Lack of preseason TDs not a concern to coaches

~ The first team offense has yet to score a touchdown in two games.

ST. LOUIS -- Rams Coach Scott Linehan is confident that his starting offense will find its groove before it's too late, so for now he's only slightly concerned that his starters haven't produced a touchdown in St. Louis' first two preseason games.

Linehan has used his starters sparingly so far, playing them for two series in the opener, then leaving them in for three series Saturday against Houston. Their only preseason points came on a 32-yard field goal by backup kicker Remy Hamilton against the Texans.

"I'm not going to make a big deal out of it," Linehan said. "If it happens in the first two [regular-season] games, then I'll be a lot more worried about it."

He pointed to several long plays the Rams' first-team offense had against the Texans' first-team defense on Saturday. Marc Bulger hit Torry Holt on an 18-yard pass, then found Aaron Walker for a 25-yard gain to help set up Hamilton's field goal. Bulger later connected with Holt again on a 15-yard completion.

The Rams consider any pass of more than 16 yards or any rushing gain of at least 12 yards as an "explosive" play. Linehan said just because the deepest penetration was to the Texans' 14 yard line does not mean the offense is in trouble. Through the first two games, he says he counted nine explosive plays by the first-teamers.

Offensive coordinator Greg Olson said the starters are getting a better handle on the new offense that came with the new coaching staff. He said that tempers any concerns he might have over their lack of touchdowns thus far.

"We certainly would have liked to come away with touchdowns and it hasn't happened," he said. "At this point, it's not a concern just because of the amount of times in practice we've mounted scoring drives. We'll continue to work on it, we'll continue to emphasize it and hopefully we'll put it together here in the next couple of weeks."

Throughout the preseason, the Rams coaches have emphasized the importance of the running game in their offense. But with all the fullbacks out with injuries and star offensive tackle Orlando Pace sitting out Saturday's game with minor injuries to his right ankle and knee, the running game struggled against Houston.

Running back Steven Jackson gained only 10 yards on four carries, with seven of those coming on one attempt.

"We're coming along and we've got to get it fixed," center Andy McCollum said. "We have the guys who will take it upon themselves to fix the mistakes that they made. That includes me."

The key, Linehan said, is to improve execution when in scoring position. When the offense fixes its execution problems, the touchdowns should come.

"It's been one of those things that we've been talking about," Linehan said. "We need to do a better job in executing when we have it down there and that will be the difference. We'll look to see that improvement in the next couple of weeks, get that shored up before the first game."