When asked what he could say to convince Rams fans this is not a bad team, Jim Haslett looked almost incredulous.

"Who would say I want to?" Haslett replied. "It looks pretty bad to me. ... That'd be hard to convince somebody of that."

It was all pretty obvious Sunday in another lame performance by the Rams, 27-3 losers to Chicago at the Edward Jones Dome. Once again, the Rams got absolutely crushed in the first half. Once again, the Rams couldn't stop the run or tackle with any degree of efficiency on defense. Once again, the offense couldn't protect the quarterback or hang on to the Football.

Once again, the Rams served as a Hallmark card to the opposition: Get well soon.

A Chicago team that was gashed for 200 yards rushing last week in a 37-3 loss to Green Bay held the Rams to just 14 - that's no misprint - 14 yards rushing on 19 attempts. Meanwhile, the Bears ran wild.

Rookie Matt Forte became the seventh running back in 11 games to top 100 yards rushing against St. Louis, with 132 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. All told, the Bears rushed for 201 yards, becoming the fourth team to do so this season against a Rams defense on pace to be the worst against the run in franchise history.

Why the poor tackling?

"I can't put my finger on that," cornerback Ron Bartell said. "I mean, what do you see?"

Well, a lot of missed tackles.

"That's what I see," Bartell said. "Same thing. Like 'Has' said, tackling's about a want-to."

There doesn't seem to be much want-to on defense. Take Forte's first TD, a 13-yard run just 1 minute, 55 seconds into the contest. On the play, defensive linemen Clifton Ryan and Victor Adeyanju were blocked out of position, and there was no linebacker to fill the hole.

Or take Forte's 47-yard TD dash 5 1/2 minutes into the second quarter, giving the Bears a 21-0 lead. Middle linebacker Will Witherspoon tried to fill the hole but was blocked out of the way. Strong safety Corey Chavous missed a tackle. And free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe was faked out of his cleats by Forte.

Things weren't any better on offense. A lukewarm Chicago pass rush, which had a modest five sacks in its past five games, got to Marc Bulger and Trent Green five times. Bulger lasted only five plays, leaving with a concussion after being sacked by Adewale Ogunleye on the Rams' first offensive series.

For all those clamoring for Green to replace Bulger, well, Green didn't do much to prove he deserves a start. He completed only 16 of 30 passes and matched his career high with four interceptions. After the fourth pick, Haslett sent out third-stringer Brock Berlin.

"We went through quarterbacks," Haslett said.

And then, in a thinly veiled shot at those who think Bulger is the ROOT of all evil, Haslett told reporters: "Anybody want to see another quarterback?"

Haslett, clearly in his most agitated state since taking over for Scott Linehan, bristled at a question about the team's effort, or lack thereof.

"It had nothing to do with effort," Haslett snapped. "You guys want to bring that stuff up - it had nothing to do with it. ... It's not like we're not trying to win these games. I can promise you that. I thought the effort was all right.

"Execution? Terrible. Tackling? Terrible. You can't get the pre-snap penalties, and you've got to take care of the Football."

In losing their fifth straight game, the Rams (2-9) have been outscored 123-13 in the first halves of their last four games. They trailed 24-3 at the half Sunday and were outgained 267 yards to 62.

But it's not just a train wreck any more in St. Louis. It's an ugly train wreck.

After calling out Rams fans Thursday for poor support, right guard Richie Incognito did nothing to endear himself to the hometown fans. In the second quarter, Incognito was penalized for a false start.

(The Rams were flagged a season-high 11 times for a season-high 85 yards.)

At the end of the game, Incognito's immaturity showed. Before stepping into the tunnel, Incognito cupped his hands to his ears, apparently egging on angry Rams fans to spew more venom his way.

When asked about that incident, Incognito replied with a straight face: "I was just trying to get my butt off the field as quick as possible after that loss."

Some Rams players seem to be in denial, as if expecting fans to throw bouquets at a team that has lost 22 of its last 27 games and been outscored 143-35 in its last four contests.

"You walk out of the tunnel and get booed by your own crowd," linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa said. "You walk back in and get chastised. It's horrible. It's a bad feeling because I've heard the cheers, and watched the '99 films when the crowd was wild. It's definitely disappointing, but it's how they feel."

Is it ever. As Incognito left the field, one of the signs hoisted by a fan above the tunnel read: "Richie, I Don't Cheer For Bums."

Welcome to Rams Football, 2008.