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Rams Team Report
Yahoo! Sports - Oct 29, 2:56 am EDT
INSIDE SLANT
It surely hasn't been the start of his NFL head coaching career that Steve Spagnuolo envisioned.
The Rams have lost their first seven games and now face for the second straight week a team coming off their bye. Last week, it was the 5-0 Colts at home, and this week it's the 1-5 Lions on the road.
Teams playing after their bye have won 52.5 percent of the time since byes were added to the schedule in 1990.
In addition, the way the schedule has worked for the Rams has had the better teams at home and the arguably more winnable games on the road. The current combined records of the home games -- Green Bay (4-2), Minnesota (6-1) and Indianapolis (6-0) -- is 16-3.
Conversely, the total record for the road games -- Seattle (2-4), Washington (2-5), San Francisco (3-3) and Jacksonville (3-3) -- is 10-15.
The trend continues this week with Detroit on the road and New Orleans (6-0) at home on Nov. 8 after the Rams' bye.
By(e) the way, the Rams are one of only five teams that have two consecutive games against teams coming off their bye. They are one of only two teams that opened the season with two games on the road, and one of four teams that played four of their first six games on the road.
When those numbers were presented to Spagnuolo on Monday, he smiled and said, "I appreciate all your info. It's enlightening in a way, but it doesn't change what we've got to do."
He later added, "I don't get wrapped up in (scheduling). And I really learned that from (Philadelphia 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."
Perhaps the only positive are the three straight home games in November after the bye, but the best the Rams will be then is 1-7.
Asked if he gets advice from fans in emails or at the gas station, Spagnuolo said, "When you're winning, you get a lot of phone calls. When you're not, everybody is afraid (to call). But really that's when you want them. That's when you need them. It works the other way. I don't know why. I have some very good people that will hang in there. It's much appreciated. As long as I have my wife still on my side, I'll be OK."
Spagnuolo has managed to maintain an even-keel attitude despite the gloom and doom, and seemingly has his players battling and not pointing fingers at each other.
Said free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe, "We stay together. In tough times like this the only thing you can do is stay together and continue to press on forward and that's what we're going to do because we have guys of character in here. Things will turn around and that's what we're fighting for."
Rookie middle linebacker James Laurinaitis echoed that sentiment, "You just have to keep fighting. When you lose a game, you have to correct it. There's a fine line about just saying forget about it and moving on and there's a fine line about letting it linger on too long. You have to correct it and get in the film room and really see what you need to do better. As soon as you do that, tomorrow, you have to look at that, put it behind you, and keep moving forward. If you keep looking back too much, you'll never have any progress. It's frustrating but you just have to keep going and keep fighting."
SERIES HISTORY: 80th regular-season meeting. Rams lead the series, 41-37-1. In the old days of the NFL, these teams met twice a year from 1937 through 1966. This decade, they have played three times, with the Rams winning twice.
NOTES & QUOTES
—Linebacker David Vobora returned from a four-game suspension, and was working with the first unit at strong-side linebacker.
Vobora was suspended for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances even though the supplement he claimed he took was approved by an NFL hotline. He plans a lawsuit against the company for not including the banned substance on the list of ingredients.
"We expect to be made right," Vobora said. "But this experience showed me that you can't be careful enough. You take anything at your own risk."
Vobora said the last four weeks have been "the hardest thing I've ever gone through."
After recovering from a concussion he suffered in the last game he played (Sept. 27 against Green Bay), Vobora worked out at least twice a day, and went crazy watching games on Sunday.
"It was a humbling experience," he concluded. I learned a lot, especially how much I love the game."
LS Ryan Neill participated in his first practice with the team after signing Tuesday to replace Chris Massey, who is out for the season with a torn ACL.
Neill was Buffalo's long snapper for two seasons before being released in August and replaced by rookie Garrison Sanborn. Neill had previous tryouts in Tennessee, San Diego and Cincinnati.
He figures the Bills made the move because they wouldn't want to tender him as a restricted free agent after the season.
"Now, they have another rookie for two years, and don't have to worry about it," he said.
Neill was one of four long snappers that tried out Monday - Nathan Hodel, Bryan Pittman and Joe Zelenka were the others - and kicker Josh Brown and punter/holder Donnie Jones participated.
"I was happy with the decision," Jones said. "(Ryan) was closest to Chris on the speed of his snaps. He had speed and touch. The other guys were faster, but on placements, too fast that can make it hard on the holder."
Neill has also played defensive line, and his coverage ability contributed to the Rams' decision to sign him.
