Did you ever say something that you later regretted? Sure you have, probably a lot more than once, I’m guessing.

Same goes for the stuff I write. On average, I’d say I’m good for one “clinker” Web column a year.

And I’d have to say my last Web column a few weeks back definitely qualifies along those lines — the one in which I somehow managed to completely disregard the existence of the St. Louis Rams in the tighter-than-a-drum NFC West.

Suffice it to say, I’ve been taking a steady beating from disgruntled e-mailers/Rams fans ever since.

And I really have no excuse.

The point of the column was supposed to have been just how much the gap has narrowed between the Seattle Seahawks, the NFC West champs three years running, and the rest of the teams in the division.

Yet, while singing the praises of the up-and-coming San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals, I made no mention whatsoever of the Rams and compounded this grievous oversight by predicting at the end of the column that the Seahawks would just barely squeak by San Francisco and Arizona in a “wild-and-wooly three-horse race.”

Ouch!

It wasn’t long before the e-mails started bombarding my computer in a “fast and furious” fashion, like the Rams’ old offense under “Mad Mike” Martz. More than a few e-mailers predicted that I was going to look like a total fool after the Rams win the West this coming season.

Suffice it to say, I’m starting to get more than a little worried.

Put simply, I had dismissed the Rams, mainly due to an undersized defense that left a great deal to be desired in 2006, especially against the run.

What I failed to realize, though, was that shaky, undersized defenses were clearly the norm last season in the NFC West, with the Seahawks, Rams, Niners and Cardinals ranking 19th, 23rd, 26th and 29th, respectively, in opponents’ yards per game.

A closer look at the NFC West reveals significant glitches in every one of those defenses heading into training camp.

 The Seahawks run the risk of being dangerously soft in the middle if DT Marcus Tubbs can’t fully recover from his delicate microfracture knee surgery, and it remains to be seen whether newcomer safeties Deon Grant and Brian Russell can shore up a secondary that gave up a disturbing number of plays downfield last season.

 While the Niners have spent a lot of coin this offseason in free agency on CB Nate Clements, S Michael Lewis and LB Tully Banta-Cain, among others, they have been unable to completely convert to the 3-4 scheme Mike Nolan has had in mind since becoming the head coach and really don’t scare anybody at all with their pass rush.

 As for Arizona’s defense, while it certainly has some noteworthy individual talents in SS Adrian Wilson, LB Karlos Dansby and DL Darnell Dockett, it couldn’t be more of a work in progress at the moment, with new head coach Ken Whisenhunt admitting at his team’s rookie minicamp this past weekend, “We have 4-3 personnel, but we will play elements of the 3-4 — or try to.”

Beyond all those chinks in the NFC West teams’ defensive armor, it’s worth noting that, during the ’06 regular season, few, if any, defenses were as shaky as that of the eventual Super Bowl champion Colts, who gave up more than 100 yards rushing in every single game.

A strong, diverse offense, led by a productive, accurate quarterback, was more than enough to tip the scales in the Colts’ favor, and that’s exactly what the Rams have with Pro Bowler Marc Bulger under center, although their offensive line is nowhere near as cohesive and consistently effective as Indy’s.

It’s also very much worth noting the Rams’ impressive three-game win streak to finish out the ’06 campaign. In recent seasons, hot finishers have shown a consistent knack for picking up where they left off, and with the Cowboys being the only team that finished above .500 in ’06 among the Rams’ first five opponents in ’07, a speedy start in St. Louis is hardly a stretch.

There’s no way around it.

After previously ignoring them completely, it seems I keep finding more and more reasons why the Rams have just as good a shot at a division title in 2007 as the other three teams in the NFC West.

Especially if they play with the same fire and passion as those Rams-loving e-mailers have displayed while so deservedly letting me have it.

Here’s hoping they might see fit to give my computer screen a break.