Every given Sunday: Another unbeaten team for St. Louis

ST. LOUIS -- The schedule has done zero favors for the one-win St. Louis Rams, the first team in NFL history to draw unbeaten opponents in three straight home games.

Good luck parlaying fresh legs off the bye week and a two-week buzz from their lone victory now that the prolific New Orleans Saints are coming to town. New Orleans (8-0) was a two-touchdown favorite to follow the script of the Colts (42-6, Week 7) and Vikings (38-10, Week 5) and give the Rams another reason to lose faith in the home-field advantage.

"You definitely don't want to play a team like New Orleans every week," Rams quarterback Marc Bulger said. "They're going to get their points, it's as simple as that.

"So we have to find a way to keep up with them."

Since moving to St. Louis in 1995, the Rams (1-7) are 6-2 at home coming off the bye week. In 2007 they beat the Saints on the road after the bye for their first victory after an 0-8 start.

Useless, ancient statistics.

"That was two years ago," Bulger said. "If you look around this locker room, there are not too many guys left that were on that team."

Extra time to prepare? Rookie coach Steve Spagnuolo worries it wasn't enough to get ready for the NFL's No. 1 scoring offense, and scoffed at Saints comments that indicated they haven't been at their best lately.

"I don't know if anybody ever figures them out," Spagnuolo said. "That's a compliment to them and scary for the rest of the league that they can play better."

The Saints average 37.9 points and have scored 30 or more points the last four games to match a franchise best. They're 8-0 and one win shy of tying the franchise record for consecutive victories because to this point they've been able to overcome mistakes with sheer firepower and by forcing their opponents into a league-high 24 turnovers.

Drew Brees leads the NFL in passer rating and has 17 touchdown passes; he's also the league's best in the fourth quarter. Seven Saints have scored three or more TDs.

Last week all those tools helped erase an early two-touchdown deficit caused by two turnovers in a 30-20 victory over the Panthers. New Orleans has a plus-8 turnover differential, tied for third best in the NFL, which is the biggest reason it's perfect after going 4-4 halfway through last season.

"We've been lucky up to this point because we've gotten some turnovers of our own," Brees said. "It just makes you think about how good we could really be if we take better care of the football and end up scoring points on those times where we're giving it away."

After coming from behind to win the last three games, the Saints have entered a softer portion of their schedule. The next two opponents, the Rams and Bucs, are a combined 2-14.

Six more wins after that, and they can match the Patriots' perfect 16-0 regular season in 2007. That talk is for later.

"The thought has crossed my mind, but it's not something that I ever think more than about two seconds," Brees said. "They're not going to walk in the stadium and throw up the white flag when they play us.

"In fact, it's the opposite. I think we're going to get everybody's best performance, everybody's best game."

Saddled with the NFL's most feeble offense (9.6 points), one of the most porous defenses (27.6 points) and a minus-7 turnover differential, the Rams have yet to come close to that standard.

Before its bye, St. Louis ended a 17-game losing streak with a 17-10 victory over the one-win Lions on Nov. 1. The Rams' top scoring game is 20 points in an overtime loss at Jacksonville, while the Saints' lowest output is 24 points against the Jets.

Still, they vow not to take this one lightly.

"They've played against some really good teams and some really good offenses, and have been put in some tough spots with short fields and that kind of stuff," Brees said. "I just know they're going to have a great plan for us."

The Rams' best hope likely is ball control with an offense centered around bruising Steven Jackson and a much improved line. Jackson is tied for third in the NFL with 784 yards rushing and fourth in the league with 970 yards from scrimmage, plus he's coming off his best game of the year, dragging Lions tacklers for 149 yards and rambling 25 yards for the deciding touchdown.

"He's a tremendous worker, he's big and strong, he's got great speed and he's an exceptional player," Payton said. "He's certainly one of the elite players in this league."