Third-round pick Bradley Fletcher was beginning to make significant progress, but then suffered a serious knee injury Sunday that could potentially have him miss as much as a full year.
Fletcher tore the ACL and lateral meniscus cartilage in his knee.
Asked his assessment on how well the rookie cornerback was playing, coach Steve Spagnuolo said, "Great. I thought he played outstanding (Sunday). What was really encouraging on the play he got hurt on, if we all go back to earlier in the year and some other games. I can't tell you how hard that young man has worked at getting to where he is. I stepped in 15-20 minutes after practice last week and Bradley Fletcher was working on exactly what happened in the game. Where in prior weeks he never had turned and looked for the ball and got a penalty. He plays the ball perfect and gets the ball out and then unfortunately gets the injury."
Researchers would be hard-pressed to find a roster that has had more changes from one year to the next than the 2008-2009 Rams.
Of the 45 players that dressed the last time the Rams won - on Oct. 19, 2008 against Dallas - 23 players are not on the current roster. Twelve of the 23 are not on NFL rosters. Two - defensive tackle Adam Carriker and long snapper Chris Massey - are on the Rams' injured reserve list. Of the eight inactive players that day, none are currently with the Rams and six of the eight are out of the league.
Of the 73 players with the Rams when the 2008 season ended, including 12 on injured reserve and eight on the practice squad, just 30 are on the current 53-man roster.
By The Numbers:
7—Total number of games the Rams (5-26) and Lions (2-28) have won since the halfway point of the 2007 season. Since the start of the 2008 season, the Rams are 2-21 and the Lions 1-21.
Quote To Note:
"I'm glad you asked that. I do believe in this and it's why I usually wait a day, maybe I shouldn't have said that (Sunday). I felt that way at the end of the game that maybe it was a whole quarter that we just weren't … but you know what? When I went back and looked at it that was not the case. It was probably three minutes of not quite the intensity that we had had. I addressed that. I don't know why that is, but that has not been this team. For six games and three and a half quarters, that has not been this team. I'm banking on these guys to make sure that doesn't happen again."
—Coach Steve Spagnuolo, when asked about the lack of intensity in the fourth quarter against Indianapolis.
STRATEGY & PERSONNEL
Player Notes
OL Adam Goldberg worked at right guard in practice Wednesday with Richie Incognito out because of a foot injury.
OT Jason Smith worked with the first unit at practice Wednesday with Adam Goldberg moving to right guard because of Richie Incognito's foot injury.
LB David Vobora, back from a four-game suspension, was with the first team on the strong side in practice Wednesday. Vobora is still under a roster exemption.
CB Quincy Butler took a lot of reps with the first unit at cornerback with Bradley Fletcher lost for the season.
DE James Hall (groin) returned to practice after missing Sunday's game against Indianapolis, but was limited.
DE C.J. Ah You did not practice Wednesday because of an ankle injury.
WR Ruvell Martin (hamstring) had full participation in practice Wednesday for the first time in a few weeks
OG John Greco did not practice Wednesday because of a family matter but is expected back Thursday.
WR Keenan Burton was hit in the jaw during practice Wednesday, but is said to be OK.
CB Bradley Fletcher had surgery Tuesday on the lateral meniscus cartilage in his knee. The ACL surgery will be in about one month.
Game Plan:
The Rams' plan won't change from what it has been, feeding the ball to RB Steven Jackson and trying to get in manageable second- and third-down situations. Lack of production on first down has been a large part of the Rams' struggles. The Rams rank 24th in the NFL averaging 4.68 yards on first down.
Defensively, they will look to stop the big play, which should give them a solid chance of limiting Detroit's offense.
Matchups To Watch:
Rams DEs Leonard Little, James Hall and Chris Long vs. Lions OTs Jeff Backus and Gosder Cherilus. Lions quarterbacks have been sacked 22 times in six games, but the Rams have just 12 sacks in seven games, four by Little. Long is still looking for his first sack.
Rams RB Steven Jackson vs. Lions LBs Larry Foote, Julian Peterson and Ernie Sims. The Lions are allowing 4.6 yards per rush, and will try and slow down Jackson, who is the focal point of the Rams' offense.
Injury Impact:
The Rams now have seven players on injured reserve, with four suffering injuries after the start of the season. Three were starters: WR Laurent Robinson, DT Gary Gibson and CB Bradley Fletcher, with the other being LS Chris Massey. The Rams currently have 10 players on their roster added after the cutdown to 53 players.
