ST. LOUIS -- Kurt Warner, coming off an injury-plagued and erratic season, will be the No. 1 quarterback for the Rams heading into next season, head coach Mike Martz told a St. Louis television station on Sunday.

	Bulger

	Warner

Martz told KPLR-TV weekend sports anchor Dan Eassa that Warner is completely over his physical problems from last season. Warner was limited to just seven games, throwing three touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

"Kurt's our quarterback, and Marc (Bulger) will back him up," Martz told Eassa. "They are not competing for the job, per se. I feel very confident with both of them."

Martz's comments came as somewhat of a surprise, considering he said in December there would be an open competition for the starting job. Also, Bulger played terrific in relief of Warner, throwing 14 touchdown passes with just six interceptions. Bulger had a quarterback rating of 101.5, compared to 67.4 for Warner.

"What Kurt's done, you can't ignore it," Martz told Eassa. "You have to feel good about getting Kurt back onto that level."

Obviously, Martz is counting on Warner returning to his two-time MVP form. In 2001, Warner led the Rams to the NFC title with 36 touchdown passes and 4,830 passing yards, the second most in league history. In his first full season as a starter in 1999, Warner led the Rams to the Super Bowl title and was MVP.

Warner missed five games last season with a broken little finger. He then missed the last two games of the season with a broken bone in his hand. He's had several hand injuries the last few years.

"I'm concerned about Kurt,'' Martz told The Associated Press in December. "We need to look at Kurt's hand and make sure in the offseason, and get him back to where he was.''

Martz said Sunday he is satisfied that Warner is fully healed.

"I was only concerned, as with the rest of the organization with the physical aspects of it," Martz told Eassa. "And that's been resolved a long time ago."