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Bulger in, Faulk iffy for Rams

ST. LOUIS -- Marc Bulger will get one more start before Kurt Warner returns from a broken pinkie for the Rams, who likely have lost running back Marshall Faulk for their next game.

Warner, who has missed five games, resumed throwing Thursday and tossed several 40-yarders before the Sunday's game against San Diego.

Coach Mike Martz said Monday that doctors don't want to rush Warner back into action, but he'll be the backup Monday night against the Bears.

"After talking to the doctors, they were in agreement," Martz said. "It's just too risky to start him and not get that finger banged around. This will give him that extra week to heal."

Warner said his finger is feeling better every day, and he's scheduled to start taking snaps again this week. Martz said Bulger would get the bulk of the practice reps but Warner would run some of the scout-team offense.

Faulk left in the fourth quarter Sunday with a sprained left ankle and a strained tendon on the bottom of his right foot.

He was optimistic after the game, but Martz said the 2000 NFL MVP will be listed as questionable.

REF EXPLAINS CALL: Referee Bob McElwee explained a key decision in the final minute of the Patriots' 33-30 comeback victory over the Bears.

McElwee, the game's head official, said he had to estimate whether the Patriots made a first down because the ball had been moved before he could bring in the chains to measure.

"I conferred with my crew and they strongly felt that the quarterback had advanced the ball past the first-down marker," McElwee said in a statement.

New England quarterback Tom Brady tried a sneak on fourth and 3 with 54 seconds left and appeared to get the distance he needed. The officials spotted the ball, but before there was a measurement the Patriots snapped it and Brady spiked the ball to stop the clock. "Since I was blowing the whistle, there was no snap and no subsequent play," McElwee said. "But because the ball had been moved, I could no longer call for a measurement."

EX-BUC CHARGED: Booker Reese, one of the biggest busts in Bucs draft history, was arrested last week and charged with violating probation stemming from a 1999 drug charge, authorities said. According to Hillsborough County Sheriff's reports, Reese, 43, was picked up in Columbia County and transported to the Orient Road Jail in Hillsborough County on Friday. The former defensive end was drafted by the Bucs in 1982 out of Bethune-Cookman but started only seven games. He lists his home address as Jacksonville. Details of his drug arrest were not available.

CARDINALS: Marcel Shipp might replace Thomas Jones as the starter at running back. Jones, a first-round pick two years ago, rushed for 24 yards on 11 carries against the Seahawks. Shipp, an undrafted free agent, rushed for 85 yards on 16 attempts.

DOLPHINS: Receiver Cris Carter's condition is improving, but he's in the hospital and won't play this week while doctors determine what caused his kidneys to malfunction, coach Dave Wannstedt said.

VIKINGS: Quarterback Daunte Culpepper will start against Green Bay after he was pulled in the third quarter during a loss to the Giants. Coach Mike Tice would not name Culpepper or backup Todd Bouman his starter but said he had made up his mind. Culpepper later confirmed that Tice told him he would start.

-- Times staff writer Phuong Nguyen contributed to this report.

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