Linehan preaches patience about dull offense

~ St. Louis has scored just one touchdown in its 1-1 start.

ST. LOUIS -- Throughout the preseason, the St. Louis Rams routinely shrugged off their lack of offensive production, insisting that once the regular season began they'd flick on the light switch.

That won't work anymore considering the offense has mustered one touchdown in two games. Just like after the opener, when Jeff Wilkins bailed the team out with a franchise-record six field goals, coach Scott Linehan is pleading for patience.

But it's a tougher sell coming off Sunday's 20-13 loss to the 49ers.

"We're changing an entire culture, not just an offense," Linehan said Monday. "It will take time and it does take time."

Linehan also took a slap at the previous coach. The Rams were 6-10 last year in Mike Martz' final season and haven't had a winning season since 2003.

"The last I checked, there's a whole new coaching staff here," Linehan said. "Not to harp on it, but I wouldn't be here if everything was perfect last year, too."

Linehan joked that if he could have foreseen the stuttering start on offense, "I'd have quit a long time ago."

"Life's funny," he said. "It doesn't always turn out exactly the way you planned. Like I told the players, we've got to do a better job of coaching and guys, you've got to do a better job of playing."

Steven Jackson has a pair of 100-yard games, but that's the only success story on offense. The Rams (1-1) lost for the first time in 40 games with a 100-yard rusher since moving to St. Louis in 1995 because of problems with the passing game.

Quarterback Marc Bulger has no interceptions. He also has one touchdown pass, a 3-yard toss to Torry Holt near the end of the first half on Sunday, and offensive coordinator Greg Olson said Bulger has perhaps been playing it too safe.

"He's probably just thinking a little bit too much," Olson said. "He needs to cut it loose and play."

The offensive line is patched together after losing center Andy McCollum for the season with a knee injury in the opener and tackle Orlando Pace with a concussion on Sunday. Pace will be a question mark for this week's game at Arizona.

The line had problems before Pace was knocked on his head by a bull rush of three or four 49ers on the extra-point kick after the Rams' only touchdown. Bulger was sacked six times, several of the snaps from new center Richie Incognito were low, and even when everything was perfect, it appeared that his timing with wide receivers Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce still needed work.

"We just missed on two or three passes that could have made a major difference," Bulger said. "On one play, I got sacked just as Torry was going to come wide open. That's just so frustrating."

The Rams are hardly alone, given that six NFC teams have scored fewer points. There were five more teams in the AFC below St. Louis' meager 31 points, not counting Monday night opponents Pittsburgh and Jacksonville.

Still, it's frustrating for Linehan. He was hired after a successful run as offensive coordinator with the Vikings from 2001-03 and the Dolphins last season.

Advice is coming from everywhere. Even Kristen Linehan told her husband it can't get any worse.

"It's like my wife told me, you're only going to improve from where you are right now," Linehan said. "She didn't say that to be a smart aleck, I just think it was a pretty keen statement because I really believe that's where we're at, to be sitting here 1-1 and acting like we're in a state of dysfunction on offense."

Linehan disagrees with that assessment. He also disagrees with criticism that he's been too conservative, noting his improvement with the Dolphins last year from 29th to 14th and his work with the Vikings, who were second, first and fourth in the NFL during his three years there.

But he knows better than to promise a quick fix and a barrage of points this week.

"If we hit a couple of plays, we're probably singing a different tune," Linehan said. "But we've missed some opportunities and the accountability falls on the entire offense's shoulders, starting with me."