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Coach Spags @ 10:30AM on 101 ESPN, by ThatsFaulkedUp98

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:01:41 -0600

On Vick - There have been all kinds of different talks but fact of the matter is he's an Eagle right now On Proday Tour - Only been to OK so far but did meet with Gerald McCoy and his family; wonderful family guy, person. Did not talk to him about Bradford. Going to Nebraska next and Suh will do drills but not redo combine workouts On WR interest - Only have seen the OK guys so far and other than tape really doesn't know anyone by name. Said he leaves that to the organization experts. He concentrates on defensive guys. On how do you target later round picks - Said they have a formula they give to scouts. Scouts put all the eligible players that fit that formula and that's who they look at. Formula consists on what they feel is needed to be a good fit with Rams. On this year's expectations - Said he won't put any numbers out there because what happens if you hit that number stop playing hard? Would like to lead the NFC West and of course find ways to win games. On how he likes this year's Draft format - Said that it does open up more time to get something done with the second round pick or later picks trade wise. On AJ Feely - Said there were no specifics around his role on the team. Will be competive whereever they put him. It was more about him being with a coach and system that he is familar with. Will do whatever is asked of him On Bradford - Spags was asked if the Rams did draft him what his stance would be on starting him or sitting him letting him learn. His answer was that they would take it day at a time. He doesn't have a set way of doing it. If he's capable of coming in and playing he will if needs to learn the offense better or mechanics etc he will not. Spags is open minded about it. On Tebow - Was really impressed with his personality. Said he was really passionate and that he would never bet against him at the NFL level. When asked about his mechanic changing project Spags stated that's great but his concern would be yea he could change in workouts and practice but what happens in a game situation. Can he stick with the change or go back to what he''s comfortable with and how he has been playing since 8th grade. Interview was only about 15 minutes long.

Spagnuolo Takes His Turn at Podium/Wagoner

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 14:30:41 -0600

Spagnuolo Takes His Turn Posted >Sat, February 27, 2010 11:13 by Nick Wagoner INDIANAPOLIS - - Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo took his turn at the podium a day after general manager Billy Devaney and he discussed a wide variety of topics from keeping Oshiomogho Atogwe to lightening the load for Steven Jackson to all things draft. Here's a big chunk of what Spagnuolo had to say. - I'll flesh this out in story form a bit later. For now, enjoy... (Opening statement) It�s always exciting to be here. It�s great to see all the coaches, scouts, people you don�t get to see during the year. This is very important with the combine and the draft coming up. We are sitting in an important spot, looking forward to it. We don�t want to be there next year but looking forward to it this year. (Can you compare Suh and McCoy) I have (watched the tapes). I am always the type of person to say I haven�t watched enough. I don�t have a full evaluation in my mind but they are two great football players that are going to be great in this league. They are dominant defensive tackles, somebody that changes a game, changes schemes, change how you would block it and give offensive coordinators a little bit of a headache. I think that�s the type of guys they are. Both of those guys are good football players. (Can you compare them?) I wouldn�t do that. They are both good football players and will be good in this league. They have a couple of different styles but both of those styles will work. (Is one more of an attacker and the other a run stuffer? How do you view that?) No, they both do those phases of the game very well. We don�t get too wrapped up in that. Right now you are looking at the skill of the player and size and character and all those things you look to make an evaluation of a football player. (Why hasn�t a DT been the top pick in the draft in so long?) A lot of that is timing. Sometimes there is not somebody worthy of that particular spot at that point in the draft, maybe the team picking there decides to go with another position need wise. There�s a lot of different reasons for that. But typically there are usually some good defensive tackles in the draft somewhere in the first round. (Any reservations about using that high of a pick or spending the money on a DT?) I don�t look at it that way. You take the player that is best for the football team. Ownership takes care of that. (How hard will it be for you to not push for the defensive player?) I know we all get labeled as head coaches, defensive guy, offensive guy but when you sit in this particular seat that I am blessed to be in, you don�t have a problem one way or the other. You go with the best player. (What do you like about TEs Jermaine Gresham and Rob Gronkowski?) Both of those guys can catch the football, block. You look for a tight end that can do all of the components so I think both of those guys bring that one way or the other, at least in our opinion. (How do you view what Billy Devaney said about Sam Bradford�s shoulder?) Well, I agree with Billy. I don�t know exactly what he said but I will agree with what he said 100 percent. You are talking about a guy who throws the football so obviously the shoulder is a concern. Nowadays with medicine the way it is and what they are doing medically, I think every player that gets hurt is hopeful that they will bounce back and be OK. I am sure he�s banking on that. (How do you compare the value of the defensive tackle spot to quarterback?) We go about the draft evaluation process like everybody else does. You evaluate each player, you rank them, put them where you think they would fall or where value would be round wise and try not to get into comparing him to another position. You stick with your draft board. I think that�s the best way to go about it. (How do you view the NFC West right now?) We are all 0-0 so we are all even right now. It�s a competitive division, good coaches, some new coaches but a number of teams surfaced last year. I think it�s a competitive division. I think the division is on its way up and I look forward to playing those three teams twice a year. (How much does Kurt Warner�s retirement affect the division?) Well certainly we all know what type of player Kurt was. He was a quality quarterback so it probably makes Arizona a little different but I know they have another good one there waiting in the wings so it will probably be about the same. (Is it hard to resist the wow factor of drafting a quarterback?) I don�t think we will get wrapped up in that. We will do what�s best for the football team. We haven�t got to that point yet but that comes as we go forward and when it�s time to make that pick we will. (Is there also a risk factor that plays into that?) I think anyone you take is a risk. You take a defensive lineman, a corner, they are all a risk. And I say that, none of us know for sure. It�s a calculated risk I guess is the best way to put it. You do all your homework and hope when it�s all said and done, the pick you make is what�s best for your football team. (How important is it to you to keep OJ Atogwe?) You know how I am. I have gotten really close to OJ. He certainly means a lot to me personally. He�s a great football player. We have a number of those (restricted) guys scattered around on the team. We will do what�s best for the football team and OJ will do what�s best for him. I certainly think a lot of him and he�s a quality player in this league. (What qualities do you look for in a QB?) I think what you do is you assess the team that have been successful lately it seems to me those leadership type of guys, the guys who can get the job done in a pinch and certainly all the other things that go along with it. A guy that can throw the football and has all the physical qualities. But leadership to me is really important at that particular position, just like we value it on defense at MIC linebacker. (How do you define that leadership?) I don�t think you can define it in words. I think it�s kind of like the old �It� factor that you hear people talk about. You kind of see guys interact in certain situations and take as much information as you can from coaches that have been around that particular person. Hopefully you are getting good information and hopefully you make the right decision. (Can you get to know these guys well enough before the draft to feel comfortable with that?) Anybody can fool anybody in 15 minutes. But it�s more than that. It�s digging deeper. This is the beginning part of it. Here is the beginning. You put a face with a name and have a little interaction but it�s really about digging deep with the people that have been around that particular prospect for a long period of time. That�s what is really, really important. (Are you optimistic about keeping OJ?) I am always optimistic about the players we would like to keep and certainly we feel that way about OJ. (Have you talked to Steven Jackson recently?) I did. Last week he was in town. He seems to be doing fine. Backs, you know how they are one day but he�s been fine. I don�t even put him in the rehab category because it�s really just a rest thing. He�s been resting so he told me he�s doing fine right now. (Have you given much consideration to limiting his touches some next season?) That�s a hard one. You want that guy having the football. We will assess that as we go forward here. I don�t anticipate having to tweak at all but if we had to, he has earned the right in this league, you know what he is, it�s not like he needs 1,000 reps in training camp. We will be smart with it. (Is Darren Sproles someone you could see as a complement to Jackson?) There are a lot of different ways to look at that. I think Billy talked about it the other day and even last year we were looking for a running back. We have a couple guys that can back up now that give us some options pass protection wise. It goes to what we were saying about lessening the load for Steven. But the one thing is Steven doesn�t want to lessen the load. That�s the great thing about having a great player like that. He wants the football and he wants to help his team win. We will look at all guys like that. (Would you feel comfortable playing a young QB right away?) Every quarterback is different. I wouldn�t have a problem doing that but I don�t know that unless you are really forced into that, it�s kind of smart to ease those guys in a little. There�s a lot of different ways to do it. Some guys have been thrown in the fire and had some success. I�m sure you can go back in the history of this league and have the same situation and it�s gone the other way. (Can you afford to use a second or third round pick on a �complementary� running back over a position where you might need starting help?) That�s what you have to look at. He answered it for me. You have to sit there and say �Is there more value here or more value there?� (So how do you weigh that?) When you are on the clock and making the decision, you stick with the board. I know that�s a cop out answer but that�s what you do. If you start reaching for needs�if the best player available happens to be a backup running back, then you do it. Another value of a backup running back is special teams which we think is very important. (How do you view the offensive line going forward?) I�d agree with you on the up arrow with that particular position. I thought Steve Loney did a great job with that offensive line. We had a lot of injuries there late but there was a time there in the season where they were really jelling together and it was when Jason Smith was playing. He has been fine. I have talked to Jason. The last week of the season he did practice in that week so that was encouraging. All of those symptoms have cleared and we are very optimistic that he will be OK going forward. I thought they jelled together and the arrow was up. (How important is it to add playmakers to the offense?) No matter how you bring them in, you�d like that to be the situation. Let�s face it, we didn�t win a lot of games last year so the natural tendency is to say that we need to bring guys in that are going to be impact players. We don�t have the luxury right now of being a team that has established 22 starters, etc, etc and you can have luxury picks and kind of fill in some backups. We have to get some guys who are going to play some football. We were young last year but I think that will be advantageous for us this year. Those guys got a lot of reps so we look at the silver lining in all of that. (Thoughts on trading down?) If it�s the right thing to do. Nobody is stuck on saying we wouldn�t trade down so that�s always a possibility. (On adding a veteran presence to a young team) That has been a thought. One of the things and it was probably more so in New York when I was there, we had some youth there but we had some vets that were kind of the work ethic guys that taught the younger guys how to do it. I really think you have to have a little bit of that mixture. In my opinion, you can�t just go out plucking guys out of the sky, you almost have to know that person and how they study film. I think that�s huge. We have a great coaching staff in my opinion and we�ll get the guys ready and feed them all the things we need to on how to be a pro but nothing is better for a young pro than to see another guy doing it. (Anything further with Antonio Pierce?) I spoke to him really quick, just a social conversation. He�s a long way away from all the things he has to do with his health and everything. I like Antonio. He�s a good man, good player. (How much thought goes into what the adjustment is for a DT to NFL level?) I�m going back in my memory. I believe my second year in Philadelphia we drafted Corey Simon. Believe it or not, Corey Simon was a holdout for the first two or three weeks and he practiced one week and started the first game and the very first play he got a sack. Now that doesn�t always happen. But I think it would come back to the person physically and mentally. I guess I would venture to say that tackle might be a position where you can get in there as a rookie and get thrown in the fire maybe a little bit sooner because there are only so many blocking schemes you can see as opposed to a linebacker say with all the reads. (Would you actually take a QB? Hard to believe with your defensive background.) Why does that keep coming up? You see me venturing over that way a little bit. I am broadening my spectrum, my thought process. If that�s the right thing to do, we would certainly do that. There�s a bunch of good quarterbacks out there. The nice thing about being in this position is there are a bunch of options, really. The powers that be, the experts feel like there are some legitimate choices there. We have the trade situations. That�s a good thing. Everybody thinks there are a lot of options. (What do you need to know about a player to satisfy what you are looking for with that top pick?) I have dug deeper into the film part of it. Right after this combine, I will hit all of those, the ones they talk about, I plan on being at all of those workouts. Certainly, I will make a lot of phone calls to people that have touched those guys in the past and then it will just be digging and digging and digging for as much information as possible. Then we will come up with a smart decision. That�s probably no different than anyone else. We will do it as a group and a team looking at all these people. (Did Bradford�s added weight make an impression on you?) I heard all of the people around me say �Ooooooooh,� but I didn�t have a pre-conceived weight. I stayed strictly with film right now and I wanted to get an early assessment of just seeing him. I think we visit with him tonight. I left it wide open so I wasn�t really aware that it was that much more. It didn�t have the same impact to me. He is a good looking kid to walk through there though. (How much thought to going DT in the first round and going QB in the second?) I haven�t watched enough of those other quarterbacks to know in my mind where they would fall. If you do that, it�s a calculation and you are hoping somebody will be there so you can get a quarterback. That�s one way to go. (You compared what you want in a QB to your MLB on defense, since you just grabbed your MLB last year, can you use that as a baseline for what you look for at QB in terms of leadership?) It�s probably different animals there, to be honest with you. What you would tag as leadership at quarterback and leadership at MIC linebacker, some of them would be similar but I don�t think I would do that. (Do you agree with the assessment that McCoy is more of a penetrator and Suh is more of a run stopper?) I think McCoy�s defense is structured that way. You�d have to talk to those coaches that he is a gap penetrating tackle. Nebraska�s defense is more of a reading tackle. To me, that�s about the only difference, just the techniques that they were taught. But they are both quality players that can learn anything. (Is there a danger to the thought of drafting a QB because it�s more of a wow factor?) I think it�s a danger if you fall into that. That conversation doesn�t really come up when you are sitting there evaluating players and who is the best player for us to take. I think you have to remove that and I think the support is there from ownership and the powers above to do the right thing for the football team.

