Bulger: 'I want to prove we're not that bad'

ST. LOUIS -- Surrounded by reporters seeking his take on the St. Louis Rams' horrid opener after all those months of preparation, quarterback Marc Bulger found a comfort zone that was absent in the 38-3 drubbing at Philadelphia.

"I love being back here because I want to prove we're not that bad," Bulger said Wednesday. "We can be talking this time next week, hopefully about a win."

Moving on and remaining hopeful is a good way to cope in the NFL. The Rams don't need any flashbacks to last year's 0-8 start and the 3-13 finish that landed them with the second pick of the draft yet.

Bulger invoked coach Scott Linehan's "24-hour rule," desiring that players quickly flush the previous game out of their system, win or lose.

"We came in Monday, beat ourselves up and we tried to make as many corrections as we could," Bulger said. "Today, we're playing the world champs."

That type of talk prevailed in the locker room before the Rams returned to the practice field for the first time since getting whipped at all phases of the game. It was the worst opening-day loss in the franchise's 71-year history.

Tight end Randy McMichael, one of the few bright spots with five catches for 77 yards, said this is a more mature team than last year when an epidemic of offensive line injuries led to a wave of second-half fades.

"I think after a loss like that last year we probably would have gone in the tank," McMichael said. "This year, everybody's still positive, everybody knows it's just one game.

"Luckily, we're given 15 more games to get it right."

Cornerback Tye Hill, burned for a 47-yard gain on the second play of the game and a 51-yarder in the second quarter, ended the opener in the nickel package.

"It was kind of odd to see the things happen the way they did," said Hill, a first-round pick in 2006. "I know how hard we worked, and just for it to fall like that is disappointing. You take what you can from it, learn from it and get ready for next week because that's all you've got."

Linehan said he'll be back in the lineup Sunday. He also thought players did a good job of moving on in Wednesday's practice.

"The only thing you can really do to flush that out of your system is to go play good and win on Sunday," Linehan said. "It was a very good practice and we're going to have to carry it over."

The biggest problem was a mistake-prone offense that mustered only 166 yards and committed six false starts spread among several players. Two of the false starts came in a span of three plays in the second half.

The mistakes Linehan referred to as "self-inflicted wounds" were a focal point of Monday's team meeting. Bulger didn't think noise was the culprit and said they didn't use too many different snap counts, speculating that players were worrying too much about the blitz or other assignments.

"It was just a timing thing," he said. "We were all out of whack."

Operating in reverse so often, the Rams were 0-for-11 in third-down conversions while facing an average of third-and-10. That destroyed any shot at establishing what new offensive coordinator Al Saunders said is an offense based on rhythm and tempo.

"When you get down early, you're just trying to make something happen," Bulger said. "We can't be third-and-long because then you're one-dimensional, especially against a defense like the Giants or Philly."

Bulger said effort level was not a factor.

"As long as you know you played your hardest, you prepared your hardest, you're disappointed you lost and you want to beat yourself up. But I can look myself in the mirror and know I couldn't have prepared any better or played harder," Bulger said.

"I think most guys in here did play hard. We didn't play very well, but the guys did play hard."