Glancing over his shoulder at Fakhir Brown's vacated locker at Rams Park, Tye Hill shook his head.

"I'm still in shock," Hill said. "I think he's one of the most underrated corners in this league. I don't know what happened. I couldn't believe it."

Brown's release Wednesday morning was the first — and most startling — move in what could turn out to be a major shake-up of the Rams' sagging first-team defense.

Coach Scott Linehan said Hill would take over for Brown at cornerback and Chris Draft would start in place of strongside linebacker Quinton Culberson on Sunday when the Rams meet the unbeaten Buffalo Bills at the Edward Jones Dome.

Also, defensive tackle Clifton Ryan and end Victor Adeyanju received increased snaps with the first team at practice. Ryan filled in for La'Roi Glover, and Adeyanju spelled James Hall.

Any changes to the front four, however, depend largely on whether end Leonard Little is healthy enough to play, even in a limited role. Little went down with a hamstring injury on the fourth play of the season opener at Philadelphia.

In any case, the Rams could have as many as four new defensive starters in place when they line up against the Bills plus a new nickel back in Jason Craft, a 10th-year pro signed after Brown was let go.

"There's going to be some changes, but at the end of the day it comes down to, we have to play better as a team," Draft said. "The difference between a win and a loss is a very fine line, so we have to see just what it is that's pushing us over that line to the losses rather than the win."

Not only are the Rams 0-3, they rank last in the 32-team league in total defense. They're yielding 456.7 yards per game, 26.4 more than Detroit, which is 31st.

"We take it personally," Ryan said. "This is our job, this is our livelihood, this is how we feed our families. To look at the standings and see that we're last in total defense, that's not good."

Added Adeyanju: "That's unacceptable for the players we have, for the coaches we have and for me personally. I know that I'm going to do all I can in my power to help turn it around."

Culberson, who made the squad last year as an undrafted rookie and beat out Draft for the starting job in training camp, has 15 tackles, fewest among the three first-team linebackers. He said he understood that moves had to be made to try to get the defense perking.

"I'm not upset about it," he said. "I'm just going to continue to go out and work hard. When it's time for me to go back up to the starting position, I will and I'll be ready."

Brown, a nine-year veteran who suffered a shoulder injury in the opening practice of camp, was in the lineup — in place of the slumping Hill — for the first time this season Sunday. He collected five tackles in the Rams' 37-13 loss at Seattle.

Linehan offered no specifics for the release of Brown, who started the last 12 games of the 2007 season after serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy. "We signed Jason Craft, and we had to release somebody. So we decided that was the player we were going to release," Linehan said.

Asked whether factors other than on-the-field performance were involved, Linehan said: "No. We're making some changes with our team."

Attempts to reach Brown were unsuccessful.

"I guess you've got to find a way to win by any means necessary," Hill said. "And we've definitely got to find a way to win."