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Bright spot for Rams

Posted September 19, 2007 11:00 pm

Hal Pilger

By Hal Pilger

Gatehouse News Service

One positive that came out of the St. Louis Rams' frustrating 17-16 home loss to San Francisco last Sunday was the overall play of rookie nose tackle Clifton Ryan, a fifth-round draft pick out of Michigan State.

"I thought he played about as good as you're going to play," Rams defensive coordinator Jim Haslett was quoted in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "The guy plays 18 plays, has eight tackles, two sacks, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.

"Probably should've played him more."

A lot was asked of Ryan on Sunday because of tackle Claude Wroten beginning a four-game league suspension. Ryan more than met the coaching staff's lofty expectations with his performance.

But he wasn't basking in his success after the game, because the team wasn't successful.

"It felt good, but I would've rather had the victory," the 6-foot-3, 310-pound lineman said. "You know I would give up all those big plays for us to come away with the victory."

Regarding his big plays, Ryan added, "I just want to thank the defensive staff for pushing me in practice every day since I arrived. I thank them for giving me a chance to showcase my skills."

And the 23-year-old believes the Rams showed enough last Sunday to be confident of better times ahead.

"I know this is a hard loss to take," he said, "but at the same time, this is a steppingstone for the rest of the season, because there are 14 games left."

RAMS RIDDLE: Running back Steven Jackson needs 43 rushing yards to move into sixth place on the Rams' all-time rushing list. Who would he pass? Answer below.

GLOVER OPTIMISTIC: Veteran defensive tackle La'Roi Glover believes the Rams are making strides against the running game, an Achilles heel for the team the last few years.

"We did some good things," Glover said. "There is something you can take out of a tough loss like this. We seem to be coming together, and we seem to be making big plays.

"Our young guys are really stepping up and making plays for us."

500 CLUB: The Rams need two regular-season victories to give the franchise 500 in it's history, which includes stints in Cleveland and Los Angeles before their 1995 move to St. Louis.

RAMS HONOR WEHRLI: The Rams honored former St. Louis Football Cardinals star and recent Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Roger Wehrli during halftime of Sunday's game, adding his name to the Edward Jones Dome Ring of Fame.

Wehrli, a former University of Missouri standout who played defensive back 14 years for the Cardinals, collected 40 interceptions and 19 fumble recoveries en route to seven Pro Bowl appearances.

FUTURE HALL RESIDENT: Enhancing his chances to join Wehrli in the Hall of Fame, wide receiver Isaac Bruce turned in a stellar performance Sunday after catching only three passes for 20 yards the week before against Carolina.

Bruce burned up San Francisco's secondary with eight receptions for 145 yards, often beating Pro Bowl cornerback Walt Harris for sizeable gains, including one of 37 yards.

"I'm glad we could get him the ball; he didn't have too many catches last week," said quarterback Marc Bulger. "That's Isaac. I've always said that he's a gamer and one of those guys when you need a catch or a spark, he's always there."

Bruce, with 79 career touchdown receptions, needs two more to pass Art Powell for 17th place on the NFL's all-time TD receptions list.

20-20: The makeshift offensive line the Rams employed on Sunday was the 20th combination the team has used since Bulger took over as quarterback during the 2002 season.

Nevertheless, Bulger recorded the 20th 300-yard passing game (regular season) of his career, throwing for 368 yards against the 49ers.

RIDDLE RESULT: Jackson, with 3,365 rushing yards, is closing in on LesES JOSEPHSON (3,407) for sixth place on the Rams' all-time rushing list.

END QUOTE: Safety COREY CHAVOUS on the goal of the Rams' defense at Tampa Bay: "Next week we don't want to give up any plays. That's the goal."

END QUOTE, TOO: Bulger on coach SCOTT LINEHAN's decision to spike the ball to stop the clock with 1:15 left on Sunday: "We go back and we don't spike, and maybe I throw an interception. You can't play that game. We've just got to start getting ready for Tampa."

Hal Pilger can be reached at (217) 788-1548 or hal.pilger@sj-r.com.

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