Try as you might, I just don't think you can blame the Rams results this season on injuries. 

However...injuries aren't helping the team either. We've seen the difference Steven Jackson can made when he returned to the lineup - along with some more inspired play up front - after effectively (his still injured return against the Cardinals in week 9) missing the previous five games.

Check this out. ESPN's Mike Sando runs the numbers to see how many players from each NFC West team have started all 12 games through week 13. 

For the Rams, just six...six players have started all 12 games this season. Some of that is not due to injury though, as the Rams have been forced to bench a few guys along the way. 

It's definitely not an excuse for the level of play we've seen from the Rams through the better part of this season, but it carries an impact to be sure. And thus it's question time. Why have the Rams been plagued by injuries to such an extent for two seasons in a row? In my own uninformed, not a doctor opinion several factors explain at least part of it. With aging players at so many key positions - e.g. Orlando Pace - that happens. Also, being a bad team contributes, e.g. the porous offensive line over the years has contributed to the injuries and general decline of Marc Bulger. I also think - and here's the uninformed part - that the team's poor play gets players beat up a little more. 

Still, I wonder if they don't need to review their strength and conditioning program. Chronic injury outbreaks like this, on the surface, seem to be more than just flukes. Or am I just being overly neurotic?

Jim Haslett will kill you with his bare hands...or at least he would if you challenged him to duel. Fielding what must be mandatory questions about the Plaxico Burress situation the Rams head coach admitted his anti-gun leanings. 

Asked whether or not he kept a gat stuffed in his pants during his playing days, the Rams interim head coach said no and provided his thoughts on guns:

No, I never packed, I don’t even like guns. I kind of stay away from them. I teach my kids if there’s some in the house, you go to a family’s home and they got a gun that’s not in a locked case, then to get out of the house because I think they’re dangerous, I don’t think its right.

Of course, the only thing he might have had to protect himself from during his playing days with the Bills was Seasonal Affective Disorder. 

I'll have to say, for all their problems on the field - and there are many - the Rams have done a good job purging their players with off-field distractions. Imagine more Claude Terrell hi-jinx dotting the headlines in the days between 30-point blowout losses. People would really love the Rams then, no?

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Finally, some housekeeping...I'm getting back into it today. Bad pennies and all that. 

Also, since the offseason is getting ever closer for the Rams, we're working on getting some unique content and features going over the offseason, since that's when, if the news gets better (can it get worse?), Rams fans will start paying attention to the team again. Anyway, I want to tap a few of our readers who are college football fans, from the savant level to the sunday morning QB, for some offseason roundtables on the subject. If this sounds like something you'd dig, send me an email, just scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the envelope icon next to my user name.

Poor Al Saunders.

With the Rams once again in playing in oblivion, the new offensive coordinator is getting his fair share of blame. And with the Rams red zone percentage something akin to Marc Bulger's QB rating, it's not like he doesn't deserve a little heat, especially after befuddling fans with play calling that's included passes to guys like Anthony Becht, Joe Klopfenstein, and other confusing plays. 

How much leeway does the guy get given the talent he has to work with though? With Steven Jackson back in week 13 the Rams offense was better, but it hardly qualified as a resume builder. I feel like a lot of those stupefying play calls are the result of Marc Bulger's inability to do much with the football, especially with his favorite WR unable to escape tight coverage. It's clear that the Rams offense has really suffered without TE Randy McMichael, especially for an OC known for making his TE a key part of the equation.

Clearly, the idea of hiring Saunders made more sense than the reality. How did anyone really expect the Rams to run a complex offense with paper dolls on the offensive line, a QB in crisis, and Torry Holt missing a step? 

So what's next? Keep him and think things can turn around with returning players (McMichael) and a talent infusion in key areas? Or do the Rams need to turnover a new leaf, hire a new guy and start from stratch...depending on how the head coaching situation pans out. Saunders runs a complex offense, so the players, especially young guys like Avery and Burton, will have a year's experience with it to go with some talent on the line and other places (hopefully) brought in through the draft and free agency. How much blame does Saunders deserve for the Rams offensive failures?

First of all, some housekeeping. I apologize for being out of pocket since Sunday. My wife and I had our first child early (really, really early) on Monday morning, so we're at the hospital until tomorrow afternoon. I have a couple short posts set to go between now and then as we get ready for the Cardinals game this week. I would encourage everyone to take full advantage of the fanposts; there's still plenty to discuss about the Rams, two wins or not. 

Anyway, back to football, and with what else, a Marc Bulger post. (Sometimes I wonder if we shouldn't change the name of this site to the Marc Bulger Times...gives you an idea of how central a QB is to a team's personality. So let's just go ahead and make this the official Marc Bulger answers thread. 

Like it or not, the Rams are stuck with Bulger at least through the 2009 season. His contract is just too big to give them any kind of flexibility through a trade or even an out and out cut. The only possibility would be a renegotiation, and I just can't imagine that would be as easy as it sounds. Through 2006 Bulger was one of the best QBs in the league, earning his contract. The Rams neglect for the o-line made him into a shell-shocked punching bag, good for three INTs a game since then. 

