The Rams averaged three takeaways per game in preseason play, and that trend continued in the regular season with three takeaways in the opener at Seattle. Not suprisingly, the Rams finished on the plus side of the takeaway-giveaway differential in all five of those games.

But the Rams managed only one takeaway in Week 2 against Washington, and produced no turnovers in last Sunday’s 36-17 loss to Green Bay. In the process, the Rams finished minus 3 in takeaway-giveaways against Green Bay because they two lost fumbles and threw an interception. Kyle Boller’s fourth-quarter interception against the Packers was the first for a Rams quarterback in 93 passes this season.

“We’ve been a little bit lean in that (takeaway) category the last couple games,” defensive coordinator Ken Flajole said. “My experience is they do come in bunches. All of a sudden, one game you don’t get any and the next game you get three or four. So as long as our guys are continuing to go after the football, I think in time it all kinds of evens itself out.”

But this may not be the week the Rams get those “three or four” takeaways. This week’s opponent, San Francisco, runs a low-risk offense and takes care of the football. The 49ers are among six teams in the NFL that have committed two or fewer takeaways this season. Those six teams are a combined 15-3 this season.

COORDINATORS’ CORNER

(Excerpts from Flajole’s and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur’s media sessions Thursday.)

SHURMUR: “I told the guys at halftime (against Green Bay): It’s one block, it’s one pass, it’s one run, it’s one catch. We’ve just got to do it one at a time _ time after time. And strive for that consistency, and I think we’ll break through.”

FLAJOLE (on all the new faces on the roster): “It’s kind of like a wedding reception, right? You go around and shake their hands and you’re trying to remember their names a little bit.”

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

_ Green Bay linebacker Brady Poppinga slammed into Marc Bulger’s right shoulder from the side while Bulger was scrambling to fall on Steven Jackson’s first-quarter fumble. That blow ended Bulger’s day, aggravating an injury that occurred on the previous series.

_ Partly because of Laurent Robinson’s ankle and leg injury late in the first half, which left the Rams with only three healthy wide receivers, the Rams used more tight end sets against the Packers than they had in the previous two games combined. Unofficially, the Rams used 26 two-tight end sets vs. Green Bay _ they had a total of eight two-tight end sets vs. Seattle and Washington.

_ On QB Aaron Rodgers’ four-yard TD scramble early in the fourth quarter, Rams defensive tackle Gary Gibson dropped into coverage. A strange move, considering the Rams had only four defensive linemen in the game at the time and were so close to the goal line. Rodgers ran right through the area vacated by Gibson.