Rams will try to plug holes against Gore

By R.B. FALLSTROM \ AP Sports Writer

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Frank Gore, come on down.

The St. Louis Rams' beleaguered run defense is next-to-worst in the NFL, allowing seven 100-yard games. Stars like LaDainian Tomlinson and Larry Johnson have found lots and lots of holes, as well as lesser lights such as Maurice Morris and Noah Herron.

Gore's already in the not-so-exclusive 100 club after gaining 127 yards in Week 2, and after bursting to stardom with a franchise-record 212 yards last week, gets his second shot on Sunday. How he fares will no doubt factor into whether the San Francisco 49ers (5-5), who've won three in a row, can keep their midseason surge going or whether the Rams (4-6) can stop a five-game slide.

The Rams probably will be satisfied with limiting the damage, given their track record. They beefed up the defense in the offseason after hiring offense-minded Scott Linehan as the head coach, so far to no avail.

Last week, the Panthers totaled 242 yards rushing and had seven plays of 10 or more yards.

“You can have a bad hole in golf and you still can have a good score,” Linehan said. “In football, it might cost you the game. That's what we've got to eliminate.”

Gore's pretty good at busting loose. He averaged 8.8 yards per carry last week, including gains of 51, 20, 23, 50 and 17 yards, and was second in the NFL with 1,043 yards, only two behind the Chiefs' Johnson heading into this weekend.

The former third-round pick, down-rated because of a history of brittleness, had the Rams' attention before Gore helped beat the Seahawks last week to raise his surprising team into contention in the NFC West.

“I think he's the second-best back we've faced behind LT,” St. Louis defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy said. “The guy runs hard and he's getting better at making guys miss in the secondary.

“What makes him slightly better than LT is he'll run you over.”

Gore's first game against St. Louis produced a career best for yards, which he's since topped three times. If he's expecting another big game, he's not letting on.

“I approach them the same as I would approach Chicago or Minnesota,” Gore said. “Some games they come out and stop the run, but some games they don't.

“I always tell myself that I have to work hard, stay humble, try to be calm and try my best to do whatever it takes to get my team a win.”

Steven Jackson just hopes he gets enough touches to make a difference. The Rams forgot all about the run last week, calling 41 passes and only eight runs in a 15-0 loss to the Panthers.

St. Louis' feature back is well-rested after gaining a season-low 27 yards on seven carries. Linehan and offensive coordinator Greg Olson both admitted abandoning the run too early and vow it won't happen again.

Last year, in a situation like this Jackson might have demanded the ball. This year, he's more diplomatic.

“I'm never at peace,” he said. “I always play with that edge and that chip, which is what I think allows me to come out and play so aggressively.”

“This week, hopefully we'll get things turned back around and put those big numbers up in the running game.”

One of the reasons Linehan ditched the run in the first place is the patchwork nature of his offensive line, minus seven-time Pro Bowler Orlando Pace and center Andy McCollum for the rest of the season. Guard Adam Timmerman was a concern earlier in the week with bruised ribs, although he was upgraded from questionable to probable and expects to start.

Pace, by far, is the biggest loss. This will be the Rams' second game without him, and quarterback Marc Bulger definitely notices the difference after getting sacked seven times by the Panthers.

“I don't think we realized how much we were going to miss him until last week,” Bulger said. “Guys can't bull-rush him and they rarely get around him.

“When you lose a Hall of Fame guy like that, it's definitely going to affect us.”

In any case, the Rams might need more than a revived Jackson to hold off the 49ers given the opposite directions in which the teams are trending. The Rams' losing streak is their longest since an eight-game skid in 1997 and second longest since the franchise moved to St. Louis in '95.

San Francisco has allowed an NFL-high 265 points, but only 30 in the last 3 1/2 games. The 49ers are at .500 at the latest point in a season since 2003, and one more victory would match their victory total for the last two seasons combined.

The 49ers have won the last three over the Rams in a rivalry that has survived even after the Rams' move to the Midwest.

“It's another opportunity for us to take a big step in this division,” quarterback Alex Smith said. “We're really looking forward to the chance to keep this momentum going and see where we can end up.”