It's looking more and more like Kyle Boller will be the Rams' starting quarterback for Sunday's game in San Francisco.

Marc Bulger, who injured his shoulder in Sunday's loss to Green Bay, did not practice Wednesday and has not thrown since the injury. And while the possibility exists that Bulger could practice Thursday, it seems unlikely.

Bulger said his shoulder hasn't gotten worse, "which is good," but also admitted it wasn't noticeably better. Mobility with his arm, and having the ability to make throws, will be the issue more so than pain since he said, "I've played frequently with pain."

Boller, who went to school at the University of California, is relishing the chance to start Sunday, even though it's not yet official. He also is glad to be taking snaps with the first unit, which is something he didn't do last week, before being called on to play when Bulger was hurt at the end of the first quarter.

Asked about being comfortable running the offense, he said, "With me, when you don't take very many reps in practice, I could sit there and say that a certain play I have a five-step drop and actually going out there and not having taken a rep of it, I might take an extra two by accident. It is those little things, the details of fine-tuning everything to where, if I take that five-step and get it out of my hand, it might have been the difference in me putting the ball in front of the guy or behind the guy. It is little things like that that really will make a big difference.

"I don't think it is really unfamiliarity; it is just a matter of taking the details and fine-tuning everything, making sure we are sharp. If it is supposed to be a 14-yard comeback, run it at 14 yards. It is not like a guy forgets that it was a 14-yard comeback, it is just things like that. If I've got to take a five-step drop, take a five-step drop; don't take a seven-step drop. If it is three-hitch and three-plant, do your three-plant. It is just little things like that."

It is also a matter of accuracy. The reality is Boller’s lack of consistent accuracy is why he never ascended as the starter in Baltimore. Some Rams fans have this notion that Boller is a great leader, who gives the team the best chance of winning. Obviously, those people didn’t see much of his career 56.9 completion percentage while with the Ravens.

He is capable of making excellent throws as he did on his two touchdown passes to tight end Daniel Fells last Sunday. He is also quite capable of unleashing passes that have no chance of being completed. Boller throws passes away when he’s not even trying to.

Boller’s two scores Sunday came with the Rams behind by 16 points. But, after the Rams pulled to within one score (23-17) in the third quarter, Boller then had two possessions to put the Rams ahead. He attempted four passes, completing none. After Green Bay scored to make it 29-17, Boller had two more possessions to get the Rams within one score, and completed 2 of 4 passes for one yard and an interception. In those four possessions, the Rams had 47 yards on 15 plays. Boller’s passer rating in the third quarter was 39.6 and it was 30.8 in the fourth quarter. Now, that’s leadership.

Say what you will about Bulger, and the bashers come up with some doozies, but against the Redskins, with the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Bulger completed all four of his passes for 55 yards, including first-down throws of 13 yards on third-and-6, 25 yards on second-and-20 and 13 yards on third-and-4. The only thing that prevented the Rams from taking the lead was a Donnie Avery fumble at the 5-yard line on a play that should have been another third-down conversion.

What about Boller’s mobility, some say. He does have that. But is it coincidence that Boller had 23 yards on two runs in the first half, but only eight yards on two runs in the final two quarters? No, it isn’t. The Packers adjusted to make sure his running lanes were limited, and that contributed to his overall ineffectiveness in the second half.

Sure, Boller might make two nice plays with his legs in a game. But does that make up for numerous inaccurate throws?

We will see Sunday (probably) what Boller is like on the road. Hopefully, it’s better than his last 10 road starts with the Ravens, where the team was 0-10 and he had a passer rating of 59.4. In 20 road starts in his career, he is 5-15, completing 54 percent of his passes with a 63.2 rating.

EARTH TO DAVID
Some are up in arms that Rams linebacker David Vobora was suspended for four games despite his agent’s claim that he called an NFL hotline, read the ingredients on a product’s label, and was told none were banned substances.

Even if true, Vobora made the choice to use a product not certified by the NFL. The league routinely warns players about the existence of products that fail to list certain substances on the label. Vobora decided to take the chance, and lost.

THE QUOTE
Coach Steve Spagnuolo, asked how he keeps his sanity after losing the first three games of the season: "I have a lovely wife who cooks good food and I've got good people around me. I just try and move onto the next game. I know that sounds cliché but it's like I told the team this morning: if we were 3-0 I'd be saying the same thing, that 'Hey it is time to get ready for San Francisco, look at the film, get it out of the way, and move on.' That would be a whole other challenge, but it still comes back to the same thing; you get rid of this on Monday by two or three o'clock and away you go onto the next game."

There was more roster roulette this week. In addition to the suspension of LB David Vobora, the Rams released DT Hollis Thomas and placed WR Laurent Robinson on injured reserve, officially ending his season.

WR Nate Jones, DT Leger Douzable and LB Dominic Douglas were promoted from the practice squad, while DT Marlon Favorite, WR Sean Walker and LBs Justin Roland and Jay Moore were added to the practice squad.

With strong-side LB David Vobora suspended four games, Paris Lenon and Larry Grant are vying for the starting spot. The absence of WR Laurent Robinson could result in Ruvell Martin seeing his first action with the Rams.

The Rams want to get a look at Douzable inside, which is what led to the release of Thomas.