Joe Vitt, interim head coach of the St. Louis Rams while Mike Martz recovers from a heart ailment, underwent a heart procedure of his own Monday. The 51-year-old Vitt had an angioplasty around 6 a.m., but was expected to speak at his regular Monday afternoon news conference, Rams spokesman Duane Lewis said. ``He's doing fine,'' Lewis said. ``I think it was just a routine procedure. It had been prescheduled. It was not the result of any issues the last two weeks or three weeks.'' Vitt told players about the procedure after Sunday's 24-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, but did not mention his plans to the media. In an angioplasty, a balloon is inserted through a tube and inflated to open blood vessels in the heart that have narrowed or become blocked. Lewis said he did not know specific details about why Vitt had the procedure.

A day after announcing he'd miss the rest of the season with a heart infection, St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz harshly criticized team management and said he didn't know if he could coexist with the team's president of football operations. Jay Zygmunt, the team's second-highest ranking official, stopped a representative for Martz at the door of the coaches' booth during Sunday's game against the Saints. The representative, team director of security Dan Linza, had been trying to bring a cell phone to offensive coordinator Steve Fairchild so Martz could talk to him from his home. Zygmunt brought Linza to team president John Shaw, who decided against having an "open phone line" in the booth. The confrontation brought to a head once again the team's front office power struggle. Martz has long been at odds with Zygmunt and general manager Charlie Armey, and he told radio station KSLG that he didn't know whether he and Zygmunt could coexist if he returned to coach the team next year. "That's a personal question that I'm not really prepared to answer," Martz said. "There is a lot of history there. From a business standpoint, yes. From a personal standpoint, I don't know. There have been just too many things that have happened."

St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz will miss the rest of the season due to a bacterial infection of a heart valve that has already sidelined him for two games. Martz told the team Monday that after being examined and evaluated by his treating physician, Dr. Victoria Fraser, that his illness will prevent him from performing his duties. Fraser is co-chief of the division of infectious diseases at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Martz, 54, has had what his doctors have termed an acute bacterial infection since the beginning of the season, and was admitted to a hospital on Sept. 30 for treatment. On Oct. 5, Martz announced that he had been sick for several weeks and that his condition prevented him from attending practice. Five days later he was readmitted to a hospital.

The Rams moved quarterback Jeff Smoker from the practice squad to the active roster for Sunday's game against the Saints. Smoker, cut in training camp then re-signed last week to the practice squad, got a second chance when Marc Bulger injured his shoulder in a loss Monday night to the Colts. The Rams released offensive tackle Matt Willig. "Well, we really had a need," interim coach Joe Vitt said. "He knows the system and we have to go with three quarterbacks."

Although no official announcement has been made, it appears Marc Bulger will miss two games after suffering a shoulder injury in the Rams' Monday night's loss to the Colts, ESPN's Chris Mortensen has confirmed. Bulger is expected to be out until after St. Louis' bye week (Nov. 6), the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday, meaning he will miss Sunday's game against New Orleans and the Oct. 30 game against Jacksonville. He is likely to return for the Rams' Nov. 13 game in Seattle, Mortensen reported. Jamie Martin will be the starter in Bulger's absence, with rookie Ryan Fitzpatrick the top reserve. It is possible the Rams could add a third quarterback as insurance until Bulger can return, but as of early Tuesday evening no decision was imminent, according to the Post-Dispatch.

The St. Louis Rams are uncertain as to whether quarterback Marc Bulger will be able to play against New Orleans on Sunday after the quarterback sprained his right shoulder in Monday night?s game against Indianapolis. "I don't want to assume anything yet, I think that's a hypothetical situation," interim coach Joe Vitt said when asked about possibly losing Bulger. "But I will say this: (backup QB) Jamie Martin was born and raised in this system and knows the system as good as anybody."

St. Louis quarterback Marc Bulger bruised his right shoulder in the second quarter of the Rams game with the Indianapolis Colts on Monday night. It was not clear if he would return. Bulger was injured when he was blocked by Indianapolis linebacker David Thornton after Cato June had intercepted a pass. Bulger walked off the field holding his shoulder and was taken to the locker room.

Mike Martz is out indefinitely as coach of the St. Louis Rams while he recovers from a bacterial infection near his heart. Rams president John Shaw said in a statement Monday that Martz would be admitted to a hospital. ``As a result of his condition, he will be unable to perform his head coaching responsibilities for an indefinite period of time,'' Shaw said. Assistant head coach Joe Vitt will lead the team in Martz's absence. The announcement came five days after Martz, 54, announced he was being examined for endocarditis, a bacterial infection of the lining of the heart or a heart valve. Martz said at the time that further testing was needed to confirm the ailment, which in some cases can cause require open-heart surgery to correct.

The St. Louis Rams head coach Mike Martz has an infection of the heart and will require treatment with antibiotics that will keep him out of practice for a couple of days. "I haven't been feeling good for four or five weeks and there is some type of infection in my body that has gotten worse," Martz said Wednesday. "They think they've identified what it is."

Rams coach Mike Martz was hospitalized Friday with a sinus infection, but the team expects him to be able to coach Sunday when St. Louis plays at the New York Giants. Martz drove himself to the hospital, spokesman Artis Twyman said. He was expected to be released by Saturday, in time to fly with the team to New York. "He had been complaining about his sinuses bothering him for a couple of weeks," Twyman said. "I guess it was a little bit worse today." Joe Vitt, the assistant head coach and linebackers coach, ran practice in Martz's absence. Earlier this year, Martz underwent back surgery.