Self-inflicted wounds: Random Ramsdom, 9/20

Yes, the St. Louis Rams are still mired in the rebuilding process. Big holes take a while to dig yourself out of, and the lack of talent is all too apparent. But at some point, all that fades into the background. Steve Spagnuolo's group had a very winnable game against Oakland this week.

A poor opening drive in the first half looked to be an exception. Daniel Fells juggling grab of a pass to put the Rams on the 5-yard line spoke to what players and coaches had been telling the public about this team: that these guys would play their best football and go hard for 60 minutes. The next two plays foreshadowed a second half that was vintage Rams, Zygmunt-esque football, as Bradford failed to the throw the ball away on a sack that put the Rams back 13 yards and Josh Brown missed a 36-yard field goal. 

Mistakes bury teams that lack talent. Third-and-15 might as well be third-and-50 when your top receiver is Mark Clayton...and your blockers aren't blocking well...and, well, you get it. The Rams handed themselves a loss this week, out-coached by Tom Cable and outplayed by Bruce Gradkowski. It was uglier than last year's losses because you expected better this year. 

Let's get to some links...

Injuries...most serious of all, Craig Dahl suffered what looked to be a concussion, after looking like a one man wrecking crew. The guy has proven to be a real spark plug for the Rams defense, and I hope that he can get back on the field ASAP, though concussions are a tricky matter. 

TEs Daniel Fells and Billy Bajema both suffered knee injuries that are not thought to be serious. They'll be evaluated today, along with Rodger Saffold, who suffered a back injury (though he did return to the game) and DT Darrell Scott twisted an ankle. 

Cs and Ds all around on the Rams report card from the PD, well deserved I might add. 

Mike Sando calls the Oakland loss "troubling."