2002 St. Louis Rams season

2002 St. Louis Rams season
Owner	Georgia Frontiere
Head coach	Mike Martz
Home field	Edward Jones Dome
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	2nd NFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	RB Marshall Faulk T Orlando Pace

The 2002 season was the St. Louis Rams' 65th in the National Football League, their eighth in St. Louis and their third under head coach Mike Martz.

Fresh off their trip from Super Bowl XXXVI which ended with a loss to the 11–5 Patriots, the Rams collapsed and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1998, losing their first five games.

The season saw the emergence of new quarterback Marc Bulger, who filled in for an injured Kurt Warner and Jamie Martin. The Rams won six straight games where Bulger started and finished, but his season ended in Week 16 at Seattle.

However, the Rams did end the season on a high note with a 31–20 victory at home against the 49ers in Week 17 and they finished the season with a 7–9 record.

History

The years leading up to the 2002 season had the making of a roller coaster dynasty. It all began in the offseason before the 1999 season. They were able to trade for Marshall Faulk who was arguably the best running back of the time. They signed a franchise quarterback, Trent Green, who knew how to lead a team. They drafted a young wide receiver prospect, Torry Holt, and just like that their offense is completely new. Fast forward to the preseason when Green experienced a season-ending injury and all the fans thought the season was over. In comes 27 year-old Kurt Warner, who nobody knew about and who has barely played in the NFL.

Offseason

Additions	Subtractions
FS Chad Cota (Colts)	LB Brian Allen (Panthers)
FB Chris Hetherington (Panthers)	S Rich Coady (Titans)
WR Terrence Wilkins (Colts)	LB Mark Fields (Panthers)
LB Jamie Duncan (Buccaneers)	LB London Fletcher (Bills)
WR Troy Edwards (Steelers)	WR Az-Zahir Hakim (Lions)
P Mitch Berger (Vikings)	RB Robert Holcombe (Titans)
	TE/LS Jeff Robinson (Cowboys)
	T Ryan Tucker (Browns)

2002 Expansion Draft

Main article: 2002 NFL expansion draft

St. Louis Rams selected during the Expansion Draft

Round	Overall	Name	Position	Expansion Team
——	18	Brian Allen	Linebacker	Houston Texans

Draft

Main article: 2002 NFL Draft

2002 St. Louis Rams draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	31	Robert Thomas	LB	UCLA
2	64	Travis Fisher	CB	Central Florida
3	84	Lamar Gordon	RB	North Dakota State
3	95	Eric Crouch	WR	Nebraska
4	130	Travis Scott	G	Arizona St
5	167	Courtland Bullard	LB	Ohio St
6	205	Steve Bellisari	QB	Ohio St
7	243	Chris Massey	FB	Marshall
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

2002 St. Louis Rams roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 10 Marc Bulger 4 Scott Covington 12 Jamie Martin Running backs (RB) 24 Trung Canidate 28 Marshall Faulk 34 Lamar Gordon 44 Chris Hetherington FB 42 James Hodgins FB 25 J. R. Niklos FB Wide receivers (WR) 80 Isaac Bruce 88 Troy Edwards 81 Torry Holt 89 Dane Looker 83 Yo Murphy 87 Ricky Proehl 18 Terrence Wilkins KR/PR Tight ends (TE) 84 Ernie Conwell 86 Brandon Manumaleuna

Offensive linemen (OL) 50 Nick Eby C 65 Frank Garcia C/G 63 Heath Irwin G 68 Andy King G 67 Andy McCollum C 76 Orlando Pace T 70 John St. Clair T 62 Adam Timmerman G Defensive linemen (DL) 95 John Burrough DE 94 Bryce Fisher DE 97 Tyoka Jackson DE 92 Damione Lewis DT 91 Leonard Little DE 79 Ryan Pickett DT 98 Grant Wistrom DE 66 Brian Young DT 90 Jeff Zgonina DT

Linebackers (LB) 53 Hakim Akbar 58 Don Davis OLB 59 Jamie Duncan MLB 52 Tommy Polley OLB 55 Robert Thomas OLB Defensive backs (DB) 31 Adam Archuleta SS 32 Dré Bly CB 23 Jerametrius Butler CB 37 Chad Cota SS 22 Travis Fisher CB 20 Kim Herring FS 21 Dexter McCleon CB 41 Nick Sorensen S 27 James Whitley CB Special teams 17 Mitch Berger P 45 Chris Massey LS 14 Jeff Wilkins K