2010 Scouting Combine Schedule

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:46:00 -0600

24th-27th Day 1 Arrivals*: Grp 1(PK, ST, OL), Grp 2(OL), Grp 3(TE)
Wednesday Travel, Registration, Pre-exam & X-ray, Orientation, Interviews Thursday Measurements, Exams, Media, Psych Tests, Interviews Friday NFLPA Meeting, Psych Tests, *PK/ST Workout*, Interviews Saturday Workout (timing, stations, skill drills), Departure

25th-28th Day 2 Arrivals*: Grp 4(QB, WO), Grp 5(QB, WO), Grp 6(RB)
Thursday Travel, Registration, Pre-exam & X-ray, Orientation, Interviews Friday Measurements, Exams, Media, Psych Tests, Interviews Saturday NFLPA Meeting, Psych Tests, Interviews Sunday Workout (timing, stations, skill drills), Departure 26th-1st Day 3 Arrivals: Grp 7(DL), Grp 8(DL), Grp 9(LB)
Friday Travel, Registration, Pre-exam & X-ray, Orientation, Interviews Saturday Measurements, Exams, Media, Psych Tests, Interviews Sunday NFLPA Meeting, Psych Tests, Interviews Monday Workout (timing, stations, skill drills), Departure

27th-2nd Day 4 Arrivals: Grp 10(DB), Grp 11(DB)
Saturday Travel, Registration, Pre-exam & X-ray, Orientation, Interviews Sunday Measurements, Exams, Media, Psych Tests, Interviews Monday NFLPA Meeting, Psych Tests, Interviews Tuesday Workout (timing, stations, skill drills), Departure

Devaney Unplugged--2 reports

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:47:28 -0600

Posted by Tucker19-- Disclaimer alert: In no way am I endorsing any prospect or saying that he likes or dislikes any player. I'm just reporting what I heard and observed. Ok on with it: Very intimate setting at Jbucks in Clayton, MO. About 20-25 people I would guesstimate. Everyone was kind of half circled around him. Very down to earth, seemed very happy to be there talking about what he likes best: the draft. 1) First question I asked: Tucker: "billy, first overall pick a DT? Kinda shaky history there right?" BD: "name 1 dt that played in the superbowl?" Tucker: "anthony hargrove" BD: "haha, that's because he played here, right?" Tucker: "yeah" BD: "difference between a qb and dt is the qb touches the ball EVERY play. He said that last part without a question from me. 2) I made a point to tell him that 19/32 starting qbs in the NFL were former 1st rounders. Billy was aware and after i asked about the risk taking a qb in the first round he clearly stated: "if you want a franchise qb odds are you're going to have to invest a first round pick in him. Every now again you can step in $hit and stumble into a later round pick that pans out." 3) Ryan Leaf - said not only did they make a mistake in taking him, but made every known mistake afterwards in camp and during the season. Said every coach they talked to said you had to make him earn it. He was the big man on campus from the time he was a freshman in HS. They didn't obey, they anointed him the starter the 4th practice in camp. 4) Pat Shurmur - everyone in the organization realizes that shurmur is the dog right now. Says with more talent the playcalling would be MUCH different. 5) QB Intangibles - this one was asked by me. Said that when they evaluate qbs they look for the guy to be the hardest working player on his team. Has to be a film rat. It's what turned atlanta on to matt ryan. 6) QB height - Brees exception to the rule. Says besides the intangibles the reason he's so successful is because he throws 100% over the top. Throws like he's 6'3 - on his tippy toes. 7) Rams building when he came in 2008 - Said there were people all over the building (many not even football related) that moved here with the team in '95. Said there were so many that hated STL and openly talked about the climate and their desire to go back to LA. Said removing them was TOP priority. And they aren't done yet. 8- Desuan Jackson - this was a big one. Point blank - said the same thing we've read: drafting jackson with guys like claude terrell, incognito, byrd and wroten on the team would've been a disaster for the rams and jackson. Said he needed to go to a team with a good amount of talent, a good position coach, strong head coach and overall strong building and locker room. Then followed up that statement with "and we had scott linehan." he stopped after that comment to let it sink in. Then said henry ellard was so soft spoken (good as he was/is) and hands off that it wouldn't of worked. Said Jackson needed a position coach that would put his foot up his @$$. Also said that the character rap sheet on jackson was out of this world. 9) Richie Incognito - loves 90% of him. Dislikes the 10% and that's what cost him in STL. 3 rams players went on vacation with him this offseason. 10) Jason Smith/Eugene Monroe: Monroe was the better overall OT coming out of the draft....more polished. The reason he's a jag and j smooth is a ram is because of the ceiling JS possesses and the passion for the game. Eugene has none. 11) Barron - said when he worked for (i don't remember what team it was in '05) that when they talked to coaches, teammates, etc. about alex the response was this: "alex loves basketball". Couldn't believe a team took him in the first round. A gentleman beside me said "alex played pretty well at LT this year" and billy just smirked and took a drink of his beer. 12) More on previous regime - wouldn't name anyone by name but basically just LOL when talking about how bad it was. Said the legitimate personnel people in the NFL would never of taken claude terrell, wroten or byrd in the 3rd round. Laughed when talking about the fact that there was no (i repeat ZERO) pro personnel department before he took over as GM last season. 13) Haynesworth - said he talks to people that were in that organization before shanahan fired them and said he would march right up to snyders office - wouldn't talk to any of his position coaches at all. 14) Jonathon Crompton - one word: knucklehead. 15) One more thing on Dominic Byrd: described his personality as "piece of $hit" 16) Mark Sanchez - wouldve ended up on IR if he was a ram. Also said he has "serious" knee issues. 17) Fletcher - happy that NYJ traded up to get shawn green (even though that's who they were targeting) because they ended up with fletcher. Says he's a star in the making. Knee doing "fantastic". 18- J Smooth - couldve played the last game 19) Avery - not pleased with development and said he's been working hard on conditioning. Sort of hinted that this is season is a turning point for him. 20) Ryan Mathews - tomorrow morning at 5 the first 3 tapes he's watching is on Mathews. 21) Back up running back - "have to draft one this year" - Even said under his breath "we need to take one in the second round". 22) Spread offenses - not only hard to evaluate qbs but makes evaluating WRs almost impossible because there is no press. Also very difficult to judge OL. That's pretty obvious. 23) Colt Mccoy - not joking and I quote: "that little guy from TX". Also said it's obvious that guys like he and clausen have to use their whole body to throw the ball because they don't have the arm length to sling it. 24) Jimmy Clausen - 3 things stood out to me: 1) Said he was pretty positive he'd check in at 6'2 which is plenty tall enough. 2) Is very aware of the speculated "attitude, personality issues". He hinted that they haven't received good feedback on him - personality wise. 3) Said they will def be observing him VERY closely. 25) Sam Bradford - I'll just say this (and no I'm not saying this because I want him with our first pick): You can tell that billy either REALLY likes him or is putting on one heck of a smokescreen to a room full of 25 guys at jbucks. The knocks on sam that billy gave were: 1) Medical obviously, said they will trust their own doctors. Complimented Dr. Andrews but said he was bias obviously. 2) Lack of pressure in college - but then went on to say: "but I went back and watched that byu game before he went down, and he was getting his rear kicked all over the field - and he got up every time before that last hit." 26) Jahvid Best - "it will all come down to his medical" 27) Mccoy vs Suh: "clearly you can tell suh is working out of a system that relies more on read and react. Where mccoy shoots the gap and just goes. Sometimes when you watch suh you just say to yourself, please go to the ball and just GO." 28- Suh - didn't get too much into this guy (honestly) except that he's impressed with the strength. Honestly said more and seemed more impressed with gerald mccoy. 29) Marc Bulger - whether it was on purpose or not he talked about bulgers contract on 3 separate occasions. Even mentioned that this year is different because they can cut him w/o the major cap ramifications - in contrast to before '08 and '09. 30) Benn - seems to have favorable opinions and impressions of/on benn. 31) James Hall - is priority #1 in resigning their own UFA. 32) Darrell Scott - 1/2 way thru the year spags got in his face and said: "i don't care what the f you did in clemson, this is the NFL. You better step it up or you're out". Devaney then said this: "after that happened it was like a light switch went off in scott's head" 33) Gibson - WW trade wouldn't of happened if he wasn't involved. Said jeff laurie (philly owner) didn't want to give him up. 34) Have looked at pike 35) Vick: "when vick is under center he won like what, (games) 70% or something. The big thing on mike (called him by first name) is what have these last 3 years done to him? Obviously his game is his legs, are they the same?" 36) Lastly, this was in response to a favorable question (not from me) regarding a particular qb and the number 1 overall pick: BD: "i'll tell you what' the first time the kid from Oklahoma gets hit and is laying on the floor, if he doesn't get right up and stays down.....get in your car and drive home" (intimating that they'll all be fired). Another fan: "especially if it's suh (that puts him down)" BD: Laughing out loud. That's all I really remember, BBrams was there so he can fill in anything I left out. Thanks, CT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted by BBRams Outstanding report Tucker. Here is my personal disclaimer - and it came from BD himself - everyone lies this time of year. So take these tidbits for what's it's worth. That being said, this was the coolest Rams function I have attended since moving to St. Louis. Tucker mentioned 20-25 guys, but I would say for the last hour or so, it was more like ten of us huddled around BD and talking football. He seems like a great guy and was very personable...again, it was amazing that he took the time for this event. Couple notes to add to Tuckers: 1) Said they were sweating the 2nd round pick last year - as the first round was wrapping up, James and Rey were the highest guys on their board. BD said he went around the room and asked everyone if they would take Rey over James, otherwise they're taking JL. No one said yes. 2) Follow up on James - they are thrilled with him. Said that Coach Spags got a text from him yesterday asking if he could come in early (to Rams Park) or send him some film because he's going crazy at home without any football. 3) I will emphasize the point about the Jets trading up and selecting Shonn Greene...BD mentioned this a few times and how Greene was THEIR guy and thinks someone in the organization let it slip, so the Jets traded up to get him. 4) RBs this year - likes McCluster, Dwyer, Dixon, Best (concerned about that concussion-more on this next). Said that he and Coach will be watching Ryan Matthews tomorrow morning. Someone asked about LeGarrette Blount and he just shook his head (no). 5) Concussions - teams are taking these VERY serious, for the obvious reasons. Said guys at the combine will receive a full body MRI and there usually are about 4-5 guys who detect some type of previously undiagnosed injury that get them listed as DND (do not draft). Went on to say that each team will have an unaffiliated doctor on the sideline and if a player fails any test, the Dr. has the authority to pull that player then and there. 6) Rookie pay scale will definitely happen in the near future. Said it makes too much sense and everyone except the agents want to make it happen. Will be glad to see the players who've earned it, get paid. 7) They haven't had any contact yet with the new potential owner (Khan). Said that Chip & Lucia are great people and very loyal. He didn't mention any names, but said that the previous regimes just took advantage of them. Tucker posed the question about the recent draft history, to which BD mentioned that's what happens when the coach is selecting the players and they don't have a personnel department. 9) Thinks this is a very deep/good draft due to all the juniors declaring. Said watch and see how many juniors go in the top ten. 10) We all got a laugh when the NFL Network showed a clip of an interview with him that he took earlier today. 11) More on what they look for in prospects - guys with good football intelligence that can learn and passion for the game. My note on this - it sounds like they will take a guy with a higher "ceiling" over a more polished player (e.g. - JSmith vs. Monroe). 12) More on Bradford from what Tucker mentioned - they really like his throwing motion and think his arm strength is underrated. Mobility is a plus and has a good frame to get bigger. Obviously this topic (Bradford @ #1) came up often and the more we heard, the more it sounds like it will depend on if the doctors clear him. Again, take it for what it's worth. 13) We really didn't discuss Clausen too much. However, he did say that if you don't like him, don't watch the film (because he looks good). Said they have to do more work on him and check out the personality stuff...confidence and a bit of swagger is ok, but it doesn't matter how good a guy is, if his teammates don't like him, that's not your leader. 14) Said they expect to see a lot of teams unloading the mega contracts that they don't want to get stuck with in March-April. That's all that comes to mind right now...it really was incredible to stand around and talk football with him. I applaud the Rams organization for making such a key figure available for questions, especially at this time of year.

