something to do with completion percentage lots of touchdowns and no interceptions he's perfect as you can get kurt warner he waits his turn as peyton manning starts from the 26th the amazing thing is he's done that before and that's an indication for those of you who've been with us why the rams currently are the team to beat for that super bowl title as rhodes off tackle picks up a gain of five maybe six well look at the nfc playoff picture with the bears winning 17 nothing at the half and the rams winning it still will come down to the final week as chicago entertains jacksonville atlanta will be here should the rams stumble and the bears continue to win the bears actually have the tiebreaker advantage so things aren't locked up yet although a win by the rims does assure a buy in the first playoff round second and short roads in the flat picks his spot and has the first down out at the 38 yard line anias williams makes the tackle the veteran from southern university dick the one thing though for the rams which is all you can ask for at this time of the season is they need help from no one they chicago can do whatever they want if the rams take care of business and if they win today and they win next week here at home against atlanta they need help from no one they'll have the home field all the advantage all the way through the playoffs they know their next road game will be the super bowl in new orleans if it all shakes out their way which means all games in a dome where they just play best of all whether lightning attack delay and it's a rope picking a nice hole up the middle of the 45 and a gain of six more before tommy polly can bring him down now the rams showed their first signs of vulnerability here at home this year they've lost two home games but let's not kid ourselves it's 20 degrees outside today in st louis and you don't have to be a brain surgeon to figure out you look at this offense it works a lot better at 72 degrees in this type of a controlled environment mike martz has built a team for the indoors for the carpet it's a blazingly fast team predictable footing every game you know exactly what you're going to get when you arrive on sunday roads again and he's to the 49 and it appears he has enough for the first down uh based on the spot well there's only one team as you tried to hear between the phrases of coaches and players here at the rams camp there's one team that worries them and that's the team you saw last night the tampa bay buccaneers well for good measure they had to beat tampa bay here in the nfc championship game a couple years ago and uh they know it wasn't wasn't for ricky pro making a catch in the end zone in the last couple minutes of the game would have been tamp in that super bowl and by the way when tampa won last night they eliminated new orleans not a real popular team here in st louis that's a real grudge match there too on first down good block uh roach breaks a tackle and then takes a vicious hit as he crosses midfield grant wistrom and jeff skanina in on that last tackle [Music] well dominic it's dominic when you look at it spelled it's dominique when you pronounce it and to call him a pleasant surprise is one of the gross understatements of the year to be an undrafted free agent who has a shot of going over a thousand yards for a season in which today is is really only his ninth start of the season that's amazing production for someone you don't count on with that run he's got 941 yards underneath and complete to dildor ripped away by london fletcher well i did have a little bit of a mathematics background dick but at 941 yards with nine starts you're talking about an undrafted free agent that's knocking him off at over a hundred yards a game oh he's limping off that'll bring on number 43 kevin mcdougall a second year another free agent for the colts out of colorado state and we'll keep our eyes on the sidelines and see how serious rhodes injury is third down a long eight manny finds some time throws to harrison and the sure-fingered six-year veteran from syracuse has yet another catch they talk about harrison and he's every root he runs the same way you can't read him well he look what he did to dexter mcleon you could see dexter smacking his hands at the conclusion of that play because marvin completely fooled him and he's smacking his lips as uh marvelous marvin that's his 100th catch of the year as you look at his stats the last three years 39 catches for touchdown averaging well over that 100-yard mark a magnificent football player and again a guy who took a big hit in the first half of this football game and could have mailed it in this is mcdougall a little slower off the blocks than dominique rhodes and he's tackled by wistrom and ahana too watch grin grant wistrom trot off the field think it's not tough down there boom grant wistrom right in the solar plexus boy that is uh that is a great hit on mcdougall driving him back like that grant wistrom one of the really high motor guys in the nfl this guy has one speed and it's somewhere above 100 second down 11. down the middle oh through the hands of delger he was wide open but the ball just a little behind him and unable to pull it in you're right dick it was just a little bit behind him payton unhappy with himself get a guy that wide open bilger is running full speed stops and tries to make the adjustment looked like it got his foot tangled up with the other one and it kind of spun him around a little more than he would but peyton knew that he wasted an opportunity there manning with a touchdown rushing of a yard but none throwing today third and 11. they show blitz and timeout call by manning and the colts it comes with five minutes gone in this