Yahoo! Sports - Oct 29, 2:56 am EDT
INSIDE SLANT
It surely hasn't been the start of his NFL head coaching career that Steve Spagnuolo envisioned.
The Rams have lost their first seven games and now face for the second straight week a team coming off their bye. Last week, it was the 5-0 Colts at home, and this week it's the 1-5 Lions on the road.
Teams playing after their bye have won 52.5 percent of the time since byes were added to the schedule in 1990.
In addition, the way the schedule has worked for the Rams has had the better teams at home and the arguably more winnable games on the road. The current combined records of the home games -- Green Bay (4-2), Minnesota (6-1) and Indianapolis (6-0) -- is 16-3.
Conversely, the total record for the road games -- Seattle (2-4), Washington (2-5), San Francisco (3-3) and Jacksonville (3-3) -- is 10-15.
The trend continues this week with Detroit on the road and New Orleans (6-0) at home on Nov. 8 after the Rams' bye.
By(e) the way, the Rams are one of only five teams that have two consecutive games against teams coming off their bye. They are one of only two teams that opened the season with two games on the road, and one of four teams that played four of their first six games on the road.
When those numbers were presented to Spagnuolo on Monday, he smiled and said, "I appreciate all your info. It's enlightening in a way, but it doesn't change what we've got to do."
He later added, "I don't get wrapped up in (scheduling). And I really learned that from (Philadelphia 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."
Perhaps the only positive are the three straight home games in November after the bye, but the best the Rams will be then is 1-7.
Asked if he gets advice from fans in emails or at the gas station, Spagnuolo said, "When you're winning, you get a lot of phone calls. When you're not, everybody is afraid (to call). But really that's when you want them. That's when you need them. It works the other way. I don't know why. I have some very good people that will hang in there. It's much appreciated. As long as I have my wife still on my side, I'll be OK."
Spagnuolo has managed to maintain an even-keel attitude despite the gloom and doom, and seemingly has his players battling and not pointing fingers at each other.
Said free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe, "We stay together. In tough times like this the only thing you can do is stay together and continue to press on forward and that's what we're going to do because we have guys of character in here. Things will turn around and that's what we're fighting for."
Rookie middle linebacker James Laurinaitis echoed that sentiment, "You just have to keep fighting. When you lose a game, you have to correct it. There's a fine line about just saying forget about it and moving on and there's a fine line about letting it linger on too long. You have to correct it and get in the film room and really see what you need to do better. As soon as you do that, tomorrow, you have to look at that, put it behind you, and keep moving forward. If you keep looking back too much, you'll never have any progress. It's frustrating but you just have to keep going and keep fighting."
SERIES HISTORY: 80th regular-season meeting. Rams lead the series, 41-37-1. In the old days of the NFL, these teams met twice a year from 1937 through 1966. This decade, they have played three times, with the Rams winning twice.
NOTES & QUOTES
—Linebacker David Vobora returned from a four-game suspension, and was working with the first unit at strong-side linebacker.
Vobora was suspended for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances even though the supplement he claimed he took was approved by an NFL hotline. He plans a lawsuit against the company for not including the banned substance on the list of ingredients.
"We expect to be made right," Vobora said. "But this experience showed me that you can't be careful enough. You take anything at your own risk."
Vobora said the last four weeks have been "the hardest thing I've ever gone through."
After recovering from a concussion he suffered in the last game he played (Sept. 27 against Green Bay), Vobora worked out at least twice a day, and went crazy watching games on Sunday.
"It was a humbling experience," he concluded. I learned a lot, especially how much I love the game."
LS Ryan Neill participated in his first practice with the team after signing Tuesday to replace Chris Massey, who is out for the season with a torn ACL.
Neill was Buffalo's long snapper for two seasons before being released in August and replaced by rookie Garrison Sanborn. Neill had previous tryouts in Tennessee, San Diego and Cincinnati.
He figures the Bills made the move because they wouldn't want to tender him as a restricted free agent after the season.
"Now, they have another rookie for two years, and don't have to worry about it," he said.
Neill was one of four long snappers that tried out Monday - Nathan Hodel, Bryan Pittman and Joe Zelenka were the others - and kicker Josh Brown and punter/holder Donnie Jones participated.
"I was happy with the decision," Jones said. "(Ryan) was closest to Chris on the speed of his snaps. He had speed and touch. The other guys were faster, but on placements, too fast that can make it hard on the holder."
Neill has also played defensive line, and his coverage ability contributed to the Rams' decision to sign him.
