St. Louis ? Kyle Turley’s frown warns everyone not to go there. Too late — someone has mentioned that hated word in St. Louis.

Finesse.

Turley, the rugged right tackle in his first year with the Rams after five seasons in New Orleans, knew it was coming. He figured when the specter of Carolina’s sometimes-dominant defensive line was close on the horizon, he’d hear how the Rams might not be powerful enough up front. How All-Pro defensive tackle Kris Jenkins and dangerous ends Mike Rucker and Julius Peppers would be too much for Turley and his blocking buddies to handle in today’s NFC playoff game.

“You’ve got a great defensive line coming in against this team, they’re supposed to dominate,” Turley said sarcastically. “Once again, that’s perception versus reality, that this team is perceived to be a finesse football team.

“You always have your perceptions of how things can be, and everybody outside this organization has got a perception of how this team is, that we’re a finesse team and all these different stigmas that they want to put on our shoulders.”

Turley notes that with the likes of Orlando Pace, Adam Timmerman and himself on the line, the Rams are willing and able to slug it out with anyone. Sure, coach Mike Martz is a pass-first guy, and St. Louis (12-4) ranked 30th in yards rushing. But runner Marshall Faulk was injured for five games.

Still, Turley and the other blockers will be measured this weekend by how they handle the pass rush. Carolina’s defensive linemen had 321/2 sacks, second in the NFL to Miami’s front four. In Rucker (12 sacks), Peppers (seven), Jenkins (five) and reserve Al Wallace (five), the Panthers (12-5) present a formidable challenge.

“You don’t always have to get sacks to be disruptive,” said defensive tackle Brentson Buckner, the line’s foremost spokesman. “That’s a case in point with Julius. … He’s five sacks off what he had last year, but you can turn on the film and he’s probably one of the most disruptive people in the NFL right now.”