third quarter the rams by 21. [Music] back in st louis with a reminder that following the game you can log on to nfl.com get the latest updates on the playoff picture as well as analysis from the experts nfl.com americaonline keywordnfl.com dominique rhodes returns that running back joins peyton manning on third and 11 from the ram spurty blitz manning down the middle broken up a nice play by london fletcher who sprinted back from his middle linebacker position to knock it away from marcus pollard well the rams do a great job of faking everything up front like they're going to come with a load and then they end up dropping everybody back and london fletcher does his job playing the middle of the field from his middle linebacker spot and london fletcher covers as much ground as any linebacker in the game of football he is not tall but he is strong and he is fast mike vander jack to try a 48-yard field goal is the longest this year is 52 plenty of distance and it is good inside that left up right and jimora sees three more on the cold side it's 35 17. back with a sellout of 66 000 here in st louis colts with three on the first drive of the second half and it's 35-17 44 yards engineered by peyton manning in the 48-yard field goal by vander chat whose kick comes up short this time joe murphy at the seven and brought down at the 24-yard line by sam sword and corey bird well during our commercial break peyton manning talking to his left tackle turret glenn and that's howard mud the offensive line coach they're going over some blocking schemes but seems to be a little disagreement about who's to do what and whose responsibility is whom kurt warner screams on the first play and ball breaks tackles out to the 34-yard line a gain of nine that's now 17 for 20 throwing for kurt warner and what kind of a first half did marshall faulk have well take a look at this but look at the blocking he's receiving look at the alley that he has to score that touchdown again they test the left side look at this how can you block it any better than that and another touchdown for marshall faulk and again a crease several yards wide and the offensive line of the rams in the first half difficult to play any better than they did they're saving laundry bills for that running back fault he won't have to have that jersey clean going untouched today there's not a lot of mud in here only howard over there the blind coach for the colts first down for marshall falls nice recovery there i was an old hillsdale college fan you look at jim hannon you're a friend and offensive line coach inducted you in the pro football hall of fame he most certainly did and he has been in the national football league now for 30 years i think maybe this is his 31st season or something 30 years i believe and wow he has well he looks like an old veteran does it he's the marshal of the uh saint patty's parade here wasn't it he certainly was and boy does he know how to coach offensive line [Music] all by himself isaac bruce to the 42-yard line of indianapolis morris and burris make the tackle make it holt with the catch and a first down after 41. and this relentless offense continues to work downfield you see jeff burris playing the inside and as he falls back into the zone the responsibility goes over to bashir and but again you gotta wonder if this indianapolis defense isn't just so i don't want to say intimidated but if they're not unsure of themselves with this offense coming at them from so many different directions they're not scared but they are definitely unsure of what they're supposed to do warner now on a roll and they'll throw [Music] david macklin who gets a freebie pick it's his second interception of the season that was a tight end throwback screen to kearney conwell and uh whether i a rare mistake from kurt warner [Music] heard warner protected so well today he's had the luxury of sitting back there waiting for his receivers to break open on that occasion a little uh defensive to the charge from the colts and he had to throw more blindly and the pick by david macklin first down at the 47 of st louis for manning fake the rhodes steps up goes into the flat incomplete well dick mentioned that peyton manning kurt warner rather for the first time today really has to throw under duress he's trying to get it out to ernie conwell on a tight end screen but ernie gets caught in traffic kurt's throwing to a spot kind well not able to get there and kurt warner that entire tv timeout that break paced the sideline so upset with himself he knows he had a perfect day going and david macklin really the recipient of a guy look at that being in the right place at the right time and warner is still seething banning through this crowd bin second and ten roads and a delay and not much there maybe a yard tommy polly again with a tackle bonnie well guys it'll be interesting to see whether mike martz calls a pass right out of the gate where warner comes back on the field because kern was telling us the one great thing morris has done he said if i've thrown a lot of picks from coming in today he had 18. that he wouldn't make me hand the ball off right away he would give me more complicated pass routes mark said i never want him to think for one second i don't have the utmost confidence in my quarterback yeah get right back on that horse to buckcha now it's third and ten for manning trying to take advantage of that interception quick throw to rose well covered by dray bly an extra defensive back came up to make the immediate hit at the 44-yard line gain of only three yards i don't know that kurt warner could throw enough interceptions that could ever get mike marks to the point where he wouldn't want to throw the football it's not a question of of faith in in kurt warner it is a confidence that has been borne out of his accomplishments the last three years mike martz mike marks would throw the football if kurt warner has thrown eight interceptions in a quarter that wouldn't slow him down one bit and there's another example also dan of the defense and proof defense of the rams they give up the ball at midfield but indianapolis unable to gain a single yard while actually four yards on that last pass play grey bly with a fair catch inside the 20 and a timeout 5 46 left in the third and welcome back as you look at a relaxed and pleased rams bench leading 35-17 recover from the pass interception take over at their own 18. 