The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS - Mike Martz might have sacrificed home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs just to keep the St. Louis Rams' biggest star healthy.

Marshall Faulk drew a light workload in the Rams' regular-season finale, a 30-20 loss at Detroit, so he would be at full strength for the playoffs. He had only 35 yards on 12 carries and the Rams fell to the second seed in the NFC behind the Eagles.

Expect Faulk to be used Saturday against the Carolina Panthers in the second round of the playoffs.

"I know what he's going to mean to us right now, and we have to have him at his very best, which he's at right now," Martz said. "Right or wrong, that was the decision I made early in the second half to limit how many times he was going to touch the ball."

As a result, Martz expects the Panthers to see vintage Faulk. The running back was the NFL MVP in 2000 and from 1998-01 he became the first player in league history to gain 2,000 yards rushing and receiving for four consecutive seasons.

Faulk's right knee has given him problems since midway through the 2000 season, and he underwent surgery earlier this season when doctors discovered the extent of the damage while he was out with a broken left hand. After returning from a five-game absence, he had four straight 100-yard games.

"At the end of the season, he's gotten better and better and better, the more confident he's gotten with that knee," Martz said. "He's always Marshall, which is very significant and very special, but watching him, the bounce in his step right now, it's a lot of fun."

Some of Faulk's best games have come against the Panthers. In 2001, the last season in which St. Louis and Carolina were members of the NFC West, he ran for 202 and 183 yards.

The Panthers likely will concentrate on taking him away, and forcing quarterback Marc Bulger to pass, but that's a double-edged sword.

"Marshall Faulk is the total weapon," Panthers defensive tackle Brentson Buckner said. "If you put him in an 80-something number and line him up at wide receiver, he'd be one of the top wide receivers in this game.

"I've had the pleasure of playing against him for a number of years and I have never played against a more complete offensive player."

Faulk noted that the Panthers have undergone a lot of changes since his big games.

"I know they don't have the same defensive coordinator or the same head coach, and a lot of the guys that were there, they're not there," Faulk said.

The Panthers believe they're better equipped to stop him now.

"It's definitely a different scheme and it's definitely different personnel," defensive end Mike Rucker said. "We match up better than we did back then."

The Rams are 31-0 with a 100-yard rusher since moving to St. Louis in 1995. So the more touches, the better for Faulk.

"If that's the theory, just give it to me," Faulk said. "If that's the ingredient to winning, I'll go with that."