Chat with Rams General Manager Billy Devaney

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:20:14 -0600

General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com Hello everyone. Sorry for the slight delay. All the scouts are in and we are in combine preparation meetings but it's good to spend some time with you. Danny, Vancouver WA. 12:35 PM CT Billy, It's Danny the Rams fan in Seahawk country, I just wanted to say If you draft Suh your drafting a winner, I know this because he grew up in Portland and went to the same school that I did. However if you trade down please go Dez Bryant or Shipply in a late round. Don't forget you got my gas money if we get skunked against the filthy birds next year. Good luck in the draft, go Rams. General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com Hey Danny, I agree with everything you say about Suh. I remember you and hope to see you when we are in Seattle. tim g, st.louis 12:36 PM CT Do you get any advice on free agents, trades,or college prospects, outside the Rams organization, that you would value? Thanks General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com Yeah, my greatest trusted advisor outside of the organization is my daughter. She'll always tell me the truth. All others within football are, as they say in Scarface, are lying even when they are telling the truth. john hall, moreno valley 12:37 PM CT dear billy d. have you and spags had a chance to meet the new potenial owner thank you very much General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com We have not. We have heard nothing but great things about him. Mike Corley, 12:38 PM CT General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com Hey Corley, get back to work. Bert, Spanish Lake 12:39 PM CT With Tampa Bay proposing a trade for our 1st overall pick, and we would receive their 1st and 3rd round pick and Josh Johnson. I feel we should trade with Tampa and then propose a trade with Washington for their first round pick( Since they want Bradford). We need all the help we can and this would free up a lot of salary space. What do you think? General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com I am being completely honest when I say I have not talked to anyone in Tampa Bay. I'm not saying that won't happen at some point but to date there is absolutely nothing going on. Vince, Saint Louis 12:40 PM CT What areas do you think we should in our draft the most? (QB? WR? DT?) General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com We are open to all of those positions. We are for bringing in as many good players regardless of position as possible. Matt, Arizona 12:41 PM CT What is the easiest position to project from the draft? General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com I would say there are none I would call easy. But probably the easiest transition from college to pro would be at running back in terms of just running the football. You have run skills or you don't. The other parts, pass protection, routes, etc, that is the toughest adjustment for a back to make but if you can run you can run. Aaron , New York 12:42 PM CT When do you guys usually start signing and tendering the free agents for this year? Have the decisions already been made or does the combine have to do with the choices you guys make? Thanks? General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com That will be coming up the first week in March. But the decisions have already been made. As far as the combine, that doesn't play into those decisions at all. Mike Corley, Middletown, NJ 12:43 PM CT Hey Bill, Mike from NJ....are you leaning toward a QB in the Draft, or a free agent QB, or possibly a trade for a QB? Thanks!~ General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com We are still thinking through that whole process. Anything is possible still including talking you out of retirement. Tom Sheridan, Thorold, Ontario Canada 12:46 PM CT Can we get Our offensive line some more needed help and make the changes required to buy our Quarterbacks some more needed time in the pocket? General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com We all like the shape of our offensive line. We expect everyone back healthy. We were pleased with the progress that group was making during the season and we expect it to be a strength of the team this year. Geroge, Kentucky 12:47 PM CT I think Fine was a good pick up. I know he's injury prone but I think he'll provide some good healthy competition for Fells and Bajema. I like Fells as the all around complete tight end. Hes shown that he can block and catch and score and we need explosive people like that on our offense. Didnt see much of him b/c he was a second string but I think he'd take over good. General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com If Fine can stay healthy we think he can play in this league. He's been a victim of some bad luck. We don't think he's injury prone. He'll be a good fit with the guys we currently have. Farbod, Pembroke Pines, FL 12:48 PM CT First off BD, I think you're the best thing to happen to this organization for about a decade now. With that being said, is there any meaning between the whole "Marc Bulger cleaned out his locker" hocus pocus? A lot of people are making a big deal about that as seemingly he hasn't done that before or something. Also, without there being a cap now and us holding the number 1 pick and other top picks in the draft, do we have enough $$ to pickup another top tier FA? Maybe a player such as Antrol Rolle? Really I just want to know how we stand compared to other teams in terms of spending without there being a cap. Always appreciated Bill goodluck to you in the upcoming weeks I'm sure you're hands will be more than full. General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com There was nothing to Bulger cleaning out his locker. Once the season is over, there is a general cleaning of the locker room itself and everyone's locker is cleaned out. Marc is still part of this team. Jason, Tucson 12:49 PM CT Mr. Devaney, Are you open to bringing in more veteran players or will the focus be on getting younger? General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com We are not opposed to bringing in some veteran type players. We have our free agent list compiled and there are names on it that would bring a veteran presence to our team. hiztory, springfield mo 12:50 PM CT Tell me what you think of this logic.When drafting a DL, the first thing you expect out them is to hold the point of attack, then to pickup and use techniques and then to provide pressure? If the DL can provide pressure on about 10 to 20% of the plays then he gets double teamed, and can come up with sacks and tackles. I say this because people tend to put alot on rookie's sholder by the way of expectations and i think that to expect someone to dominate right our of college is a bit much. All you can truly expect is for them to work hard, hold at the point of attack, provide pressure and make a play when the play is available to be made. what do you think? General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com Wow. Many great thoughts in your comments. That's a much more difficult position to play than people realize. Robert, San Diego 12:51 PM CT Can you tell us the Rams top position needs in your opinion? I know you're still exploring the different ways of filling them (draft, trade, free agency) but what positions are you all focusing on? Thanks Billy. General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com I love talking football like this with everyone but there are areas I can't go to without jeopardizing our strategy. We do have an understanding of our needs but we need to keep that in house at this point. matt, jefferson city 12:52 PM CT is there any chance the rams will take a chance on Alexander from Mizzou after this knee surgery? General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com Man, we feel for that kid. He is so talented someone will take a chance on him. Where that is, I am not sure. Benjamin Spann, Columbia, S.C 12:53 PM CT Billy, Do you know how Laurent Robinson is doing in his rehab process? General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com He is coming along great. He'll be ready to take part in the offseason workouts when they start up again in March. Jeff Roman, Boston 12:55 PM CT Mr. Devaney - after 2009 and picking a player in Jason Smith that gained a lot of ground in the combine, are you planning on moving a lot of players up or down your board based on how they do in the Combine? General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com We had really high grades on Jason before the combine. I can honestly say that I don't have any idea what his workout at the combine was like. We will not use the combine to change our grades on a player. Aaron, San Antonio 12:56 PM CT What's your take on the new draft format this year? Do you like the options that it might open up for possible trades? General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com It's going to be a little bit weird. But I think it could work to our advantage this year being that we have the first pick in the second round. After the first round is over, teams really zero in on who their pick will be in the second round and if they feel they might not have a chance to get him, they will look to move up. Josh Kemp, Evansville, IN 12:58 PM CT Who do you think is a "sleeper" in this years upcoming draft? General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com I've got somebody in mind but if I told you then he wouldn't be a sleeper anymore. Justin, Joplin, MO 12:58 PM CT I'm a huge Sooner fan! What is your opinion of Sam Bradford? Just a year ago he could have went ahead of Stafford, and reports are that he is recovering ahead of schedule and his arm is gonna be stronger. Do you think he is worth the first overall pick? Thanks General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com Everyone here has a high opinion of Bradford also. All reports are that his rehab is ahead of schedule. He's an easy guy to pull for. Ken, Redondo Bch 12:59 PM CT Rating a QB in the draft, what is more important to you, and if we do draft Suh any chance to see Carriiker move over to DE? Thanks. General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com Of course he has to have physical skills. But it's critical that he has the intangibles to play the position. The requirements of this position off the field are incredible. Karina, Gerogetown 1:01 PM CT Do you miss the guys when they're gone over the offseason. Not in a weird kinda way, but ya figure that you guys spend so much time together you become like a family. General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com Karina, I'm just speaking for myself but I do miss those guys in every way. Just joking. No, it's great when the players are in the building. The music is blasting, the weight room is humming, and we have a good group of kids in our organization. Terence, Colorado 1:02 PM CT You're daughter huh? She single??? General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com Terence, don't make my come to Colorado. P.S. Yes. matt, jefferson city 1:03 PM CT have you looked at sean weatherspoon form mizzou at all? I think he would fit great with our linebackers General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com We think a lot of Weatherspoon. We think he can play all three linebacker positions. Mizzou players are always well prepared for the pro game. Jeff, St.Augustine 1:04 PM CT Billy more of a comment than anything, Just wanted to say keep up the great job that you and coach Spagniolo have started and don�t forget there are some die hard Rams Fans out there rooting for our team and waiting for the turnaround!!!!! Good luck in the draft and please do not trade the first pick take your top player on the Ram�s board. General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com Thanks for your comments. I sincerely mean this when I say that Spags and I appreciate our fans loyalty and passion. I know it's been tough for all of us but it will make it that much better when we get this going. General Manager Billy Devaney, Stlouisrams.com Gotta get back to our draft meetings. But would love to continue this conversation - I'll be at J Bucks in Clayton between 5 and 7 p.m. tomorrow - to talk about the draft, free agency or anything else on your mind. Cheers.