16 passing first downs to five the rushing but it's almost as if the rams with this colt defense can do whatever they want let's run this time and fall up the middle with a 23-yard line a gain of five well it's all fun and games when you're winning you just have that attitude look at dray bly after he catches this he signals a fair catch that looks like you when that check came last night yeah a lot of shoulder movement but the feet never move in the hands either stay right on the body well the difference between uh myself and jerry fly is i had pockets i had some place to put my hand dre blind they like him in fact mike mart said i could use him on offense he'd be a terrific wide receiver and and mike martz just was forced to give up with azakeem as his punt returner because of how many times the ball was on the ground fly won't be spectacular but he hopefully will be sure-handed he's cut down at the 25 as agrees bashir the rookie from the university of memphis that's a clean open field hit well that's by far and away the best hit and the best tackle by the colts all day today because it looks like marshall is going to follow a block and get out and make something happen he's got ernie conwell out in front of him right there but beshear comes to the inside of conwell yes that was a good package and a rare moment of celebration for anyone involved with the indianapolis defense here's third down and they're five for five as you can see converting the rams they need three one or twenty a time and then it's batted down at the line of scrimmage ellis johnson had a big mid-up there and so did mark thomas somebody wake up john baker john baker the punter from north texas state actually you meet me you want me to do what geez he's actually coming out here all right john first punt of the day for the rams and uh baker i've heard of icing the kicker but here it says st louis i mean he could have gone down done a few rounds delivered some mail short hit terence wilkins lets it bounce and that's to uh the rams advantage it'll roll all the way inside the 25 a flag is down 54-yard punt that's one of those oh i wish i had that one back and then when you see the receiver doesn't feel that it just bounces merely another 20 yards for you and you come up with a good looking average like longest of the year is 55 holding against the coal to make it even worse tearing the kick holding receiving team on the flyer 10 yard penalty first down gonna timeout a grown man's head and here gray [Music] and welcome back to missouri where they love the rams 35-17 with just under four minutes left in the third each team with 40 plays but uh iran's quick strike offense uh delivering five touchdowns the opening half manning starts from his own 11 after the penalty on the punt and it's rhodes can't get outside loses the yard and the grasp of tommy pauley boys he had a game polly 6-3 and 240 the rookie from florida state well their line forms to the right for those of you that want to cover punts that's nick sorenson number 41 rudely thrown to the ground by david macklin and corey byrd in on the action as well but as a cover guy he got no choice but to get back in it fix your helmet get it you can't run if you can't see that grab by that grab by macklin was the uh 10-yard holding infraction that was based off hand off the roads and he chips as he crosses the 15 out to the 16 where it'll be third down and seven make it third down five they spot it at the 16 three wides for manny wearing his dad's old college uniform number 18 at flanker screen that worked so well early in the game to wilkins does not this time jackson and leonard little make the stop well the rams fake the blitz up the middle but then come off more from the edge so peyton does have to get rid of it in a hurry we saw earlier in the game where that was a big play for wilkins as he cuts out across and ends up with big yardage needless to say the rams are looking for at that time oh hunter smith with a full field uh to use on this punt will deliver from around his own four to dray blind who stands at the rams 41. good driving kick fly always with a 32. oh breaks around the coverage for the 50. [Laughter] marcus washington finally made the stop 31-yard return by dray bly well dre fly when he caught this ball i looked 24 yards was between grey bly and the nearest indianapolis defender that gave him a lot of time to decide what he was going to do that was such a good punt it was at least 24 to 25 yard separation between anyone in a white jersey and dre block so kurt warner with a short field first down at the 37. which one of these potential playoff outsiders most likely to rebound and make a playoff run next year like tennessee the vikings these colts denver giants or would you like someone else just log on cast your vote at nfl.com other is that the name of that new houston team the others that it won't be long for them where they're going to start having a roster that expansion draft will they've already signed some people they've signed