It was thought Hill might be able to play against Arizona on Nov. 2, but the knee gave him trouble in practice that week and it had to be drained the day of the game. He hasn't practiced since and has missed five games.

Coach Jim Haslett said, "There's still fluid on the knee, he has a bone bruise and the fluid's going to have to get out of there and he's going to have to keep rehabbing it, hopefully no more than this week and he gets out there and starts playing.

Referring to the games he's missed, Haslett said, "He needs to get on the field. He's missed already four games this year (actually five); he missed eight games last year. He's missing too much time."

--RB Kenneth Darby fumbled twice against the Jets, which earned him a benching in the second half. When he didn't fumble, Darby showed some spark, with runs of 13 and 14 yards.

During the team's running after practice Wednesday, Darby was holding a football.

Asked if Darby fumbled during practice, Haslett said, "He didn't fumble. I saw him holding the ball when he was running his sprints. That was good. I like the kid. The kid's actually a pretty good running back. I thought the limited time he was in there he did pretty well running, but he has to hold onto the ball."

Was it Darby's idea to do that or yours, Haslett was asked. "No," he said. "That wasn't mine, it was the running backs coach (Art Valero)."

BY THE NUMBERS: 57 -- Combined receptions this season for Rams WR Torry Holt and 49ers WR Isaac Bruce, who spent 14 seasons with the Rams until being released in the offseason. Holt has 33 receptions for 352 yards (10.7 average) and two touchdowns, while Bruce has 24 catches for 411 yards (17.1 average) and four touchdowns.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I really don't change one way or the other, win or lose; I'm kind of always the same. If we won 14 in a row, I'd probably be the same as I am right now. If we'd lost 14 I'd be the same, I'd probably be ticked off that we're losing and I'm not happy about it, but I don't think you coach through anger. That's not the way you coach. You coach as a teacher and if I'm going to teach and I'm mad at a class or something for something they did, I'm not going to be up on the board screaming and yelling at them, you still have to go out and do your job, teaching them, trying to do your best, they are what they are. You have to coach them and try to put them in the right spots and know their strengths and know their weaknesses and try to take advantage of it. For me to be upset, yeah you're upset that you lost the game, but angry, I don't know about that." -- Coach Jim Haslett on how he handles his anger after losses.