Miller can expect an active day on Sunday.

After all, the last time he tried blocking Tennessee Titans defensive end Jevon Kearse, the results were putrid. Miller didn't even introduce himself up close to the man known as "The Freak" in that game on Halloween. He merely waved from a distance as Kearse flew by for five tackles, a sack, two quarterback pressures and a forced fumble.

And those were results only of plays not halted by a referee's whistle during St. Louis' first loss of the season, a 24-21 defeat in Nashville. The lightning-quick Kearse and rabid crowd at Adelphia Coliseum induced Miller into a whopping six false-start penalties in Miller's failed efforts to keep the eventual NFL Rookie of the Year from reaching and wrecking Rams quarterback Kurt Warner.

If any one Ram had reason to root for Jacksonville to beat the Titans last Sunday in the AFC Championship Game, it was Miller.

But that isn't the way Miller has approached Sunday's Super Bowl. As waves of media have hit him this week, constantly reminding the fourth-year lineman of his most embarrassing pro game and asking if he's worried about a rerun, Miller has stood tall.

"The biggest thing I'm glad about is being in the Super Bowl," said Miller, a 6-foot-7, 315-pounder who has found a home at right tackle after shuttling between left guard and both tackle positions his first three years. "Whether it was the Jacksonville Jaguars or the Tennessee Titans that we had to play, it didn't matter to me.

"It does make it a little sweeter because we can have revenge."

"Revenge" is putting it mildly. "Redemption" better defines the opportunity Miller faces Sunday.

"He definitely surprised me with his speed," Miller said of his first game against Kearse, a 6-4, 265-pounder whose 14½ sacks set a rookie record.

RAMS' PRACTICE REPORT

The Rams practiced for 2 hours, 15 minutes Wednesday in a biting wind that pushed the chill factor down close to zero degrees at the Atlanta Falcons' training facility in Suwanee, Ga. "It's ridiculous," said coach Dick Vermeil, who is lobbying the NFL to allow the teams to practice indoors at the Georgia Dome the rest of the week. "But there's nothing you can do about it except try to survive. ... It's hard to work like we normally do." Despite the wind, Kurt Warner looked sharp, according to the single pool reporter assigned to cover the practice. "He threw extremely well," assistant coach Mike White said. Held out of practice were DE Grant Wistrom (bruised shoulder) and WR Torry Holt (shoulder and ribs injury). Both are expected to work out Thursday ... "unless they're frozen," Vermeil joked. FS Keith Lyle (shoulder) practiced well, according to Vermeil, who said his status for the Super Bowl will be determined in the next few days.

"It's very rare that you see a guy with Kearse's size who has that type of speed and quickness. He's a gifted athlete. I would say I wasn't focused enough."

In Miller's defense, it was the first time this season the Rams had played in front of a large, loud, opposing crowd. And the Tennessee faithful got more raucous as the game progressed with the Titans jumping on top 21-0.

"It took me by surprise how loud it was in Nashville," Miller said. "I was really having a hard time hearing the snap counts, and a couple of times I moved because I thought he had jumped into the neutral zone early. But the refs didn't see it that way."

If the Rams are concerned about Miller facing Kearse on an even faster track of the Georgia Dome's artificial-turf surface, they're keeping it to themselves.

"Jevon is a monster. He's really a great player, but I know Fred will be ready," said Kevin Carter, the Rams defensive end who led the league in sacks this season with 17. "When we played (the Titans) during the regular season, things happened. People have bad games. But we expected Fred to come back out the next week and play because he's a pro. When things happen like that, you just have to bounce back."

"Sure he did," Rams quarterback Kurt Warner said when reminded of the licks Kearse put on him in the Oct. 31 game. "But we helped out by having to take deeper drops to wait for things to happen downfield because we were in some tough third-and-long situations. We fell behind so fast, too, that it limited us offensively. (Kearse) was able to get to the edge and knew that we were going to pass the ball.

"So if we can limit that (on Sunday), where we're not as predictable throughout the game, hopefully we can neutralize him a little better than we did the first time."

Miller says he was grateful for the way his teammates and coaches reacted to his cursed Kearse debut. It helped him improve in the second half of the season, he says.

"Jevon is a great player, and when you get opportunities to play against great players of his stature, you test yourself to see how good you are and how well you do against him," Rams running back Marshall Faulk said. "Freddy is a competitor, believe me. Ever since that, he has worked hard and played well."

"That really gave me a lot of confidence," Miller said of such teammate testimonials. "It helps you mentally when the guys are still behind you no matter what you do. I think that's the philosophy of what this team was all about this year. We wanted to build a family atmosphere, and we are going to stand together."

Kearse is aware the Rams will stand together Sunday. Miller won't be the only one keeping track of him. Tight ends and running backs will be assigned to help out.

"We got a small feel for how their players are going to play (in October)," Kearse said. "But then again, this is the Super Bowl. This is the biggest game of them all, so how they played in that game should be multiplied by 100."

Miller hopes Sunday's math doesn't add up to such a freakish figure.