some free agents already that's a real head start they're going to be uh with indianapolis in the uh afc south underneath to a team and he has a first down at the 21-yard line before mike peterson and uh well corey trailing the play can make the stop well again that's uh that's rough territory for a guy that's not very big as akeem at only 182 pounds 510 but like all of these guys part of the deal for playing in this offense is you've got to catch stuff across the middle there's a lot of snappy stuff taking place they try to get blockers out in front of you but let's face it sometimes they don't get there and you take a big shot from big people but if you're going to play for mike martz you have to be willing to play between the hash marks it's not all outside on the sideline first down cross default and they're able to drop marshall fall for a rare loss it's chuki the free agent from purdue as the final seconds disappear and that's the end of the third quarter here in saint louis with a score the rams 35 the cold 17 will return to the dome at american center right after this message and a word from your local station [Music] a rare zero in the third period for the rams not very sanitary there with the mouthpiece over the ear defensive tackle jessica nina how about that huh and it doubles as a hearing aid you know you never know it's like mike tyson left it second and warner fires to the end open and incomplete he threw it behind isaac bruce warner over the middle complete the first it appeared he was in the end zone just touched down at the one yard line as raymond walls an extra defensive back in there for the colts i i was with you from here it looked like he was in the end zone boy working out of the slot look at the move he puts on raymond walls oh and that's a good call oh you saw his right knee hit the ground this is an excellent call by the official the right knee is down right there and that football is well short of the goal line not well liked by the crowd and isaac wanted a touchdown but that was that's the proper call and now kurt warner with only a foot away from a touchdowns and four shots to get it he calls time out [Music] st louis rams uh seeking the nfc western title with a victory today and in the red zone two possessions two very quick touchdowns they lead it 35-17 and they have just that distance to go half a yard for another seven this is where you like to let your offensive line have a little fun let them come off the ball and power it in as he tries the right side behind timmerman and tucker as uh marcus washington one of the young players that jim mora feels has a great future well look at this this is a great look at what it's like on the goal line and that was excellent work by the colts of not getting moved back look at that there's not a white jersey in the end zone nobody got knocked off the ball that time for the colts and marcus washington ends up putting the big hit on marshall fogg second-year backer auburn you don't have much ground to give those big guys in the white jerseys have got to get underneath and get up field hodgins and falk on second and goal and marshall falk again finds the craze and he's in the end zone for his fourth touchdown today [Music] well with experience comes patience and that's what marshall faulk shows right here he thinks about going outside and then at the last second decides to cut it up field he wasn't so out of control he wasn't going so fast that he couldn't make the cut when he wanted to make it looked at the outside thought about it saw that the block gave him a crease to the inside and was under control enough to make his cut up field into the end zone extra point by jeff wilkins our fault matches his four touchdowns scored a year ago against tampa bay i'm out in st louis great picture downtown st louis on this frosty day the great arch uh framing the old courthouse blue skies temperature in the teens for all of you remember your history teachers talking about the dred scott case that was announcement was made on the steps of that old courthouse a lot of a lot of history in that building chef de terrence wilkins to the 20 and the zigzags out to the 25s a yard line yeah the rams the top scoring team in the nfl have posted 42 today and early here in the fourth quarter peyton manning from his 25-yard line good protection for manning down the middle of marcus collard the big tight end cradles it into the 47 of st louis well coming into the game this is an area of the field that the colts really wanted to work against they thought they had an advantage against the middle of this st louis defense they've given up yardage air before and they've got a real weapon in both pollard and dilger they tried it once or try twice in the first half and got it a little bit but that's a play that going into this game i i thought i'd see a lot more 28 yards on that hook up to his tight end rose a little miscorrection and then domini goes to the 45. all right thank you jim coming from all directions as this playoff picture crystalizes i know the cowboys have been playing well but that's a stunner that is really a stunner though the niners need that game thanks to rhodes down the middle banning incomplete to pollard and that flag goes down interference is going to be called on london fletcher he was not playing the ball it's that simple but i think you uh you have encapsulated a dick if you you've got to be turned around you got to be playing the football everybody has a right to it but you've yielded you forfeited that right if you're not looking at it london fletcher was a free agent undrafted out of john carroll where he's a great little point guard he's only 510 241 pounds of enthusiasm he's the