The Rams' Isaac Bruce, left, and Torry Holt will look to exploit the Titans secondary.

That brings us to Wednesday, the first practice day of the week. The largest portions of the game plans, perhaps 85 percent, are installed over Wednesday and Thursday. The coaches will break it down situationally, as follows: first-and-10, second-and-seven, second-and-7 plus, second-and-7 minus, third-and-5, third-and-five plus, and third-and-10 plus. Also included is what the teams what to run coming out of their own end zone. The red-zone schemes will come up later in the week.

Normally, the offense and the defense will each run about 35 plays; that's it. No extended practice time is necessary. The Rams and the Titans will do what they did to get to the Super Bowl. Despite what people think, coaches don't have a lot of time between games to get too creative with their game plans. Some changes will be made and some new wrinkles added to create opportunities, but the teams will not stray from their personalities.

It's not difficult to game plan for a team that you have already played. From a playing standpoint, there is familiarity. A team can study the speed of Jevon Kearse on film, but it doesn't understand how fast he really is. When Rams tackles Fred Miller and Orlando Pace get a chance to block Kearse, they know what he feels like already. It's not just a cerebral game; it's also a game of feel. Players need to feel someone's speed or feel when someone like Kearse is leaning on them whether he wants to go inside or outside. That's the advantage of having played a team.

In addition, out of certain formations, the team will look at what it wants to do defensively. For instance, let's say the Rams look at what Jacksonville did against the Titans defense and feel they can get Steve Jackson lined up on Isaac Bruce. That is what Rams offensive coordinator Mike Martz would try to take advantage of. Jackson is a 5-foot-8 safety matched against Bruce, a 6-foot receiver who can run. That's a matchup Martz wants with different formations.

In 1984, when we played the Raiders for the second time that season in the Super Bowl, we didn't change much of the game plan from the previous game. The Raiders played press coverage on the corners, much like Tennessee does with Samari Rolle and Denard Walker. Because the Raiders' Mike Haynes and Lester Hayes played that style, we were going to beat them with fade routes. But the wind was blowing just enough to carry the fades too far on Super Sunday.

We also knew we had to run the football. Although Marcus Allen was voted the Super Bowl MVP, the one who deserved it the most was nose tackle Reggie Kinlaw. He really shut down our running game inside. We had our standard running plays, like 40 Gut and 60 Outside -- the plays that got us to the Super Bowl. The teams must have confidence in the plays and schemes that got them to the championship game. If they get shut down, then you are in a world of hurt.

The Rams and the Titans will run their staple plays, with variations on maybe six. Considering that offenses usually run 60-65 plays a game, teams will look for four unique plays to create two touchdown opportunities. For example, the Titans had third-and-1 against Jacksonville in a critical time of the game. A first down would allow them to burn a lot of time off the clock. Titans offensive coordinator Les Steckel called a play-action pass. It wasn't open, but Steve McNair turned it into a 51-yard run, leading to a game-clinching touchdown. That's the type of variation you have to look for in the Super Bowl.

The Rams will have difficulty with McNair; they can't account for a running quarterback in the game plan. Linebacker London Fletcher is fast enough to mirror McNair, but that would only happen in third-down situations. It will be critical for Tennessee to avoid third-and-long situations. The Titans have been good at staying in manageable situations in terms of down and distance. They can run with Eddie George, McNair is always an option to scramble and the tight ends are a big part of the passing game, but their offense isn't equipped to operate in long-yardage situations.

I don't think the cold weather in Atlanta will have an impact on each team's preparations for the game. It's been cold in Tennessee, and I know the Titans normally practice outside. The Rams have been an indoor football team, so it might affect them more. In fact, Dick Vermeil has already complained about the weather conditions. There is not a lot of meat on the bones of Bruce and Az-Zahir Hakim, a couple of featherweights. Bruce doesn't practice much anyway. Maybe 25 plays a practice. The Rams want to keep Bruce fresh and free from injury. That's one of the reasons for the Rams' success.

The weather doesn't become an issue unless it is sleeting on Friday. If the teams can't practice Friday and Saturday due to weather, I don't know what the commissioner would be accomplishing by not allowing them a chance to work in the dome. We should be able to see the best product possible.