Faulk takes his shots

To nobody’s surprise, the New England Patriots paid special attention to Marshall Faulk on Sunday.

A little too much attention, as far as Faulk was concerned.

“They took some shots at me that I thought were unnecessary shots, but within the game of football, that’s what happens,” Faulk said. “When the ball doesn’t come to you and you’re walking down the field and you get hit, if that’s clean football, then that’s fine. You don’t get protected in this league, but that was their plan.”

With the Patriots leading 17-3 and the Rams facing fourth-and-goal at their 3, New England’s Willie McGinest wrapped up Faulk as he tried to run a pass pattern. The holding penalty nullified Tebucky Jones’s 97-yard fumble return for a touchdown.

“He tackled me,” Faulk said. “Every time I [went out for a pass], I got held, pushed, grabbed. It just so happened that we were on a part of the field where it’s condensed and the line judge actually had an opportunity to see it.”

Faulk took exception to a question asking if he thought the Rams took the game and the underdog Patriots too lightly.

“In the Super Bowl, we really weren’t thinking about the Patriots,” Faulk answered sarcastically. “We were thinking about another team that we’re going to play next week.”

Rams coach Mike Martz got the same question and was none too pleased either.

“Oh, please, that’s insulting to me,” Martz responded. “This is the Super Bowl. How can you overlook somebody in the Super Bowl? I don’t understand that question.”

Good sport: If anyone expected $103 million Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe to smile through clenched teeth, he would have disappointed them.

“I’m proud to be a part of this team,” said Bledsoe, who lost his job to Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady after sustaining a serious chest injury the second week of the season and never won it back, playing only part time in the AFC championship game after Brady sprained his ankle.

“This whole season has been about playing as a team. I know my role and I do my part to support my team. I really do understand what my role has been. My hat goes off to Tom Brady and our offensive line. They made the plays we needed to win the game.”

Team concept: The Patriots chose against individual pregame introductions, preferring instead to come out as one team after the Rams’ offense was introduced one player at a time. It was a theme started by safety and co-captain Lawyer Milloy that they have used occasionally this season, including before their upset win at Pittsburgh in the AFC championship game.

“The players wanted to do it,” said coach Bill Belichick. “It’s something we’ve been doing since October.”

Thumbing it: Kurt Warner sprained the thumb on his passing hand in the first game of the season and appeared to favor it at times Sunday.

“I hit it about three times during the game,” Warner said. “It was something I had to fight through and I did. I felt fine. Good enough to win this football games. I just didn’t do it.”

Absent Glenn: While his teammates were winning the Super Bowl, Patriots wide receiver Terry Glenn was home in Columbus, Ohio, looking forward to finding a new team for next season. His lawyers have filed suit, saying his suspension under the NFL’s substance-abuse policy violates the Americans With Disabilities Act because Glenn is depressed.

The Patriots suspended Glenn for the playoffs Jan. 10 for repeatedly missing practices and meetings. The NFL Players Association said the move is invalid because Glenn was excused from any practices missed because of obligations of which the team was fully aware.

The league suspended Glenn for the first four games of the year for failing to adhere to the NFL substance-abuse policy, then for the Dec. 2 game against the Jets for refusing to practice.

Glenn says he’s better off keeping his distance from the Patriots at this point.

“They don’t need me,” he said. “I’m not upset about it. In some ways I wish I was there because it’s the Super Bowl, and I remember what it was like in 1996. But I’m taking care of what I have to take care of to get my life back to normal.”

The Patriots are withholding $8.5 million in bonuses from Glenn, and both sides have talked about a settlement.

“I hope we can go ahead and settle it,” Glenn said. “And just let me go to another team where I can start my career over.”Red, white and blue: The theme of patriotism took center stage throughout Sunday’s Super Bowl, and New England’s dramatic upset victory seemed to cap an emotional year for all of America.

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“It’s kind of been a crazy year because a lot of people said we are a team of destiny,” said Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri, whose 48-yard field goal lifted the AFC champs to a 20-17 win.

“Our team didn’t want to hear that because we all said we are just a good team. I don’t want to hear `destiny’ because `destiny’ sounds like it’s luck. When I look back at it and all of the things that happened during the year–being the New England Patriots–I don’t know what that means and wearing red, white and blue.

“I don’t want to say it’s destiny, but there is something there.”

Not enough: The Rams’ defense gave up scores after all three turnovers by the St. Louis offense. But more important, the Rams didn’t force the Patriots into any turnovers.

“I think a lot of things went wrong,” said Rams defensive coordinator Lovie Smith. “They got turnovers and we didn’t. We didn’t tackle well. Normally, whenever you lose, you look to those things. We didn’t get enough turnovers and we didn’t stop the run well enough.”

Blowout city: The Rams entered Sunday’s game as 14-point favorites. The eight previous Super Bowls in New Orleans were decided by an average margin of 22 points and the Patriots were victimized in two of them by a combined score of 81-31. The Bears routed the Patriots 46-10 in Super Bowl XX and Green Bay beat the Patriots 35-21 in Super Bowl XXXI.