spirit of that defense there it is london fletcher makes contact with marcus pollard and again he's just he's not playing the football it's you know it's uh it's rule number one contact downfield you can get away with it but you must have your head swiveled back to the football oh first down outside the 15-yard line for peyton manning and the coach throws on the run incomplete don't make the roads and manning in that little moment of indecision he could have tucked it away and maybe gained five yards or so running but he saw rhodes there in the flat tried to hit him on the run well keep in mind ever since peyton manning has come into the national football league when that situation arose he was either flipping that out to marshall falk or to edgar and james he knew exactly where they were going to be two of the most gifted backs we've seen in recent memory coming out of the backfield marshall thought maybe the best ever of catching it out of the backfield that's what manny said the best ever he said he was the best ever second and ten rhodes nice pop yard line and this young man dominic rhodes and you can see why jim moore is excited he said we get edgar and james back next year and we have roads to back him up give him a breather i like that just out of the single back set they get a great block from marcus pollard at the point of attack tar glen the left tackle number 78 and just hard-nosed football here out of the roads rhodes who started today with 880 yards breaking fred lane's undrafted rookie record and now 83 more on his play this afternoon first and goal leonard little nor will he ever leonard little might be the fastest defensive end in football former linebacker this guy has great speed now let's check out marcus pollard because he ends up being open as he's coming all the way but keep in mind peyton manning is running for his life if it wasn't for the pressure of leonard little he would have found pollard in the end zone you know he would have he's that good but leonard little a great burst to the ball and it's a heavier little he's gained 20 pounds he used to be around 230 now he's up in the 50s blitz and manning gets it away but it's intercepted by brave lie and bly will take the touch back intended for marvin harrison and manning had to throw with the two rams right in his face another disappointment for the colta the rams cheer again [Music] dray bly the former carolina tar heel extends his club lead to six interceptions on the year not bad for the third defensive back as peyton manning and offensive coordinator tom moore go over the notes and warner hands off default almost the point now we're expecting to say strong candidate give falco breather well peyton manning on the on the interception he threw in the end zone under tremendous pressure he has no idea where this ball is going as london fletcher right in his face wilkins uh open at the goal line but he's trying to find marvin harrison and dre blodgets very alertly makes and how about this dravely ran over to the stands and handed the football to that kid well he's got an isaac bruce jersey he may want to trade it in for a 32. i'll guarantee you next week if he's back here for the atlanta game next week he'll be wearing 32. he should be paul needs one yard for 100 today and he's over the century mark rushing as he burrows out across the 30 to the 31 in the first down well he comes in with high expectations and rarely does marshall fault disappoint no rarely if ever and again he's been the recipient of some just fabulous blocking by his group up front kurt warner delivers the ball right there as he gets it the multi-talented multi-purpose marshall faulk you can make a strong case that he's the best player in the national football league at this point in time no one is performing at a consistently high level that's the equal of marshall fault more on the saga of martial faulk when we return to st louis and welcome back marshall fault kurt warner this high-powered rams offense with a big lead that's ellis johnson injured on that last play the seven-year veteran defensive tackle from the university of florida and marshall faulk now with 103 yards rushing that's his 29th 100-yard rushing game 15 of those as a ram and the rams have won every time marshall's rushed for 100. ricky proll in motion and fall down the pitch first down carry and he's to the 35-yard line a gain of nearly five rob morris number 94 down low to make the stop dick this is the point in time you know i'm sure a lot of people are are thinking of themselves wait a minute 42 points on the board eight and a half minutes left in the in the game why is marshall falk still playing and you know we addressed that with him he says i will never ask to come out of a football game if it was up to me i would play every play of every game now we're getting close to the playoffs i'm not saying that indianapolis couldn't have some marvelous candid uh comeback as strong candidates backup looks on but it's a tough job getting marshall out of the game but i think it's got to come sometime fairly soon screen middle screen default can it thread well by the colts and the tackle by marcus washington short of the first down it'll bring up third in about two that's that is now 47 yards receiving 107 more rushing 154-yard day for marshall falls i like the fact that you know when when you talk to his players and kurt warner said he just when he's back there he reads the pass rush so well he when he there's nothing there he knows where to find an opening if he sees somebody put something from away from him he's able to cross over pick him up he just does so many things that you can't account for with numbers you're exactly right just he's an