ST. LOUIS -- A day after two surgical pins were removed from
his finger, St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner started throwing
again.
Among those on the receiving end Tuesday was his wife, Brenda.
"As long as I don't break a nail, I'm OK," Warner joked
Wednesday. "If I catch a nail, it's all over."
The defending Super Bowl champions are 2-2 without Warner, who
broke the little finger of his throwing hand in the first half of
the team's first loss, Oct. 22 at Kansas City. Although the 1999
NFL MVP said he feels good, he's not expected back until Dec. 3 at
Carolina.
Warner also threw in practice Wednesday. But team doctors don't
want him to take any snaps until next week to avoid reinjuring the
finger.
After watching Warner throw in practice Wednesday, coach Mike
Martz said Warner needs to build strength in his hand before he can
return. He said a return next week was not a "slam dunk."
"The grip is what puts the spin on the ball," Martz said.
"Without that strength, you don't have quite the spin and accuracy
you normally have."
Backup Trent Green has thrown 14 touchdown passes with four
interceptions during Warner's absence.
"The doctors say the bone isn't completely healed for six weeks
and we're only at four weeks, so we're probably pushing it a little
to try to get back," Warner said. "You never know how it's going
to react and feel.
"I'm sure we'll talk about it the rest of the week and I'll
lobby a little bit, but you still want to do the best thing."
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