THIS WEEK The NFC Champion St. Louis Rams face the San Diego Chargers on Thursday, August 22, in a renewing of long preseason rivalry between the teams. Kickoff from the Edward Jones Dome (66,000) is scheduled for just after 8 p.m. CT. The Rams (0-2) are seeking their first win after a pair of two-point losses at Tennessee (28-26) on Aug. 10 and at home against Chicago (19-17) Friday night. San Diego (1-1) dropped its preseason opener at home against Arizona (24-17) on Aug. 10, then came back to beat Seattle at home (24-14) Friday night. The Chargers are the second of three preseason opponents the Rams will face in the regular season (Chicago, Kansas City). San Diego returns to St. Louis on November 11.

2001 SEASON The Rams ended their seventh season in the Gateway City with the NFL’s best record at 14-2, winning the NFC Western Division title. St. Louis defeated Green Bay 45-17 in the NFC Divisional Playoff round, and Philadelphia 29-24 in the NFC Championship Game before falling to New England, 20-17, in Super Bowl XXXVI. San Diego (5-11) finished fifth in the AFC Western Division.

TELEVISION The game will be televised live nationally on CBS (Channel 4 in St. Louis). Greg Gumbel will call the action, while Phil Simms provides analysis. Armen Keteyian is the sideline reporter.

RADIO KLOU-FM 103.3-FM, the flagship station of the Rams, KATZ-AM 1600, and KTRS-AM 550 will carry a live broadcast of the game. Steve Savard will handle play-by-play duties, while former Rams’ wide receiver Jack Snow brings his insight to the color commentary. Malcolm Briggs is the sideline reporter.

SERIES HISTORY This week’s game is will be the 33rd game in a preseason series that began in 1967. The Rams lead the series, 17-15. The Rams have played more preseason games against San Diego than any other opponent in team history. Since the inception of the preseason series, the Rams and Chargers have played every season except 1975-76, 1985, 1989, 1997, and 2000. San Diego won last year’s meeting at home in overtime, 13-10. The Rams won the last preseason meeting in St. Louis, taking a 24-21 win in 1999. The teams have met seven times in the regular season with the Rams leading the series, 4-3. In the last regular season meeting on Oct. 1, 2000, the Rams beat the Chargers 57-31 in St. Louis. The teams have never met in the postseason.

COACHES Mike Martz enters his third season as Rams’ head coach. In 2000, he became the third first-year head coach of a defending Super Bowl champion to lead his team to the playoffs. Last season, he led the Rams to their second Super Bowl appearance in three years. Martz was the fourth rookie head coach in NFL history to win his first six games, and first since 1977 (Red Miller, Denver). Named the 21st head coach in Rams’ history by Owner Georgia Frontiere on February 2, 2000, Martz is the fifth head coach to take over a Super Bowl champion and the first since Barry Switzer (Dallas Cowboys) in 1994. Martz was the Rams’ offensive coordinator in 1999, and is the mastermind behind one of the most explosive offenses in league history. Since coordinating the Rams’ offense three years ago, the Rams have the highest winning percentage in the NFL over the past two and three seasons (.750 and .771, respectively), became the first team in NFL history to score at least 500 points three consecutive seasons (526, 540, 503), and have gained more yards over a three-year span (20,177) than any team in NFL history while setting numerous team and league records. Martz is in his second tour of duty with the Rams. He began his NFL coaching career with the Rams as offensive assistant in 1992, and coached tight ends, receivers, and quarterbacks through the 1996 season. In between, Martz was quarterbacks coach of the Washington Redskins from 1997-98. Martz began his coaching career in 1973 at Bullard High in Fresno before moving to the collegiate ranks at San Diego Mesa C.C. (1974, 1976-77), San Jose State (1975), Santa Ana College (1978), and Fresno State in (1979). Martz served as an assistant at the University of Pacific (1980-81) and Minnesota (1982) before moving to Arizona State, where he coached quarterbacks and receivers from 1983-87, and was offensive coordinator from 1987-91. Martz is 26-10 as head coach.

Marty Schottenheimer was named the 13th head coach in Chargers history on January 29, 2002. In 15 full seasons as a head coach in the NFL, Schottenheimer has posted 12 winning seasons and ranks 10th on the NFLs’ all-time list of coaching victories with 158. Last season, Schottenheimer was head coach and director of football operations of the Washington Redskins. Prior to working in television with ESPN from 1998-2000, Schottenheimer was head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs from 1989-98, leading the Chiefs to the playoff seven times. Taking over midway through the 1984 season, Schottenheimer was head coach of the Cleveland Browns through 1988, leading them to four playoff appearances. He was an assistant with the Browns (1980-84) Detroit Lions (1978-79), N.Y Giants (1975-77), and the Portland Storm of the WFL (1974). Schottenheimer played linebacker with the Buffalo Bills (1965-68) and Boston Patriots (1969-70). Schottenheimer has a 158-104-1 record as an NFL head coach.

A RAMS’ VICTORY OVER THE CHARGERS WOULD: - Give the Rams their first victory of the 2002 preseason

- Give the Rams their first preseason win since beating Kansas City, 21-17 on Aug. 31, 2001

- Give the Rams their third consecutive home preseason win over the Chargers (1999, 1996)

MARTZ SIGNS FOR FIVE On July 19, head coach Mike Martz signed a five-year contract that takes him through the 2006 season.

SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED On July 25, one day before players reported to training camp, the Rams became the fourth NFL team to have all of their draft picks signed.

FAULK ON THE DOTTED LINE On July 29, Rams’ head coach Mike Martz announced RB Marshall Faulk signed a new seven-year contract that should take one of the greatest running backs in NFL history to the end of his illustrious career.

NEXT WEEK The Rams will end the 2002 preseason when they renew the Governor’s Cup series with cross-state rival Kansas City on Friday, Aug. 30. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.

---