Sunday, Nov. 01, 2009

NFL pillow fight of the week: Rams vs. Lions

Teams have total of 1 win in 2009

One team has lost 34 of its last 39 games. The other team has lost 26 of its last 28.

Barring a tie, either the St. Louis Rams (0-7) or the Detroit Lions (1-5) will get rare win today when the NFL's two most downtrodden franchises meet at noon at Ford Field in a game that could have a big impact on who has the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

"We need that first one," Rams quarterback Marc Bulger said. "Even at the start of the season coach (Steve Spagnuolo) was talking about just the first win. Until we get that, we feel like we're in this rut we can't get out of. Once we get that first one, I think the guys will start believing more. It will make work a lot less stressful and more fun."

The Rams have lost 17 straight games, and if there is one team that can understand what they're going through, it's the Lions.

The Lions ended a 19-game losing streak, tied for the second-longest in league history, with a 19-14 win over the Washington Redskins on Sept. 27.

The longest losing streak in NFL history is 26 games by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after entering the league as an expansion team in 1976.

"It's not an overnight process, I think the same as you guys are finding out," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said of turning a perennial loser into a winner. "We want to establish a way of doing things and not deviate from it. You don't want to overreact from one game, to one group of games, to one season."

The Rams go into the game as four-point underdogs, but there's a feeling that this game is more winnable than many of the other games on the first half of their schedule, though Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo won't allow that thought to permeate his locker room.

"Absolutely no difference to be quite honest with you," Spagnuolo said of the game against the Lions. "You get yourself in trouble when you do that, and in years past in this league, I have learned the hard way, both as an individual coach and as a team. The approach is always the same."

The Lions' offensive coordinator is Scott Linehan, who was fired as the Rams' head coach after an 0-4 start last season.

"Scott is awesome," Schwartz said. "He is a proven offensive coordinator in this league and our philosophies meshed right away. You are always a work in progress in the NFL, but our vision here is to be a big physical team that can run the football and stop the run. The philosophy here was totally different in the past, and it takes some changing. Scott fits right into that."

Bulger, who Linehan benched last season, declined to take any shots at his former coach.

"I think the longer you play in this league, you're going to run into guys every week," Bulger said. "Whether it's Indianapolis, Arizona, or Green Bay, you always know guys if you've played for 10 years. It's no different this week."

Rams running back Steven Jackson also took a diplomatic approach to seeing Linehan again.

"I will definitely will say hello to him," Jackson said. "I would just say that I wish him the best in his career and whatever happens after that."

The Lions' offense, which ranks 25th in the NFL, could get a boost this week if both rookie quaterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Calvin Johnson return from knee injuries.

Stafford has missed two games, Johnson one. Stafford has practiced all week, while Johnson was limited participation on Thursday and Friday.

Schwartz said both players will be game-time decisons.

"Certainly the wide out is a big thing right now," Rams defensive coordinator Ken Flajole said of Johnson, who caught 71 passes for 1,331 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. "They've got two good skill guys and they've got a go-to guy with Johnson that is a big, tall receiver as well as having good speed and very confident catching the ball. He's a guy that the offense feels very comfortable trying to get him the ball in critical situations."

The Lions are coming off their bye week, while the Rams will have their bye next week.