Rams Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo � February 16, 2010

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:50:08 -0600

(Opening Remarks) �It�s been six weeks, so we�ve had a little bit of time between the last time we visited and today. It�s been a great six weeks. I told you we evaluated the team and we started looking at free agents. We�re kind of still in the middle of that. The coaches and scouts went down to the Senior Bowl. The weather was actually great, which was good. I actually spent a day in Miami the Friday before the Super Bowl. (Senior Director of Communications) Ted (Crews) dragged me down there, so I went down there and visited Miami but it was great. As coaches, we always say you don�t want to go to the Super Bowl site unless you�re playing in it and that�s true. You want to be playing in it. It was good to go down there and see people. The NFL having an event like that, is great to be apart of. There have been two new hires within the organization. We hired a wide receivers coach Nolan Cromwell, who name I know a lot of people recognize. He played here for the Rams a little while back. Obviously, we hired an athletic trainer, Reggie Scott, who joined us on Monday. He officially started yesterday, so he�s up and rolling. He has already put his hands on most of the guys here in rehab and that�s a good thing. Next week, we�re rolling into the combine, which is exciting. That brings us right up to the draft and away we go into OTAs, mini camps, etc. You guys all know that the NFL now is all year around, it�s not seasonal. It�s year around, which I think is a great thing. That�s why I�m standing here today to entertain all of the questions that you guys are begging to ask for.� (On if there is one main concern that he wants to address whether it be free agency or the NFL draft) �Well, we kind of clump those all together. We won�t separate it. We�ll try to make the team better, build the roster, and�we�re not going to focus on one�certainly if we were, we wouldn�t tip our hand anyway. I think as a team, you want to build it. I�ve said this from the beginning that you build from the inside out. You start with the linemen and move your way out. We certainly have our eyeballs on a lot of people. The league is a little different this year with the uncapped season. It kind of limits some of the free agents. There are still enough guys there that we can look at. And certainly with all of the college players going to the combine and coming out, there will be enough draft talk. We�re trying to improve everywhere.� (On why he hired Wide Receivers Coach Nolan Cromwell) �Well, he�s done this thing for a while, certainly playing in the league and coaching the wide receivers with two different NFL teams. I enjoyed the interaction with Nolan. He�s familiar with the terminology, very easy transition. (President of the Cleveland Browns) Mike Holmgren�s tree, (Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach) Andy Reid, (Offensive Coordinator) Pat Shurmur, all the way through, so that�s a pretty natural transition. He struck me as a teacher and a guy that�s been around it a lot. I think he�ll help our young wide receivers.� (On if he is closer on deciding on a quarterback) �Not any closer, I�m going to be honest with you. There�s still a long ways to go here. You know this is all in layers, free agency, draft, and what happens afterwards. To make any rash decision now, no we wouldn�t do that. I�ll say what I�ve said before, good, bad, or indifferent, in playing three quarterbacks last year gave us a pretty good feel of what all of them can do. This time last year when I was standing here, I didn�t now a lot about the players here. It�s good to have a comfort level of who we have and where we�re going. We�ll put it all together and make some decisions.� (On if he sees the team possibly moving forward with QB Marc Bulger) �I see all the scenarios. I�ve said this before; I got a great deal of respect for Marc. I think he�s a good football player. He�s a competitor. I know he�s grabbing me on the sidelines with suggestions all the time and it�s not just quarterbacking play. I think a lot of Marc as I did (QB) Kyle (Boller) and certainly (QB) Keith (Null) getting in there playing a few games. I think that helps him too; helps us.� (On if he�s talked with Antonio Pierce) �I haven�t talked to Antonio. When I saw it the other day, I meant to text him. I didn�t get to do that, but I will. Antonio is a close friend of mine. You get in this business with players, they become close friends. I think the world of him. I know he had the injury last year, I was sorry to see that. I�ll have to visit with him.� (On if Pierce is healthy could he move to outside linebacker or weakside linebacker for the Rams) �I guess all of those situations are possible. I think the health of the player is probably the most important thing. I�d check on that.� (On if he has had any conversations with Marc Bulger since the end of the season) �Yeah, he was here a couple of weeks ago. We just sat down and visited, nothing football wise. I want to say we shared texts a couple of weeks ago, but I can�t remember. I�m getting really good with the texting deal, so I go back and forth with the guys when I can.� (On if a player�s future is in question, what kind of football conversation do you have with them) �Well, (QB) Marc (Bulger) has a contract. Marc�s on this football team so I talk to Marc like I do everybody else. I talk to him about his family and all of those good things. At this time of year if I talk to a player right now, I try to talk about everything except football. They get enough of that when they come here. There�s a personal side to this too.� (On if he has much contact with players at this time of year) �This is my feelings, philosophy I try not to �bother them.� I stay away from long phone calls, I do think the text thing is ideal. I can just say, �Hey, I�m thinking about you�� which I have done a number of times, but I don�t like to prod. Those guys need to get away. They hear me seven, eight months straight. When I do contact them this time of year, usually it�s just general, hello, family, those kinds of things.� (On some of the prime free agents being restricted and how that affects their personnel needs) �The numbers are a lot less going into free agency. I�m not talking about our players; I�m talking about others players that we could add. It�s just slim, numbers wise. That will make it a little bit more challenging. It�s the same for all the other teams, so all 31 teams are going through the same thing. Whatever the landscape is, you just deal with it and you move on. It doesn�t do any good to hope that it changes because if it doesn�t, we have to have a plan for going forward.� (On if the restricted free agent market opens up more trade possibilities or discussions) �Yeah, maybe discussions but I�m not sure of that. It allows you to �keep� players that normally got out there, so it�s two ways to look at it certainly the pool is less of guys you might have wanted to go grab, but guys that you wanted to keep in the fold here gives you an avenue to do that. So that�s a positive.� (On the hiring of Head Trainer Reggie Scott) �We went through an extensive interview process, brought some people in, and Reggie kind of surfaced as the guy at the end. He was highly, highly recommended, very qualified. The thing that stuck out were the unsolicited recommendations from players that he had actually worked with, which I think says it all. That�s probably the most important thing in that business.� (On how important it is for him to sit down and talk with players at the combine) �It is really important. I am a visual guy, so it is always helpful to me if I have sat and visited with somebody for 10, 15 minutes; it helps me in the whole evaluation process. It helps all of us. Now, do you get anything and everything in 15 minutes and can people fool you in 15 minutes? Yeah, they certainly can. It is a beginning of a process and certainly with the picks and where we are at, I may � I didn�t get to do a lot of it last year � get out and travel around to the workouts. I am hoping to do a little more of that this year, so that gives you a second or third time to talk to these guys. The more information you can gather, the theory is, the better decision you are going to make.� (On what he wants in his nose tackle and how the player can fit into the defensive scheme) �I think I know where you are going with that. I don�t think or look at it that way when we are talking about college defensive linemen to be quite honest with you. We look for good football players. I personally think, to me, if we are just talking about defensive linemen, it is more of a reading tackle or an attacking tackle. We consider ourselves a little bit more attacking and less reading. That nose you are talking about a 3-4, that is more of a reader, yet if you see plays or instances where a defensive lineman comes off the football, you say he can do that. If he can recapture a gap or he can redirect, then I think we can fit him in our type of scheme. There isn�t anyone out there that plays in a college 3-4 or nose tackle position that we would say, �No, we can�t use that guy.� We wouldn�t do that.� (On how much footage he has watched of Nebraska�s DT Ndamukong Suh) �Not as much as I would have wanted to. What we just finished yesterday was the film on the free agents and now we are just starting to dig into the college guys. I have seen clips of him here and there and he�s an impressive football player, but to say that I have sat there and studied him, I can�t do that.� (On if there is an emphasis to bring in a veteran receiver to help the younger receivers on the team) �I�d say in any of the positions or in a lot of cases, it is very advantageous to have a veteran in each spot. Sometimes you can do that, sometimes you can�t; the right veteran now. That is where you do the research. Ideally, it would be great to have the hardest working, best professional, Monday to Saturday football player with a lot of experience at every position because then all the guys with the lesser experience can learn. That would be ideal, so we would always try to do that. That would be a goal.� (On WR Donte Stallworth) �I was with Donte in Philadelphia and I think he is a heck of a football player. I know that he has just become available, so we are looking at everybody. But I happen to know Donte personally and I kind of like him. That is going back a little while now, three or four years ago when he was in Philadelphia.� (On what he wants to get out of the combine) �Find out where more of the restaurants are. No, probably a lot of the same things (as last year). Where (General Manager) Billy (Devaney) is really helpful is when you sit down � of course all of the players are there together and I can sit with him � and as a guy works out or runs the 40 (yard dash), Billy can stand there and say, �That guy.� He gives me the information. So I am really trying to digest as much information as I can and then as the next few weeks unfold here, it will start to make a little more sense to me. Information gathering is really the best way to say it.� (On his thoughts about the new permanent turf in the Edward Jones Dome) �I am all for what I think works for our football team. (Rams Executive Vice President of Football Operations/Chief Operating Officer) Kevin (Demoff) was knee deep in all those discussions. When it was all said and done, he felt that was the best way for us to go. I am all for it. I think you know it is similar to what we have out here at Rams Park and I think that is a pretty big tie in. I don�t think you have to have that, but I think it is good to have it that way. We�ll be curious to see when it is all laid down and get on it. I think it will be fine. The company does a nice job with it. We are looking forward to it. Again, I never sat here and said that the turf was bad for us. Both teams have to play on it.� (On if there is an emphasis on the final two days of the combine as opposed to the beginning workouts) �Not for me. You just never know how it is going to unfold. I think we would make a mistake to just emphasize two areas and not the whole thing. I think any coach would tell you that. Anybody in NFL personnel is going to tell you they are going to look at the whole thing. A lot of things change.� (On if he anticipates meeting with Shahid Khan in the near future) �I don�t. There is nothing scheduled. Should things go that way, I am sure of that. I would be happy to.� (On if there is a new sense of urgency to win with a new owner coming in) �I know for me � the coaches, the players � what we are doing has never changed. We are still doing the same thing. The focus is the same, what we do day-to-day is the same, so it really doesn�t change. I am with you in that it is all about the winning. It doesn�t matter what position you hold here. We all benefit, everybody in this room included. We all benefit when we win.� (On if he feels like he is moving the team in the right direction) �I hope we are doing that. I felt that either way; I did. I have talked about this before. I know that it was painful last year � certainly painful for me � but I always follow that up with, I think the pains from 2009 will help us in 2010. I still feel that.� (On if there are any updates on player injuries or surgeries since the season ended) �I wish I would have brought that down. I apologize for that. A lot of these guys are here which is great. (LS) Chris Massey is looking great. I�ll tell you who is looking really great is (CB) Bradley Fletcher which we are encouraged by. (DT) Adam Carriker was in there this morning. He looks like he is going to be fine. He is almost ready to go now. (DE) C.J. Ah You has been great in there. He really has been getting after it, (TE) Eric Bassey, (WR) Keenan Burton. Some of these guys, at one time, we were a little concerned with how long the injury would take (to heal). I just think that they have been working hard at it. I know we had a transition period here. (Assistant Athletic Trainer) James Lomax and (Assistant Athletic Trainer) Tyler Williams were in there working with them and they did a great job and now we that we have Reggie on board, we expect it to keep going that way.� (On if there were any surgeries after the season ended) �I know (CB) Ron Bartell had a bursa elbow thing that was minor. (G) John Greco � I think this was postseason � I am relying on memory here, had a thumb surgery. He has been fine. He�s out of the cast. (G) Roger Allen you guys remember. He has been in here every day, every week. He�s doing great. He is early in his rehab, so he has a long way to go.� (On CB Quincy Butler) �He was cleared. He didn�t have any surgery done. By the time we brought the guys...they were gone for two weeks and they came back and got reevaluated, Quincy was cleared at the two-week update.� (On C Jason Brown�s knee injury) �Yeah, he was fine. No surgery or anything there.� (On if he would accept the idea to bring in a young quarterback with no NFL experience to the team and build around him) �Yeah, I can envision them all. I hope everybody doesn�t think that I would be opposed to that. No, certainly not. Again, it will come down to � and I know you are talking about the first pick � it will come down to the best guy to take at that position at that particular time. There are still some layers here between now and the day we have to make that decision.�

