11.04.2009 2:25 pm
For one weekend, football isn’t Spagnuolo’s focus
By Bill Coats
St. Louis Post-Dispatch


Don’t be surprised if you see Steve and Maria Spagnuolo this weekend at your favorite restaurant, the zoo or the neighborhood movie theater. The St. Louis Rams’ head coach is planning some local R&R this weekend with his team on its bye week.

“My wife and I would like to stay here and enjoy St. Louis. You don’t get to do that during the season,” Spagnuolo said. “So we’ll be in town. I’m sure we’ll find some places to eat and just relax a little bit.”

The break comes at a welcome time for the coaches as well as the players, he added.

“I think in this league, it’s tough to go 16 weeks as a player, and probably as a coach,” Spagnuolo said. “This business is a grind, it’s non-stop, 24-7. Whether you’re actually involved in this building or not, it’s always on your mind. So, I do think (the bye week is) a good thing. It’s a healthy thing.”

Notes & quotes:

*After about a 90-minute practice Wednesday, the players were treated to a barbecue lunch, then were dismissed until Monday. Spagnuolo said he told them to “travel safe and be good.”

*WR/KR Danny Amendola, who sustained a concussion on a vicious hit Sunday, passed his neuro exam but didn’t practice Wednesday. G Jacob Bell, who also had a concussion but passed his test Tuesday, returned to practice. Also, DE C.J. Ah You (ankle) was a full participant.

*K Josh Brown is the NFC’s special-teams player of the week. Brown kicked a 41-yard field goal, two PATs and threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to TE Daniel Fells on a fake FG in the 17-10 victory in Detroit that snapped the Rams’ 17-game skid.

All for now…