Make No Mistake, Rams Are Slumping

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It won’t matter who the St. Louis Rams have at quarterback if they keep turning the ball over.

Kurt Warner, sidelined the previous five games because of a broken finger on his throwing hand, marked his return to the lineup Sunday with four interceptions--one returned 88 yards by Jimmy Hitchcock for the game’s only touchdown--in the Rams’ 16-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers.

“I made some throws I wish I could have back,” Warner said. “I’m the one out there playing, and when I throw it to somebody else, that’s my fault and no one else’s fault.”

The Rams (8-5) had seven turnovers in losing their third game in a row. They have a combined 14 turnovers in that losing streak.

“The ball security, we can fix that,” St. Louis Coach Mike Martz said. “I can’t explain it. I wish I could, but we can fix it. And I don’t think it had anything to do with rust [from Warner].”

The defending Super Bowl champions, who looked unstoppable before Warner was injured early in a loss to Kansas City on Oct. 22, struggled in his absence.

The Rams went 2-3 while Trent Green was at quarterback, and they eagerly awaited Warner’s return. Before the injury, he had thrown 18 touchdown passes and had a then-NFL best 2,445 yards.

But last year’s Super Bowl MVP was unable to pick up where he left off.

He was sporadic against Carolina (6-7), looking sharp on short passes, but badly overthrowing his receivers on long ones.

Warner, whose previous high for interceptions in a game was two, completed 18 of 36 passes for 189 yards.

“I made too many mistakes, and it seemed like every mistake I made they capitalized on it,” Warner said.

In the third quarter, with St. Louis clinging to a 3-0 lead, he threw inside of Isaac Bruce, who was waiting for the ball along the sideline at the 12.

Hitchcock, playing about three feet off Bruce, instead caught the ball and went up the sideline untouched--with Warner in pursuit--for the 88-yard score.

“I just got a good break on the ball,” Hitchcock said. “Then Kurt Warner was closing in on me pretty fast, but I know that if you let the quarterback catch you, you are going to get flack from the guys.”

Warner had another pass intercepted four plays later. Throwing on the run, he again missed Bruce, and Eric Davis came away with the interception on the 26.

Carolina converted the turnover into a 20-yard field goal by Joe Nedney and a 10-3 lead with 10:18 left.