Sept. 12, 1999 SportsLine wire reports

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams' quarterback situation isn't hopeless after all.

	Related Links: GameCenter Dodd: Once a Barnstormer, now Warner's a star Week 1 wrapup Week 1 leaders Week 1 injury report Forum: Will Warner play this well all season?
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Untested and unknown Kurt Warner threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start as the Rams opened with a 27-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

The Rams are 23-42 since moving to St. Louis in 1995, but they've won four of five season openers in that time, and they spoiled the debut of Ravens coach Brian Billick.

Warner traveled the back roads to get to the NFL, from Northern Iowa to the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League to the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe. He threw only 11 passes last year and became the starter by default when Trent Green was lost for the year with a knee injury in the preseason.

"I know this is the NFL and a lot of people want to make it a big deal," Warner said. "But I've played football a long time and I felt like I was just playing another game out there."

After the game, Warner also told the team this was only the beginning.

"I told them thanks, because they stuck with me," Warner said. "I'm just going to continue to get better."

Warner led the Rams to a 17-3 halftime lead, going 18-for-25 for 174 yards and throwing touchdown passes of 6 yards to Rodney Williams and 2 yards to Isaac Bruce. His production dropped in the second half and he finished 28-for-44. But he spread the ball to seven receivers and wrapped up the day with an 86-yard drive capped by a 20-yard scoring pass to rookie Torry Holt with 2:40 to go.

Coach Dick Vermeil gave Warner a game ball, and then choked up in the postgame news conference.

"It's so exciting to see a guy just come up from nowhere," Vermeil said. "And stick with it, stay with it."

Bruce, limited to 15 games the last two seasons due to hamstring injuries, caught eight passes for 92 yards. Marshall Faulk made a quieter debut for the Rams with 54 yards rushing and 72 receiving and two dropped passes, although he helped finish off the Ravens with a 38-yard catch with under four minutes to go.

"It's going to take a while," Faulk said. "I was a little slow on my reads."

One of his drops set up the Ravens' first score. After the ball slipped through Faulk's hands, rookie Chris McAlister ended up with it and returned it to the Rams 5 with 5:22 to go in the first quarter. McAlister would have scored except he tripped over the foot of teammate Rod Woodson, and the Ravens ended up with a 25-yard field goal by Matt Stover.

"We just got tangled," McAlister said. "The end zone was right in front of me."

Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis had a big day with 14 tackles, and he stopped another Rams drive with an interception at the 7 and a 60-yard return with 17 seconds to go in the first quarter. The Ravens also stalled on that drive, and Stover's 54-yard attempt banged off the right upright.

Scott Mitchell struggled in his first start for the Ravens, going 17-for-40 for 188 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. The Rams also sacked him five times, two by Kevin Carter.

"I don't know if he was on the run," defensive tackle D'Marco Farr said of the 240-pound Mitchell, who has a weight clause in his contract. "He can't run very well; he's too big. By the time he got set, we were there."

Marshall Faulk had 54 rushing yards and 72 receiving yards in his Rams debut.(AP)

Mitchell said it was just the first game.

"The only thing that can hurt us if we start pointing fingers and say, this guy can do better or that guy can do better," Mitchell said. "Everyone has got to focus on their assignment and their responsibility and we will be just fine."

The Ravens played most of the game without two-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden, who left early in the second quarter with a hip injury.

Mitchell threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley with 15 seconds to go in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 17-10.

Notes

• The Rams ran their sellout streak to 33 since moving to St. Louis in 1995 with a crowd of 62,100. TV station KMOV kept it alive by purchasing the last 3,000 tickets.
• At halftime, a "Ring of Fame" honoring 11 greats from the Rams and St. Louis Cardinals was dedicated.
• Bruce was whistled for three penalties, one for shoving safety Corey Harris early in the fourth quarter. He also was called for a crack-back block.
• Wilkins has been perfect on field goals since the preseason with eight in a row and has six career from 50 yards or more.
• Rams punter Rick Tuten had four ugly efforts, but all four went out of bounds and he had a net of 37 yards. Kyle Richardson averaged 47.8 yards on six punts for Baltimore with four downed inside the 20.
• The Ravens have lost three of four openers and are 0-3 in domes.
• There was only one replay challenge, and the Ravens lost after contending a disallowed catch by Aaron Pierce in the second quarter.

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