The surprise team in the NFL has to be the St. Louis Rams. After going 4-12 last year, the Rams are 12-2 and have clinched home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. Quarterback Kurt Warner, a strong candidate for league MVP, has directed the Rams' high-powered offense this season.

"I think the biggest difference this year is that everybody is making plays," Warner told Gary Miller recently on ESPN's Up Close. "Last year, we had the same players, the same situations, but we didn't step up and make the big plays when we needed them. This year we've got guys doing that all over the place."

Warner also talked about his development as an NFL quarterback and his relationship with Rams head coach Dick Vermeil. An edited transcript of Warner's comments follows.

Miller: When did you guys start to believe in yourselves? When did it go from being a surprise to saying, "we are really good?"

Warner: I'll tell you what: I don't think it was ever a surprise this season. I think we felt we had a lot of talent and we just needed to put it together, and we've done that since pretty early on in the preseason. We are excited about this team, excited about the caliber of players that we have. I know a lot of people didn't believe the same things that we did, but we've been around these guys for a couple of years, and we knew the talent we had here, we just had to get over that hump and build that confidence, and we've been able to ride on that all season.

	Rams quarterback Kurt Warner should have plenty of time to find his speedy receivers Sunday.

Miller: So what's different? You were here last year when this team wasn't a winning team.

Warner: I think the biggest difference this year is that everybody is making plays. Last year, we had the same players, the same situations, but we didn't step up and make the big plays when we needed them. This year we've got guys doing that all over the place. Whoever is called upon to make the big play is making it, whether that's offense or defense, or special teams. Everybody is making big plays at crucial times.

Miller: The New York Giants love smash-mouth football and they made a lot of comments going into the game this Sunday. How did that affect the team?

Warner: I think it just pumped us up a little bit. Everybody has been looking at us this year, saying we are not as good as our record (12-2) is. We just wanted to go out there and show them we will play any kind of football they want to play. Anybody can come into our Dome and play us and think they are going to whip us, but we are going to step up to the challenge. We've done it all year in every situation, we haven't backed down to anybody, and we've played quality football against quality football teams this year. So this was a great test for us, and we were really excited coming into it. We had a great week in practice; we were excited to finally get an opportunity to show what kind of football team we had against a playoff-caliber team.

Miller: When did you know that Dick Vermeil had that confidence in you?

Warner: I felt that he had confidence in me in the offseason, and when Trent Green got injured, he decided to say "hey, this guy is going to be our starter, he hasn't played at all in the NFL, we like what he's done on the practice field and we are gonna give him a chance." When he made that commitment to me, he gave me the confidence to just take over and play football the way I have always played. It's been tough because nobody at this level had ever seen me play, it was always on the practice field, and you can't get a feel for what a player, especially a quarterback is all about, until you see him on the football field. I was just waiting for that opportunity to get onto the football field in a game-type situation and just perform. He gave me that chance, he had all that confidence in me, as well as my teammates, and I think that made all the difference in helping me get going and get started the way I did.

Miller: In your career, you've played behind a lot of great quarterbacks, people like Brett Favre, but you could never find a spot. How does it feel to be putting up better numbers than any of those guys this year?

Warner: It just means I'm playing well enough for this team to win. I don't focus on the records, on the yards, the touchdowns. All I know is that my team is 12-2 and we've got home-field advantage and we've got a bigger goal in mind. The records are something that, if they fall, they fall, but the biggest gauge for me is that I'm helping this football team win, and that's what's most important to me. I want to throw a lot of touchdown passes because that means we are scoring a lot of points and that's what is all about, it's a team game. The things I'm doing, it's just a gauge of what the team has done all year. The offensive linemen, the wide receivers, the running backs, the whole group, everybody is doing this together. I don't really focus on it too much, but it's nice to see that this team is getting respect, and even though it's just a few players getting most of the respect, I just think it focuses on this whole team and what we have done this year.

Miller: Your coach, Dick Vermeil, has been in tears a lot this year. Is this a daily thing for your coach?

