Boston.com / Sports / Bruins

It was school of hard knocks for quarterback Warner

By Peter May, Globe Staff, 2/4/2002

EW ORLEANS - By the time Kurt Warner finally made it to the interview area after last night's crushing Super Bowl loss, he had showered and taken time to collect his thoughts. He wore a brown suit, an electric blue shirt, a brown-and-blue tie, and a look of utter dejection.

He also had his trusty companion with him - The Bible. He takes it everywhere - and it came in handy last night.

''This was not a faith-shaker,'' Warner said after the Rams' stunning 20-17 loss to the Patriots. ''The Bible says `when the winds and rains come.' It doesn't say `if the winds and rains come.' I've been through a lot of them in my career. This is another one.''

Indeed it was. Warner threw for 365 yards. He had one touchdown pass and he ran for another. He rallied the Rams from a 14-point hole in the fourth quarter, only to watch it all go away when Adam Vinatieri hit the winning field goal on the last play.

Until that fateful kick Warner had, he thought, overcome a thumb injury that he reinjured ''three or four times'' during the game. He had, he thought, overcome two interceptions. He was looking forward to the Rams' next possession. Instead, he watched the Patriots drive down the field and celebrate a world championship, a painful sight to his eyes.

''It's tough, what can you say? We made too many mistakes,'' Warner said. ''Our defense played well enough to win a world championship. We just didn't finish it off. We killed ourselves.''

As the maestro of the Rams' offense, Warner fell on the proverbial grenade after the game. He said the Patriots didn't surprise him.

''I wasn't frustrated by what they were doing,'' he said. ''I was frustrated by what we were not doing.''

He said he thought the team moved the ball well. He kept harkening back to the same theme: turnovers.

Warner was responsible for two of them, which the Patriots turned into 10 points. Another, a Ricky Proehl fumble, led to yet another touchdown. The first one was a killer. The Rams were leading, 3-0, in the second quarter and had the ball on their 39-yard line. Marshall Faulk had just run for 15 yards. Then, Warner was rushed hard by an unblocked Mike Vrabel and had to get rid of the ball to avoid being sacked.

''I anticipated Isaac's [Bruce's] cut, and he came out of it quicker than I thought he would,'' Warner said. ''Call it bad anticipation. I threw behind him and it went for 7 the other way.''

That's because the ball was caught by Ty Law, who ran it back 47 yards for the game's first touchdown.

''I think he threw it off his back foot because of all the pressure,'' Law said. ''It was a good break for us. There was nothing but green and the end zone in front of me.''

Warner said he didn't know why Vrabel came in unchecked.

''One of us messed up,'' he said. ''But I had a guy in my face. I couldn't hold it any longer. I didn't think [Vrabel] would come in free. The offensive line slid into something else. I really don't know what happened.''

The second interception came late in the third, with the Patriots now leading, 14-3. With the ball at the New England 45, Warner tried to hit Torry Holt on a short crossing pattern. But Holt stumbled while making his cut and the ball ended up in the arms of Otis Smith, who ran it back 30 yards to set up a New England field goal.

''Torry got grabbed or was held or tripped or something,'' Warner said, ''and the defensive back was right there to make the catch.''

But Warner still managed to rally his team when all seemed hopeless. A fumble return for a touchdown was nullified by a holding penalty. ''They had been doing that all game,'' Warner said. ''It was nice to get the call.''

Then Warner scored on a short keeper up the middle (''Coach's call. I never call my number when it comes to running'') and then connected with Proehl for a 26-yard TD to tie the game with 90 seconds remaining.

''The way our defense had been playing, I was expecting another three-and-out and then driving our team down for the winning field goal,'' Warner said.

He never got the ball again.

''I think we did a lot of good things,'' he said. He did. He completed 28 of 44 passes, including 11 of 16 in the fourth quarter. ''We played hard and we played well for most of the game. But New England turned our turnovers into 17 points and a world championship. That's what is hard about it.''

He saluted the Patriots and Tom Brady for their performances. ''They will be great champions,'' he said. But you knew he really had thought he would be on the other side of this one and it hurt to come so close.

''Any time you don't win the last game, it hurts,'' he said. ''You play all season just to get to this point. I know we'll be back. But I also know these things don't come along every year and you never know when you will be back. That's why to not be able to finish this thing off is so disappointing.''