With the Rams getting pulverized 42-6 by Indianapolis, it’s time to update the “race” for the unofficial distinction of being the worst team in NFL history, single season. The Rams are 0-7 this season and have lost 17 in a row, and 21 of their last 23, and are 5-34 in their last 39. That’s quite a resume, but I need to keep the focus on this year, only.

Let’s go:

* Only two NFL teams have gone winless during a season in the modern era: the 2008 Detroit Lions (0-16) and the expansion 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-14).

The Rams have lost their 7 games by an average of 21.5 points.

The Bucs lost their 14 games by an average of 21.4 points.

The Lions lost thair 16 games by an average of 15.3 points.

And the Rams face some competition from two other teams this season.  Tampa Bay, also 0-7, has lost their games by an average of 15.3 points. Tennessee, 0-6, has lost by an average of 19 points.

The Rams are certainly in the hunt. Sunday’s game at Detroit is a big one; it presents a rare opportunity for the Rams to win a game.

* I hope Bradley Fletcher is OK. The Rams rookie cornerback played a terrific game until going out with a knee injury, an apparent hyperextension. Fletcher was on crutches after the game, which isn’t a good sign. The Rams are plenty bad, but they also cannot escape bad luck. Fletcher had five tackles, delivered big hits and was one of the best players on the field, either side. At 6-2 and nearly 200 pounds, Fletcher is rare among CBs because of his size and a physical presence. I can see why Steve Spagnuolo wanted to draft him as a piece for the physical style of play that the head coach hopes to implement when the Rams find better players on defense.

* Can anyone explain to me why WR Tim Carter is on this team and is put into a role that allows him to drop a pass in a crucial situation? What does he bring you? What’s the point? OK, he played for the NY Giants. I get it. Spags likes the Giants. But Carter can’t catch the ball. He can’t get open. He’s got a history of injuries. Other than that, he’s Paul Warfield. I don’t care if the new acquisition, Brandon Gibson, had only two practices this week after coming over in the trade with Philadelphia. Give him a uniform and put him on the field. Go with the talent. If the Rams think Gibson is a player, then get him going. You don’t hold talent back so you can play Tim Carter. Ridiculous.

* Go ahead and rip Steven Jackson. I’m sure his critics will find something to gnaw on. He had 134 yards rushing against the Colts. He has 635 yards rushing in 7 games this season, even though defenses routinely crowd eight or even nine players in the box to crack down on him. He leads the NFL in yards gained after contact. He’s among the top seven for most broken tackles. He’s among the league leaders (top 6) in runs that gain 10+ yards. Let me see if I can find something for the haters: OK, Jackson doesn’t have a rushing touchdown this season, and he occasionally takes himself out of the game to catch his breath. There you go. 

* Jason Smith, say hello to Dwight Freeney. I don’t care that Smith gave up a sack to Freeney in his rookie initiation at left offensive tackle. This team is 0-7, it can’t score points, and there’s no push for the playoffs or a winning season. The remainder of this season should be invested in the future; the coaches should concentrate on playing guys at spots where they belong, or where they may fit, long-term, as this roster evolves. What the hell is this three-man rotation at OT? What is this, a preseason game against the Titans? Rams GM Billy Devaney told me this week that Smith will be the Rams’ LT for “the next 10 to 12 years.” Good. So convince this coaching staff to install Smith at LT and let him develop so he can enter 2010 with meaningful experience at the position. Let the No. 2 overall draft pick take his lessons now so he’ll be ready to kick in as a good player next season. Quit fooling around. Don’t worry about hurting Alex Barron’s feelings.

* QB Marc Bulger doesn’t make many plays. Bulger was bad against the Colts. It isn’t all his fault of course — hardly — but the Rams have scored only 5 touchdowns on offense this season. They have kicked six field goals. I guess it could be worse; Cleveland has scored only 4 TDs on offense. The Rams have turned the ball over five times in the red zone this season, the most in the NFL. Sunday against the Colts, Bulger completed 1 of 5 passes in the red zone, with an INT. One of the incompletions was a drop by Carter. Again: I am aware of the tough circumstances surrounding Bulger. The receivers as a group are weak and the O-line, while better, still has lapses in pass protection. The play calling and use of personnel (read: Carter) is puzzling at times. But Bulger had a chance to make some plays in Sunday’s game, and it didn’t happen. For example: on the 4th down pass that was intercepted in the end zone, Bulger had a receiver open underneath, to his left. (I believe it was a tight end). One-on-one coverage with the LB, and there was separation. An easy first down if Bulger spots the open receiver. Instead, Bulger never looked to his left. He immediately locked on Keenan Burton in the end zone, threw off his back foot and CB Kelvin Hayden made an easy pick. Bulger also made a horribly underthrown pass picked off by Jacob Lacey and returned for a TD. For some inexplicable reason, CBS analyst tried to put some blame on the receiver … HUH? The receiver was covered, Lacey was locked in, and Bulger forced the throw, anyway. And he didn’t get enough on the pass, which gave no one a chance to make a play except for Lacey. I know Bulger is up against it, and I have some empathy, but he has to play better than he did Sunday.  

* After that spiffy flea-flicker pass that resulted in a 50-yard completion on their first series, the Rams passed for only 77 yards the rest of the game. How is this possible in a modern NFL in which teams are rolling up huge passing days all over the league?

* Since he was in town as their guest this weekend, perhaps the Rams should have asked Hall of Fame defensive end Jack Youngblood to stick around for a while and teach some pass-rush moves to Chris Long. Youngblood had 151.5 sacks in his NFL career.

* The Rams secondary continues to get shredded. Peyton Manning (no surprise) was the latest to have a nice and breezy 7 on 7 drill against the Rams defense. He completed 23 of 34 for 235 yards and 3 TDs, without an INT. Over the last four games, the opposing starting quarterbacks have completed 68 percent of their passes against the Rams, for 7.63 yards per attempt, with 6 TDs and 3 INTs for a passer rating of 96.5. Rams CB Ron Bartell, who is supposed to be the best the Rams have, was exploited repeatedly on Sunday and he only got relief after Indy WR Reggie Wayne went out with an injury. Of course, there was no pass rush… again.

* After allowing TDs on the first two possessions, the Rams defense played respectably for a while, at one point forcing four punts on five Colts possessions over the second and third quarters. But the D showed signs of quitting in the fourth quarter, and that’s never acceptable. So I don’t want to hear the usual bromides about the effort.

* Friday, I said that I thought Texas would score more points against Mizzou than Indianapolis would get against the Rams. That looked good for a while, but in the end I was wrong. Indy squeaked out a 42-41 “win” over Texas. It was a rough weekend for defenses in our state. San Diego dropped 37 points on the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Thanks for reading…

-Bernie