Warner Back at Ram Practice

Kurt Warner said Friday his bruised ribs feel fine. The Rams aren’t taking any chances with the NFL’s most valuable player.

Warner will wear a protective flak jacket for Sunday’s NFC championship game against Philadelphia, as well as some extra padding over the area injured during the victory over Green Bay a week earlier. Although he sat out Thursday, he practiced Friday.

“Basically it’s a pain-tolerance question and how much I can deal with,” he said, noting he isn’t otherwise limited in the throws he can make.

Said Ram cornerback Aeneas Williams: “Kurt looked fine. He’ll be the Kurt Warner that you guys have grown accustomed to seeing.”

Philadelphia defensive end Hugh Douglas, fined $35,000 by the league this week for a hit that knocked Chicago quarterback Jim Miller out of last Saturday’s game, said he won’t hesitate to hit Warner if, say, the quarterback tries to make a tackle on an interception return. The Eagles sacked Warner four times in a 20-17 overtime loss in the season opener.

“Put it like this: If Kurt’s in the vicinity, Kurt’s going to get hit,” he said. “I’m not going to go out of my way looking for Kurt Warner. Whoever it is, they’re going to get hit. Especially if my man is going to score.”

A pressing concern for Philadelphia is the condition of Pro Bowl cornerback Troy Vincent, nursing a groin injury. He practiced Friday and said he felt good.

“I have another day and a half to rest, so I feel like I’m ready to go,” he said.

“I just wanted to see what my body could do, and what it couldn’t do. I got a pretty good gauge of where I was.”

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Sam Farmer