It took fellow NFL Network analyst - and fellow future Hall of Famer - Deion Sanders to impress on Marshall Faulk the impact of Thursday night’s halftime event at the Edward Jones Dome.

“Yesterday I was telling Deion that I have to do this and that,” Faulk said Wednesday. Sanders advised Faulk to slow down and consider how meaningful it is to have his number retired by the Rams.

“He said that not many people get their number retired,” Faulk said. “We were walking through the hall (at Rams Park) and I said to myself that that was true. . . . It’s a very special occasion for me. I am without a doubt honored.”

Faulk’s No. 28 will be hoisted to the rafters during a ceremony to be emceeed by Bob Costas. Here are other excerpts from Faulk’s press conference:

>>On what it means to be the seventh Rams player whose number is retired: “It means a lot, because as a kid playing football you think about winning a Super Bowl, scoring touchdowns or just playing in the NFL. To get your number retired is an honor you don’t even think about. . . . As I move on in my career in broadcasting, thinking about it, seeing it and hearing it, each year further away from the game, it’ll become more and more special.”

>>On his seven seasons with the Rams: “The time I spent here, although it seemed fast, for me it was long because it was so much fun and exciting. Often when you play sports or do a job, you don’t get an opportunity to do it how you want to do it. How I envisioned myself playing the game of football, having fun whether that be win or lose, I got an opportunity to do it here with a bunch of great guys, guys who weren’t selfish, didn’t care who got the ball and (who) wanted to win and have fun. That time compared to my five years in Indy, it was long. It was drawn out because I made sure of that. I lived in the moment, I enjoyed it, I tried not to look back. Every time I reflect on being here, it’s always something good.”

>>On the Hall of Fame: “Being honest, the guys that are in the Hall of Fame, I can never see myself with those guys. I look at them and I think that they embody what football is all about, especially when you look back in the day with what those guys went through, how the game was before you made the money that . . . they make now. You played this game because you loved it, you had a second job, you enjoyed it and that was what it was all about. I just don’t see myself, never have, with the likes of those guys.”

>>On whether being considered one of the game’s smartest players means as much as his statistical achievements: “It means more to me. Being that kind of player required work that goes beyond what’s asked of you. We’d sit in the meeting room, and it’s easy to watch the run game and understand why it works. But . . . to play the game and understand the chess match that goes on, it’s so much fun. It made the game easier for me and at times when I could share that information with my teammates, it made the game easier for them.”

>>On his retirement: “Actually, I think if we had won the Super Bowl (in 2002), I probably would have retired after that year. But we didn’t and I felt like we still had it, so I came back. I was prepared to retire way before I did. All the time beyond then was bonus time for me. It was time to just continue to enjoy the game.”

>>On whether coaching could be part of his future: “I don’t see myself coaching. I don’t know if I could deal with what’s being asked of coaches today in the league - to baby-sit, the hours they have to put in, the time frame in which you have to win. Some of those things are just unrealistic. Probably the No. 1 thing that I can’t deal with is the player that feels like he can’t when he hasn’t tried. I wouldn’t know how to relate to that player.”

All for now. . .