Firing Spags is the wrong call

[mh-i]

(Before Spags)
2008 - 32nd overall, 32nd passing, 29th rushing

(With Spags)

2009 - 32nd, 32nd, 25th
2010 - 30th, 27th, 31st
2011 - 32nd, 31st, 32nd

If anything points to poor drafting before and after it's that. Bad players = bad defense. Marmie before them was accused of being a bad defensive coach also. Maybe it's mostly on the players after all. The coaches are responsible for bring them in but maybe if you can't cut it on the field it doesn't matter who the coach is. I'd argue the Rams have 3 or 4 keepers on defense at the moment and the rest have to go.

[Rambos]

If anything points to poor drafting before and after it's that. Bad players = bad defense. Marmie before them was accused of being a bad defensive coach also. Maybe it's mostly on the players after all. The coaches are responsible for bring them in but maybe if you can't cut it on the field it doesn't matter who the coach is. I'd argue the Rams have 3 or 4 keepers on defense at the moment and the rest have to go.

I think Spags is a great D coordinator that being said he's not the guy that can build a team and coach them up. If he goes to Philly or back to the Gaints he will do great. kind of like Scotty with the Lions now... Spags does not get a pass on the players drafted as he helped make those call as well... That's why both are gone.

[MoonJoe]

To me it basically it boils down to this as a new NFL coach:

He has 3 years to prove his worth. In accepting the job he should have reviewed the ownership, GM, and the current players. He should know who is available in free agency and the draft. He should have an established philosophy and style of management and be capable and believable in his vision. From there he has to put his plan into motion, get the team and coaches to follow through with it and deal with all of the adversities such as injuries and coaching vacancies on his team as they come up.

While I believe Spags is a good defensive minded coach, had a plan and a vision, and the buy in of his players, I feel he fell short in offense, basic game management and having a plan "B" and "C" ready to go when faced with adversity. The mis-mangement of Shaw and Zygmunt, plus the mess that Linehan left behind was too much for him to overcome and win games at the same time. Since he is intelligent and a stand-up guy, he did the right thing and fixed the worst of our issues, but he couldn't do everything.

BUT, that leaves the next coach in a real good position. With a new owner with a fat wallet, the bad apples out of the cart, the large cap room that we have and the luxury of the first round pick, we may finally be able to lure a really good head coach with a lot of experience that can now move us to the next level. But unfortunately for Spags, he lost his"life" when he jumped on the unpinned grenade known as the "2009 St. Louis Rams"...

[mh-i]

Having three offensive coordinators wasn't the best idea either. The Rams need continuity more than anything. They need a plan and need to stick to it.

Again, whoever is hired is going to need time to get HIS team together. That probably means another roster shake-up. He'll want HIS players and HIS coaches. That means some fans might lose some of their favorite players. It's going to take more than one year. This franchise isn't positioned like the niners were last season.

Hopefully ownership makes the right decisions so we don't have to revisit this 3 years from now. I do like the quotes saying he wants to put together a team that is a playoff team every year. That's promising.

[r8rh8rmike]

The Crabtree-Fake FG fiasco yesterday, is a prime
example of Spags and the Rams being asleep at the wheel.

Ageed. There was simply no excuse for allowing that play to happen, none. It was the final example of a staff that was often confused and out of touch with the flow of most games.

Firing Spags and Devaney was the only way for Kroenke to go.

[RamFan_Til_I_Die]

I liked Spags a lot, and think he had our defense doing a lot of good things, however his win-loss record is unacceptable, no matter how bad our offense is and how many injuries we had. The most telling thing about our 10-38 record with him as head coach is that only one of those wins was over a team that ended up with a winning record. That was the win earlier this year vs the Saints. Just one win against good teams in 3 years just flat out pathetic. Here's to hoping Kroenke can show Cowher the money and lure him out of retirement.

[NJ Ramsfan1]

Well, lets see.. HE DID INHERIT THE LEAST TALENTED TEAM IN THE NFL. The same knuckleheads that are giving him a pass for his first year of 1-15 are the same people including it in their argument about his terrible overall record.




No one was complaining year 2 when we almost won the division.




Injuries DID BRING US DOWN. Thats not an excuse, thats a fact.

If we flip the rams record for the last two years. 2-14 year two and 7-9 this year no one would have a problem with spags. But everyone got their expectations raised last year and are so frustrated and emotional right now that they want to blame someone.

Your comments illustrate the rationalization some have for losing every year, and I'm sick of it. Certainly there are circumstances that work against ANY coach. But you need not look any further than Seattle to understand why the decision was made to fire Spags today. Both the Rams and Seattle have comparable overall talent on offense. Both have an excellent back. Both had injuries to their starting corners (though the Rams DID have more injuries here). Both had 3 starting offensive linemen hurt for much of the season. Both played virtually the same schedule. The difference? Seattle went 7-9 with a chance to go 8-8 in their last game, taking Arizona to OT on the road before losing on a field goal. They also beat the Rams twice this season convincingly with mediocre Tavaris Jackson at QB and beat them last year with a playoff spot on the line with Charlie Whitehurst at QB. Pete Carroll- who i can't stand- did what Spags was expected to do. I did not expect an 11-5 season this year, but I DID expect a comparable record to last year and being competitive in a sub par division. Instead, the Rams were one botched 22 yard field goal from being 1-15 again. I like Spags, but "Nice" doesn't win you ball games, and defending him is both ridiculous and now pointless, as the change has been made.

IT IS ABOUT RESULTS!!