After shaky start, offensive line emerges

ST. LOUIS -- It was supposed to be his day, but as Rams offensive line coach Jim Hanifan smiled for the scoreboard camera prior to Sunday's game against San Francisco, blood pooled on his lip, courtesy of a face-to-shoulder-pad pregame bump with guard Adam Timmerman.

For a half on Sunday, the pain in the lip was the least of Hanifan's worries. But his linemen regrouped at halftime as the Rams beat the 49ers 27-24 in overtime.

Hanifan, an NFL coach for 30 years and one-time head coach of the old football Cardinals, is retiring after this season, prompting the brief pre-game recognition. The offseason acquisitions of center Dave Wohlabaugh and tackle Kyle Turley, joining guards Adam Timmerman and Andy McCollum and tackle Orlando Pace, was expected to give St. Louis one of the NFL's premiere offensive lines.

It certainly didn't look that way in the season-opening 23-13 loss to the New York Giants, when quarterback Kurt Warner was sacked six times, fumbled six times because of constant pressure, and suffered a concussion that kept him out of Sunday's game.

Midway through Sunday's game, the line was struggling again, bewildered and confused by the 49ers, who had blitzed their way to a 49-7 win over Chicago in the opener.

Trouble sets in early

In the second quarter alone, quarterback Marc Bulger was pressured into two fumbles and was sacked three times. The once high-flying Rams mustered just seven points and 67 total yards in the first two quarters.

Linemen agreed that part of the problem was the lack of balance. Consider the second quarter, when the Rams rushed just once and threw nine passes.

"We came in at halftime, made some adjustments, and decided we were going to run the ball," Pace said.

Over the final two quarters and in the three overtime plays that set up Jeff Wilkins' 28-yard game-winning field goal 3:32 into the extra period, the Rams ran the ball 17 times and passed 17 times.

"Just mixing it up -- keep them on their heels instead of pinning their ears back and rushing," Timmerman said. "It keeps them out of the blitz if you can run the ball."

In the second half, St. Louis scored 17 points on 213 total yards. Bulger was 15-for-17 after the break for 155 yards. Overall he was 25-for-36 for 236 yards and two touchdowns.

"I don't know what really happened to us in the second half," 49ers defensive tackle Bryant Young said. "We did not get it done in the second half and they got the victory."