Warner: It happens quite often, but the players realize that's the kind of guy he is; he cares about what he's doing and he cares about his players. There's no better coach to play for than somebody who cares about you, not only on the football field, but more importantly, off the field. And he gets emotional when he talks about players that he's had in the past, players that are here today, that's what is so great about him, because he cares about us as people and it really makes it an extra incentive for us. We want to go out and do everything for this guy, because he wants to do everything he can for us, no matter if it's on the field or off it.

Miller: Vermeil was in tears when (quarterback) Trent Green went down, but he also was in tears when you had a 300-yard debut against the Baltimore Ravens, so it runs the gamut.

Warner: It does, and like I said, he gets close to all his players, and he's emotional about every single one of them, about their lives and what they do. Everybody touches his heart, and he tries to touch everybody's heart that he comes in contact with. That's what so special about him and that's why I love the relationship we have. I love the way he coaches, and the way he gets out and gets involved with his players.

Miller: Vermeil nearly lost his job this offseason and it's very unlikely another team would have picked him up at his age. How do you think that affected him?

Warner: It was emotional for him because, obviously, the last couple of years had been tough for him. He had so much success before, in Philadelphia, and then to come back and to have had to struggle the way that he has, but he stuck with it, he stuck with his players, he brought guys in here that he believed in. He believed in them as football players and as people. I think you see that in this team this year; we have a lot of great people and they've stuck together and we've become a really good football team. I think it gives him a great satisfaction to know that he put together the kind of people and the kind of team that he wanted to put together. He coached them the way he wanted to, he brought in the coaches that he wanted to, and now we are successful. I think that's why it's so emotional for him and it touches him so much.

Miller: You guys belong together. You're a guy that doesn't hide his emotions. Where does that come from for you?

Warner: For me, it just comes from the things I believe in, and things that I love just like coach (Vermeil) does. My family, my faith, they are very important to me. I get very emotional when I'm talking about them, and the way they have affected and touched my life. It's just who I am. On the football field, I don't get very emotional because I realize those things aren't as nearly as important as the things off the field. The things that happen on the field aren't going to affect me as a person, aren't going to change the kind of person I am, but my family and the situations at home and the people that really touch my life are what make me emotional and what touches me and changes the person that I am.

Miller: When someone loses their parents, they obviously lean on their man. What was it like for you and your wife after she lost both parents in one night?

Warner: It was difficult. It was hard, and I don't think I can even ever explain what it felt like to lose both of your parents. I still have both of mine and until that happens to you, I don't think you can quite explain it. But I know she was going through a rough time. It was hard on all of us, her kids were very close to their grandparents and it was just a very difficult situation. I was trying to balance football, but more importantly, I was trying to figure out what I could do and how I could best support her in this time of need. I know I never said the right things or necessarily did the right things, but I just tried to be there for her, to be a shoulder that she could lean on, an ear that she could talk to, and try to help her in any way I could.

Miller: What was that period like, four interceptions per game for four games in the Arena League; did you feel things all unraveling?

Warner: Not really, because I was focusing on what was really important to me, and that was my family. Not to say I wasn't focusing on football and I didn't want to play well, because I did, but I think my mind was just somewhere else. I knew that wasn't me. I didn't feel bad about the way I was playing; things just weren't going my way. I was really focused on how I could help (my wife) Brenda and the kids through this difficult situation. I knew the football situation would take care of itself and that wasn't the most important thing at that time.

Miller: Your son is legally blind and he has to stand close to the TV to watch you play. Does Brenda tell you about that, can you picture that while you are playing?

Warner: No question about it. The thing is, he probably just looks up there and says, "hey, that's Dad." and then goes about his business, playing or something. He's not really into football, he doesn't really care what Dad does, as long as Dad is there to tuck him in, to wrestle with him, to make him watch a movie with him at home, that's what most important to him, and that's what I love about him so much, is that football doesn't matter. It doesn't matter all the fortune and fame and everything that has come about this season. He just loves me for being Dad and that is what is so great about having a family and having Zachary as a son.

Miller: How has this season changed your life?

Warner: It has changed, because everybody is looking for a piece of you, trying to get a little time here and there: media, interviews, when you go out to a restaurant or a store, everybody wants an autograph, wants to say "hi," so those things have changed. The great part about it is it has given me the opportunity to share my testimony, to share my faith, to let people know it is the Lord who helped me get to this point and through the strength I have had in Him.