St. Louis ? Jamie Martin is about to get another chance to change the bad impression he made during the St. Louis Rams’ 0-5 start.

Martin began the year as Kurt Warner’s backup, but he was pressed into service in a 13-10 Week 4 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, putting up decent numbers that didn’t result in nearly enough points.

The next week was more of the same in a 37-13 loss to the 49ers.

He hurt his knee against the Cowboys and the injury worsened after the 49ers’ game, so Marc Bulger stepped in to lead the Rams (5-7) to five straight victories.

Now comes the second chance for Martin. He will start Sunday at Kansas City because Warner is again sidelined by his troublesome throwing hand and Bulger is out with a sprained index finger.

“You always wonder,” Martin said. “Marc starts having success and all of a sudden I’m the third guy. Just like you’re a couple plays away from being in there, you’re also a couple plays away from being out of the league.”

During the long wait, Martin did his best to keep focused. He also had a lot of time to review his performance early in the season.

“When you’re a competitor and have a bad game, you just want to get right back on the field and show you can do better than that,” Martin said. “We didn’t play well, got blown out, and as the quarterback it kind of reflects poorly on you. So, I thought about it a lot.”

Coach Mike Martz has confidence that Martin can do the job. He also noted that Martin took a shot to his knee soon after replacing Warner against the Cowboys and had a difficult time following through on his throws.

“I’m excited for him now because he’s going into this game healthy,” Martz said. “I’m happy for him to have this opportunity to really exhibit what kind of quarterback he really is.”

Sunday’s game also represents a shot for Martin against former Rams coach Dick Vermeil, who released him in 1997. Martin lost out to Will Furrer in the battle for the third-string job that year after Furrer threw a couple of touchdown passes in a preseason game against the Cowboys.

“We just went on performance, but I’ve always respected him,” Vermeil said. “Mike respected him, and that’s why he’s here. He has a nice touch on the ball and he will run the offense, and more often than not, he won’t get you beat.”