Winless, battered Rams face a monumental task

ST. LOUIS -- It's a long way up for the St. Louis Rams. As one player termed it, they've dug a hole and are hoping it's not a grave.

The defending NFC champions are 0-4, doubling their loss total from last year, after Sunday's 13-10 upset loss to the Cowboys. It's the worst start for the franchise since the 1963 team started 0-5 en route to a 5-9 finish.

The statistics seem to suggest the Rams, who have been to the Super Bowl two of the last three years, now belong at the bottom of the pile.

Or, as Marshall Faulk put it, "The plot thickens."

-- The offense, once a smoothly-oiled unit, is now in tatters. MVP quarterback Kurt Warner is out 8-10 weeks with a compound fracture of the pinkie finger on his throwing hand, and he left in the first quarter Sunday after throwing his eighth interception to go with a single touchdown pass. Jamie Martin, in his eighth season, will get his second career start Sunday at San Francisco.

-- The Rams' minus-7 turnover ratio is tied for next-to-last in the NFL. They've thrown an NFL-high nine interceptions and their total of 13 giveaways is ahead of only the Vikings (15).

-- The defense is allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete 73.6 percent of their passes. Quincy Carter had four completions in the final 1:27 to set up the game-winning 48-yard field goal by Billy Cundiff.

-- Kicker Jeff Wilkins, often their ace in the hole, has already missed three kicks in seven attempts. That includes the potential game-winning 49-yarder against the Cowboys that hit the right upright with 1:27 to go. Wilkins has gone shoeless for the first time in his career this year, heavily wrapping his foot, although Martz doesn't believe that's the reason he's misfiring.

"There is something that will help him," Martz said. "I don't want to discuss it in the media. There is another issue that has crept up and I think we can resolve this pretty easily."

On the other hand, the Rams have been in position to win all four of the games before shooting themselves in the foot.

"It seems like I stand here and tell you that every week, but it's true," coach Mike Martz said Monday. "We get in a position to make a play here and there that'll make a difference and for whatever reason we just fail to make that play."

Martz isn't faulting the effort, just the execution.

"They're playing hard, they're flying around trying to make plays, but we've got some mistakes," he said. "These guys press an awful lot now, trying to get a win."

He insists he's not second-guessing himself, benefiting from weekly chats with former Rams coach Dick Vermeil, who tells him to keep his chin up. He also has occasional conversions with the Patriots' Bill Belichick and the Broncos' Mike Shananan.

"Dick encourages me all the time, he's been tremendous," Martz said.

Publicly, at least, players have circled the wagons. There's been no finger-pointing in the locker room.

"A lot of people have said a lot of things and there are so many theories out there why the Rams aren't winning," offensive guard Adam Timmerman said. "But the guys in this room, we're fine and we're just going to keep fighting."

To make the playoffs for the fourth straight season, the Rams will have to buck some long odds. The 1992 Chargers are the only team in NFL history to rebound from an 0-4 start and get to the postseason.

Martz said it's premature to be talking that way, not to mention counter-productive. Now more than ever, he said, the team has to in one-game-at-a-time mode.

Players say the solution is simple.

"No one in here is expecting any pity or any pats on the back or any sympathy calls from anybody around the league or any of you guys," Faulk told reporters after the Cowboys loss. "We've got to go out there and kick butt."