RamView, January 3, 2010, Game #16: 49ers 28, Rams 6, by Mike Franke

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:04:48 -0600

The Rams began the decade as kings of the NFL but ended it the lowest of the low, capping off the worst three-year run in NFL history with another lackluster loss to another division rival. Rags to riches to rags. Dirty, smelly rags. * QB: It was a day for Keith Null (7-17-57 yards, 50.4 rating) to forget, and thanks to a partial concussion suffered after getting battered for two-quarters-plus, he may not remember this game by the time he gets up Monday morning. And he won't want to, though the really scary thing is, I think Null did about everything he could do today. He didn't commit a turnover despite relentless 49er pressure. He scrambled (or tried) a few times after a few games of being glued to the pocket. He took charge at the line of scrimmage with audibles and did his best to keep the 49ers off balance with hard counts. Null's game is still progressing. Unfortunately, though, if I may try to read Null's mind, the day went a lot like this: �OK, drop back... first option, not open... second option, he's not open, either... third option... GAAAH!� The 49ers stopped Steven Jackson and Null didn't get any help from his receivers or much from his offensive line. He earns the blame for only one of the FIVE times he was sacked (and don't forget his scrambling saved a couple more). He only took about a 3-step drop during a screen play in the 3rd, and when the line turned Justin Smith loose, he was already practically in Null's lap. Deep drop on the screen, rook. Unfortunately, Smith's hit knocked Null out of the game and brought back the uninspiring Kyle Boller (4-11-23, 44.9 rating) one last time. Boller missed a couple of rare open receivers, though in his defense he was also under siege just about every play. Poor blitz recognition was Boller's downfall. Jackson ran smack into a blitz for a five-yard loss in the 3rd and immediately turned around after the play and chewed Boller out. A veteran QB's got to recognize that coming and check to something else. Boller missed it again late in the 4th when Dashon Goldson blitzed in for the SEVENTH of San Francisco's EIGHT sacks. Boller came in cold, and also avoided committing a turnover, but comparing how the veteran handled the 49er pass rush today to how the rookie did, I can't make much of a case for keeping Null behind Boller any more, or, to shorten the sentence, keeping Boller any more. The Rams didn't gain anything with him on the field this season in any capacity. * RB: Despite a very quiet afternoon, Steven Jackson (20-63) ended the season the leading rusher in the NFC and with a richly-deserved Pro Bowl berth. Jackson was able to get outside around right end a couple of times for nice gains and got a couple of decent gains off Randy McMichael blocks, but the 49ers dominated the line of scrimmage and Steven usually didn't get any help up front. That resulted in some painful moments. He ran right into a blitz in the 4th for a 5-yard loss. I'll say this: when he turned and screamed at Boller after the play, Jackson had the whole crowd behind him. The Rams blew a crucial 3rd-and-1 at the 49er 10 later in the 4th after Parys Haralson blew up the Ram line and met Jackson for another loss. This is the kind of day Jackson had: he'd try to run up the middle behind Mike Karney and gain nothing after the 49ers backed Karney up in the hole. I trust Steven will have a lot better blocking in front of him in Miami. After all the hard work he's done this season, he deserves a nice opportunity like that to showcase his skills. * Receivers: A unit that's been a disgusting mess all season ended it with another disgusting performance. Donnie Avery (2-23) was the only receiver to crack 20 total yards but had to leave the game in the 2nd after a hard hit with a possible concussion. No one had more than three catches. Null didn't miss open receivers today and Boller didn't miss them much. They simply weren't there. Any time you looked downfield after the Ram QB got in trouble, everybody was still covered, and San Francisco was doing it with their best guy out injured. This receiving corps was so poorly equipped from the beginning to take on an NFL season, it's truly laughable. Avery's never looked any better than a #3 slot receiver in 2009. He and Laurent Robinson and Keenan Burton all have significant injury histories. Brandon Gibson's (3-18) very raw, though his back-to-back catches late in the 2nd helped set up a FG attempt. Danny Amendola (3-18) and Jordan Kent (1-5) are best suited to exclusive special teams roles. The TEs can block a little, but lack speed, and in Randy McMichael's (1-7) case, hands, though he didn't drop any today. They all lack the speed and skills to get open or create big plays after the catch. It's been a disaster the Rams should have seen coming and one they're going to have to clean up after significantly in the offseason. After you kick the special teams guys over to that unit, I'm not sure anybody other than Gibson's worth keeping. What a disaster. * Offensive line: Another disaster today was the o-line, which should have been expected, really. Rams season in a nutshell: Season-long practice-squadder Roger Allen started at guard. And got hurt in the second quarter, which moved the paripatetically-out-of-position Adam Goldberg to LG and put another season-long practice squadder, Phil Trautwein, in at RT for his first professional action. Hoo boy. The 49ers were all over that like Joey Chestnut on a platter of franks, and the Rams wound up allowing a dreadful EIGHT sacks, FOUR of them by Justin Freaking Smith, and gave Jackson very little running room. Some of the sack problem was quarterbacking mistakes, but most of it was the Rams being just plain overmatched. Allen was awful in his limited action. He gave Smith a free run at Null for the 2nd 49er sack and got smoked by Demetric Evans for another. Evans didn't even put that much of a move on Allen, who looked like he was just guessing where to try to block. Goldberg had a surprisingly poor game. Haralson beat him at RT for half of the first sack of Null, and Smith just knocked him to the ground at LG en route to the 4th sack of Null. I think Goldberg was also responsible for Smith's fourth sack. He picked up Patrick Willis blitzing on the outside, but his responsibility was probably Smith on the interior rush after Alex Barron let him go. Jackson gave up the eighth and final sack to Dre Bly, his first poor blitz pickup in several weeks. Chemistry, continuity and experience are all vital to having a good offensive line. The Rams have talent on their line but end the season way short on those other qualities. It's easy to see why they've struggled but fair to say they can become better. * Defensive line / LB: The Ram defense played what might have been its best three-and-a-half quarters of the season but looked for all the world like they'd quit after San Francisco took a 14-6 lead in the 4th. They forced a ton of 3-and-outs or similarly short possessions. James Laurinaitis set one up by blitzing up the middle untouched for the first sack of Alex Smith in the 1st, and got another in the 3rd by breaking up a 3rd-down pass to Vernon Davis with a solid hit. Chris Long got one by swatting down a 3rd-down pass. Craig Dahl helped set up another with a free run at Smith for a sack off a safety blitz. Long and James Hall were solid against the run. Hall stuffed Frank Gore several times as the Rams held him to just 31 first-half yards. Hall got the Rams' 3rd sack, and started another 3-and-out, by pouncing on Smith as he recovered his own extremely lame fumble in the 3rd. The 49ers couldn't put together any offense at all and the Rams had Smith on the run. In the 3rd, though, the 49ers started finding some cracks. Gore went up the middle for 34 after David Baas pulled and engulfed Laurinaitis and James Butler's utter inability to tackle Gore doubled the length of the play. Gore followed that with a 22-yard screen inside the 5, breaking away after Long and Ron Bartell ran into one another. That led to their first TD. The second TD was a lightning bolt from Davis after the Rams had settled for their hundredth FG near the goal line of the season, and after that, I'm pretty sure the defense was mainly thinking about tee times the rest of the way. Except for Long, who had enough fire left to get into a head-butting incident with a 49er lineman late in the game and get ejected. Ejections (usually of the head coach or manager) have been known to fire up basketball and baseball teams but the Rams saw no such effect. Gore chugged through them for a couple of short TDs meeting very little resistance in the middle and an unpleasant lack of pursuit when he bounced outside. It was 28-6 at the end of the game but 14-6 when the game was done, the Ram defense doing itself a brief disservice after at least 50 minutes of excellent effort today and a season where they'd played almost every game hard from start to finish. * Secondary: The secondary paralleled the front seven, a good first half but a meltdown in the 2nd half. Justin King continued his strong work defending short passes by breaking up a pass to Vernon Davis with Ron Bartell to kill the first 49er threat of the day near midfield. A possession after he sacked Alex Smith, Dahl broke up a 4th-down pass to Michael Crabtree with a good hit to save the Rams another score. The meltdown started on the first 49er TD drive. Bartell inexcusably let Crabtree catch an 8-yard sideline pass right in front of him on 3rd-and-6. Josh Morgan then found a hole in the Ram zone for 17, then Gore took over. The pivotal play of the game came midway through the 4th. Davis split wide and drew single coverage from the lamentable Butler, who he burned badly for a 73-yard go-route TD. Game over, man, game over, but not before Crabtree burned Dahl for 38 to set up the next TD, the rookie turning the veteran inside out with a fake. An interesting development came in the 3rd when an apparently new player � John? Johnny? - Wade got some playing time and made a nice open- field stop on a pass to Gore. Wade may actually have been the nickel back today; I don't remember seeing Danny Gorrer at all. Hard to figure why Wade was the coaching staff's red-headed stepchild all season when Butler's the one who can't play, and for a big price to boot. Can't tackle, can't cover, burned the Rams with both inabilities today. What's it going to take for this franchise to get a decent strong safety? * Special teams: The Rams weathered a plague of flags on a punt sequence in the 2nd quarter but still managed a decent day on special teams. The highlight of the day was the punting clinic put on by Donnie Jones and Andy Lee. Jones ended the day with a sick 50.1 average on a sicker 11 punts. Josh Brown hit a 54-yard FG to open the scoring but mysteriously missed a 45-yarder at the halftime gun, though I do not believe he missed it by much. Amendola set up Brown's other FG with a 56-yard punt return. He got up the sideline thanks to David Roach's seal block and got by the punter this time. Amendola has been a fine pickup for the Rams and should be their kick and punt returner next season. Let's just hope the offense will someday make it less regretful when Amendola just misses a TD. * Coaching: I really did not understand Steve Spagnuolo's 4th-down philosophy today. 