The St. Louis Rams (0-3) are still looking for their first win of the year as they head west to take on the San Francisco 49ers.  The Rams will be without their starting quarterback Marc Bulger, who bruised the rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder in the first quarter last week.  Kyle Bulger will be starting in place of Bulger and it will be his first start since December of 2007.  The Rams also lost receiver Laurent Robinson for the year with an ankle fracture.  The 49ers are also missing one of their best players, as running back Frank Gore is out with an ankle injury.

The Rams are going to rely heavily on Steven Jackson, as he has had a great year so far for the Rams.  Whether it’s on the ground or through the air, Jackson is the biggest threat on offense for the Rams.  Although Jackson is without a touchdown, he has rushed for 288 yards on 60 carries (4.8 avg) and in the past two games he has caught nine passes for 61 yards.  Kyle Boller hooked up with tight end Daniel Fells for two touchdowns last week, but he also threw an interception and really struggled to keep a rhythm in the second half.

The Rams have one of the worst run-defenses in the league and are lucky Frank Gore will be sitting this one out.  Rookie Glen Coffee will start for the injured Gore and has not been very good thus far.  He will be better than his 1.8 yard per carry average though and 49ers coach Mike Singeltary said he is not going to change the game-plan and is confident in Coffee’s abilities.  If the rookie settles in, the Rams will be in trouble.  The Rams have a good opportunity to win this game with Gore out and if Boller can play more consistent and complete a better percentage of his passes (51% last week).  The 49ers are the better football team though and should win this game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Rams 17, 49ers 27