Recharged Rams get in the win column

For the first time in a while, St. Louis Rams fans got to
 see their club close to healthy. No surprise then, that the team posted its
 first win of the season.

 The Rams opened the 2007 season with eight straight losses before besting the
 New Orleans Saints -- a team that had won four in a row coming into this past
 Sunday's contest -- by a 37-29 score.

 The Rams' injury list this season has closely resembled a Pro Bowl roster.
 Marc Bulger, Steven Jackson, Isaac Bruce, Drew Bennett, Orlando Pace and
 Leonard Little are among the St. Louis players who have been banged up this
 season. In fact, Pace and Little, along with guards Adam Goldberg and Mark
 Setterstrom, are all on injured reserve, meaning the Rams will never be firing
 on all cylinders this year.

 However, behind a patchwork offensive line, Bulger and Jackson found a way to
 win against the Saints. Bulger, slowed by knee, rib and thumb injuries this
 year, threw for 302 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Jackson returned to
 run for 76 yards and a score. The running back also threw his first career
 touchdown pass, a two-yard strike to tight end Randy McMichael.

 Jackson was returning to the lineup after a bulging disc in his back knocked
 him out early of a loss to Cleveland on October 28. He also missed time
 earlier in the year due to a partial groin tear.

 "We executed better and played better," said Rams head coach Scott Linehan.
 "When everyone plays better, not just an offensive player, but defensively and
 special teams, you just tend to be a little more accurate, a little more
 confident. Your timing tends to be better."

 It can be said with much certainty that such an improvement may not have been
 possible if the game was scheduled for last weekend, when the Rams had their
 bye. Jackson's back probably would have held him out of the contest, while
 Bulger would have been chucking passes with a thumb injury he was instead able
 to rest.

 Also, the break was good for wide receiver Torry Holt, who made eight catches
 for 124 yards versus the Saints. Holt was been bothered by a nagging knee
 injury, though he hasn't missed a game this season.

 The bottom line is that now the Rams can just play the rest of the season. The
 club got a huge monkey off of its back with the win, meaning there will be
 less pressure from here on out.

 "It does give us confidence in that this is a second season for us, an eight-
 game season," said Linehan. "We're focusing on that and not what happened in
 the first eight (games) even though they all count. We count them too."

 The win over the Saints ended the Rams' worst start in franchise history,
 which surpassed the 0-6 start the 1962 Los Angeles-based club went through.
 The Rams also ended their longest slide since the 1991-92 squad dropped 11 in
 a row, including 10 straight to end the '91 season before next year's team
 lost its opener.

 OVERSHADOWED

 Even though it was outplayed by the offense and allowed the Saints to get
 back into things late, the Rams defense still had a good outing on Sunday.

 The Rams held the Saints to just 43 yards rushing and picked off two Drew
 Brees passes in the first half. Linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa and safety
 Oshiomogho Atogwe each posted an interception, and both led to points as the
 Rams built a 17-7 halftime lead.

 Even with the loss of Little, who is on injured reserve due to a toe injury,
 the Rams have stayed mostly healthy on the defensive side of the ball.
 However, the club entered the season with few playmakers, so the defense was
 expected to be a weakness throughout the year.

 St. Louis did turn in a building-block game against the Saints. New Orleans
 came into the game averaging 30.5 points per game over its last four contests
 came into the game averaging 30.5 points per game over its last four contests
 and turned in a 538 net-yard performance against Jacksonville the previous
 week.

 But the Rams held tall, sort of. The Saints did score 29 points and managed
 308 net yards.

 "We knew going into that particular game that we needed to do something to
 take that rhythm away from that offense, because they (the Saints) have had
 and will continue to have extremely good rhythm with their quarterback and
 their receiving corps and number 25 (Reggie Bush), one of the most dangerous
 players in the league," said Linehan.

 "You have to disrupt that," he continued. "You can't just sit back and let
 that transpire. Otherwise you get the same result as the other four opponents
 prior to us."

 STILL WOUNDED

 While the Rams got a healthy Jackson back and a rested Bulger, the club is
 still shy of being 100 percent healthy.

 In addition to the above season-ending injuries to the offensive line, center
 Brett Romberg (ankle) and guard Richie Incognito (knee) were inactive on
 Sunday. Romberg had been playing guard, so Nick Leckey started on the right
 side in is place.

 "Brett Romberg was way too sore in his pregame workout (Sunday) to be cleared
 for the game," said Linehan.

 In addition, Linehan said on Monday that it doesn't appear as if Incognito
 will be able to play again this season.

 Also missing again was wide receiver and kick returner Dante Hall, who again
 was inactive due to a bothersome ankle. Brandon Williams fielded the kicks
 instead.

 Finally, Bruce aggravated his left hamstring injury on Sunday.

 UP NEXT: TWO IN A ROW?

 The Rams stay on the road and resume division play next Sunday against San
 Francisco. The 49ers are 2-7 after getting shut out by Seattle on Monday
 night, meaning a win for St. Louis could help them get out of the basement of
 the NFC West.

 St. Louis lost to San Francisco, 17-16, in Week 2 of the season. Bulger threw
 for 368 yards and a touchdown in the loss, but was sacked six times. It was
 after that game when Linehan said Bulger was suffering from sore ribs, an
 injury that kept him out of a few games this season.

 The Rams lead the all-time series 59-55-2, but San Francisco has won four of
 the last five in the series.

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