ST. LOUIS -- The tear ducts were dry for Dick Vermeil the day after the St. Louis Rams became the first team to clinch an NFL playoff berth.

	Marshall Faulk and the Rams are now focused on clinching home-field advantage.

The coaching staff was too busy on Monday evaluating game film and beginning preparations for the next game at New Orleans to remain giddy about the team's first NFC West title since 1985.

"I've said five times, wouldn't it be great to have a three-day break to just relax and enjoy what you've been able to accomplish?" Vermeil said. "But that's not the NFL. You don't get any time to rejoice and you don't get any time to recover when you lose one that you thought you shouldn't have lost."

Of course, it's a lot easier returning to the routine when the rewards are there. The Rams (10-2) have more victories this season than in the first two years of Vermeil's coaching comeback combined.

"It's back to work, but it's back to work with a little more of a smile, a little more pep to our step," tight end Roland Williams said. "Obviously, we achieved one of our goals and that feels great, but our team is so strong, and we have so much going for us to just settle for going to the playoffs."

Vermeil, perhaps the NFL's most emotional coach, burst into tears at least four times after Sunday's 34-21 victory at Carolina. Then he broke out the champagne on the flight home, capped by a welcome-home celebration with about 500 fans at the airport.

"We want to take Georgia to Georgia," Vermeil said, referring to Rams owner Georgia Frontiere and the Super Bowl site in Atlanta, Ga.

Then he regained control.

The next objective for the Rams is securing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. They've got a two-game lead on the NFC field with four games to play after Sunday's 34-21 victory at Carolina.

"That's very important," cornerback Dexter McCleon said. "You don't want to go to Detroit or Minnesota or Green Bay or somewhere like that having to win."

The Rams could clinch a first-round bye, which would be their first break since Week 2 of the season, as soon as this week. They need only a victory at New Orleans (2-10) and a Washington loss to Arizona.

St. Louis has never had a home playoff game. In 28 seasons before moving to Phoenix in 1988, the Cardinals played in only three playoff games -- all losses and all on the road. So there's still plenty of targets.

The Rams, 200-1 longshots to make the Super Bowl in the preseason, have come a very long way in a short time. They were 22-42 their first four seasons after moving to St. Louis from Anaheim, Calif., and entered the season as the losingest team of the decade.

Now they're tied for the NFL's best second-best record with Indianapolis, one game behind Jacksonville. Winless in the West last year, the Rams can wrap up a clean 8-0 sweep this weekend.

Vermeil said cornerback Todd Lyght, who injured his groin in the second half, is questionable for the Saints game. Lyght is the only new injury from the game, although Vermeil also said that free safety Keith Lyle probably will miss his third game with a shoulder injury.

Vermeil said quarterback Kurt Warner was "a little sore" from the helmet-first shot to the ribs he took from Kevin Greene.