NEW ORLEANS -- We all know the St. Louis Rams have the best offense in the league.

But who is the guy who really makes it go?

Marshall Faulk was voted team MVP after rushing for a career-high 1,382 yards this season. (AP)

It is quarterback Kurt Warner, the best at his position in the league, or is it Marshall Faulk, the running back who has 2,000 all-purpose yards in four consecutive seasons?

Warner was named NFL MVP. Faulk was chosen by his teammates as the Rams' MVP.

Faulk was also named the NFL offensive player of the year -- beating out Warner -- by the same voters who picked Warner as the league MVP.

So who is the real MVP?

"Oh, come on, please," said Rams coach Mike Martz. "It's like asking me which one of my kids I like best. I can't answer that."

The subject is nearly taboo among Rams players.

During Wednesday's media session here for Sunday's Super Bowl XXXVI game with the New England Patriots, an informal poll of the players brought mostly wave-offs and I'm-not-getting-into-that talk when they were asked about the MVP debate.

"I know who I think it is, but I'm keeping it to myself," said wide receiver Az-Zahir Hakim. "You're not getting it out of me."

"They're both great players," said center Andy McCollum. "So I don't think it really matters who people think is the MVP. And they don't get caught up in it, either."

We do.

It's the perfect water-cooler debate. Coke or Pepsi? Ginger or Mary Ann? Seinfeld or M*A*S*H?

Now it's Faulk or Warner.

Both have done amazing things this season; both have done amazing things the past three seasons.

Warner won the MVP in 1999 when the Rams won the Super Bowl and Faulk won it last year when they didn't.

Over the past three years, the Rams have won games with Faulk and without Warner and with Warner and without Faulk.

This season, Warner led the NFL in passing yards (4,830), touchdown passes (36), passer rating (101.4), yards per attempt (8.85) and third-down passing (109.5). The 4,830 passing yards was the second-best total in history behind only Dan Marino's 5,084 yards in 1984.

What's even more amazing is Warner put those numbers up despite having a thumb injury for much of the first half of the season.

Faulk's statistical numbers are just as impressive. He became the first player in league history to gain 2,000 yards from scrimmage in four consecutive seasons. Faulk rushed for a career-high 1,382 yards, caught 83 passes for 765 yards and scored 21 touchdowns to lead the league. He joined Emmitt Smith as the only two players to score 20 or more touchdowns in two consecutive seasons.

Faulk did all that despite missing two games with a knee injury.

Kurt Warner earned his second NFL MVP after throwing for 4,830 yards, the second-highest total in NFL history. (AP)

"I voted for Marshall Faulk to be the MVP of this football team," said Rams receiver Torry Holt, one of the few players who did reveal his thoughts on the subject. "He does it all. When Marshall is in the game, he changes the game a lot. He creates opportunities for us on the outside. It's just not the plays that he makes. It goes far beyond that."

But would defensive coordinators rather face the Rams with backup quarterback Jamie Martin in the game along with Faulk or backup running back Trung Canidate in the game with Warner?

Canidate started the two games in place of Faulk this season and ran for 195 yards on 23 carries and scored two touchdowns in the first game and then came back with 145 yards on 16 carries in the second. Canidate's 5.7 average is better than Faulk's 5.3 average.

Advantage Warner.

There are some defensive coaches around the league who agree with Holt that it all starts with Faulk. Without him, the Rams would be a different offense.

"You stop 28 (Faulk)," said Jets coach Herman Edwards. "If you don't stop 28, forget it, you are not going to win. Stop 28. It all starts with him."

Advantage Faulk.

Others, though, will contend that it all starts with the quarterback.

"If you took that guy out of there, they'd be dead," said one NFL coach about Warner. "People would load up to stop the run, which would neutralize Faulk."

Advantage Warner.

On and on it goes, which is why there is really no definitive answer, although when in doubt, always go with the quarterback. The NFL has always been a quarterback-driven league, and it hasn't changed. So using that approach, Warner has to be the MVP of this offense.

Doesn't he?

Faulk insists Warner is the MVP. Warner insists Faulk is.

So where does it stop? Maybe never. Years from now, when the Rams' magnificent offense is talked about, the debate might still rage on.

Sort of like the ones your father still holds true to him.

Mantle or Mays? Wilt or Russell?

"The guys on this team don't care," said McCollum. "Those guys don't care. What we're looking at is the bigger picture."

As long as Warner and Faulk are in it, it's one damn pretty picture no matter who you think drives this offense.