Starting Over....Again

New Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo, or "Spags," wasn't looking for the most money or the best chance to make it to a championship next year.

Obviously.  Since he went to the Rams.

But after interviewing for numerous teams, including the Broncos and Jets, Spagnuolo came away unhired, and stating that he, a man of faith and principled action,  "was looking for the right situation."

Enter his close friend, Bill Devaney, the new G.M. for the Rams.  They had met eachother while toiling in obscurity on the Redskins personnel staff, and in drawing Spagnuolo into the interview, and then into the fold, Devaney was saying the right things.  Specifically when asked about scoring the interview with Spagnuolo after the unexpected Giants playoff loss, Devany could only appeal to blind luck and faith:

Maybe the football Gods were finally looking down on us.

 Maybe.

One things was certain, and that was that Devaney was offering a situation that couldn't help but feel right to Spagnuolo, including a strident challenge, a good working relationship with the personnel department, but most of all, a situation that appealed to Spagnuolo's "higher" calling.

They will have a group that will be team-first, that will be team-oriented and will build a foundation that will help us be successful and sustain success. I think that's what it's all about.

There has to be a beginning before you can go anywhere else. I threw four words at you on the pillars. Now faith was the first one; there has to be some faith. Faith in what we're doing, faith in our philosophy and we certainly hope to have a little bit of patience. It will be a process

 If ever there were a combination of coach and front office that had the potential to meet the Rams unique challenges, it is this one, of that there can be no doubt.

But Spagnuolo is the seventh head coach in the past 15 years for St. Louis.

Its going to take more than faith and football Gods to get the Rams back on track.

  The stats above certainly aren't pretty, but what makes them particularly heinous is that the team made good free agency moves and drafted 2nd overall in 2008, and yet the team went from being the better of the worst teams to being the worst of the worst teams.

One could point at their QB play, or their star RBs lengthy and distracting preseason holdout.  The age of the WRs has been a concern, as has the age of Orlando Pace, their fixture at LT.  Injuries at key positions on offense, including TE and RB can certainly be blamed, as can a decidedly banged up defense that showed up at very few games in 2008.

But behind all of these struggles lies a common denominator:  unrealized potential.

Steven Jackson and the RB position are a typical example of the underperformance.  A holdout and a slow start, coupled with missed games and a nagging groin injury led to an underwhelming effort, though he did manage to top 1000yds by the end of the season.  But Jackson is only the beginning.  Kenneth Darby, Antonio Pittman, Travis Minor and 2007 2nd rounder, Brian Leonard are not capable of shouldering the load if Jackson goes down in the future.  They contribute little and Leonard in particular is a disappointment.  .

At WR Torry Holt is an expensive option going into the final year of his contract, and he has voiced displeasure at how he was used in the offense, so there are problems on both sides. Rookie Donnie Avery showed promise early, but his strong opening was forgotten as a hip injury slowed him down and limited his contributions down the stretch.  Behind these two are a mix of injury, inconsistency, expense and age that at once compromises and secures the position.  Whether they address the position with the aggressiveness it deserves will most likely be a function of Holt's decision and the entailing attrition.  But when it comes to underacheiving receiving threats, look no further than TE Joe Klopfenstein.  Star free agent signee Randy McMichael took his presence over the middle straight to IR, and highly touted Klopfenstein failed to come through consistently.  Klopfenstein could be a major piece of the puzzle for the Rams going forward, but he will need to get with it.

Inconsistency plagued the QB as well, but Bulger will be back in 09.  The team also made Brock Berlin an early retained free agent, so they seem to be happy with his development.  I would expect Trent Green to be done, however, and for the team to look elsewhere for a backup who can challenge Bulger.  The oline has one of the worst underacheivers on the team, in tackle Alex Barron, who acts like he would rather be out of town.  The line itself is serviceable with Pace at below historical production but still good, and solid depth throughout, but it could still see several upgrades.The oft injured Mark Stetterstrom at G never even saw the field in 08, but if he can be relied on, that would be excellent, as he is a talent.  An upgrade at center wouldn't be undesirable with Nick Leckey winning the job in preseason, but he is an overacheiver who may work out better longterm as a backup.  But replacing Barron this offseason should be priority number one on the offense.

Defensively the Rams are a mix of injuries and lack of talent, but they have some key pieces that they can build around.  In fact, their first priority should be to get CB Ron Bartell and  DL Victor Adeyanju resigned.  Bartell may have been their best defensive player in 08, and Adeyanju is solid inside and a great compliment to star DE Leonard Little.  Atogwe is one of the few draft choices that has panned out almost unconditionally for the Rams, and is a bright spot in the secondary, but he needs help, and outside of Tackle, no other position may get as much interest in the draft as safety from the Rams.

The team looks safe at LB, if ProBowl caliber MLB Will Witherspoon, SLB Chris Draft and WLB Pisa Tinoisamoa can all stay healthy.  Witherspoon makes the whole corp better, so he is key, but Draft is uderrated and makes a big difference when he is in.  There is some young depth at the position, so this unit should be ok, but durability is a concern going forward.  There is one caveat to consider here, and that is if some overlooked talent at MLB is staring St.Louis in the face, they may snap it up, thus opening up the possibility of moving Witherspoon to take advantage of his talent.  But don't count on it.  That is a luxury the team could do without.

On the line the Rams defense needs Leonard Little healthy, and they may need to look at NT in the draft, or undertackles for the 4-3, as the depth simply isn't on the roster and Carriker struggled with injuries in 08.  A stout runstopping DE wouldn't hurt either, but the team should be serviceable without looking for top talent there.  Long was a good investment, and is coming along.  His 09 game will be expected to bring some impact, and if it does, the Rams have a very real chance of moving out of the cellar in terms of run stopping, and in improving their division record from 0-6 into the more respectable 3-3, or better, range.  Baby steps and all that.

 With their full contingent of draft picks in 09, and a prime location at #2, Spagnuolo and Devaney should be expected to do some serious damage in April.  Mocking the Draft's own Mocking Dan expects that St.Louis should have OT, Michael Oher at the top of their lists, and that certainly can't be argued against.  Oher stacks up with height, strength, size and good movement, and looks like the prototype of a long lasting LT in the NFL.

The Rams are also poised at the top of the second to target most any S prospect that they want, including Louis Delmas and his high-character and leadership qualities, and their third could net them much needed NT depth in the likes of Ron Brace or Terrance Taylor, or their choice of a deep group of talented pass rushing 3-technique undertackles for the 4-3.

An underacheiving offense in hibernation, and a critically understaffed defense speak to addressing fundamentals early and often in the draft.  Solid, high-character picks and positions with little glory but essential importance will have bull-eyes drawn around them by Spags and Devaney, and they have the picks to get them.

Spagnulo:  The other "pillars" are character, core values and team first.  As a head coach, I will be committed to doing everything possible to bring success to this franchise. I'm not about predictions, I'm not about bold statements. But those will be the four pillars we will hang our hat on.