Rams' offense ranks last in league after dismal showing

ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Rams paid more attention to the offense in the offseason, changing quarterbacks, going young on the offensive line and drafting running back Todd Gurley.

Now, if they can just get some production.

Coach Jeff Fisher accentuated the positive Monday a day after the Rams lost 12-6 to the Steelers.

"We are a few plays away from being 3-0," Fisher said. "You have to approach it that way."

The pessimistic viewpoint is the Rams (1-2) are a handful of plays away from being 0-3. Fisher added he has "complete confidence" in his team, which is the youngest in the NFL but has plenty of experience, too.

The defense reached the top 10 this week, checking in at No. 9 after getting five sacks on Ben Roethlisberger and Steelers backup Michael Vick. Middle linebacker James Laurinaitis became the franchise's leading career tackler, passing Merlin Olsen.

"I think we did a great job," end Robert Quinn said.

The bottom line on offense is dismal.

They're last in total offense, 29th in rushing and 28th in passing. They've struggled on third down the past two games, going 4 for 22, the biggest reason they've had 16 points in that span after an impressive debut overtime victory over Seattle.

And they've got to find some answers despite a rough schedule stretch. They're on the road the next two weeks at Arizona and Green Bay.

"Sometimes there's growing pains," Foles said. "We can't get down on it."

Fisher won't blame rookie linemen Rob Havenstein and Jamon Brown for failures in the running game and in pass protection and said tackle Greg Robinson, the No. 2 overall pick last year, had one of his better games, and center Tim Barnes also earned praise.

"It's hard to say a player plays well on offense when you score six points, but when you look at the individual efforts I thought Timmy got his job done," Fisher said.

The coach praised quarterback Nick Foles, saying he "made a lot of great throws," and absolved Foles of much blame on the interception by Will Allen late that led to the Steelers' last field goal.

Fisher said there was a wide receiver who failed to carry out a route that might have drawn Allen elsewhere.

"Oftentimes when there are balls that are intercepted there's more involved than just the throw," Fisher said. "There's routes that need to be run correctly and pushed down the field. So go look [at the video]."

Gurley had 14 snaps in his pro debut and Fisher said the workload will increase this week at Arizona. Finally, the question of whether Gurley will play is off the table.

"I felt like I still have the explosiveness," Gurley said. "Definitely didn't get to show it today."

Looming large were three dropped passes, including a potential long touchdown catch by Lance Kendricks that the tight end said he lost in the lights, and ill-timed penalties.

Two false starts pushed the Rams back from the Steelers 7 and they settled for a chip-shot field goal in the fourth quarter that cut the deficit to 9-6.

Kenny Britt was by far the most productive player with seven catches for 102 yards, and he almost pulled off a leaping one-handed catch for a first down that would have kept the Rams' final drive alive.

Officials ruled Britt did not have control, and Fisher remained unconvinced that there was "indisputable visual evidence" to overturn a call ruled a catch on the field.

Fisher said referee John Hussey told him, "'Hey, we got it, we put it together and this play's correct,"' Fisher said. "So, you go on."