They're 0-2, but maybe the Rams are being overanalyzed

The 0-2 start by the Rams has been blamed on everything from Mike Martz's arrogance to Kurt Warner's thumb.

But maybe after three years at the top, the Rams are sliding back because that's what good teams do in a league with no dynasties. Is it possible that even though they've managed the salary cap as well as anyone, they're feeling the effects of losing some players?

"It happened to us in Buffalo," Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy wrote on NFL.com this week. "We'd lose two or three guys, but we'd still be a darn good team. Then we'd lose two or three more and finally it began to take its toll."

Martz bungled the opening loss in Denver when he passed up a tying field goal late in the third quarter to go for a touchdown. The play failed, the Rams lost their momentum, and the Broncos regained theirs and went on to win 23-16.

After losing to the Giants, Martz, typically, blamed the officials. Yes, there was one play when a whistle blew early, negating Kerry Collins' fumble, but that's the way things go in the NFL. It evens out.

He also took the blame for running left on a fourth-and-1 late in the game because he forgot left guard Tom Nutten was out with an injury and Heath Irwin (Hale's nephew) was in.

But suppose he'd run to the right? That's where Michael Strahan, probably the league's best defensive lineman, was playing head up on John St. Clair, the Rams' very inexperienced and shaky right tackle.

Think beyond one play. Maybe what's happening to the Rams is happening because of their free-agent losses -- you don't have to lose a star to backslide a bit.

St. Clair is starting because Ryan Tucker took Cleveland's money. Middle linebacker London Fletcher is in Buffalo, and Az-Zahir Hakim, the third wide receiver, went to Detroit.

Terrence Wilkins, picked up to replace Hakim, has yet to catch a pass, and both the Denver and New York secondaries were able to play tighter without a third deep threat.

"We tried to do too much with him," Martz said of Wilkins, who has had trouble learning the complex offense. "We just put too much on the poor guy."

There's also the Warner factor. After two games, his quarterback rating is 81.8, exactly 20 points lower than his career ranking.

Maybe that has to do with the absence of Hakim. Or with the defenses he's faced -- the secondaries of both the Broncos and Giants were outstanding against him. Warner says both teams caused him to audible out of deep passes that had been called.

But there are lingering questions about the thumb he hurt last season.

He says it's fine, but his throws don't have as much zip. The final throw of last week's game, intercepted by Will Peterson, was both errant in direction and lacked speed.

There's no reason to write off the Rams, although they've now lost the last three games that count, plus all four of their exhibitions this year. Remember that Denver is a good team that's very tough at home, and that the Giants lost in St. Louis by a point last year in a game they could very easily have won.

The way the Rams played in 1999 and 2001, they might be able to go 14-2. But these Rams could start 0-3. They play Monday night in Tampa Bay. which has beaten them two years in a row in Monday night games.

It happens to everyone else. Why not St. Louis?