One thing the last three weeks of Rams football has shown is that the team's problems are a lot deeper than the head coach.

There was a momentary period of optimism after Jim Haslett was named to replace Scott Linehan following an 0-4 start, games that were lost by a combined score of 147-43.

But the past three games, including Sunday's 35-16 loss to San Francisco, have reverted back to that beginning.

In three losses to Arizona, the Jets and the 49ers, the Rams have been outscored 116-32, and each game has essentially been over by halftime, with the Rams trailing by a combined score of 99-10. In the past two games, they have been behind by a total of 75-3 after two quarters.

Each game has featured brutal stretches of play where turnovers created poor...

After Shaun Hill flung himself across the goal line to score the third touchdown in the 49ers' 28-point second quarter, he flipped the ball to center Eric Heitmann for the celebratory spike. Humbled and educated by several seasons as a backup, Hill just doesn't see himself as an extraordinary Joe -- even though Joe Montana is the only other San Francisco quarterback who ever did what Hill...

They are 675 pounds of men in the middle, two massive human detour signs that force running backs in another direction. Nose tackles Kris Jenkins of the New York Jets and Vince Wilfork of the New England Patriots are there to make sure much smaller players get stopped soon after they take a handoff. Two huge men -- the relatively svelte Wilfork is about 25 pounds lighter -- with a big job.