There’s never an excuse for a lack of effort, and so in wake of the 47-3 loss to the NY Jets, there’s no reason to give the Rams any benefit of the doubt. Or empathy.

Not when they lose this game by 44 points after being down 40-0 at the half …

40-0! It’s beyond belief. And we have a new entry for one of the worst performances by a team in STL’s NFL history.

And that’s really saying something.

The Rams didn’t put their heads or their hearts into this game, and the unwillingness to compete was a blow to head coach Jim Haslett. When Haslett took over for Scott Linehan, the team initially responded to the coaching change, and it was invigorating for a few weeks.

But on Sunday the Rams tanked it under Haslett, just the way they did in the first four games for Linehan.

This game at the Meadowlands looked a lot like the season-opening surrender at Philadelphia.

The Jets came out on their first possession and just plowed the Rams under with an 8-play, 80-yard TD drive that established dominance. The Rams front seven offered no resistance. They just didn’t man up. There is no other way to put it. The Jets just did whatever they wanted to do with the football in the first half, and finished the game with 206 yards rushing, averaging 4.8 yards per carry.  The defense did not stand up to the Jets’ attack. It caved in.

The Rams offense was buried under, too. The offensive line didn’t compete, and got tossed around, and that set up the predictable disaster. This line is stocked with players who should be better than they are. Tackles Orlando Pace and Alex Barron are first-round draft picks. Right guard Richie Incognito was a No. 3 pick. The Rams gave a pile of free-agent dollars to left guard Jacob Bell. Only center Nick Leckey came here as a retread type of player. I don’t think what we’re seeing up front has as much to do with talent as it does with competitiveness.

In the last three games, all losses, the Rams have rushed 63 times for 196 yards, or 3.1 per carry. That doesn’t include scrambles by the QBs. And on the other side, Rams defenders can’t stop the run.

When you consistently get your tail kicked in the pit on both sides of the ball, there’s not much to work with.

This is an incredibly soft team, one that’s rotting to the core.

These players didn’t want to play for Linehan.

Now, at least on Sunday, they didn’t show up for Haslett.

So who, exactly, do they want to play for? What will inspire them?

Money hasn’t motivated them, that’s for sure. Many of the biggest contracts handed out by Rams management have resulted in a tremendous waste of money. QB Marc Bulger has gone into the tank after signing a big deal. They’ve gotten little out of Steven Jackson after he inked his large deal. Bell so far is a bust. WR Torry Holt can’t run away from defenders any more, and is no longer worth the money he’s receiving. WR Drew Bennett is one of the worst FA signings in NFL history. The loose defense has several guys who haven’t produced to the level of their contracts, and that list includes MLB Will Witherspoon, OLB Pisa Tinoisamoa, DE Leonard Little and SS Corey Chavous.

And don’t get me started on all of the bad draft picks — I’ll save that for another time. But looking at some recent No. 1s, eternally injured CB Tye Hill is a total flop to this point, and I don’t see much from DT Adam Carriker that gets me fired up. And you could probably find a guy on the street who could get more done at TE than Joe Klopfenstein, a 2nd-round washout.

It’s easy to bash the coaches all of the time, but when you have so many players who are weak competitors, the only solution is a complete overhaul. The only way the Rams will find their way back is to clean out the locker room, and rid themselves of a mentality that’s been contaminated by losing.

Since Derek Stanley’s long catch-and-run for a TD early in the Arizona game, the Rams have been outscored 81-9.

That’s right: 81-9.

(Sidebar: I’ll offer a contrast: the Kansas City Chiefs aren’t a talented team, but at least they battle. As I type this I’m watching the Chiefs on the road at San Diego right now, and I don’t know how the game will turn out, but the Chiefs are giving the Chargers a helluva game. At least they’re playing instead of quitting).

Haslett can help the situation by identifying competitors and given them an opportunity. I don’t care where they were drafted, or if they’re too young, or if they’d be taking the place of a more expensive player. It doesn’t matter.  Play the competitors.

Trent Green, for example, at least approaches the game with energy and will go down fighting. Is he the long-term answer at QB? Of course not. And his second-half numbers were Bulger-like. Green also threw an awful INT. But the offense did respond to Green, and the Rams did move the ball, and there was a spark.  For that reason alone, I can’t imagine why any coach would stick with Bulger at this point.

Bulger looks like he’d rather be standing anywhere except a football field. In his last eight quarters, Bulger has completed only 30 of 66 passes with 4 INTs and 2 lost fumbles. I know that Bulger doesn’t have the benefit of a strong line, or a respectable running game. He’s up against it. He can’t do it alone. I know. But this is largely a game of will, a game of attitude and edge. And after a brief revival against Washington and Dallas, Bulger has backed up again. He just doesn’t compete — not the way he should be as a leader of the team.

(Sidebar: I hear talk-show hosts, those comical Bulger apologists, wanting to always link Bulger’s poor play to the absence of the injured Steven Jackson. And obviously, when Jackson has a good game, it’s going to help the QB. But here’s a memo to you boys: since the start of the 2005 season, the Rams are 18-32 when Jackson plays. This isn’t exactly a game-changing, franchise-changing back.)

Those who don’t compete shouldn’t start, or play.

Playing time should be earned .

(Sidebar: Hah! It just occured to me that this would leave the Rams with about 12 players, give or take a few … but you get my point).

After the murder at the Meadowlands, a frustrated Haslett alluded to his roster and said: “Either they don’t want to do it, or they’re not good enough to do it.”

The problem is the Rams have too many players in both categories.

That’s why they are 5-20 since the beginning of the 2007 season.

-B