Another Sunday bloody Sunday.

A Giant 41-13 kicking of the Rams backside, this time.

Let’s get to it, in the old Stream of Consciousness style:

– OK, I don’t think No. 5 Missouri could play the Rams and win. When peeps say that Mizzou would beat the Rams, it’s an easy joke, and I laugh at it, too.  But there’s a big difference between college and the NFL in terms of athleticism and size.

– But I tell you what: I don’t think the Rams’ defensive backs have a chance to shut down Jeremy Maclin, Chase Coffman, Tommy Saunders, Jared Perry, Danario Alexander and the other Mizzou receivers. No way. So at the very least, Missouri piles up some passing yards.

– By the way, just wondering what you think — and buddy Bryan Burwell dissented and shot it down as soon as we started yapping about it in the Ed Jones Dome press box: but what about Gary Pinkel as coach of the Rams in 2009?  I don’t think there’s much chance of that happening, and I don’t think it’s a particularly good fit, though I’d like to see the Rams have an offense again at some point. It’s one of those things that’s fun to talk about.

– Memo to Al Saunders: less Dante Hall, more Torry Holt. Holt makes plays. The Rams need to make plays. Thank you.

– So when did the (baseball) Cardinals turn into the Rams? Lookit, I know the team is damaged by injuries, and worn down, and probably demoralized…. but getting swept by a hideously bad Pirates team? Please. I’d hate to see this Cardinals team completely fall apart and end up with a losing record. They played admirable baseball for much of the summer, and I don’t want to see this team go into the tank.

– OK, back to Hall: what is the infatuation with him from Rams coaches? Hall has lost his speed. He isn’t a game-breaking force any more. Which means (1) he’s little threat as a return man; (2)  he can’t stretch the field as a receiver; (3) he can’t make guys miss after he catches those short passes and turns upfield.

– It is absolute football insanity to be playing Hall over those fast, promising rookies — Keenan Burton and Donnie Avery.  Let the kids play. They should be out there instead of Hall, instead of Dane Looker. I don’t care how many mistakes they make. You’re getting your tails whipped with these old, slow, non-threatening wideouts. What’s the point? Go with the youth, go with the upside. This team has had so many awful drafts, you’d think they’d want to play a couple of kids who possess such exciting potential.

– It’s ugly for the Jim Haslett defense: two games, an average of 36 points and 482 yards allowed. Through the air, they’ve been plundered for six touchdown passes, a 67.4 completion percentage, 674 yards, six TDs, and a passer rating of 129.1. Ouch.

– To that, CB Tye Hill insisted that “everything’s fine” in the secondary … and just to think, this team actually traded their chance to draft Jay Cutler and swapped places with Denver to take Hill.

– But back to Haslett: we all beat up on HC Scott Linehan because the team won’t play for him, but what’s up with Haslett’s guys? Why is this unit so lame, so lax? I was fired up when the Rams hired Haslett as the D coordinator, but his players are tanking worse than any area of the team. It’s ridiculous. I was a Haslett guy, but I just can’t defend him anymore. I know the Giants are the defending Super Bowl champs, but shouldn’t the Rams defense be able to stop something? They allowed 200 yards on the ground, and they were burned for three TD passes. This defense has given up nearly 1,000 yards (963) in the first two games. Unacceptable.

– Memo to the defensive coaches: safety Corey Chavous can’t run. We’ve seen it for more than two years, and Troy Aikman talked about it on the Fox broadcast Sunday.

– On the NFL Network Sunday, Marshall Faulk offered the opinion that Linehan had lost the team.

– Some would say no, that’s not right, the Rams played hard most of the way against the Giants. But you know what? This isn’t the JFL. You don’t get points for playing hard. It’s your duty, your obligation, to play hard. And you don’t get points for playing hard for three quarters, or three and a half quarters. It doesn’t work that way. The Rams packed it in late Sunday, and it was disappointing.

– I realize the Saunders’  offense needs some time to find “rhythm and timing” which is how the Rams’ offensive people like to describe it. But two games, and no trips into the red zone? None at all in eight quarters of football?

– If you’re gonna pay all of that money to Steven Jackson, then you’ve got to give him more than eight first-half carries. That’s what he had vs. the Giants in the 1st half.

– By the way, for those of you out there who wanted to trade Steven Jackson and draft Darren McFadden … I probably don’t have to tell you that McFadden dropped 164 yards rushing on the Chiefs Sunday at Arrowhead.

– Speaking of tired acts, is there a reason why Richie Incognito continues to have an automatic starting job at RG? He’s been terrible in the first two games. He nearly got Marc Bulger crushed in Sunday’s game. The dude is just whiffing on blocks. Get the kid in there, the No. 3 pick, John Greco.

– Nick Leckey at center? That’s the best they can do?

– If Linehan has any sense at all, his credo should be: when in doubt, play the kids. Why go down with guys who already have shown you, many times over, that they can’t play at a high level in the NFL?

– Honest, I don’t know how Bulger has avoided a trip to the hospital emergency room, considering the beating he’s taken in the first two games. He’s been sacked 10 times in the first two games, and that doesn’t even include the hits on his body that don’t result in sacks. In his last 14 starts, Bulger has been sacked 47 times.

* Congrats to Chris Long on sack No. 1 of his NFL career. I like what Joe Buck said about it on the Fox broadcast: “There’s a Hall of Famer with a flat-top haircut watching in a studio and I’m sure he’s beaming.”

– Isaac Bruce had four catches for 153 yards for the ‘Niners in their OT win at Seattle. But hey, he’s no Drew Bennett.  (That’s a cheap shot, I know).

– Brian Leonard: Yet another brilliant draft pick (a second rounder) by the Zygmunt-Linehan regime.

– When Linehan declared “the buck stops here” after Sunday’s loss, it didn’t exactly make me think of Harry S Truman.

– But I can think of a few other Truman quotes that may apply to the 2008 Rams:

* “A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.”

* “America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”

* “Carry the battle to them. Don’t let them bring it to you. Put them on the defensive and don’t ever apologize for anything.”

* “Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.”

* “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”

Thanks for reading…

-B