As the NFL's sack leader this season with 17, he's the one who does the hurting. Just ask any quarterback who has faced the St. Louis Rams recently.

	Kevin Carter says the Rams defense deserves all the credit it can get.

But bringing a pained expression to the Rams' Pro Bowl defensive end is still easy. Just sidle up alongside Carter and repeat the mantra that has circulated all season: The Rams' defense isn't as good as the statistics and rankings indicate because it's the Rams offense that has dictated how opposing offenses have played.

"It's just not a fair thing to say," says Carter, who hopes he and the Rams prove it Sunday when they square off against the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV at the Georgia Dome. "We've played a lot of games this year in which our offense hasn't scored right away. Our offense has turned the ball over in our end, too, and we've shut the other teams down in those situations. Nobody seems to be pointing those things out."

Yes, Carter and his cohorts are defensive ... in both meanings of the word.

They're tired of hearing that St. Louis' high-scoring offense has forced opponents to abandon a running attack early in games, allowing the Rams to rush quarterbacks without regard. They're sick of reading that their rushing-defense NFL ranking jumped from No. 27 last year to No. 1 this season only because of Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and other St. Louis players who aren't paid to make tackles.

"I guess when you beat a team 41-3, 34-3 -- something like that -- the media only looks at the high end," linebacker London Fletcher said. "They don't realize that the other team scored only three points. We've known all along that we have a good defensive football team, one of the best in the league."

The statistics certainly say it. The Rams surrendered an average of only 74.3 yards per game on the ground. They allowed just 3.5 per carry, which was bettered only by San Diego (3.1), Baltimore (3.1) and Buffalo (3.4).

Rams practice, sans heaters

ATLANTA (AP) -- Dick Vermeil couldn't be happier: His Rams got a workout, and the heaters didn't. "It was a more typical Rams practice," he said Thursday. "Overall they did a good job in all phases." With a high of 43 degrees reported in the area, the Rams worked out in shells and helmets for more than two hours. Six heat blowers brought out Wednesday at the Falcons' practice facility in suburban Suwanee went unused. Defensive end Grant Wistrom and wide receiver Torry Holt, both nursing shoulder injuries, returned to workouts after being held out a day earlier. Center Mike Gruttadauria stayed at the hotel with the flu. Kicker Jeff Wilkins, who has had tedinitis in his left knee, worked out at the Georgia Dome. Club president John Shaw and vice president Jay Zygmunt watched the first hour of workouts, including a much more animated performance from special teams coach Frank Gansz. He volunteered to play cornerback for the scout-team defense. "I'll backpedal like a son of a gun," he said.

Those numbers allowed the St. Louis defense to finish with a No. 6 overall ranking in the league.

But still, there are those who wonder if the Rams' best defense is their offense.

Defensive coordinator and linebackers coach John Bunting turns red and lets his voice rise as he gets worked up over the discussion.

"I've watched an awful lot of film of us from last year and this year, and there's a huge difference in how we're tackling," Bunting said. "That has absolutely nothing to do with our offense. Last year, we missed a lot of tackles. This year, if we're not the best, then we're the second- or third-best tackling team in the league.

"I love the way our offense is scoring, and hope we can keep it up. But I know it's how we're playing on the defensive side of the ball that is shutting teams down."

Carter, at his bristling best, points to the team at hand, the Titans, as his top argument. When the teams met in Week 7 this season, Tennessee jumped to an immediate 21-0 lead thanks to St. Louis turnovers, but then only kicked a field goal thereafter and had to hang on at home to win 24-21.

"Teams have had the opportunity to ram the ball down our throats," Carter said. "Like when you're up 21-0 in the first quarter, and you've got a running back like Eddie George, you're going to try to run out the game. But they didn't move the ball on us much the rest of that game."

George, who finished with 68 yards on 17 carries in that game, is not stupid. He isn't about to light a fire under the Rams defense at this point.

"They're very aggressive at the point of attack," George says of the Rams. "They're very fast, especially on turf. It's going to take a great game plan, and for us to go out and execute it, to be able to move the ball on these guys."

"Look at the Tampa Bay and Minnesota games," a worked-up Carter continues, referring to the Rams' two playoff victories. "Not all of our games have been blowouts. We've had to sweat out some tough ones."

This week started with the Rams squeezing past Tampa Bay 11-6 in the NFC Championship Game. They scored the winning, come-from-behind touchdown with less than five minutes left and had to withstand a gallant, last-gasp drive by the Buccaneers.

"We've heard all year that we've gone out with 21-point leads, and it's easy to play defense," says defensive tackle D'Marco Farr. "But that game was a great test, and we showed we could pass it."