By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch
Thursday, Dec. 09 2004

Rams coach Mike Martz isn't a big fan of the Chris Chandler age jokes.

"He's not 500 years old," Martz said Wednesday. "I think he's 38. It doesn't
matter how old he is. He can play."

Actually, Chandler is 39. This is his 17th season in the National Football
League. He has played for seven NFL teams, including two stints with the Rams.
On Sunday he makes his 151st NFL start, 154th if you count playoffs, replacing
the injured Marc Bulger against Carolina.

When punter Sean Landeta was released two weeks ago, Chandler became the oldest
player on the Rams' roster. The "old man" jokes only intensified.

"You name it, I get all kinds of things," Chandler said. "We saw Steve Bono
walking off the field Sunday, and Marshall (Faulk) kept asking me if I came in
the league before Steve Bono did."

Bono, now an alumni coordinator for the San Francisco *****, came into the NFL
in 1985, just three seasons before Chandler's rookie season in Indianapolis.

"Actually, nowadays, I laugh at it," Chandler said. "A few years ago, it would
kind of bother me. But being as old as I am, and being in the league as long as
I have been, and playing at the level I'm playing at, I kind of hang my hat on
that now."

Despite spending much of his career with lousy teams, Chandler has made two Pro
Bowls and played in a Super Bowl. He has thrown more than 4,000 passes. At this
stage of his football like, he feels that he has nothing to prove. He no longer
worries about stats.

"Now I'm playing to have fun for myself," Chandler said. "But mainly, I'm
playing for all the other guys in this locker room. They're counting on me, and
the only thing I want to do is stand up for those guys."

The Rams certainly need Chandler to stand up and make something happen. Bulger
could miss a couple of games, and the team is in the thick of a playoff race
despite a 6-6 record.

"That's the best thing about it," Chandler said. "We're playing a meaningful
game in December, and there's a lot of teams who aren't. So that's what makes
it a lot more exciting."

Until Bulger went down with a bruised throwing shoulder late in the first
quarter against San Francisco, Chandler hadn't thrown a pass this season. He
served as Jeff Wilkins' holder against New England and Seattle early last month
when Dane Looker was sidelined with a sprained ankle. But that was it for
playing time.

After three months of serving as the scout team quarterback, running...

It would appear a week of practice with the first unit has yet to chip off the six inch layers of rust that have accumulated on Chris Chandler. Aside from a nice 75-yard bomb to Torry Holt where Chandler had all day to throw, he's looked absolutely awful in the first half. Throwing behind receivers, holding onto the ball too long, and two horrible interceptions.

from the Bears game...

By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch
Thursday, Sep. 16 2004

Chris Chandler spent more time in Atlanta - five seasons - than any other stop
in his 17-year NFL career. In terms of both personal statistics and team
success, the time in Georgia marked the apex of his career.

He led the Falcons to the Super Bowl during the 1998 season and made two Pro
Bowls while playing in Atlanta. So Sunday's return to the Georgia Dome will
bring back fond memories for Chandler, now a backup quarterback for the Rams.
Right?

Uh, no. In fact, not even close.

"I have some friends back there, but I really have no connection at all,"
Chandler said Thursday. "As far as football, I've kind of forgotten all about
that. The way things ended there, I'm kind of dead to all that now."

Chandler never wears his NFC championship ring from that magical '98 season of
Jamal Anderson and the Dirty Birds. In fact, he'd be hard-pressed to find it.

"We've moved twice, and I really couldn't tell you where it is right now,"
Chandler said.

Over his entire NFL career, Chandler has played on only two teams that finished
the season with winning records. One was the 1988 Indianapolis Colts in his
rookie season.

The other was the 1998 Atlanta Falcons. Those three playoff games with the
Falcons, including a 34-19 loss to John Elway and the Denver Broncos in Super
Bowl XXXIII, remain the only postseason contests of Chandler's career.

But Georgia definitely is not on his mind - and hasn't been for some time.

"I think I'm numb to all that really," Chandler said. "As things ended there,
and the way they ended there, I pretty much have just forgotten all about it. I
know it was fun. But again, you tend to remember the way things end more so
than anything else."

For Chandler, the beginning of the end came in the 2001 draft, when the Falcons
made Michael Vick the No. 1 overall pick. Beginning with the '01 season opener,
Vick was inserted into the lineup as part of a rotation system devised by
coaches - a highly unusual move for the quarterback position in the NFL.
Because of injuries to Chandler, Vick started two games and played in parts of
four others.

But Chandler still played well enough - and stayed healthy enough - to throw
365 passes that season and finish 10th in the NFL in passer rating (84.1).

On Dec. 23, 2001, Chandler threw for a franchise-record 431 yards in a 33-30
victory over Buffalo. But the largest cheers of the day came when it appeared
that Vick would be replacing Chandler, who had been fighting the flu all
weekend. ...

Martz says he won`t scale back Rams' offense for Chandler's start
BY STEVE KORTE
Knight Ridder Newspapers

ST. LOUIS - (KRT) - After 17 seasons in the NFL, quarterback Chris Chandler can fully appreciate the opportunity at hand.

Chandler will be the starting quarterback for the St. Louis Rams against the Carolina Panthers at 3:15 p.m. CST on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.

Chandler is starting in place of Marc Bulger, who could be sidelined from 1 to 3 games because of a bruised throwing shoulder.

"I`m not going to play another 10 years," Chandler said. "When you`re younger, it seems like your future is infinite. As you get a little older, every opportunity you get you should really cherish, respect, and go out there and enjoy the heck out of them."

At 39, Chandler became the elder statesmen on the Rams` roster after punter Sean Landeta was released two weeks ago.

Chandler said he hears plenty of jokes about his age.

"You name it, I get all kinds of things," Chandler said. "We saw Steve Bono walking off the field Sunday, and Marshall (Faulk) kept asking me if I came in the league before Steve Bono did."

Bono, who serves as the alumni coordinator for the San Francisco *****, entered the NFL in 1985. Chandler arrived three years later in 1998 as a third-round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts.

"We used to give it to Landeta because he was like 95 (years old) or something," Rams center Andy McCollum said. "I just like for them to give it to somebody other than me because I`m the oldest in our (offensive line) room. I`m the one who gets it."

Carolina cornerback Ricky Manning, 24 years old and playing in his second season in the NFL, even took a little shot at Chandler`s age this week.

"You know, I couldn`t even tell you. I don`t remember," Manning said when asked if he`d ever seen Chandler play. "I probably just played with him on Tecmo Bowl or something, one of those video games. And, if y`all don`t know Tecmo Bowl, it was one of the first Nintendo games."

Chandler said the age jokes don`t bother him anymore.

"Actually, nowadays, I laugh at it," Chandler said. "A few years ago, it would kind of bother me. But being as old as I am, and being in the league as long as I have been, and playing at the level I'm playing at, I kind of hang my hat on that now."

Rams coach Mike Martz wasn`t so amused with an Internet columnist who mocked Chandler because of his age.

"He`s not 500 years old," Martz said. "It doesn`t matter how old he is, he can play. He has terrific legs. Can any of you guys go at nine on the treadmill for 35 minutes? Maybe you can, but I know I can`t. That and the fact that his arm strength...