The St. Louis Rams' run of seasons not finishing over .500 is on pace to continue this season. The team sits at 3-5 coming off their bye last week, and the march toward respectability won't get any easier this weekend, when they face the NFC West-leading San Francisco 49ers. A win would rekindle hope and likely launch them much higher in the SB Nation Power Rankings, where this week the Rams are near the bottom at No. 29.

NFL Editor Joel Thorman cites Rams blog Turf Show Times' piece on new general manager Les Snead's scouting as a sign that the team could be heading in a positive direction, but this season, the Rams have continued to disappoint:

"29. St. Louis Rams (LW: 28, 3-5): The Rams new GM is doing these a little differently this year, which is a good thing. Not finishing over .500 in nearly a decade is a bad thing."

Thorman likes the Rams less than other prognosticators across the Web. NFL.com put St. Louis at No. 25 in their weekly Power Poll. But that's not as high as CBS Sports' Pete Prisco, who puts the Rams at No. 23 in his rankings:

"Coming off the bye, their second half will be about building for next season. They're playing a lot of young players, so it makes sense."