By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/15/2005
During nearly a decade as an assistant coach at Arizona State, Mike Martz noticed an interesting effect of the late-summer heat in the Phoenix area.
"At the beginning of the season, we never played particularly well because we were worn down by the heat" after preseason practices, he said. "Teams would come in fresh, and the heat didn't seem to bother them. It's kind of an odd thing, really."
Which is one of two reasons Martz insists he isn't concerned that the thermometer could be hovering near the 100-degree mark Sunday afternoon when the Rams play the Cardinals at Sun Devil Stadium on the ASU campus.
The other? As the locals like to remind outsiders, it's a dry heat.
"I challenge anybody to come out when it's 98 and practice in this humidity" in St. Louis, Martz said. "I promise you it was a lot worse here last week than it ever was down there when it was 113 during the day. ... If you want to make (the heat) a distraction, you can. It's what it is. It's still (hot) on that other sideline, too."
Injury sidelines Tucker
Tackle Rex Tucker expects the calf injury he suffered in the fourth quarter Sunday in San Francisco to keep him sidelined at least a couple of weeks.
Tucker, who has dealt with a succession of health issues over the past few seasons, called his latest setback "very frustrating. I was making contact, and when I planted my foot, it just gave way."
Blaine Saipaia is expected to start in Tucker's right tackle spot Sunday.
Big-play enabler
It wasn't the opening-day splash that he was hoping for: 19 carries for 60 yards in the Rams' 28-25 loss to the *****. But running back
Steven Jackson wasn't unhappy that his workload diminished significantly in the second half as the Rams tried to rally with the passing game.
"I understood the circumstances we were in," he said. "All I wanted to do was win the game; I didn't care how we got it. ... You'd rather have the ball, but ... you get down, and we needed a big play. A lot of times, big plays happen through the air."
Ram-blings
San Francisco defensive end Bryant Young, who had three sacks versus the Rams, is the NFC defensive player of the week. ... Phoenix native Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Rams' No. 3 quarterback, said he has been swamped with ticket requests. "They're still rolling in," he reported. ... Rookie Claude Terrell has been taking some reps at right guard. Previously, he had spent most of his time on the left side.
Linear Mode
