By Jim McCabe, Globe Staff, 2/1/2002

EW ORLEANS - It was more than two months ago, but the Rams' 24-17 win over the Patriots at Foxborough is ancient history to Kurt Warner.

''We can take out of that game the fact that we won on their turf and that they threw a lot of things at us and we handled it,'' said the Rams quarterback, ''but that's about it really.''

OK, he completed 30 of 42 passes for 401 yards and three touchdowns (''One of my better games,'' conceded Warner), ''but they're a different team now and we're a different team. You can't go by that game.

''The key for us is to get a sense of what is going on and adjust quickly because I know they're going to throw a lot of things at us that we didn't see before.''

Warner said he could sympathize with the situation Tom Brady and Drew Bledsoe have endured this season. In 1999, Warner was projected to be St. Louis's second-string quarterback, but starter Trent Green went down in a preseason game. Playing Lou Gehrig to Green's Wally Pipp, Warner never looked back, moving into the starting lineup and leading the Rams to a Super Bowl victory.

''It's a tough situation,'' said Warner, ''but it's easier for me and Tom [Brady]. That's because Trent and Drew lost something and didn't get it back.''

Bill Bidwill is a very unpopular man in St. Louis, having moved the Cardinals to Arizona years ago. That left St. Louis without a pro football team until the Rams relocated from Los Angeles in 1995. Still, the citizenry of St. Louis has no use for Bidwill, except for the trade that involved the Rams and Cardinals last spring, which brought in Aeneas Williams in exchange for second- and fourth-round draft picks. The standout cornerback is a huge part of the Rams' third-ranked defense and a big reason the team is in the Super Bowl for the second time in three years. ''It's the nicest thing Bill Bidwill has ever done for St. Louis,'' said defensive end Grant Wistrom... Six former Super Bowl MVPs - Len Dawson, Desmond Howard , Joe Montana, Richard Dent, Randy White, and Franco Harris - were on hand for one of the many NFL celebrations. All six picked the Rams to win, though they took note of the improved prize that the MVP receives - a Cadillac. ''I got a Plymouth,'' said Dawson. Howard (Green Bay, 1997) and Dent (Chicago, 1986) were MVPs in victories over the Patriots ... St. Louis and New England each had a loyal supporter inducted into the Hall of Fans and it wasn't hard to spot them. Kathy Lewis wore a Rams jersey with 6-inch plastic rams attached to each shoulder, while Randy [Zip] Pierce of Nashua was decked out in red, white, and blue, from Patriots jersey, to his trousers, to his sequined hat.

The Rams used the 12th pick in the 2001 draft to select defensive tackle Damione Lewis from the University of Miami. He showed some promise in the exhibition season and appeared in nine games, starting three, while notching 25 tackles. But he injured his foot against the Patriots Nov. 18 and was lost for the season.

''He'll end up being a good player in this league,'' defensive line coach Bill Kollar said. ''He's a good, hard worker and he was right in our rotation when he got hurt. It's tough for him, but it's also part of the game. It should make him even more hungry for next year.''

Kollar said Lewis's main problem was weight, or lack thereof. The Rams wanted him to play in the 295-pound range, but after a few weeks of training camp, Lewis was down to 280. ''But he's back up to 292 now,'' Kollar said, ''so if he keeps it up, he'll get there in plenty of time for next season.''

Williams says his unusual first name came courtesy of his dad, Lawrence, who studied Greek mythology as a hobby. ''He just wanted to make sure that none of his kids had the names that all the other kids had,'' said Williams, who has a brother named Achilles. Williams said his name means ''praiseworthy'' and that some of his teammates use that as a nickname. Williams, a New Orleans native, turned down an academic scholarship to Dartmouth to follow his brother and father and attend Southern University. He made the team as a walk-on and the rest is history. Many feel there's a spot in Canton, Ohio, awaiting him ... At times, it appears as if they are trying to fit a football game around a music recital. The press releases regarding entertainment are seemingly endless, and you find yourself wondering how Slim Whitman didn't get invited. Not content to simply get the game underway with the national anthem, the NFL braintrust has enlisted Paul McCartney to perform as a lead-in to ''America the Beautiful,'' which will be sung by Mary J. Blige and Marc Anthony as a lead-in to Mariah Carey belting out ''Oh, say can you see ...'' Quite the stuff, but why stop there? Accompanying Carey will be the Boston Pops. Can't get any better than that, you say? Think again, because pregame entertainment will also involve Yolanda Adams, James Ingram , Patti LaBelle , Barry Manilow, and Wynonna, and when the final seconds tick off, there will be 22 cannons blasting more confetti than ever before seen at a Super Bowl. One can barely wait, but it makes you wonder how the marching bands from Arizona and Michigan universities were able to handle all this pressure back in Super Bowl I.