Rams Are Saying Glass Is Half Full : Pro football: At 3-5, they see headway despite the frustrations of close losses.

Still short of a breakthrough but still suffering late-game breakdowns, the Rams hurtle into the second half of the 1992 season arguing that they have, if nothing else, made a successful break from their recent past.

In three consecutive road defeats, the Rams have lost by three, three and, Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, two points, dragging their record to 3-5 and their road record to 0-5 but leaving Coach Chuck Knox and his players confident that improvement is being made.

Not in the standings, they concede, but on the field.

“We’ve got a whole half-season left,” receiver Jeff Chadwick said. “We’ve had a lot of close ones that we could have won, but we didn’t get it done. A lot of times that’s the sign of a young team.

“But we’ve got eight more games, and we know we’re a good football team. We’re feeling confident, we know we can make the plays. We’ve just got to go out there and win football games.”

Sunday’s was another game the Rams could have won, which would have ended three streaks: 12 consecutive division losses, 11 consecutive road losses and six consecutive indoor losses.

But the failed late-game third-down tries, missed blocks, misreads, short punts and special team breakdowns by the Rams during their 30-28 defeat by the Falcons does not mean they cannot escape their losing ways, Knox said.

“We’ve got about 20 people, and a lot of coaches here, that were not part of that (history of losses),” Knox said.

“(People) that were not part of 12 or 13 divisional games where you haven’t won, or haven’t won on the road. Those people weren’t here. So they can’t identify with that. I don’t think that’s a factor.

“I think the factor is we’re getting better. . . . We’ve lost three games here--two by three points, one by two points--against teams that have got some pretty good people.”

After jumping back into the game despite spotting the Falcons a 17-0 lead, the Rams had every chance to leave the Georgia Dome with their first road victory since Week 2 of 1991.

That would have made their record 4-4, hurt the Falcons’ postseason hopes, and pushed the Rams to the edge of the NFC wild-card playoff race.

“Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve. . . . “ Knox said Monday.

Some of the key points:

--The Rams could have avoided the early deficit and had a few more chances offensively if their special teams had not given up two long returns during the first half, if Vernon Turner had not fumbled away the second-half kickoff, and if Don Bracken had kicked a punt longer than 26 yards late in the fourth quarter.

Wobbly special team play--the Rams also gave up huge return yardage against New Orleans last month--is not something Knox ever wants associated with a team of his.

“They’ve always been a strong point, when we were here before, when we were in Buffalo, of course, Seattle--outstanding,” Knox said.

“Let me just say this, the whole team has struggled the last couple years. . . . That’s offense, defense, special teams.

“We’re in a position here where we’re trying to get it turned around, and we’re headed in the right direction and that’ll come around, too.”

--On their second-last possession, with slightly less than two minutes left in the game and a chance to pull ahead with a field goal, the Rams couldn’t convert on third and three from their 22-yard line when quarterback Jim Everett read a blitz and threw deep, but missed Henry Ellard.

“There was a blitz coming, we had one on one out there, and that’s one of those things, if you hit it, it’s great,” Knox said. “But if you don’t hit it, then of course, someone says, ‘Well, you should have gone over there.’ Well, we may not have hit it going over there.”

Knox added that if Bracken had kicked it longer, the Rams might have gotten the ball back one or two plays from getting into game-winning field-goal range.