Leak of the week

ST. LOUIS -- In their heyday, the St. Louis Rams made a habit of winning almost every game that was up for grabs.

This year's team has lost five of six after a one-point setback to the Eagles, squandering opportunities left and right and clinching only the franchise's second losing season in the last seven years.

"The teams you're talking about, they're not here anymore," said running back Marshall Faulk. "Nor is the coach, or anything like that. We've got to put that behind us and start rebuilding and start something new here."

Two more games and the Rams (5-9) can begin that process with an expected settlement to release Mike Martz, who has been out most of the year with a heart ailment, from the final year of his contract. In the meantime, they keep springing leaks.

On Sunday, the Rams got an unaccustomed strong showing from a defense that limited Philadelphia to 201 total yards. But they committed 15 penalties for 115 yards, including eight false starts on an offensive line unencumbered by vociferous road fans.

Those jumps, three of them by rookie offensive guard Claude Terrell and two by perennial Pro Bowl tackle Orlando Pace, were enough to infuriate interim coach Joe Vitt on Monday, even after a day to digest the 17-16 loss.

In a news conference that amounted to a 10-minute rant, he threw the entire offensive line under the bus, even though the Rams rushed for 178 yards and a 4.9-yard average and didn't allow a sack.

"I'm not happy with the way our offense is practicing; I'm not happy with the way they're playing," Vitt said. "I think we're high, we're soft, we're not coming off the ball.

"And that's going to change this week in practice."

Terrell, a fourth-round pick, was singled out for criticism. Vitt also blamed him for a failed fourth-and-1 run by Marshall Faulk, a 2-yard loss in perhaps the game's most crucial play late in the fourth quarter.

Vitt said Terrell was supposed to call the blocking scheme on the play. Replays showed a spectacularly botched play with both Pace and tight end Brandon Manumaleuna whiffing on blocks on a left side that was supposed to be cleared for Faulk.

"We did not execute the play properly," Vitt said.

Curiously, he then praised the play of rookie offensive tackle Alex Barron, who returned to the lineup after missing two games after thumb surgery.

"I know his hand was hurting him, he was catching more than punching," Vitt said. "But I was proud of him. I really think he's going to be spectacular."

Vitt also was highly complimentary of Faulk, who had his most productive day of the season with 87 yards rushing after Steven Jackson was hobbled by a hip pointer. Faulk needs 64 yards to pass Jim Brown for eighth on the career rushing list.

"Being around him yesterday, I understand why he's going to the Hall of Fame," Vitt said. "He made some outstanding runs."

Yet, Faulk wasn't on the field for the Rams' final drive. Instead, seldom-used Arlen Harris got the call and received his first three carries of the season for a total of six yards.

Vitt barked at a reporter who asked why, saying "Are you the one from the National Inquirer? The people that have the right to know? The tabloid stuff?"

Vitt said the decision was partly a pass protection issue and partly because Faulk had been winded from heavy duty along with being "half-dinged a little bit." He also said Faulk would have gone back in if the Rams made it past midfield.

Instead, the offense stalled out for the final time at the 44 with a pair of incompletions from Jamie Martin.

"Arlen Harris is our best at blocking big linebackers in nickel protections," Vitt said. "It was the plan for Marshall to go back in again. He was half-gassed, he was getting as much water as he can."