What's Wrong with the San Francisco 49ers O-Line?

Exactly what happened with the San Francisco 49ers offensive line during the team's 13-10 loss to the St. Louis Rams on Sunday?

Moreover, what is wrong with the O-line over the entire course of this season?

This might be the preeminent question that determines the fate of San Francisco's 2014 season, made no clearer than the debacle showcased in Week 9 against St. Louis.

The O-line gave up a total of eight sacks for 54 yards on Sunday. This was against a Rams defense that entered the contest having attained just six sacks on the season.

Six sacks prior, (insert 49ers O-line) and now St. Louis has 14 sacks total.

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

Two weeks ago, San Francisco gave up six sacks for 53 yards to the Denver Broncos. That's not good, but one has to at least have some understanding when considering Denver's pass-rushers had 23 sacks prior to the week.

But the Rams are a far cry, defensively, when compared to the Broncos. Yes, defensive end Robert Quinn is a forced with which to be reckoned. Yes, his sack numbers (three) are eventually going to compete with those he put up in his All-Pro 2013 campaign (19.0).

Yet, St. Louis' pass-rushers were made to look incredible thanks to the lackluster effort put forth by San Francisco's O-line.

Left tackle Joe Staley summed up his feelings about the team's effort via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com and Chris Biderman of Scout.com.

"We have all the talent in the world,” Staley said. “We’ve been doing dumb stuff and they took advantage of it. Penalties, dumb blocks, dumb techniques and dumb schemes. Played like (expletive)."

Staley's remarks—perhaps the final one—essentially round out what the O-line played like against St. Louis.

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Staley himself was a part of the problem. He was lined up against Quinn throughout the game, allowing two of the All-Pro's sacks during the contest. And one should not forget how DeMarcus Ware made Staley look bad two weeks ago. Bleacher Report's Stephen Nelson shared that play:

Hopefully this isn't a trend that continues. But we'll see.

The problems endured by Staley this season have been repeated in large numbers along the remainder of the O-line. True, the lack of continuity has been a problem. Injuries suffered to Mike Iupati and Anthony Davis have forced the 49ers' hand numerous times. 

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Daniel Kilgore's leg injury adds additional problems to this unit—problems that were revealed on Sunday.

Marcus Martin, the USC prospect whom San Francisco drafted in Round 2 this year, made his first NFL start after spending the first half of the season on the sidelines with a knee injury suffered in the preseason.

Aaron Donald beat Martin for the Rams' seventh sack of the game, per Maiocco, and it was clear that the rookie center was not having the debut that 49ers fans were hoping for. In addition to the sack, Martin also wasn't quite in line with Colin Kaepernick as the two had a number of mishaps on snaps. Damon Bruce of 95.7 The Game noted Martin's on-field concerns:

We have to give Martin a little benefit of the doubt here. He did miss a large portion of the regular season thanks to his injury, and it is possible that he is still shaking off a bit of the rust while still trying to grasp NFL competition.

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But this can't be an excuse for the remainder of the O-line.

So how did the lackluster performance out of what once was a preeminent 49ers' strength affect the offense's chances, overall?

Maiocco sums this up:

"

And this was worse because the 49ers sustained only one drive the entire day—the final one, which started at their own 12 and ended with the Kaepernick fumble. The offense, which was supposed to be better with all the new passing tools, is worse, and the offensive line is, between injuries and holdouts, as porous as it has been since perhaps the Mike Nolan era.

Why, they didn’t even get enough drive penetration to try more than two field goals the entire day, which for them is downright scandalous.

"

Indeed, the permeability of the O-line is a major question mark heading forward. Thoughts of Kwame Harris danced through this author's head throughout the game as St. Louis' defense made easy work of San Francisco's passing game. 

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

The performance obviously had an impact on the play-calling as well. Without the trust of the O-line, offensive coordinator Greg Roman was forced to dial up plays that would not allow the Rams' pass-rushers to reach Kaepernick—efforts that did not always work, as revealed on the failed fourth-quarter red-zone attempt with the 49ers trailing by three.

What is scary is this: Barring injury, this will be the O-line unit San Francisco will employ throughout the duration of the season. 

If the 49ers are still looking at the final goal of a Super Bowl as their legitimate target, the O-line will need to be a vital part of the equation. 

So far, it has been anything but.

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and ESPN.com unless otherwise indicated.

Peter Panacy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers. Be sure to check out his entire archive for 49ers news, insight and analysis.

Follow him @PeterPanacy on Twitter.