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Schedule has been against the Rams
BY JIM THOMAS
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
10/28/2009
No matter how the schedule was configured, the Rams weren't expected to win many games this season. Not with a new coaching staff, new front office and, most important, not much talent on the roster.
But as the Rams approach the midpoint of the season, it has become painfully obvious that their schedule has been downright brutal:
— St. Louis is one of only five NFL teams this season that will face teams coming off byes in back-to-back weeks. They'll reach that dubious double Sunday against the Detroit Lions, who are fit and rested after their bye week.
— The Rams are one of only four NFL teams that played four of their first six games on the road (without the benefit of a bye mixed in).
— And they're one of only two teams — Minnesota being the other — to open the season with two road games.
"I appreciate all your info," coach Steve Spagnuolo said, with a touch of sarcasm. "It's enlightening in a way, but it doesn't change what we've got to do."
Namely, win a game. Any game. But this wasn't exactly a schedule built for success. It's enough to make you wonder if Spagnuolo upset somebody in the league office after taking over as Rams coach.
"I hope nobody," Spagnuolo said, smiling. "I don't get wrapped up in (scheduling). And I really learned that from (Eagles coach) Andy Reid. Andy had a unique way when the schedules came out ... there would always be positives about the way he looked at the schedule."
But where are the positives in September and October?
Obviously it's always tougher to win on the road than at home, so playing your first two games away from home (and four of your first six) isn't exactly a recipe for victory.
Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, there has not been a single season in which road teams ended up with a winning record overall. Last season, for example, road teams went 109-146-1, for a winning percentage of .428.
This decade, NFL road teams have never done better than a .469 winning percentage (in 2006). They've been as bad as .387 in 2003, compiling a record of 99-157 that season.
"I don't go down that road," Spagnuolo said. "No pun intended, because you play between the white lines. You go out there and you play. I don't get caught up in that. We don't talk about it like, 'It's an away game and we've got to do a little better this or better that.' "
When the schedule came out last April, Spagnuolo said the only thing he looked at was the first opponent, and when the Rams had their bye week.
Speaking of byes, since the bye week format started in 1990, teams coming out of byes have won 52.5 percent of the time. For the Rams, they are catching Indianapolis and Detroit coming out of byes in back-to-back weeks.
"The bye week thing — I don't know how you control that," Spagnuolo said. "I think they pop that in the computer and you come up with the bye week."
Similarly, in the case of the preponderance of road games on the early schedule, it's not as if the league has a conspiracy against St. Louis. From year to year there are often conventions, trade shows and other events booked at the Edward Jones Dome that make the facility unavailable early in the season.
The early home schedule has been no picnic, either. In fact, it's been a who's-who of top-flight teams and elite quarterbacks. So far, the Rams have played host to Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, Minnesota's Brett Favre and the Colts' Peyton Manning. Their next home game (Nov. 15) is against Drew Brees and New Orleans.
Rodgers, Brees and Favre currently are 1-2-3 in the NFC in passer rating — in that order. Manning is No. 1 in the AFC, and No. 1 overall in the NFL.
"You come in the NFL to play against the best," safety Oshiomogho Atogwe said. "You shy away from none, because to be the best they say you've got to beat the best. And as we continue to go through this (season), we've got more and more quarterbacks coming. We've got Brees and Warner."
That's right. Seven days after facing Brees, two-time league MVP and three-time Super Bowl quarterback Kurt Warner comes to town.
"It was the task that was put in front of us," cornerback Ron Bartell said. "No matter who we play, we're expected to come out, play hard every game, compete and try to win."
RAM-BLINGS
Ryan Neill, a third-year player from Rutgers and former Buffalo Bill, has been signed to replace the injured Chris Massey as the team's long snapper.
BY JIM THOMAS
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
10/28/2009
No matter how the schedule was configured, the Rams weren't expected to win many games this season. Not with a new coaching staff, new front office and, most important, not much talent on the roster.
But as the Rams approach the midpoint of the season, it has become painfully obvious that their schedule has been downright brutal:
— St. Louis is one of only five NFL teams this season that will face teams coming off byes in back-to-back weeks. They'll reach that dubious double Sunday against the Detroit Lions, who are fit and rested after their bye week.
— The Rams are one of only four NFL teams that played four of their first six games on the road (without the benefit of a bye mixed in).
— And they're one of only two teams — Minnesota being the other — to open the season with two road games.
"I appreciate all your info," coach Steve Spagnuolo said, with a touch of sarcasm. "It's enlightening in a way, but it doesn't change what we've got to do."
Namely, win a game. Any game. But this wasn't exactly a schedule built for success. It's enough to make you wonder if Spagnuolo upset somebody in the league office after taking over as Rams coach.
"I hope nobody," Spagnuolo said, smiling. "I don't get wrapped up in (scheduling). And I really learned that from (Eagles coach) Andy Reid. Andy had a unique way when the schedules came out ... there would always be positives about the way he looked at the schedule."
But where are the positives in September and October?
Obviously it's always tougher to win on the road than at home, so playing your first two games away from home (and four of your first six) isn't exactly a recipe for victory.
Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, there has not been a single season in which road teams ended up with a winning record overall. Last season, for example, road teams went 109-146-1, for a winning percentage of .428.
This decade, NFL road teams have never done better than a .469 winning percentage (in 2006). They've been as bad as .387 in 2003, compiling a record of 99-157 that season.
"I don't go down that road," Spagnuolo said. "No pun intended, because you play between the white lines. You go out there and you play. I don't get caught up in that. We don't talk about it like, 'It's an away game and we've got to do a little better this or better that.' "
When the schedule came out last April, Spagnuolo said the only thing he looked at was the first opponent, and when the Rams had their bye week.
Speaking of byes, since the bye week format started in 1990, teams coming out of byes have won 52.5 percent of the time. For the Rams, they are catching Indianapolis and Detroit coming out of byes in back-to-back weeks.
"The bye week thing — I don't know how you control that," Spagnuolo said. "I think they pop that in the computer and you come up with the bye week."
Similarly, in the case of the preponderance of road games on the early schedule, it's not as if the league has a conspiracy against St. Louis. From year to year there are often conventions, trade shows and other events booked at the Edward Jones Dome that make the facility unavailable early in the season.
The early home schedule has been no picnic, either. In fact, it's been a who's-who of top-flight teams and elite quarterbacks. So far, the Rams have played host to Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, Minnesota's Brett Favre and the Colts' Peyton Manning. Their next home game (Nov. 15) is against Drew Brees and New Orleans.
Rodgers, Brees and Favre currently are 1-2-3 in the NFC in passer rating — in that order. Manning is No. 1 in the AFC, and No. 1 overall in the NFL.
"You come in the NFL to play against the best," safety Oshiomogho Atogwe said. "You shy away from none, because to be the best they say you've got to beat the best. And as we continue to go through this (season), we've got more and more quarterbacks coming. We've got Brees and Warner."
That's right. Seven days after facing Brees, two-time league MVP and three-time Super Bowl quarterback Kurt Warner comes to town.
"It was the task that was put in front of us," cornerback Ron Bartell said. "No matter who we play, we're expected to come out, play hard every game, compete and try to win."
RAM-BLINGS
Ryan Neill, a third-year player from Rutgers and former Buffalo Bill, has been signed to replace the injured Chris Massey as the team's long snapper.
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