NFL Playoffs
CNNSI.com

Shop Fantasy Central Golf Guide Free e-mail Travel Subscribe SI About Us
  CNNSI.com
  Playoffs Home
Other NFL News
Conference Championships
 •Vikings-Giants
 •Ravens-Raiders
Divisional Playoffs
 •Dolphins - Raiders
 •Eagles - Giants
 •Ravens - Titans
 •Saints - Vikings
Wild-Card Games
 •Broncos - Ravens
 •Colts - Dolphins
 •Rams - Saints
 •Bucs - Eagles
Scoreboard
Schedule
Bracket
Team Pages
Depth Charts
Injury Report
Players
Standings
Statistics

EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

CENTERS
 Fantasy Central
 Inside Game
 Video Plus
 Statitudes
 Your Turn
 Message Boards
 Email Newsletters
 Golf Guide
 Cities
 

CNNSI.com GROUP
 Sports Illustrated
 Life of Reilly
 SI Women
 SI for Kids
 Press Room
 TBS/TNT Sports
 CNN Languages

COMMERCE
 SI Customer Service
 SI Media Kits
 Get into College
 Sports Memorabilia
 TeamStore

 

Squinting signal-caller

Bright light bothering Warner after last week's concussion

Click here for more on this story
Posted: Friday December 29, 2000 4:34 PM
Updated: Friday December 29, 2000 11:05 PM

  Kurt Warner Kurt Warner has had some lingering pain from his concussion. AP

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A day before the St. Louis Rams' wild-card playoff game, quarterback Kurt Warner was adjusting to an uncomfortable byproduct of his concussion.

Warner, who left practice early Thursday for a scheduled checkup, complained to doctors about being sensitive to light. It was still bothering him in Friday's practice walkthrough, although he definitely will start Saturday against the New Orleans Saints.

On Wednesday, Warner said he had been headache-free for two days. Light sensitivity began bothering him on Thursday, he said.

"The biggest thing I notice is when I look at the snow or I go in where it's really bright, I kind of have to squint," Warner said. "My eyes are real sensitive to bright things, like sitting up in our meeting rooms where the boards are all white I notice I'm real sensitive to it and I think it kind of affects things a little bit."

Wiggin: Rams-Saints
Paul Wiggin, the Minnesota Vikings' director of pro personnel, will have a keen eye on this weekend's playoff games. Wiggin, who has spent more than 40 years in the NFL, is responsible for league-wide player evaluation and advance scouting of opponents. Wiggin breaks down the wild-card matchups for CNNSI.com:

  • The Rams will beat the Saints if ... the Saints allow it to be a track meet. The Rams have the best track team in the game, and that's why the Saints lost last week. Just look at the total yardage (474-269). No one in the NFL is playing better right now than Marshall Faulk. He's the most complete weapon. He can do everything. Kurt Warner struggled a little in his first game back from injury, against Carolina, but since the Vikings game, he has been the special player that he has been for two years now.

  • The Saints will beat the Rams if ... they get a miracle. No, that's not right. It's interesting because I think the Saints have enough defense and can challenge a team enough with schemes to have a chance to win. But they're going to have to do it with their defense. They've got to stop the Rams' track stars. They have to reduce the game to their terms and let their offense work. Aaron Brooks has to make a few plays in that kind of get-rich-quick offense that they have, and he didn't make many last week. 
  •  
     

    Team doctors told Warner that light sensitivity is common the week after a concussion. He got the thumbs-up after the checkup, which included an MRI, and gave Warner a chance to air any thoughts.

    "I didn't have a lot of concerns, it was just that I wasn't feeling completely normal," Warner said. "So I just wanted to bring it to their attention and go through the tests and make sure everything checked out fine."

    Head coach Mike Martz said Warner acted differently in practice Thursday and perhaps was a little quieter, maybe because he was apprehensive about the exam. Like Warner, he was relieved about the results.

    "The doctors maintained all along that he was fine," Martz said. "But we were trying to be cautious with that and make sure he was OK. All that stuff got resolved and he's fine."

    Warner said the condition hasn't affected him in practice.

    "So I'm not really concerned about it," he said. "It was just one of those things that wasn't normal, so you always question yourself and say 'Could there be something more serious, could there be some damage in there,' and so I wanted to get it checked out."

    The Rams also have a bit of a question mark at wide receiver, with Torry Holt nursing a bruised right foot and turf-infected left elbow. Holt, who led the NFL with 1,635 receiving yards, skipped practice Thursday but participated in the walkthrough on Friday and said he'd pad both injuries and be fine.

    Holt played through injuries in the playoffs last year. He often draws inspiration from his late mother Ojetta, who died of cancer about four years ago.

    "It's just a mind over matter type thing with me," Holt said. "I saw my mother go through battling with cancer and get up and go to work, so I feel like a hurt foot and bruised elbow shouldn't slow anybody down from doing what they're supposed to do."

    Holt had 82 catches for a 19.9-yard average and six touchdowns, and has three straight 100-yard games. He caught five passes for 121 yards last week against the Saints.

    Marshall Faulk, who ran for 220 yards on 32 carries and scored three touchdowns last week, has had limited work in practice due to general stiffness. But Martz has been impressed with Faulk's ability to bounce back.

    "Marshall's so resilient," Martz said. "He's truly different. I don't know if anybody can do what he can do."


     
    Related information
    Stories
    CNNSI.com's NFL Wild-Card Games Preview
    CNNSI.com's Kirwan: Rams-Saints Breakdown
    Paul Wiggin breaks down the wild-card games
    CNNSI.com's Pat Kirwan: Saturday Wild-card Previews
    Rams' Warner leaves practice early
    Multimedia
    Visit Multimedia Central for the latest audio and video
    Search our site Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
    Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.

    Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

     

       
    CNNSI   Copyright © 2001 CNN/Sports Illustrated. An AOL Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
    Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines.