Rams Team Report

INSIDE SLANT

Quarterback Kyle Boller(notes) summed things up best Sunday after the Rams lost their 10th straight game to Seattle and their 11th straight at home.

“We’ve got to find a way to win,” Boller said. “I don’t care how it is; we’ve just got to find a way to win.”

The Rams seemed in position to have a chance to win, entering the second half trailing 14-10. They were behind despite outgaining the Seahawks 213-111 and having 6:46 more possession time, thanks in part to a Boller interception on fouth-and-4 from the Seattle 34 that was returned 65 yards for a touchdown.

Still, the Rams appeared to get a lift when Josh Brown(notes) nailed a 55-yard field goal on the final play of the first half. They started the third quarter with the ball, but they weren’t able to generate anything in four possessions. Three third-quarter possessions totaled 17 yards, and the first possession of the fourth quarter gained 6 yards and was a three-and-out. That 14-10 deficit grew to 27-10.

It’s been a broken record indicative of the last three seasons in which the Rams have won just six of 43 games.

“It’s frustrating,” Boller acknowledged. “It felt like we were in the game and just couldn’t get over the hump. We just needed to score more points and (commit) fewer turnovers.”

A factor Sunday was the departure of center Jason Brown(notes) late in the second quarter with a knee injury. With Brown out, right guard Mark Setterstrom(notes) moved to center and John Greco(notes) took Setterstrom’s spot. Setterstrom was starting because Richie Incognito(notes) missed his fourth straight game with a foot injury and right tackle Adam Goldberg(notes) was playing for rookie Jason Smith(notes), who was out after suffering a concussion against Arizona the week before.

Asked about the changes in the line, Boller said, “Well, it’s tough. Setterstrom had to come from guard to center. You know that’s always hard when you lose your starting center, but I think you have to fill in. Mark did a good job but it’s tough when you don’t get reps in practice. We just keep battling.”

When asked about the notion that the team took a step backward, coach Steve Spagnuolo said, “The one thing we’ve got to remember, and I’m not going to use this as an excuse, so bear with me here. But we have gelled. Since the first time we played Seattle (in the season opener) until now, I believe it’s a different football team.

“But we’re fighting some injuries right now at some key positions. So the dynamics of working together and getting better and better at certain things, maybe it takes a step back. But this is professional football and guys got to go in there and play. So we’ll expect the guys that have to go in there and play when guys get hurt to do the same thing as the guys who were in there.”

NOTES, QUOTES

—While the lack of offense in the second half contributed, the Rams’ run defense had another difficult day.

Seahawks running back Justin Forsett(notes) rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, averaging 5.9 yards per attempt. In 11 games this season, opponents have rushed for at least 150 yards seven times, and the last three opponents have totaled 556 yards (185.3 per game).

“It’s obviously a lot of things,” coach Steve Spagnuolo said after Seattle rushed for 170 yards Sunday. “It’s not one thing, it’s not one person. I don’t believe it’s scheme although we’ll look at that. But … the tackling has to be better. They have 11 (players), we have 11 (players). When they run the ball someone’s got to tackle the ball carrier, so we need to improve in that.”

“That was a step backwards,” defensive end Chris Long(notes) said. “I think we’ve got a long way to go so we can’t afford to take steps backwards. We’re going to get in there tomorrow morning and try to correct these things like we try to do every week, and move on to the next one. We’ve got five more games this season, and hopefully we can put together five good ones. All that matters is the next snap, and we’ve got to have that mentality, because nobody is going to dig us out of a hole except ourselves.”

Defensive end Leonard Little(notes) said there’s no excuse for the tackling problems. “If you don’t know how to tackle, then you might not need to be in this business,” Little said. “We play some pretty decent running backs every week, so you’ve got to be able to tackle.”

• Spagnuolo on the team’s attitude: “I believe in the fight in this team, I told them that, I do believe in them. I’ll fight with them any time. I don’t think there was any quit there. They were battling at the end, but we’ve got to get the football part of it right. It’s not like anybody’s not working at doing that, but things are coming up that we’ve got to get straightened out. It goes back to basics: blocking, tackling, catching the football, in my opinion, so that’s what we’ll be focused on. That’s what needs to be done to get it right.”

• The attendance of 47,475 for Sunday’s game against Seattle was the lowest at home since the Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995. The local TV blackout was the first of the season.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Player Notes  

• OT Jason Smith, who experienced nausea and vomiting while at Sunday’s game and was taken to the hospital, was released and sent home in the evening when tests were normal and the symptoms were apparently not related to the concussion he suffered the previous week against Arizona. Smith was inactive for the Seattle game because he failed two neurological tests last week following the concussion.

• C Jason Brown had an MRI on his injured knee, which showed a second-degree sprain of the MCL. Brown has vowed to be on the practice field Wednesday.

• G Richie Incognito, who was upgraded to questionable on the injury report Friday but did not play against Seattle, might return to practice Wednesday. Incognito has missed four games since injuring his foot on Oct. 25 against Indianapolis.

• MLB James Laurinaitis(notes) had an MRI on his right shoulder, which revealed a mild AC separation.

• WR Brandon Gibson(notes) suffered a lower back contusion Sunday against Seattle, but X-rays were negative.

• LB Paris Lenon(notes) injured his wrist Sunday against the Seahawks, but X-rays were negative.

• LB David Vobora(notes) suffered a mild strain of his calf Sunday against Seattle.

• DE James Hall(notes) suffered a contusion to his knee Sunday, but he is not expected to miss any significant practice time.

Report Card Vs  . SEAHAWKS

Passing Offense:   D—QB Kyle Boller passed for 282 yards, but 97 came in the fourth quarter when the outcome was essentially decided. He threw two costly interceptions in Seattle territory, one of which was returned for a touchdown, and was sacked four times. Protection problems were persistent, especially after center Jason Brown left with a knee injury in the second quarter.

Rushing Offense:   B—RB Steven Jackson did the best he could on a sore back, but was not his explosive self. He scampered for 25 yards on his first carry of the game, then had just 64 yards on 22 attempts the rest of the game.

Pass Defense:   B-plus—The Rams held QB Matt Hasselbeck(notes) to 102 yards passing with a long of 17. TE John Carlson(notes), who burned the Rams in the season opener for 95 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions, had just two catches for 14 yards.

Rush Defense:   F—RB Justin Forsett rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns with 75 yards coming in the second half. On the touchdown drive that gave Seattle a 24-10 lead early in the fourth quarter, Forsett ran for 11 yards on fourth-and-1 from the 18-yard line, then covered the final 7 yards on two runs where the defense offered little resistance.

Special Teams:   C—Coverage was just OK, with Nate Burleson(notes) having a 29-yard punt return. Danny Amendola(notes) did fine on kickoffs (25.5-yard average), but totaled just 8 yards on two punt returns. Rookie linebacker K.C. Asiodu(notes) had a partially blocked punt. Kicker Josh Brown hit a 55-yard field goal, but missed a 46-yarder early that would have given the Rams a 3-0 lead.

Coaching:   C-plus—Coach Steve Spagnuolo still gets effort from his players, but not much consistency. The penalty situation has improved, with the Rams being penalized just four times Sunday. Once again, there was a debatable decision late in the game. With six minutes remaining and the score 27-10, Spagnuolo elected to go for a first down on fourth-and-3 from the Seattle 17, rather than kick a chip-shot field goal that would have made it a two-score game.