extraordinary player into the flat to talk and this one just a little short off his fingertips rob morris on the coverage and that will uh bring up fourth down and short in the punting team 42 points and he's mad at himself because he didn't deliver a perfect ball this thing didn't have enough on it he didn't get it he knows he may you know he just this offense this team is built on perfection they practice that way they their goal is to never have a ball touch the ground in practice and mike martz has instilled a mindset in this football team where perfection is the only thing they're satisfied with john baker under a rush gets it off and it's a honey terence wilkins to the 11-yard line he gets a block and he's finally run out of bounds at about the 27-yard line 52 on the punch 15 on terence wilkins returns sprinting right out of his shoes no that was uh macklin blocking up front that lost one of his loafers speaking of loafing that's one of the things that lovey smith does he keeps a a loaf chart on his defensive football team and after every game you get a check mark for each if he determines on that play you weren't running full speed in your pursuit of the ball carrier or the quarterback in and you get so many lopes a week and the players nobody wants to be leading the team in lopes then you become a baker and then you're a punder and then it goes on and on peyton manning from the 28-yard line trailing 42-17 fires almost intercepted london fletcher don davis was uh traversing to the sidelines that it admits on it bonnie well dick is the colts approach of five and ten record you can imagine how difficult it is for peyton manning to lose simply because the kid doesn't know what losing is about yes his rookie year the colts were only won three games but that's to be expected but between high school and college total peyton manning lost 11 games as a starter and he said there's only so much you can do you can watch more film and you can study harder but this losing thing is just so frustrating and humbling to say the least well he's such a high quality person as well as a player a man who's saying all the right things and and does all the right things so they'll be back they just need some defensive health as rhodes is crunched at the line of scrimmage a reminder coming up doubleheader here on cbs most of you will see the raiders at mile high against denver one of the top rivalries in the league others will see seattle a very important game for a lot of teams at seattle game at san diego and some field it will be mike riley's last as the head coach of the charger check your local listings doc go to cbs.sportsline.com well that was a false start tary glenn he's been getting away he's been edging closer and closer to that penalty trying to get a jump on the snap well he's got leonard little across on prior to the snap false start offense number 78 five yards penalty remains third down this is these are not good times to be an offensive tackle you're way down the other team has disregarded the run the speed guy is on your outside shoulder he's in a track stance he could care less if you run the football the crowd noise is keeping you from hearing your quarterback very clearly you are all by yourself out there it's it's not a fun place to be especially when you're going against a guy as fast as leonard little this time has jumped to the other side of the formation and going against adam meadows this time third and long standing underneath enemy income plate through the hands of marvin harrison kind of up on the back shoulder as he was running that crossing route but that combination of manning and harrison hopefully will stay healthy they've got so many great already have posted some marvelous marks uh harrison with his catches today over a hundred receptions for the third straight year manning four straight years three thousand yards passing it bodes uh for exciting stuff back in the capital city of indiana years to come oh you touched on their defense that's where it all hinges they have to get better defensively if they're to be competitive under smith to brave lie at the 30. and tackle that for 37th jim finn another stop 47-yard punt and seven on bly's return and a flag down back uh and another hold against indianapolis trying to hold up that outside rusher the gunner during the kick holding preceding team number 57 10 yard penalty first down 42-17 uh oj began guilty of the hold on that return a relaxed state on the rams sidelines that was a look at ryan pickett the rams one of their number one draft choices he was actually their their last he was uh they got that uh draft choice from tennessee for kevin [Music] so carter the 20 water hands off and it's uh still falk in there and he gets a couple of yards for the last time these two teams met october 1st 1995 it was marshall faulk in a colts uniform bolts and rams admit 40 times and marshall falk torched the team he plays for now 177 yards on that day three touchdowns it was a indianapolis win 21-18 the hoosier dome but to give you an idea how long ago that was i believe i saw him taking the handoff from jim harbaugh [Laughter] marvel still in uniform as a backup i think down in carolina and it's torrey holt uh that's the kind he throws back he caught in the boat but he throws that one back that's just a short gainer the way he's averaging up around yards of catch today david macklin the receivers you'll see the other scorers and the steelers trying to join the rams at 13-2 with the best records in the nfl miami after a couple of tough ones rebounding against atlanta in the fourth quarter and dallas uh with a stinging surprise for san francisco that's unbelievable that is some effort by the dallas cowboys