4th-and-1 at our 42 early in the game, we're going for it. 4th-and-2 at the 49er 11 down 7-3 late in the game, we're kicking the FG. 4th-and-18 from our 27, down 21-6, we're going for it. Hell, we're even burning timeouts. Then 4th-11 at our 25 down 28-6, boom goes the punt. The postgame radio show linked the Rams' quitting in the 4th quarter to the moment Spagnuolo chose to kick down 7-3, and that's hard to refute. There's little reason outside of abiding admiration for Ndamukong Suh not to go for it there. Spagnuolo has to let go of a lot of his conservatism of game management next season. The great ones didn't get there without taking intelligent risks. That conservatism pervades the offensive game plan, where Pat Shurmur's still calling two-yard smoke routes on 3rd-and-6 or running Jackson up the middle three straight times after a big play. The staff reminds me of when you're first starting to drive and you think you're moving along really fast, then Dad tells you to look at the speedometer and you find out you're going 30. Coaching may be overrated in the estimation of how games are won and lost, but it's fair to demand the coaching staff show a tangible positive effect. Spagnuolo has done that this year as a leader. His team has played hard all season with the exception of about a quarter. They've been in games they probably didn't deserve to be in. They're on the right track motivationally. Pleyer development looks like it's getting there. All of the draft picks improved as the season went on. Special teams have gelled into something, well, special. The team's getting there developmentally, though with the glaring exceptions of WR and RBs to back up Jackson. But they're getting there. They need to get there strategically, too. Step on the gas next season, Coach. * Upon further review: Mike Carey's already looking ahead to the playoffs, which I assume he'll be working as one of the NFL's top referees, though today's game may have lowered his crew a percentile or two. They threw flags on 49er special teams several times for blocks in the back but picked them all up. That got mind-boggling after a while, because some of them sure looked like illegal blocks. The missed call on Gibson's catch right before halftime, which the replay booth had to correct, was poor. NFL officials shouldn't miss calls I can get from 250 feet away. And Long was ejected from the game for retaliating against a late block that the official was looking right at. Hell, he got caught up in it. For Long to get the only penalty there was WWE-quality officiating, and I guarantee that had that 49er lineman been Richie Incognito instead, every official on the field would have tossed their hankies. D-plus. * Cheers: The main reason most of the fans filled (half of) the Dome today was to salute Isaac Bruce in what appears to have been the final game of his brilliant career. So it was a shame there wasn't better publicity about how the 49ers planned to use him. Very little of the crowd suspected Isaac was only going to be on the field for the first offensive play, particularly since they didn't throw to him, running away from him instead. Otherwise we would have been on our feet when he came off the field and did a leaping celebration with several 49er receivers the way he used to do with Torry Holt. The crowd also had little idea Isaac had spent the second half in street clothes, trying to call him onto the field late in the game instead. We finally got to pay tribute to the greatest Ram WR thanks to some quick stadium camera work on the Jumbotron around the 2:00 warning. Bruuuuuuuuce. Though they may rely a little too much on pee-wee football for halftime shows, the Rams' P.R./game day people have been one of the franchise's strongest units this season. They marked Fan Appreciation Day today with discounts on concessions and an impressive array of prizes, giving away Super Bowl tickets, 50+ game-worn jerseys, and so many TVs I thought everyone in attendance was going to get one at one point. No, I didn't win anything, but my nephew and I had a blast at his 2nd Rams game, even though it was positively awful on the field. The Rams are getting some things right. * Fearless postseason prediction: This ought to be one of the most exciting postseasons in many years. Look at the QBs in this year's playoffs: Manning, Rivers, Brees, Favre, Warner, Romo, Brady, Rodgers, McNabb. Look at some of the potential matchups. Patriots-Colts again? Favre vs. Packers, part III? Kurt Warner's postseason return to New Orleans? The Colts, Saints, Vikings will be hard to beat in their home domes. The red-hot Chargers and Cowboys will be hard to beat anywhere. And if the playoffs are really about running and defense, why not the Bengals or Jets or Ravens? OK, now that I've hedged on everybody, how about a prediction? I know the Chargers have the Colts' postseason number, but I'm not betting against Peyton, not this year. Another long Arizona postseason run sure looks unlikely after the Packers mopped the floor with their backups today, but I also hate betting against Kurt Warner. Plus I don't mind jinxing the hell out of Bill Bidwill. Sorry, Kurt. Colts over Cards in the Big One. * What�s next?: The last time the Rams had the #1 pick in the draft, they drafted the winner of the Outland and Lombardi Trophies, Orlando Pace, and in his third season, they won the Super Bowl. They can try to repeat that history by selecting Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh in April, but he's only the tip of the iceberg for them to mount a postseason run in the near future. This team heads into next season very short on talent and very long on questions. The Ram offense had a 1,400-yard rusher and was still historically, hysterically, inept. Ten years after Warner, Bruce and Holt lit up the league, the Ram passing game is a joke. Focus on the QB all you want, but nobody who lines up behind center next season is going to succeed with receivers who can't get open or catch the ball or stay healthy. The Rams paid all season for their decision to try to play the receiver position on the cheap. Upgrading at WR and tight end with competent veterans must be the top offseason priority on offense. QB's surprisingly far down the priority list, absent any thrilling draft or free agent (Jason Campbell? Really?) prospects. The Rams would be better served to build up their offensive line depth to make up for the departures of Incognito and (please God please) Barron. They also need a big play threat to back Jackson up. But the critical need is receivers. They have to be able to stretch the field, make room for Jackson, get that 8th and 9th defender out of the box. And a ball- control offense has to have a reliable TE. Without those, as we've seen all season, the offense is a dreadful joke. The defense didn't finish 2009 much better. 29th in total defense. 27th against the run. 25th against the pass. 30th overall. The Rams' decisions to dump capable veteran OLBs early in the season were baffling, and long strides need to be made this offseason to surround James Laurinaitis with actual professional-level talent. And with Leonard Little mulling retirement, what's already an anemic pass rush threatens to become Chris Long and little else. Long may be poised for a breakout season in 2010 but not without a legitimate threat on the other end of the line, a threat that does not appear to be on the 2010 roster. For all the Rams' offensive woes, the Rams could open the 2010 draft drafting a DT, a DE and an OLB and fill plenty of needs. If injured players like Oshiomogho Atogwe, Bradley Fletcher and C.J. Ah You all come back strong, all the better, but the Rams mustn't allow returns from injured reserve to represent the biggest part of their upgrade in talent. A supplement, sure, but not the main course. Steve Spagnuolo's going to be under a lot of pressure next year. The honeymoon's over in 2010. Rams Nation has been patient and let some things slide. But we are sick of losing at home. We are sick of getting blown out by mediocre division opponents. The Rams have got the Lions, Bucs, Redskins, Raiders, Chiefs on next year's schedule, along with the Seahawks twice. They won't win them all, but that's still seven highly winnable games, way up from maybe two this year. It's about time �any given Sunday� started applying to this team again, too. Spagnuolo's established himself as a good leader. Now he needs to show the defensive acumen that got him this far. His game management has to step up a level. His staff's got to show he hired the right guys. His and Billy Devaney's ability to evaluate players has to shine through. In short, while acknowledging that Spagnuolo's lining the Rams up on the right track; in 2010, we want some results. 6-10 won't kick-start any parades in St. Louis, but it's hardly a lot to ask for next season. Not when Cleveland and Oakland and Seattle won 5 this year, or Buffalo won 6. Make it happen, Coach. Gotta go to work. --Mike Game stats from nfl.com http://www.ramview.com/

Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo, 1/3/10

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 19:19:26 -0600

(Opening Remarks) �Before we get going here, I want to�there was an accident here in the Dome where I believe a couple people fell. I thought it was quite serious, but I think they�re going to be ok. They�re on the way to the hospital with one of our doctors I believe. Our prayers, good wishes go to those one or two people, I think it was two. There�s many more things in this world and life besides a football game and that�s one of them, so we�re hoping they�re ok.� �Injury-wise, (WR) Donnie Avery, they called it a concussion and with the rules the way they are, they did not want to put him back in. (G) Roger Allen�s got a knee issue. They�re MRI it and check it, and we�ll know tomorrow. (QB) Keith Null was fuzzy as well. I don�t know if they used the term concussion, but he was a little bit fuzzy. (WR) Ruvell Martin just got the wind knocked out of him, so he was ok.� �With the game itself, it�s a hard way to finish, especially after you�but three and half quarters it was toe-to-toe with a good football team. They played good defense, they played physical (49ers Head Coach) Mike (Singletary) does a great job. I give them a lot of credit. They won the football game. And then to have it kind of get away like that at the end is, you know, I�m hoping we can erase those seven minutes in our mind and think about all the other things. But the bottom line is we lost the football game and the season�s over. We were hoping to finish on a high note and weren�t able to do that. But after tonight, we�ll get back together tomorrow as a team. We�ll wrap it up, there�s a lot of things we got to do and we�ll think about next year. And hopefully, and I know the guys will, I know the coaching staff will, and I know the organization will learn from the adversity that we went through this year, so that�s what we need to do. I�ll open it up.� (On what happened in the last half quarter of the game) �Well, they hit that one play. And I want to say it was a third-and-2, kind of expected them to run the football there. They had when you look at the tendencies of what had done going into this game. Now, we can still defend it, but (TE) Vernon Davis is a good football player. I�d have to see the tape to see exactly what happened. They made a nice throw and he�s a pretty fast guy. That took a little bit of steam out of us, but it was still a one possession game. Now I�m going to lose sight of everything that happened after that, and I know they scored again. I don�t know. Until I look at it, I don�t know exactly what happened, but one play kind of set the ball in motion there.� (On the decision to kick a field goal in the third quarter instead of going for it on fourth down) �Fourth-and-1 and a half, it made it 7-6 with 10 minutes left in the game. Three points, I thought that was the right thing to do. We had the prior play on third-and-1, did not have very much success, so that kind of played into it. If it was fourth-and-a half a yard, maybe we would have thought about it, but I thought it was the right thing to do there.� (On what he took from DE Chris Long�s head-butt) �I don�t know that it was a head-butt, I didn�t see it. I talked with Chris. We had a conversation. He feels bad about it. I know he�ll handle it the right way.� (On if he looks forward to having the No. 1 draft pick) �There�s some of that. It�s hard for me today because it�s still the game. But when I wake up tomorrow, I�ll tell you where I�m going to be sad is when I wake up tomorrow and there�s not another game to get ready for; quite honestly. But once I get over that part of it, then I�ll start thinking about what we have to do in the next phases in this league, which is get through next season. I do feel good about some of the things we established. I feel good about the guys in the locker room. In this league every team changes, every team changes. And quite honestly, and I know because I�ve gone through it, a month from now, 31 teams will be disappointed. Everybody will feel the same way we do today and one will be standing up there as a champion. Having said that, I think there is a lot of good that came from it. Tomorrow, I will start looking forward.� (On if when he actually gets the No. 1 draft pick he will appreciate it) �You�re probably right.� (On the offense going three-and-out continuously in the fourth quarter) �Yeah, it hurts when you say it that way, but you�re right. Again standing here without looking at the tape, I don�t really know why. I know we had�we have to remember and I�m not making any excuses, but we had a banged up offensive line that got banged up again. Tough duty. Tough for any quarterback to go through that. And I�ll give San Francisco�s defense a lot of credit. They�ve got some good players and they played good defense. We weren�t able to move it.� (On why RB Steven Jackson was upset) �I�d have to ask him. I don�t want to say. I don�t know that. I did not have a conversation with Steven. I did, but not about it wasn�t about that.� DE Chris Long (On the defense over the season) �Guys fought hard. Now we take some time off, and come back next year. I really like his (Coach Spagnuolo) coaching style, guys bought in and guys fought hard. We didn�t get the wins we wanted, but at the end of the day everybody gave their all.� (On his motivation to play.) �I get the motivation to continue working and get this thing turned around. I think we have the right people in place, and we�ve just got to keep going out and keep working hard. Eventually we�ll get his thing going in the right direction.� (On whether the team is getting better) �I think we�re closer than people know. I say that optimistically, but I�m also a very realistic person. If I didn�t think we were close I probably wouldn�t say anything, but I do think we�re closer than people know. I have faith that the people in the front office and Coach Spags are going to make the right decisions in the offseason. For the guys that are going to be here next season, it�s going to pay off, I believe. We�re going to work hard, and try to get this thing right.� (On his ejection) �I just lost my cool. I�m frustrated, and I take full responsibility. I take responsibility for the way I was playing at the time because I was frustrated. You make a few mistakes, someone pushes you late, and you stoop down to that level. It�s not the way you want to end the season. I should have kept my cool and I take full responsibility.� MLB James Laurinaitis (On his rookie year) �Regardless of the 1-15 record, I think there�s a lot of memories of this year as a rookie. A lot of things I�m going to look back on and laugh and smile. I think the mindset is you can�t let it happen again. It�s all about going forward, and turning this thing around, and doing whatever it takes in the offseason as an individual; working out, studying the game, studying the playbook, and everyone trying to get that much better.� (On getting better week to week) �It�s just learning. When you go through week by week, each week, win or lose, you approach the next week the same. You have to have a short memory as a team and as an individual. You always are trying to prepare for that next team, but I wouldn�t lie to you and say I wasn�t frustrated. You want to have more wins and you think back on it, and there�s a lot of what-ifs in certain games, but you can�t do anything about it now. You correct it, go forward, and come back strong.� QB Keith Null (On what happened when he was hit and had to come out of the game) �I just hit my head on the turf real hard. I came off and my body didn�t feel right and my head didn�t feel right.� (On if he feels ok now) �I�m still a little fuzzy, but it�s getting better.� (On making his fourth start) �Yeah, it�s never fun to get hurt and not being able to play. Sometimes it happens I guess.� QB Kyle Boller (On if he was surprised to go into the game) �Yeah, he (QB) (Keith Null) had told coach on the sideline that his head was kind of bothering him. I got some snaps and went into the game.� (On being pressured a lot in the game) �Yeah, they brought quite a bit of pressure. That�s part of it. You have to get the ball out. We can all do a better job of blocking guys and getting the ball out. Those times I didn�t get the ball out of my hand. I credit the San Francisco 49ers, they did a great job.� (On not having much time to throw) �Yeah, but at the same time you have to get the ball out of your hand and deal with the pressure. If they are going to hit you a couple of times and they see that they can do it, they�re going to keep doing it. It�s a credit to them.� RB Steven Jackson (On the fans giving WR Isaac Bruce a standing ovation) �That was really classy. I thought if this is going to be his last game, this is the way that he should go out. I�m pretty sure that all the fans around here locally really appreciate all the years that he has put in. He�s definitely a Ram great. He is one of those guys that I think we all expect to see him in the Ring of Fame.� (On what happened on that second down play in the fourth quarter when he came off of the field and looked upset) �That was just the heat of the game, that�s all.� (On what he takes away from this year) �We have a lot of work to get done, we have a lot of things that need to get turned around, and we have to just continue to work at it. We just got to work harder. Something has to turn. What we�ve done this year is not enough. We have to work harder. We just got to work harder.� 49ers WR Isaac Bruce (On playing in the game today) �It meant a lot, I think I was more into it for my fellow wide receivers. That is what they wanted, so I went ahead and did it.� (On the reception from the fans) �I was truly touched. I spent a lot of years here and for them to recognize me in that manner, I thought it was awesome.� (On if he wished he got to play more today) �Not at all, that was strictly for my wide receiver teammates, but no. They did a great job.� (On the 49ers receivers going to coach Mike Singletary lobbying for him to start) �It was cool. It was a total respect move. I am glad I was able to do something for them, with me going out the door as a 49er.� (On if he got emotional during the standing ovation in the fourth quarter) �I can control my emotions. If I was going cry it nearly came, but it didn�t come all the way out. I was touched, truly touched by the gesture.� (On all the memories he has in the Edward Jones Dome) �These walls have a lot to say good, bad, indifferent, but I enjoyed the entire run.� (On having any regrets on his career) �Not a one, and like I said earlier in the week my dreams are a lot bigger than my memories� 49er Head Coach Mike Singletary (On game) �I am very thankful that we won the game, this is not the style of game that we wanted to have, this is not the way we wanted this game to go. Nevertheless, I am thankful that we were able to come back out in the second half and put some drives together and make some plays. I thought our defense played well for the most part all day. I thought they really got after them. They really got after the quarterback and that was a good thing. I think we got eight sacks and DT Justin Smith had 3.5 and that was a career high for him so that was great.� (On Injuries) �We had a few injuries: LB Manny Lawson had a very mild concussion. He passed all of the test that tell you what degree the concussion is and was able to go back into the game and do a great job. He is fine. CB Shawntae Spencer rolled his ankle again. I think he rolled it some time earlier this week and he just needed to get some extra tape on it and that worked out well. WR Jason Hill had a rib contusion and we will just have to watch and evaluate that and see how serious that is.� (More on game) �I think during the first half our offense struggled a bit trying to put some drives together. Apparently, it looked like they had a few zero blitzes, which is difficult to pick up. They just decided to go for broke on a few of those blitzes and obviously if you don�t get the ball out your going to get sacked and it is not going to go well. I just think for the most part that I am thankful that we are able to come out of this game and get the heck out of here and the heck out of St. Louis with the win. I am thankful that our guys hung in there and stayed together and put a win together.� (On WR Isaac Bruce) �I just wanted him to know something that he already knows, that I really appreciate him as a player. It is not very often that you find a player that is a tremendous player, a Hall of Fame type player and at the same time his character far exceeds the type of player that he is, for that alone I think he should be commended.� (On the 49ers receivers wanting Bruce to dress) �The guys understand that you have to contribute to be here. This is the time of year unfortunately that you have evaluate things and what players are going to help us and what players are going to fit into the scheme of what we are trying to do. I think they understand that and they know I am going to be honest in the evaluations of the coaches, management and the whole nine yards. We have a whole lot of work to do this off-season. I am very excited to evaluate and go from there.� 49ers DL Justin Smith (On the defense getting eight sacks) �They got in a situation towards the end where they had to throw the ball, it was a good win for and we end the year 8-8 and come back next year.� (On the defense being steady all year long) �We did pretty good for the most part, we had some let downs in a game or two but for the most part we felt like we played decent enough. As a team we played good enough to be 8-8 and that is not good enough and next year we have to comeback and play better.� (On being back playing in Missouri) �It was good and it was fun. I got to see a lot of people so that is always good.� (On the defensive pressure) �They had some changes in personnel and issues like that. We were able to take advantage of that. They had some changes at quarterback and in the offensive line and that is what happens when you are down.� QB Alex Smith (General comments on the game) �The first half was not good enough, very unproductive. I don�t even know what our statistics were, but very unproductive, we didn�t get enough done. We came out in the second half and did some more things, moved the ball better and finished off some of those drives. I guess looking at the bigger picture that�s kind of what I see.� (More on the difference between halves) �I think in the first half we were a little more run first, run on first and second down and throw on third. In the second half, I think that changed quite a bit, there was a little more balance. We threw the ball a little more on first and second down. That�s kind of what I noticed.� (On the 73-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis) �It was a slot a formation so he was on the back side of the slot. They went to single-high safety and I liked the matchup back there. It�s hard for any team to replicate his speed on a show team, to get a feel for what he�s like and he just ran by that guy. He went outside and made a great play on the ball and finished it off.� (On his performance throughout the season) �I think we did some good things. It�s kind of been talked about a lot around here, but that consistency thing, taking the offense to the next level and being an attacking offense. The kind of offense when you step on the field the mindset and expectation level is to score points. And not, I hope we get something going and score points. The mindset is, we�re going to step out here and expect to score points, and we expect to move the ball.� RB Frank Gore (General comments on the game) �We got out real slow. But in the second half we came back. We told ourselves when we went in for halftime that we have to go and get this game over with. We came back in the second half and did it.� (On his fondest memory of Isaac Bruce) �He�s a great man, great football player, great teammate for the last two years. I use to get in the back of the line just to watch him, to see what he does to be able to play this long. He�s a real role model. He�s a real professional.�

Rams Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo � January 1, 2010

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:41:26 -0600

(Opening Remarks) �As usual here, the guys that did not practice today were (CB) Quincy Butler, (RB) Steven Jackson, (DE) Leonard Little, (G) Mark Setterstrom. The guys that were limited today were (WR) Donnie Avery, (LB) James Laurinaitis, (LB) Paris Lenon. He did get a little bit in there with his toe. (DE) Chris Long was okay and (T) Jason Smith did a little bit. I believe that takes care of everybody from that end. We got through a week of practice okay. It is hard to be indoors all three days. We wanted to get outside, but decided to stay inside with it. Looking forward to the game and with that, I will open it up.� (On if there is a chance Leonard Little will play on Sunday) �Right now he is questionable, so we�ll leave it at 50/50. He hasn�t obviously gotten any reps this week, but he has been doing this a long time so that doesn�t concern us. It is still all about the wound healing. We�ve got 48 more hours, so we will keep our fingers crossed.� (On if there has been a decision on the starting quarterback) �Not right now, no. Same deal.� (On if he got more out of WR Danny Amendola than he thought he would) �I can�t remember back to what the expectations were. We certainly knew that he was a good special team�s returner, that part we knew. I think he has really surfaced as a guy that we kind of rely on in the pass game a little bit. He�s such a competitor. You put competitors out on the field, it really doesn�t matter whether it�s special teams or offensively. I�m kind of pleased with what he has done up to this point.� (On if RB Steven Jackson is in the same routine) �Yeah, come over on Sunday. We�ll do the mock game tomorrow maybe he�ll try to go through that because it�s not real strenuous. On Sunday, if he feels like he�s ok, he usually doesn�t go out and workout. If he needs to get a feel for it, he�ll go out and do some things on the field and then make a decision. That�s been the same.� (On DE Chris Long�s limited participation in practice) �He seemed to be alright when he went out there. He tweaked his hamstring a little bit yesterday. Now I say tweaked, it was minor. He did most of everything, but didn�t do the whole thing. We can�t list him as full participation.� (On what he thinks T Jason Smith got out of this week being able to practice since the concussion) �If I were him, I would just want to be back out in a helmet and the shells that we had on. I know he wanted to do that so even though it was only a week, it�s doubtful that we will let him in there in the game. I think it was important for him to do that this week. I think it�s important for him and I think it�s important for his teammates to see that hopefully he�ll be ok.� (On if he was getting concerned about Smith as the weeks went on) �Yeah, I�m always concerned when it�s a health issue and you�re talking about the head. I think the trainers, doctors, and everybody within the organization handled it right. I think Jason handled it right and we were smart about it. Hopefully, going forward it won�t be an issue for him.� (On how much better G Roger Allen will be prepared from working with the first team offense this week) �Well, we had guys working in and out of there this whole week, but he got a lot of them. The hope is that he was a little bit more prepared than he was last week.� (On if he looks at Smith�s concussion as a factor for next season) �Well, I�m hoping not. Again, I guess I�m banking or hoping. Since he was cleared, he got through the three days. I�m sure we�ll do more things with him going forward just to make sure everything is ok. We�re going to plan ahead as if he�s ok.� (On Smith settling in at his position before the concussion) �There was a time there when he slid in over there at right tackle. I thought the offensive line was in there jelling before he ran into all of these kinds of injuries. He was a part of that so that was a good thing.� (On how the competition has been this week among the cornerbacks) �The same. They kind of rolled through every week the same way. When you get to this point in the season, there aren�t enough legs to get out there and practice. Those guys did a nice job of that. When the defensive backs are getting reps with the scout team, that�s still reps in our opinion to evaluate off of. It�s all the reps.� (On if anyone has emerged differently this week) �No, I�m not sure. We�ll wait and see. I�ll talk to the players before I say anything publically. I need to visit with those guys first.� (On what he would like to see from the team in the final game of the season) �Well, to come out and play as a team. Basically, do what they�ve been doing, which is have tremendous fight and tremendous resolve. It�s a character group of guys, I�ve always said that. Just praying and hoping to finish on a winning note. That�s what we�re all hoping and working for.� (On the offense preparing for San Francisco�s defense) �San Francisco does cause some different problems. They stand a lot of guys up, which is difficult to determine who is coming and having the five linemen picking up. Our guys have been through that before. The coaches do a good job with that. Hopefully, we�ll have a couple of things we can do that will help us in that particular situation because they do pressure quite a bit.�

