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BY KATHLEEN NELSON
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/spagnuolo-praised-as-inspirational/article_8cb2ad27-611f-5667-af5f-3e04fb4de498.html#ixzz1iHlNdkpT" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... z1iHlNdkpT</a>
[wrapimg=left]http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/8b/e8b9090b-4ee0-5de5-9c63-fd03e1a94bb2/4f00edb56724b.preview-300.jpg[/wrapimg]The Rams departed their locker room at the Edward Jones Dome following the 34-27 season-ending loss to the San Francisco 49ers with the fate of their superiors hanging in the balance.
"I think everybody's going to come to their own conclusion and be the Monday morning quarterback on that situation," kicker Josh Brown said. "In this league, rumors are exactly that. You don't know where they're coming from and you don't know how far they'll go."
Yet most of the players gave a vote of confidence to coach Steve Spagnuolo, in part because of the Rams' performance Sunday. Trailing 34-13 with less than five minutes to play, the Rams rallied with a pair of touchdowns 13 seconds apart but couldn't close the deal.
"You're not going to find a lot of 2-13 at the time teams that are going to play as hard as we did that late in the game against a team like that, and I think that's really just a credit to the leadership, starting with Coach Spags and working all the way down," quarterback Kellen Clemens said.
Clemens joined the Rams last month and started the final three games of the season in place of Sam Bradford and A.J. Feeley. He completed 48 of 91 passes for 546 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Another newcomer, wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, also considered his stint with the Rams a positive one. After being traded from Denver, Lloyd appeared in 11 games with the Rams and led the team in three categories: receptions, 51; yards, 683; and touchdown catches, five.
"I thought Coach Spagnuolo was very inspiring," Lloyd said. "I didn't have the pleasure of being coached by him, but the words he said to me, our private conversations, the support I had from him on the football field was all positive. This move to St. Louis was a great move and I really enjoyed being coached by the coaches. In my mind, I think they deserve another year. Obviously I'm just a player who came here midseason and not the front office. All I can say is that whatever happens with this entire coaching staff it's been a positive experience from my point of view."
After one full season with the Rams, safety Quintin Mikell said the coaches and staff had unfinished business, hampered by the rash of injuries that led 16 players to the injured reserve list.
"I feel like that we have guys in this locker room who believe in each other and want to play for Coach. We want to win. We went out there and tried to give it our best, and I think that's what it's really about," Mikell said. "It's out of our hands, but you can see we play for Spags and we're going to continue to play for him. I don't want to see anything happen to him."
Players of longer standing with the Rams put more of an emphasis on the fact that they have no say in whether Spagnuolo and Co. return.
"I think he's a good leader," running back Steven Jackson said. "Outside of the wins-losses record that we've had, I think he's going to be successful if he stays here. I think he's going to be successful if he leaves. It's not a decision I make, and I believe the front office will do what's best for the organization."
Linebacker James Laurinaitis started his career in Spagnuolo's first year as head coach with the Rams, has led the team in tackles in each of his three seasons and has become one of the emerging leaders on defense. He has no say in whether the coaches stay and can do no more than state his case.
"He's all I've known. I think our team, if you look at (Sunday's) performance, plays with a passion and a certain character that a lot of NFL teams want to play with ...the never-say-die attitude that he has," Laurinaitis said. "He's taught me everything I know about NFL Mike (middle) backer. Obviously a great defensive mind. I try not to worry about things I can't control, but I'm a realist as well. It's kind of an anxious time for everybody. I'll kind of pray about it that whatever happens, happens. And you just kind of move forward and trust that we're going to be all right whether he's here or not. But I can't control any of that, so I try not to worry about it too much."
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/spagnuolo-praised-as-inspirational/article_8cb2ad27-611f-5667-af5f-3e04fb4de498.html#ixzz1iHlNdkpT" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... z1iHlNdkpT</a>
[wrapimg=left]http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stltoday.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/8b/e8b9090b-4ee0-5de5-9c63-fd03e1a94bb2/4f00edb56724b.preview-300.jpg[/wrapimg]The Rams departed their locker room at the Edward Jones Dome following the 34-27 season-ending loss to the San Francisco 49ers with the fate of their superiors hanging in the balance.
"I think everybody's going to come to their own conclusion and be the Monday morning quarterback on that situation," kicker Josh Brown said. "In this league, rumors are exactly that. You don't know where they're coming from and you don't know how far they'll go."
Yet most of the players gave a vote of confidence to coach Steve Spagnuolo, in part because of the Rams' performance Sunday. Trailing 34-13 with less than five minutes to play, the Rams rallied with a pair of touchdowns 13 seconds apart but couldn't close the deal.
"You're not going to find a lot of 2-13 at the time teams that are going to play as hard as we did that late in the game against a team like that, and I think that's really just a credit to the leadership, starting with Coach Spags and working all the way down," quarterback Kellen Clemens said.
Clemens joined the Rams last month and started the final three games of the season in place of Sam Bradford and A.J. Feeley. He completed 48 of 91 passes for 546 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Another newcomer, wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, also considered his stint with the Rams a positive one. After being traded from Denver, Lloyd appeared in 11 games with the Rams and led the team in three categories: receptions, 51; yards, 683; and touchdown catches, five.
"I thought Coach Spagnuolo was very inspiring," Lloyd said. "I didn't have the pleasure of being coached by him, but the words he said to me, our private conversations, the support I had from him on the football field was all positive. This move to St. Louis was a great move and I really enjoyed being coached by the coaches. In my mind, I think they deserve another year. Obviously I'm just a player who came here midseason and not the front office. All I can say is that whatever happens with this entire coaching staff it's been a positive experience from my point of view."
After one full season with the Rams, safety Quintin Mikell said the coaches and staff had unfinished business, hampered by the rash of injuries that led 16 players to the injured reserve list.
"I feel like that we have guys in this locker room who believe in each other and want to play for Coach. We want to win. We went out there and tried to give it our best, and I think that's what it's really about," Mikell said. "It's out of our hands, but you can see we play for Spags and we're going to continue to play for him. I don't want to see anything happen to him."
Players of longer standing with the Rams put more of an emphasis on the fact that they have no say in whether Spagnuolo and Co. return.
"I think he's a good leader," running back Steven Jackson said. "Outside of the wins-losses record that we've had, I think he's going to be successful if he stays here. I think he's going to be successful if he leaves. It's not a decision I make, and I believe the front office will do what's best for the organization."
Linebacker James Laurinaitis started his career in Spagnuolo's first year as head coach with the Rams, has led the team in tackles in each of his three seasons and has become one of the emerging leaders on defense. He has no say in whether the coaches stay and can do no more than state his case.
"He's all I've known. I think our team, if you look at (Sunday's) performance, plays with a passion and a certain character that a lot of NFL teams want to play with ...the never-say-die attitude that he has," Laurinaitis said. "He's taught me everything I know about NFL Mike (middle) backer. Obviously a great defensive mind. I try not to worry about things I can't control, but I'm a realist as well. It's kind of an anxious time for everybody. I'll kind of pray about it that whatever happens, happens. And you just kind of move forward and trust that we're going to be all right whether he's here or not. But I can't control any of that, so I try not to worry about it too much."