going to score the most in that tennessee level fighting through tackles after the 36-yard line i you know you don't want to play coach from the booth but there have to be a lot of die hard rams fans wondering why marshall faulk is still carrying the football in a 42-17 game they know that trunk canada is more than capable this guy's he got in a couple games when marshall wasn't uh playing he only rushed for 195 against the jets 145 against carolina and you know almost a six yard for carry average how about that he averaged his five eight he can't get all the fields bulk five one i mean that's where where do you find the weakness in this how do you stop them i guess tampa bay having four great down linemen and able to rush him with only four and false this time gaining uh just a yard it'll be third down and five well you saw all those scores now look at the afc playoff picture with the steelers trying to go 13-2 and the raiders attempting to bounce back from a very difficult uh defeat to assimilate last weekend and the seattle seahawks have so much of it on their back they're the ones that are fighting to get in if seattle should lose which would be their eighth loss the jets and the miami dolphins and and the ravens are home free they're all in because so seattle has to win to keep pressure on those other teams or else it's an amazing day quick hitter over the middle to torrey holt and holt having a personal record day here in st louis this afternoon another catch 213 yards in receptions for the former north carolina state star seattle was playing in your hometown of san diego starting in a late game today so lots of eyes are going to be on what the what the seahawks were able to do in their game with the bolts this afternoon see hold it torrey hold he told us last time he said boy i really like working for a female owner georgia franciere because she likes diamonds and if we go to the super bowl again that ring might have even more listen it had plenty left put your eyes out his way across midfield to the 48-yard line on first down and that takes us to the two-minute timeout and uh they can start putting on the championship hats the nfc west uh here in st louis there's the to-do list and you can check off the first three playoff berth nfc west belongs to the rams and they now know they have the first round bye and if they not announced week not enough they want more and with uh san francisco losing that that makes it tough on the 40 that green bay san francisco they're going to be battling maybe for home absolutely but the rams are in that enviable position of knowing that if they beat atlanta at home here in the dome next week the road to the super bowl through the nfc has to go through st louis that's a tight end to ernie conwell on a little end around marcus washington tripped him up and a flag goes down and it may be for uh illegal tackle by the young linebacker washington he literally and figuratively tripped him up there's no foul for holding on to play third down apparently a legal tackle yeah the flag was initially for a hold by one of the rams and after concentration they just that's adam timmerman number 62 out there and you know that's a good call because timberman did not grab him and pull him down you could see where washington actually slipped and fell but he used his leg to trip up the ball yeah he did do that but the flag the flag wasn't for that the flag was on timmerman there's phineas williams and after being in arizona we talked him earlier this year he said you know you got at my age he just got used to the fact that you just didn't win many games you just didn't expect to have good things happen and now here he's just he can't wipe the smile off this veteran's face he's such a great example for all the young ram defensive backs he's uh just a solid character in every way and what a great player 50 interceptions in his career and dick he's gone to a half a dozen pro bowls but none in a couple of years and he's having a pro bowl year this year aeneas williams deserves to represent the rams in the pro bowl this season he's he's played that well and meant that much to this team taking the handoff and he's to the 40-yard line well isaac is done for the day akeem and tori holt just came to the sidelines uh they're finished for the afternoon of course there's a whopping 40 seconds left in this ball game mike march not exactly take the rest of the game and then that's only because now warner is going to take a knee and sit on it and falk is in the game one of the bodyguards and that'll do it the final kneel down and again the st louis rams the super bowl champions two years ago and mike martz and this offense is so incredibly difficult to defend and most impressive once again in the victory against the colts final score 42-17 stay tuned second half of the doubleheaders next here on cbs raiders broncos and seattle at san diego afc western rivalries good action ahead as well as all the scores and highlights coming to you from new york for dan deardorff and bonnie bernstein this is dick enberg thank you for being with us in st louis congratulations to the nfc western champs the ramp now to new york

Channel: CT Archives

Views: 4,223

Keywords: Indianapolis, Colts, St. Louis, Saint Louis, Los Angeles, Rams, Peyton Manning, Dominic Rhodes, Marvin Harrison, Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Tory Holt, Greatest Show on Turf, David Macklin, Marcus Washington, Dre Bly, Leonard Little, MVP, 2001, NFL, Season, Super Bowl, Jim Mora, London Fletcher, Mike Vanderjagt, Jeff Wilkins, Mike Martz, 36, XXXVI, Edgerrin James, CBS

Id: beI9Sgr4ay0

Length: 111min 4sec (6664 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 14 2021