ST. LOUIS -- There may have been a silver lining hidden somewhere in their 9-7 loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday, but the St. Louis Rams weren't in any mood to look for it.
"Nobody in the locker room is the mood for trying to find the light in the loss," Rams offensive lineman Adam Goldberg said on Monday. "It's time to tighten things up, do what we need to do, and go out and get a 'W.' It's time to get it done, and that's kind of the sentiment around the whole locker room.
"Polish up what needs to be polished up, fix what needs to be fixed and go out and get our first 'W.'"
The Rams are 6 1/2-point underdogs in their home opener against the Green Bay Packers (1-1) at noon Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.
"We were not the same team yesterday that we were the week before," Rams center Jason Brown said. "We're not going to be the same team this upcoming week that you saw yesterday. There is going to be a lot of improvements.
"We're going to come back with our mind focused and ready to practice on Wednesday. We want to get this boat rowing in the right way."
Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo pointed to his offense having three drives of 10 or more plays and his defense holding the Redskins out of the end zone on four drives inside the red zone as signs of improvement.
"I think there were some strides made," Spagnuolo said.
Spagnuolo's message to the players during his team address Monday was about continuing to work hard.
"We should be ... disappointed, but not discouraged," Spagnuolo said. "These are all the things I said to them. 'Be careful not to think just because it was 28-0 a week ago, and this week was a two-point deficit, that it's automatic that we're going to ... it doesn't happen that way. Every week is a new week, and we've got a new challenge this week with Green Bay."
Avery gets vote of confidence
Spagnuolo gave second-year wide receiver Donnie Avery, who has fumbled in each of the team's first two games, a vote of confidence.
Avery fumbled returning the opening kickoff of the Rams' season opener against the Seattle Seahawks.
He fumbled after a catch at the Washington 5, killing a long drive in the third quarter against the Redskins.
"You keep working with him," Spagnuolo said of Avery's problems with ball security. "We always talk about high and tight (with the ball). I love the kid. I love his work ethic.
"Hopefully, the adage that they come and go in bunches is true, and he's gotten them all out of his system."
Playing it close to the vest
Spagnuolo said he wasn't second-guessing his decision to let the clock run out at the end of the first half even though the Rams still had all three of their timeouts.
"It was a 7-6 ballgame at that particular point," Spagnuolo said. "I thought we were playing well, had some really good momentum, and I played it close to the vest. I think I'd do the same thing."
Quick hits
The Rams are ranked 31st in offense and 29th in defense among the NFL's 32 teams.
* James Hall has been credited with the Rams' lone sack of the season on review by the coaching staff.
Both Hall and Chris Long got pressure on Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell in the end zone.
Campbell ended up diving out of the end zone to avoid a safety.
* The Packers lead the NFL in takeaway-giveaway ratio at plus-5. The Rams are tied for seventh at plus-2.
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