Post-Practice � Rams Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo � December 31, 2009

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 13:19:20 -0600

(Opening Remarks) �The same guys that did not practice yesterday did not practice today. (CB) Quincy Butler, (RB) Steven (Jackson), (DE) Leonard Little, and (G) Mark Setterstrom you knew. (LB) Paris Lenon did not go today. Everybody else was either limited or going so we are pretty much okay. (T) Jason Smith went through the same thing. He did some limited things, but really didn�t have any contact. Other than that, it didn�t change too much.� �What�s today? Is it some kind of holiday? Am I supposed to know something? Happy Holidays. I�ll open it up.� (On if he will stay up until midnight tonight for New Years Eve) �No, only on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Thursday I am trying to get to bed before midnight. New Years Eve is a good deal for most, but we�re kind of in the middle of something so it is a regular Thursday for us really.� (On if he will throw out a bunch of tricks in the last game of the season against San Francisco) �That�s what you would like us to do. You didn�t see all the trick plays we ran out there (at practice)? Obviously I am going to sound like a broken record, but we will do whatever it takes to win the game. With a team like this, this is a physical football team and when you play that kind of team you have to match physical with physical and that is what we are hoping to do. (49ers Head Coach) Mike (Singletary) does a great job getting his team ready. He has all year long, getting them to play physical and they play that way. It is a great challenge for us and hopefully we will step it up that way too.� (On how different San Francisco is now offensively with Alex Smith at quarterback) �I am not sure the scheme has changed at all. They�ve always wanted to establish the run. They continue to do that. They�ve got a good running back and now they�ve got a wideout and a quarterback that are playing pretty well. They�ve gelled together like a lot of teams do this time of the year as they get later into the season and have a little more experience.� (On what WR Michael Crabtree adds to the 49ers offense) �He is a threat. You can see they try to get him the football in certain things. He is a talented guy. I am sure he�s probably not as ahead as he would have been had he been there at the beginning, but he is a threat. We have to worry about him. He is a good football player. He is a playmaker and I do think they try to get the ball to him.� (On if he is close to making a decision in regards to the starting quarterback) �No, about the same as I was this time last week and the week before that and the week before that. They are all getting work, both I should say � both are getting work. I still see that as a good thing. It gives us two healthy quarterbacks, two options. They both offer something different. I think that is a good thing.� (On what he wants to give the fans in the last game) �What I�d like to give them is a �W.� We�d all like to do that. I�d like nothing more than to be able to walk off the Dome surface there happy. That is the goal. I wish that and pray for that every night for that, not just for the team, but for the fans. I think it is important to us and we are going to handle it that way and we�ll give everything we can to make that happen.� Post-Practice � Rams Defensive Coordinator Ken Flajole � December 31, 2009 (On how he would assess LB James Laurinaitis� rookie season) �I think he has made great progress. Every week he has more command of what we are doing. Now, I think he is starting to maybe pick up on the little details of the game that can help him play a little faster and be a little bit more productive. I think he�s had a solid rookie season and hopefully he�ll just continue to get better and better.� (On what Laurinaitis needs to improve on) �I think some technical things from my standpoint. The linebacker coach might feel a little bit different, but I think we always try to fine tune their game as far as how they use their hands and pad level and footwork and things like that. I think there are some things there that he�ll continue to improve on.� (On how far DE Chris Long has come this season) �He has done a great job. He has gotten better every week. As all you guys know, there is a learning curve anytime you have a new scheme, but I think he�s gotten better and better. He is starting to flash now as a rusher and he is being the kind of guy I�m sure when the organization drafted him, hoped he be. I think he is continuing to grow and get better. Hopefully he�ll continue to do that next year and be a little bit better than he was this year. We are encouraged by Chris.� (On how the San Francisco offense is different since the teams met in October) �They are better now than they were, in my opinion, the last time we played them and it is for three reasons. I don�t know if the scheme has changed a whole lot what they are doing, but obviously the back being back and healthy � he is playing very well. The wide receiver gives them another added dimension and the quarterback is playing good too. They are a little bit different so we�ve got our hands full. They have gotten better.� (On TE Vernon Davis) �He is doing a great job and he creates matchup problems for you. He runs like all the wideouts do on the field, yet he is in the tight end location and you have to see if you can be able to put a safety on him. You know he is a tough duty for a linebacker. He creates problems for you. They�ve got a nice group of skill guys at San Francisco right now.� (On the rotation at cornerback this week) �We are still kind of working through that right now. We�ve got another practice day. We just went through a little bit of our third down today and we�ll work a little bit more on our redzone tomorrow. We�re going to kind of look at the film when we get done here and evaluate it and see where we go with the next step. That is still under consideration.� (On if 49ers QB Alex Smith is doing so well because he is more comfortable seeing the game) �It�s got to be. The thing that has impressed me about him is that he is willing to stay in there and take a hit. The guy we played last week (Arizona QB Kurt Warner) I had a lot of respect for him because he would do that. You guys know him because he played here. He�ll sit in there and take a hit. The Smith kid is doing that now. He�ll get in there and he knows he is going to get licked, but he�ll stand tall in the pocket and get the ball out and know that he is going to have to dust his pants off and get up again. I�ve got a lot of respect for him. Sometimes when you�re a young quarterback, that is not something you have right away. It is kind of something you learn over the years and he�s kind of gotten a toughness to him that has been impressive.� (On what he expects out of LB Chris Chamberlain if he starts) �I expect him to pick up where the other guy left off. He�ll go in there and I am sure Chris will do a marvelous job for us. He�s a bright young man and again, as we tell all our players, we don�t anticipate any drop off if there is an injury.� (On if he is happier with the run defense lately) �It is up and down right now. I am looking for consistency. We can�t be decent one week and not so good the next week. We are looking for a level of consistency, so it is still not where we need it to be and we�ll continue to work on it.� (On if he got a chance to watch the Holiday Bowl) �No I didn�t. Who won? (Nebraska) Is that right?� Post Practice- Offensive Coordinator Pat Shurmur � December 31, 2009 (On what he is trying to accomplish for the last game) �We�re trying to win a game. I think that�s the most important thing. Each week our focus and our preparation is towards winning, that�s no different. It�s a little extra emphasis because it is the last one of the season. We want to go out with a victory so we can go into the offseason with a little bit of momentum as we prepare for next year.� (On what was going through his mind last week when he found out that RB Steven Jackson was not able to play) �Anytime one of your very best players is not on the field, there are things that we have to do to compensate. The good news for this team is that we�ve had a lot of guys in injury situations and do some things that we like to see. We knew about (RB) Kenneth Darby, but (RB) (Chris) Obgbonnaya got in there and got a chance to get some meaningful reps and do some good things. From that stand point, it was good. We�ll just build on that.� (On what Ogbonnaya is like as a running back) �Well, he�s a guy that�s been steady all year, he�s a good learner. I think he�s very good with the ball in his hand, and he�s a guy that�s really solid in pass protection which is critical if you�re going to be a running back in this league.� (On G Roger Allen) �Roger is going to be in the same situation that Ogbonnaya was in last week and guys were in previous weeks. He�s going to get a chance to play in a real game where the speed is fast, we�re going to get an opportunity to see him compete, and we anticipate he�ll do the job.� (On San Francisco defense) �They�re very opportunistic on defense. Getting turnovers is critical. It really is an important factor in winning football games. From the flip side, because they�re an aggressive team that takes advantage of their opportunities, we got to really take care of the football. That�s obviously an emphasis this week.� Post Practice- Special Teams Coordinator Tom McMahon � December 31, 2009 (On how hopeful he was that P Donnie Jones would make the Pro Bowl) �I think for Donnie�s sake, you�re always hopeful. I think he is very deserving of it. Just being mentioned and being an alternate, I think is a great thing for him. At the same time, you always hope that your punter gets in especially with the year that he has had. He�s done a great job of keeping the ball away from returners. He�s only had 32 punts returned. He�s done a great job of kicking the ball inside the 20 yard line and giving us field position. I think he�s done a good job and I think he�s deserving of being there. At the same time, (P) Andy Lee is who they voted in, congratulations to him. I think (49ers Special Teams Coach) Al (Everest) has done a great job with him in San Francisco. I think Donnie feels the same.� (On the punters in the NFC West) �There are some great punters. That�s what makes it real hard going against these guys is trying to get field position for your offense, no question. It�s nice to know that the coaches in the division have the same problem that I do each week.� (On if he is pleased with the progress that the special team has made) �Yeah, I�m pleased. At the same time, I feel the same as our core players as (K) Josh (Brown), (P) Donnie (Jones), (LS) Ryan Neil and (LS) Chris (Massey) do; we can be a lot better. We have to be a lot better for us to win games. At the end of the day, what you�re looking for is wins. We have to play better on special teams for us to get those wins just like the ball on both sides of the ball on offense and defense. We need to improve and that�s what we�re going to do this offseason. I think that the guys have that in mind.� (On how long it took in Atlanta for the special teams to improve) �I think anywhere you go it�s always a new season. With special teams, it comes down to your personnel. You have different personnel every single year. You start new every year. Hopefully, we need to be better next year, to me it�s today. It�s not a tomorrow. We got to be better today rather than tomorrow. We�re looking forward to that first game coming out and hitting it right away and not having the mistakes that we had this year.� (On if there was anything that WR Danny Amendola could have done better on the punt return he fumbled last Sunday) �Bottom line is that you can�t turn the ball over. We got to tuck the ball away. You know he�s fighting for extra yards. When you fight for extra yards, you got to get both hands on the ball. I think Danny would answer that the same way. We can�t have turnovers. You can�t do that.� (On if he likes what he has seen from Amendola) �Yeah, I have. I�ve liked what I�ve seen from Danny. Like I say every week, I like Danny�s toughness. He�s accountable and he�s reliable. That�s what those other ten guys want back there. They want somebody that they believe in. They know he�s going to catch the ball and give every single thing he can to get that extra yard. They�re going to work for him because he works for them.� (On if he feels that he has a core group of guys in terms of coverage and as blockers) �I think there is a good nucleus here of veteran players and young players. Guys come to work everyday, they�re pro�s. I look forward to working with a lot of theses guys next year. They work hard.� (On San Francisco�s special teams) �Return wise, with (WR) (Josh) Morgan back there and they put (RB) Michael Robinson back there. They got two returners that you cant kick away from on kickoff return. With (WR) Arnaz Battle�s speed, he hit one I think it was against Jacksonville and it gets called back. The thing is from there stand point to; we�re going to have a tough time in the return game. They�re covering kicks as good as anybody on kickoff and then they got the Pro Bowl punter. We have a big challenge, they�re tough. They are a physical, physical team. (Special Teams Coach) Al�s (Everest) done a great job with those guys.