Practice squad 49 Dauntae Finger TE 75 Robert Haws T 73 Gary Hobbs G 39 Todd Howard CB Reserve 54 Kole Ayi LB (IR) 30 Steve Bellisari S (IR) 61 Tom Nütten G (IR) 13 Kurt Warner QB (IR) 35 Aeneas Williams CB (IR) 77 Grant Williams T (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	TV Time	Attendance
1	September 8, 2002	at Denver Broncos	L 23–16	FOX 3:15pm	75,710
2	September 15, 2002	New York Giants	L 26–21	FOX 3:15pm	65,932
3	September 23, 2002	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 26–14	ABC 8:00pm	65,652
4	September 29, 2002	Dallas Cowboys	L 13–10	FOX 12:00pm	66,165
5	October 6, 2002	at San Francisco 49ers	L 37–13	FOX 3:15pm	67,853
6	October 13, 2002	Oakland Raiders	W 28–13	CBS 3:15pm	66,070
7	October 20, 2002	Seattle Seahawks	W 37–20	FOX 12:00pm	65,931
8	Bye
9	November 3, 2002	at Arizona Cardinals	W 27–14	FOX 3:05pm	47,819
10	November 10, 2002	San Diego Chargers	W 28–24	CBS 12:00pm	66,093
11	November 18, 2002	Chicago Bears	W 21–16	ABC 8:00pm	66,250
12	November 24, 2002	at Washington Redskins	L 20–17	FOX 12:00pm	79,823
13	December 1, 2002	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 10–3	FOX 3:15pm	65,552
14	December 8, 2002	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 49–10	FOX 12:00pm	78,601
15	December 15, 2002	Arizona Cardinals	W 30–28	ESPN 7:30pm	65,939
16	December 22, 2002	at Seattle Seahawks	L 30–10	FOX 3:05pm	63,953
17	December 30, 2002	San Francisco 49ers	W 31–20	ABC 8:00pm	66,118

Game Summaries

Week 11: vs. Chicago Bears

Week 11: Chicago Bears at St. Louis Rams

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	6	7	3	16
Rams	7	7	0	7	21

at Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri

• Date: November 18, 2002
• Game time: 9:00 p.m.
• Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
• Game attendance: 66,250
• Referee: Gerry Austin (34)
• TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels, John Madden and Melissa Stark
• Recap, Game Book

Game information

First quarter STL – Ernie Conwell 1-yard run (Jeff Wilkins kick), 10:05. Rams 7–0. Drive: 10 plays, 65 yards, 4:55. Second quarter CHI – Paul Edinger 37-yard field goal, 14:10. Rams 7–3. Drive: 13 plays, 66 yards, 6:59. CHI – Paul Edinger 48-yard field goal, 6:15. Rams 7–6. Drive: 4 plays, 3 yards, 2:08. STL – Lamar Gordon 22-yard pass from Marc Bulger (Jeff Wilkins kick), 0:42. Rams 14–6. Drive: 4 plays, 81 yards, 0:46. Third quarter CHI – Anthony Thomas 13-yard run (Paul Edinger kick), 9:23. Rams 14–13. Drive: 11 plays, 64 yards, 5:37. Fourth quarter STL – Ricky Proehl 8-yard pass from Marc Bulger (Jeff Wilkins kick), 9:01. Rams 21–13. Drive: 10 plays, 82 yards, 5:14. CHI – Paul Edinger 50-yard field goal, 3:48. Rams 21–16. Drive: 6 plays, 32 yards, 3:04. Top passers CHI – Chris Chandler – 20/33, 157 yards STL – Marc Bulger – 21/35, 347 yards, 2 TD, INT Top rushers CHI – Anthony Thomas – 14 rushes, 61 yards, TD STL – Lamar Gordon – 16 rushes, 45 yards Top receivers CHI – Marty Booker – 7 receptions, 65 yards STL – Isaac Bruce – 6 receptions, 141 yards

Notable facts

This season marked the decline of Kurt Warner and the end of "The Greatest Show On Turf". This also marked the first season where the Rams did not make the playoffs under Mike Martz.

Star running back Marshall Faulk started in just 10 games due to ankle injury he suffered against San Diego. This weakened the Rams' running game and he finished the season with just 953 yards rushing, his lowest since 1996, where he rushed for 587 yards. At that time, he was a member of the Indianapolis Colts. His 953 rushing yards this season ended his streak of five straight 1,000 yard rushing seasons. Despite a down year, Faulk was still voted to play in the Pro Bowl after the season for the seventh and final time in his Hall of Fame career.

For the season, the team changed their uniforms, removing the side panels on the jersey.

Standings

NFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(4) San Francisco 49ers	10	6	0	.625	5–1	8–4	367	351	L1
St. Louis Rams	7	9	0	.438	4–2	5–7	316	369	W1
Seattle Seahawks	7	9	0	.438	2–4	5–7	355	369	W3
Arizona Cardinals	5	11	0	.313	1–5	5–7	262	417	L3

^h St. Louis finished ahead of Seattle in the NFC West based on better division record (4–2 to 2–4).