EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The game's best corps of receivers was fanning out across the field at Giants Stadium and Trent Green pump-faked to see if any of the Giants' jittery secondary would bite. For
perhaps the only time all Sunday (even including chronically toasted cornerback Dave Thomas), no one did. And so the Rams quarterback bolted out of the pocket, careened off left tackle and scored on an 18-yard touchdown run.
|  | | Trent Green improved his record to 2-1 as a starter this season. |
Sometimes, life just isn't fair.
This the Giants know, after losing what was believed to be an important NFC clash of, pardon the expression, titans, 38-24. The Super Bowl champions had lost two of three games, were without two offensive stars -- quarterback Kurt
Warner and running back Marshall Faulk -- and had been revealed as a
one-dimensional team.
Well, as long as Green is presiding over that single dimension -- a
breathtaking passing game that threatens to completely trash the record book
by season's end -- it doesn't matter if the Rams can't really run or play
defense.
Green completed 27 of 45 passes for 272 yards and four touchdowns. It was
the second four-touchdown game of Green's career; he hacked up Arizona two
years ago when playing for Washington. If Az-Zahir Hakim had better
concentration, it would have been five TDs.
Green showed some wheels, too. His 54 yards rushing was the most the
Rams have seen since Roman Gabriel went for 57 yards in 1967.
Afterward, Rams head coach Mike Martz, citing drops and overthrows,
allowed that, offensively, "this was not our best effort, but it was good
enough."
Green, on the other hand, was jazzed. "I'm having fun," he said.
"Pounding away at a rehab table for 12, 13 months, that's not fun. Just
being out there in a big game, two 7-2 teams, that was great."
There is a poetic justice to Green's sudden impact this season. It was
he who was Wally Pipped last year. It was he who was given the keys to the
magic kingdom a year ago by offensive coordinator Mike Martz and head coach
Dick Vermeil. It was he, alas, who was knocked out for the season when the
San Diego Chargers shredded his left knee in the third preseason game.
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Kurt Who?
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It has made little difference whether Kurt Warner or Trent Green is running the St. Louis offense this season. Their individual numbers are similar, and Green has still managed to lead the team to more than 30 points per game despite the absence of Marshall Faulk.
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Warner
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Green
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Starts
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7
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3
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Comp-att/gm
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21-32
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23-36
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Pass ypg
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349
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304
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TD/INT
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18/10
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11/3
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PPG
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45.1
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33.0
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Warner was the feel-good story of the year, and his epic rise from
stocking grocery shelves and playing Arena League ball was literally
unprecedented. Did anyone ever come from farther away to win the league and
Super Bowl MVP awards? Could anyone possibly begin to measure Green's
frustration and disappointment as his team reached such heights without him?
He had worked for more than six years in professional football to
become an overnight success story. San Diego (1993), British Columbia of the
Canadian Football League (1994) and four seasons in Washington were enough
to catch the Rams' eye. And then he got hurt and was relegated to
rehabilitation.
When Warner broke the pinky on his throwing hand against the Kansas City
Chiefs, their roles were, perhaps fittingly, reversed. The Rams lost that
game at Kansas City, but it was no fault of Green's. The defense permitted
the Chiefs to score 54 points and followed that up with a 24-point effort
against San Francisco (a 34-24 win) and a 27-point allowance to Carolina in
an ugly 27-24 Sunday night loss.
Green has now thrown for 1,218 yards and 11 TD passes in three-plus
games (he has another score in mop-up duty against San Diego).
"Trent played great," Warner said. "But we already knew that he was a
great player. Listen, I'm not going to have a vendetta and hope he doesn't
do well. I'm happy for him. I'm glad he's playing great."
Against the Giants, Green was not always sharp. He made an incredibly
ill-advised pass across the middle in the third quarter that was intercepted
by linebacker Ryan Phillips. He had Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt open for long
completions and overthrew them. Still, all in all, Green was exceedingly
effective.
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“ |
Listen, I'm not going to have a vendetta and hope he (Green) doesn't do well. I'm happy for him. I'm glad he's playing great. ” |
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— Kurt Warner, Rams quarterback |
There was a moment early in the third quarter that underlined how truly
frightening the Rams' offense is. It was third-and-8 at the St. Louis 44, and
the Rams had their five wide receivers (Bruce, Holt, Hakim, Ricky
Proehl and Tony Horne in the game.
In that situation, the Giants' best defensive back in coverage, even with a not-completely-mended broken rib,
is Jason Sehorn. Holt got Sehorn in single coverage, drove him down the
field and bent back to take Green's perfect pass along the sideline. It was
a 9-yard play, just good enough to keep a touchdown drive alive.
Because the Rams' offense is so lethal, Green will not get the credit
he deserves as the season plays out. The team has now scored 20 points or
better in 26 straight games. The common perception is that the Rams could
win with Garo Yepremian at quarterback.
Warner said Sunday he hopes to return in two weeks on Nov. 26 against
New Orleans. He is scheduled to have pins removed from his finger later this
week, but the Dec. 3 game at Carolina is a more likely target. When Warner
eventually does return, Green again will recede into the backround. He will
be a nice little story at the Super Bowl, if the Rams get that far.
The good teams always seem to find solid backup quarterbacks. Tennessee
got four victories last year out of Neil O'Donnell when Steve McNair went
down last year. The Rams could get that mileage out of Green.
"When he came back in Kansas City, with no snaps in practice, to do
what he's done in that time is a real testimony to what type of player he
is," Martz said of Green. "He's playing exceptional. I think he's one of the best
quarterbacks around."
Both quarterbacks know that economics demand that Green will eventually
play somewhere else.
"We both know we're good quarterbacks," Warner said. "We'll both throw
a lot of passes and have good careers, wherever we are."
Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
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