By Nick Wagoner

Senior Writer

TAMPA, Fla. - For the third straight week, the Rams had a specific game plan with a specific idea of how to come up with a victory.

 

And, for the third consecutive week, St. Louis seemed to execute that game plan only to come away with a loss.

 

This time, Tampa Bay was the beneficiary of a Rams team that once again was unable to muster enough offensively to get a win. The Buccaneers were pushed around by the Rams’ punishing ground game for most of Sunday’s contest at Raymond James Stadium.

 

But at the end of the day, the scoreboard had Tampa Bay as 24-3 winners as the Rams dropped to 0-3 on the season.

 

“We missed opportunities again,” coach Scott Linehan said. “I know it sounds like a broken record, but the idea is not to miss them.”

 

Perhaps Linehan does sound like a broken record in the aftermath of another disappointing loss, but it’s hard not to considering that the outcome of each of the team’s three games this year doesn’t seem to jive with what the final statistics say.

 

In the first two weeks the Rams had put themselves in position to come up with a victory by getting timely stops and turnovers from the defense and doing just enough offensively and on special teams to be in the mix.

 

“Every week we have had every opportunity to win,” returner Dante Hall said. “It’s not like teams are coming in and dominating us. We have been, in the middle of the third quarter, every game since the season started to go ahead and put teams away or win. It’s frustrating to be in that position and fight and fight and fight and be in the middle of the third quarter and look up and the game is there for the taking and we come in and don’t take it.”

 

This week was a bit different from the first two weeks as it was clear what the Rams’ agenda was from the get go against Tampa Bay. Known for Monte Kiffin’s Cover 2 defense, which features a smallish defensive line and even smaller linebackers, the Rams set out to pound powerful running back Steven Jackson with the smash mouth style of football that helped them win three games in a row to close out 2006.

 

Wasting no time in establishing the ground game, Jackson carried nine times for 33 yards in the first quarter and nine times for 30 in the second.

 

While Jackson wasn’t ripping off major chunks of yards, it was clear that he was wearing down Tampa Bay’s defense and he seemed poise to break loose for some long runs in the second half.

 

Although Jackson was doing his thing between the 20s, the Rams were unable to convert his hard work into points for the third week in a row.

 

“Steven was getting a ton of touches and it was good to see because as the game goes on, he gets stronger,” quarterback Marc Bulger said. “It was working, but unfortunately we still couldn’t put it in the end zone. It’s frustrating.”

 

The reasons for the failure to hit pay dirt were familiar. Much like last week against the 49ers and the opener against Carolina, the Rams had some costly turnovers. Also, St. Louis was shut out on two trips to the red zone, dropping them to two-for-eight inside the opponent’s 20 this season.

 

Perhaps no play in the game summed up the struggles of the offense more than Bulger’s third quarter interception intended for receiver Drew Bennett in the end zone. Against the Tampa 2 defense, Bulger has very clearly delineated options for what he can do as far as pre-snap defensive reads.

 

Against the Bucs, it’s as simple as reading whether they are in Cover 2. If they are in Cover 2, Bulger is to stick with the run or is able to check into a running play. On first-and-goal at Tampa’s 10, Bulger saw an extra defender the box, in this case the safety.

 

That left the 6’5 Bennett in man to man press coverage against Phillip Buchanon, a cornerback much shorter than Bennett. Bulger checked to a pass play.

 

After a quick drop, Bulger floated a pass toward the right corner of the end zone. But along the way Bulger and Bennett had a miscommunication. To the naked eye it appeared Bulger underthrew the pass.

 

In reality, Bulger thought Bennett would run the route 5 yards inside the corner of the end zone with the idea of Bennett simply outjumping Buchanon for the ball. For his part, Bennett thought the play was a fade route and Bulger would throw it to his back shoulder in the corner of the end zone.

 

Instead of a touchdown and a manageable three-point deficit, the Bucs took over and the Rams’ struggles in opponent’s territory continued.

 

“If I can stay close to that guy and knock that ball down, we have a chance for at least a field goal,” Bennett said.  “It’s little things like that that good teams do and we need to figure out how to do that. I don’t there’s any one problem, I think it’s little things like that we need to start focusing on and things can turn our way.”

 

That interception was one of three for Bulger on a day when he posted the lowest quarterback rating of his career at 35.6. Two of those interceptions were in Tampa territory as Bulger finished 17-of-26 for 116 yards.

 

While the passing game wasn’t the offensive focus against Tampa, it struggled to get going when called upon to balance the offense for Jackson. A big reason for that was a patchwork offensive line that was the 21^st starting unit since Bulger took the reins in 2002 and will probably trot out No. 22 next week after a serious knee injury to left guard Mark Setterstrom.

 

In an effort to keep Bulger from getting hit as much as he did against San Francisco, Linehan and the Rams wanted to keep the routes short and get the ball out quick.

 

“We threw it down field a lot last week and our quarterback almost didn’t make it into the locker room,” Linehan said.

 

Even the normally consistent and nearly perfect Jeff Wilkins missed field goals of 42 and 43 yards.

 

While the offense was still searching for a way to breakthrough on the scoreboard, the defense was holding its own for the second week in a row.

 

For most of the game, the Rams’ inability to score was offset by a stingy defense that continued to find ways to get off the field.

 

Safety Oshiomogho Atogwe came up with a forced fumble and recovery that set up the team’s only points and the Bucs managed just 131 yards in a first half in which the Rams had the ball for over 18 minutes.

 

“I thought our defense played great,” Bulger said. “They kept us in the game when we were struggling and unfortunately it’s two weeks in a row where the defense played great and we couldn’t help them.”

 

Eventually, though, the defense appeared to run of gas as it spent much more time on the field in the second half. After gaining 38 yards on nine carries in the first half, Tampa Bay’s running game took over in the second half as it racked up 144 yards on 23 second half attempts with all three touchdowns coming on the ground.

 

“I think we kept them off the field and kept them fresh in the first half and they were able to make plays and keep them out of there,” Linehan said. “The second half we obviously wore down. They were able to execute what they wanted to do, especially in the fourth quarter.”

 

It was the type of execution the Rams had hoped to be able to perform with Jackson wearing down the Bucs. Jackson finished with 30 carries for 115 yards, but the lack of touchdowns eliminated any chance he had of finishing the day with the game in his hands.

 

At 0-3, things won’t get any easier as the Rams travel to Dallas next week for a game against the talented Cowboys.

 

“You have to show your character now,” Jackson said. “If you are a leader you are going to lead and if you are a follower you are going to follow. While I am on this team, I am going to make sure no one quits and we are going to fight.”