His performance Sunday made it clear that he's part of the problem. The o-line has taken, deservedly, it's fair share of criticism, but they were solid last week, giving Bulger every chance to make things happen. Steven Jackson's return to significance in the offense also took away a canned excuse for Bulger's performance. Now what about the rest of the season? There are four games left and Rams fans, to say nothing of the ownership, would like to see the team at least make it interesting.

The solution I'm most fond of is benching Bulger, forcing some recovery time. Understanding of course that neither Trent Green or Brock Berlin offer the Rams much more in the way of a field general. What should the Rams do with Bulger for the rest of the season?

And what about 2009? it's clear they need to start grooming a QB for the near future, but they've got several options. The Rams can pursue a fill-in free agent to compete with Bulger and draft a first rounder in 2010. Or they can draft a QB in April, at the expense of other key needs like OT and MLB. What options make the most sense? What options give the Rams the best chance of turning things around in 2009?

So different, yet so similar. The Rams still lost, but I'm hard pressed to recall the last Rams game where it came down the final drive. 

Highlights

• I think we all have a much better idea about just how important Steven Jackson is to this offense. The line opened holes for him today and that was important. However, Jackson's ability stretches many of those runs, squeezing a few extra yards out that another RB is less likely to get. He even blocked well on passing plays.
• Gotta hand it to the offensive line. They grinded it out today, making the running game matter again and giving Bulger enough protection to shoot himself in the foot. No sacks allowed. Romberg gave the Rams much better play at center than Leckey, and substituting Greco for Jacob Bell some helped keep the underweight free agent from getting tired and easily shoved aside. 
• The Rams lost nothing with David Vobora playing in the middle. Now, let's not get irrationally exuberant, the Rams run defense was nothing special, but Vobora and the front seven played much better than in recent weeks. Still, we need more help at LB for next season. They made all that Wildcat talk look silly. When was the last time Tinoisamoa made a difference by being on the field?
• Chris Long played an outstanding game. The Rams have a real special player here, a guy that'll be the centerpiece of our defense in the years to come.

Uh oh.

Steven Jackson didn't have a carry in the fourth quarter. Not one. 

No word yet, but I'm wondering if he re-aggravated  his bruised thigh injury. 

Between Jackson and the improved o-line play, the Rams had a chance to win this game today. More time without Steven getting 20+ carries means more ugliness.

[Note by VanRam, 11/30/08 5:38 PM EST ] And we have our answer: 

"He was gassed. His leg was starting to bother him. We told him before the game to go as far as he could go."

Another week, another rant about the Rams lines. I'm starting to at least find comfort in the steadiness of the theme. 

But let's throw that aside; make it a standing assumption - sort of like accounting for the throngs of opposing fans at the Dome. 

The Dolphins are a fine team, already with six more wins than they totaled last season, and one that we hopefully see as a future vision of our own hapless Rams. A cleaned out and ideologically committed front office, sensible and impactful personnel moves, fans again enjoying the distraction of weekly ritual...it happened to them and with the right course, it'll happen to us.

That said, wouldn't there be something entirely appropriate in beating the Dolphins today? A statement of impending change. Not an easy task, but here are a couple of personal, uniformed observations linked to the possibility.

1. Run the ball, no matter how futile it seems - and each Rams offensive possession carries a high amount of futility nowadays anyway - commit to the run with a healthy Steven Jackson. Jackson has the ability to break off a good run, where other backs wouldn't get more than a yard or two. That forces the Dolphins to respect the run, thus opening the opportunity for the Rams to inflict damage through the air, a Miami weakspot.
2. Slow the game, feel the ball, be the ball. The defense can't get beat with reverses and the Wildcat formation. If the Rams defenders can flow to the ball, they can at least stem some of the bleeding. Being in the right position obviously helps.
3. I said it last week and I'll say it again this week, respond well to adversity. The Dolphins are going to score and will probably get a lead over the Rams at some point in the first half. Whether that leads stays within a 7-10 point margin (no small gap for the Rams I realize) or another 30 point laugher is up to the players. Prevent more of the same, and it's already something of a victory. 

Scores and updates at the SBN Scoreboard. 

GO RAMS!!!

Game thread coming...some items worth mentioning to start the day.

• Rams RB Steven Jackson is set to play today. That's good news. Eventhough the Dolphins have a thick run defense, I'd like to see the Rams come out and try to run the football, establish something on the ground early. Make 'em honest about Jackson's presence and then open the field up for play actions and the passing game.
• Brett Romberg will get the start at center. Haslett has said rookie OL John Greco will play today, but no word on whether or not the interim head coach is shifting his o-line. Doubtful to start the game.

The Dolphins are a 9 point favorite against the Rams this week. The spreads keep spreading. Though daunting, that spread is fairly generous for the Rams, who've failed to cover the spread since their loss to New England. 

Naturally, that makes predictions tough. I'm giving up on making them. Let's try a poll instead...the wisdom of crowds and all that.