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JOHN MCGRATH; STAFF WRITER
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/12/13/1943188/more-wrong-with-rams-than-spagnuolo.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/12/1 ... nuolo.html</a>
Two more NFL coaches were fired Monday, and the wonder is how the St. Louis Rams’ Steve Spagnuolo wasn’t among them.
Kansas City’s Todd Haley was first to be shown the exit, even though Haley guided the Chiefs to a first-place finish last season in the AFC West.
Tony Sparano was next in line. Sparano’s 29-32 record during four seasons with the Dolphins didn’t make anybody in Miami forget Don Shula, but it’s a lot better than Spagnuolo’s 10-33 mark with the Rams.
Make that 10-34, courtesy of a Seattle Seahawks team whose uneven first-half performance on Monday night might have augured frustration against just about any other team in the NFL. But because the Seahawks were facing the Rams, it took only three quarters for the decision to be as wrapped up as the fans at ice-cold CenturyLink Field.
Were it not for three Seattle defensive penalties called on a single fourth-quarter drive, a St. Louis punt blocked by Doug Baldwin that was picked up by Michael Robinson and returned for a 17-yard touchdown in the first quarter would have provided the Seahawks with all the scoring they needed – a reality that says as much about their bend-but-don’t-sweat-about-it-until-it’s-goal-to-go defense as it does about the Rams’ comprehensively inept offense.
Some fans in St. Louis will point that Spagnuolo is the victim of an injury plague responsible for a 2-11 regression after last season’s 6-9 team remained in playoff contention until the final game on the schedule. And it’s true, the list of wounded Rams includes both starting offensive tackles, their most dependable receiver, and enough cornerbacks – 11 – to field an entire defensive unit.
Then there’s second-year quarterback Sam Bradford, who shrugged off an ailing ankle for a chance at gaining revenge on the team that knocked the Rams out of the playoff hunt in that final game in the 2010 season.
Bradford could have sat this one out without having to answer questions about his toughness or commitment to teammates – he is, after all, a former overall No. 1 draft choice who happens to be the franchise rock – but he sucked it up with an effort notable for its valiance.
Bradford hasn’t developed a feel for operating a spread-the-ball-around scheme, installed by new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, that’s supposed to create favorable matchups in the open field. Bradford barely had time to plant his feet Monday, much less identify favorable matchups.
The Rams finished with 157 passing yards, or about what they used to accumulate in three possessions during the “Greatest Show on Turf” era at the turn of the century. Remember when St. Louis was an NFC West powerhouse that pretty much guarded the front door of the division?
Remember when the Rams represented the distance the Seahawks needed make up to compete?
Seattle’s 30-13 victory improved its regular-season record against St. Louis to 13-1 since 2005. That the Rams have devolved into punching bags is one thing, but their lousiness is compounded by the ultimate sin for a pro sports franchise: They have become irrelevant to those who used to invest in season tickets.
As if the problems on the field aren’t enough, the Rams are approaching a crisis situation with their stadium. Built in 1995, the Edward Jones Dome already is considered archaic for its lack of revenue-generating luxury suites. (Sound familiar, Sonics fans?) A lease agreement between the Rams and the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission allows the team to get out of its lease if the dome doesn’t rank among the league’s top eight facilities by 2015.
Spagnuolo can’t be held responsible for the stadium woes, of course, but if St. Louis fans are reluctant to spend their entertainment dollars on pro football – and Rams attendance has steadily decreased over the past five seasons – that does fall on the head coach.
Change appears imminent for the Rams, and the possibility of change ranges from the mundane (replacing Steve Spagnuolo) to the radical.
How radical? The franchise once called the Los Angeles Rams could again be known, in 2016, as the Los Angeles Rams.
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/12/13/1943188/more-wrong-with-rams-than-spagnuolo.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/12/1 ... nuolo.html</a>
Two more NFL coaches were fired Monday, and the wonder is how the St. Louis Rams’ Steve Spagnuolo wasn’t among them.
Kansas City’s Todd Haley was first to be shown the exit, even though Haley guided the Chiefs to a first-place finish last season in the AFC West.
Tony Sparano was next in line. Sparano’s 29-32 record during four seasons with the Dolphins didn’t make anybody in Miami forget Don Shula, but it’s a lot better than Spagnuolo’s 10-33 mark with the Rams.
Make that 10-34, courtesy of a Seattle Seahawks team whose uneven first-half performance on Monday night might have augured frustration against just about any other team in the NFL. But because the Seahawks were facing the Rams, it took only three quarters for the decision to be as wrapped up as the fans at ice-cold CenturyLink Field.
Were it not for three Seattle defensive penalties called on a single fourth-quarter drive, a St. Louis punt blocked by Doug Baldwin that was picked up by Michael Robinson and returned for a 17-yard touchdown in the first quarter would have provided the Seahawks with all the scoring they needed – a reality that says as much about their bend-but-don’t-sweat-about-it-until-it’s-goal-to-go defense as it does about the Rams’ comprehensively inept offense.
Some fans in St. Louis will point that Spagnuolo is the victim of an injury plague responsible for a 2-11 regression after last season’s 6-9 team remained in playoff contention until the final game on the schedule. And it’s true, the list of wounded Rams includes both starting offensive tackles, their most dependable receiver, and enough cornerbacks – 11 – to field an entire defensive unit.
Then there’s second-year quarterback Sam Bradford, who shrugged off an ailing ankle for a chance at gaining revenge on the team that knocked the Rams out of the playoff hunt in that final game in the 2010 season.
Bradford could have sat this one out without having to answer questions about his toughness or commitment to teammates – he is, after all, a former overall No. 1 draft choice who happens to be the franchise rock – but he sucked it up with an effort notable for its valiance.
Bradford hasn’t developed a feel for operating a spread-the-ball-around scheme, installed by new offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, that’s supposed to create favorable matchups in the open field. Bradford barely had time to plant his feet Monday, much less identify favorable matchups.
The Rams finished with 157 passing yards, or about what they used to accumulate in three possessions during the “Greatest Show on Turf” era at the turn of the century. Remember when St. Louis was an NFC West powerhouse that pretty much guarded the front door of the division?
Remember when the Rams represented the distance the Seahawks needed make up to compete?
Seattle’s 30-13 victory improved its regular-season record against St. Louis to 13-1 since 2005. That the Rams have devolved into punching bags is one thing, but their lousiness is compounded by the ultimate sin for a pro sports franchise: They have become irrelevant to those who used to invest in season tickets.
As if the problems on the field aren’t enough, the Rams are approaching a crisis situation with their stadium. Built in 1995, the Edward Jones Dome already is considered archaic for its lack of revenue-generating luxury suites. (Sound familiar, Sonics fans?) A lease agreement between the Rams and the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission allows the team to get out of its lease if the dome doesn’t rank among the league’s top eight facilities by 2015.
Spagnuolo can’t be held responsible for the stadium woes, of course, but if St. Louis fans are reluctant to spend their entertainment dollars on pro football – and Rams attendance has steadily decreased over the past five seasons – that does fall on the head coach.
Change appears imminent for the Rams, and the possibility of change ranges from the mundane (replacing Steve Spagnuolo) to the radical.
How radical? The franchise once called the Los Angeles Rams could again be known, in 2016, as the Los Angeles Rams.