Third-round pick Bradley Fletcher was beginning to make significant progress, but then suffered a serious knee injury Sunday that could potentially have him miss as much as a full year.
Fletcher tore the ACL and lateral meniscus cartilage in his knee.
Asked his assessment on how well the rookie cornerback was playing, coach Steve Spagnuolo said, "Great. I thought he played outstanding (Sunday). What was really encouraging on the play he got hurt on, if we all go back to earlier in the year and some other games. I can't tell you how hard that young man has worked at getting to where he is. I stepped in 15-20 minutes after practice last week and Bradley Fletcher was working on exactly what happened in the game. Where in prior weeks he never had turned and looked for the ball and got a penalty. He plays the ball perfect and gets the ball out and then unfortunately gets the injury."
Researchers would be hard-pressed to find a roster that has had more changes from one year to the next than the 2008-2009 Rams.
Of the 45 players that dressed the last time the Rams won - on Oct. 19, 2008 against Dallas - 23 players are not on the current roster. Twelve of the 23 are not on NFL rosters. Two - defensive tackle Adam Carriker and long snapper Chris Massey - are on the Rams' injured reserve list. Of the eight inactive players that day, none are currently with the Rams and six of the eight are out of the league.
Of the 73 players with the Rams when the 2008 season ended, including 12 on injured reserve and eight on the practice squad, just 30 are on the current 53-man roster.
By The Numbers:
7—Total number of games the Rams (5-26) and Lions (2-28) have won since the halfway point of the 2007 season. Since the start of the 2008 season, the Rams are 2-21 and the Lions 1-21.
Quote To Note:
"I'm glad you asked that. I do believe in this and it's why I usually wait a day, maybe I shouldn't have said that (Sunday). I felt that way at the end of the game that maybe it was a whole quarter that we just weren't … but you know what? When I went back and looked at it that was not the case. It was probably three minutes of not quite the intensity that we had had. I addressed that. I don't know why that is, but that has not been this team. For six games and three and a half quarters, that has not been this team. I'm banking on these guys to make sure that doesn't happen again."
—Coach Steve Spagnuolo, when asked about the lack of intensity in the fourth quarter against Indianapolis.
STRATEGY & PERSONNEL
Player Notes
OL Adam Goldberg worked at right guard in practice Wednesday with Richie Incognito out because of a foot injury.
OT Jason Smith worked with the first unit at practice Wednesday with Adam Goldberg moving to right guard because of Richie Incognito's foot injury.
LB David Vobora, back from a four-game suspension, was with the first team on the strong side in practice Wednesday. Vobora is still under a roster exemption.
CB Quincy Butler took a lot of reps with the first unit at cornerback with Bradley Fletcher lost for the season.
DE James Hall (groin) returned to practice after missing Sunday's game against Indianapolis, but was limited.
DE C.J. Ah You did not practice Wednesday because of an ankle injury.
WR Ruvell Martin (hamstring) had full participation in practice Wednesday for the first time in a few weeks
OG John Greco did not practice Wednesday because of a family matter but is expected back Thursday.
WR Keenan Burton was hit in the jaw during practice Wednesday, but is said to be OK.
CB Bradley Fletcher had surgery Tuesday on the lateral meniscus cartilage in his knee. The ACL surgery will be in about one month.
Game Plan:
The Rams' plan won't change from what it has been, feeding the ball to RB Steven Jackson and trying to get in manageable second- and third-down situations. Lack of production on first down has been a large part of the Rams' struggles. The Rams rank 24th in the NFL averaging 4.68 yards on first down.
Defensively, they will look to stop the big play, which should give them a solid chance of limiting Detroit's offense.
Matchups To Watch:
Rams DEs Leonard Little, James Hall and Chris Long vs. Lions OTs Jeff Backus and Gosder Cherilus. Lions quarterbacks have been sacked 22 times in six games, but the Rams have just 12 sacks in seven games, four by Little. Long is still looking for his first sack.
Rams RB Steven Jackson vs. Lions LBs Larry Foote, Julian Peterson and Ernie Sims. The Lions are allowing 4.6 yards per rush, and will try and slow down Jackson, who is the focal point of the Rams' offense.
Injury Impact:
The Rams now have seven players on injured reserve, with four suffering injuries after the start of the season. Three were starters: WR Laurent Robinson, DT Gary Gibson and CB Bradley Fletcher, with the other being LS Chris Massey. The Rams currently have 10 players on their roster added after the cutdown to 53 players.
