Marshall Faulk creates a matchup nightmare for Rams' opponents.

He couldn't care less if myriad small parts of his personality might add up to something remarkable, a sum of which millions of curious sports fans are hungry to devour.

He's not into self-analysis in front of microphones and notepads.

No, all that Marshall Faulk cares to think and talk about is helping his team win football games, specifically the biggest one of them all, Super Bowl XXXIV this Sunday at the Georgia Dome.

"No, I don't know," Faulk said when asked Wednesday why he doesn't enjoy talking about himself. "I don't want to know. And even if I did (know), I wouldn't tell."

The final statement is punctuated with an honest, good-natured laugh. Faulk isn't surly or sullen. He just doesn't see reason to bare his soul. His job is to advance the football, and it's one he has done exquisitely well for the St. Louis Rams this season after five years playing for the Indianapolis Colts.

"There are a lot of things you can do throughout your professional career, but when you get the opportunity to compete and be the best in the business, there's nothing better than this," Faulk said about the Rams preparing to play the Tennessee Titans on Sunday's worldwide stage. "I think we all play this game -- I hope we all play this game -- to get here and win this game. It's the ultimate goal."

That goal is what the Rams had in mind when they traded for Faulk last April. They knew they were getting one of the best backs in the league, a three-time Pro Bowler who rushed for more than 1,000 yards in four of his five Colts seasons and averaged 59 pass receptions a year.

His numbers in St. Louis were even better. Faulk rushed for 1,381 yards and accounted for another 1,048 after catching a team-leading 87 passes, joining Roger Craig as the only players in NFL history to reach the 1,000-yard mark both rushing and receiving in the same season.

His 2,429 total yards from scrimmage set an NFL record, putting his name atop the list of Barry Sanders, Marcus Allen, Eric Dickerson and O.J. Simpson, and sending him to Hawaii for his fourth Pro Bowl.

"I don't think anybody is Barry Sanders," Titans safety Blaine Bishop said. "But Marshall Faulk is the closest thing we've got to Barry at this point. He's got all the moves. He's right there for you (to tackle), and then, bam, he's gone."

Faulk's elusiveness and the surprising season of quarterback Kurt Warner were the main reasons the Rams set or tied numerous NFL offensive records in the regular season. And Faulk is probably the key why St. Louis is in the big game just one year after going 4-12.

"I expected Marshall Faulk to make an outstanding contribution and a difference in us being a good football team and being a playoff football team," Rams coach Dick Vermeil said. "I didn't anticipate him being as good as he really is. I underestimated his value and talents."

While Faulk is not a vocal presence on the field or in the locker room, he is still a team leader, Rams insiders say.

"It's his wit," Rams running back coach Wilbert Montgomery said. "He's a witty guy who understands the game. He doesn't know just where he's supposed to run the ball, but he knows what the blocking assignments of the interior linemen are, he knows what the responsibilities of the tight end and the wide receivers are. He's a guy who makes the right decisions when adjustments are being made in a split-second out there on the field."

"He's a guy who makes his offensive linemen look good," added Rams center Mike Gruttadauria. "There are a lot of times our blocking responsibilities will change from the time we leave the huddle to when we get up to the line and see how the defense is set up. All I ever have to do with Marshall is glance back and make quick eye contact, and he's giving me the 'OK' sign. He knows what I'm going to do."

Montgomery, who was a nine-year NFL running back, raves about Faulk's talents as a runner and receiver. But he out-and-out worships Faulk when it comes to attitude.

"Early in the season, he was the one settling me down because he wasn't getting many carries," Montgomery said. "We were jumping on top of teams so fast passing the ball and building big leads, that we were taking him out of games early in the second half. I'd come in at halftime all excited because he'd have only six carries or so, and he was telling me, 'Don't worry, my time will come. The important thing is that we're winning.' "

In the Rams' first four games, Faulk rushed for 54, 105, 23 and six yards, and only one touchdown. But then came games of 181 yards and a TD against Atlanta and 133 with a TD against Cleveland. The next game, the Rams' first loss of the year, against Tennessee incidentally, he went for 90 but added 94 yards on six receptions.

"He just wasn't worried about things like numbers," Montgomery said. "He was all about working hard and winning."