How would you grade SPAGS up to this point?

[laram0]

As we all know our won-loss record is downright ugly at 1-11. The teams that we have played so far this season have a combined record of 82-62.

The schedule has been very tough if not the toughest in the NFL. We have played two 12-0 teams (Indy & N.O.), a 10-2 team (Minn), two 8-4 teams (AZ & GB) and one 7-5 team (JAX) who we lost to in overtime. I'm not trying to make excuses but with the team that Spags took over and the many personell changes he made to field the best team he could. How has he done in your opinion? What grade would you give him?

[01d 0rd3r]

Re: How would you grade SPAGS up to this point?

Spags as a HC has done pretty good overall. He keeps the players upbeat and has them fighting in every game despite the lack of talent. He is graded about a B in my book, the things that keep him from an A are the ussual things in a HC, Win loss record, questionable clock mangement. Overall I think he will be a great headcoach.

[UtterBlitz]

Re: How would you grade SPAGS up to this point?

I only gave him a C. The defense is finally coming along and showing progress. Special teams seems to be in order. The offense is a mess.

Spags comes from a defensive background. Can he use those skills to improve the offense? Can he work with both sides of the ball? Or get the people in place? Not sure....time will tell.

[makersncoke]

Re: How would you grade SPAGS up to this point?

I gave him a B just from the standpoint that the team does give alot of effort on Sun, sooner or later that has to count for some wins. Doesn't it?

[macrammer]

Re: How would you grade SPAGS up to this point?

I have to give an incomplete right now. There are positive signs here but we are 1-10. IMO, I need to see a full off season in charge and then can he get 5-6 wins next year. Then I would say he appears to be the right coach and grade accordingly. I see there are many folks here that are Spag's supporters. I just think it is too premature to go there until we see what he does in won/loss column. It does appear the players are supporting him which is a very good sign. One last point, is Spag's destined to be one those HC's that was a great defensive coordinator but does not really know how to align with offensive to make a team competitive. Could be, we become a defensive juggernaut with a grind it out offense. Whatever it takes to translate into victory.

[txramsfan]

Re: How would you grade SPAGS up to this point?

I gave him a D but it would be closer to D+. It's his ultimate responsibility for the putrid offense. He didn't hire coordinators with enough experience to get through a tough year like this one. He has lost games he could have actually won.

[LA Rammer]

Re: How would you grade SPAGS up to this point?

Until we get one more win than last year he gets an "F" forget all these moral victories. We need actual wins and until then I'm sorry this coach gets an F!

[mde8352gorams]

Re: How would you grade SPAGS up to this point?

Unfortunately you didn't include "incomplete" as a selection. Although I chose C, as it is the midpoint between A and F, I think the grading of Spags as a HC is incomplete as this team is largely composed of players he hasn't chosen. I credit him for instilling a team spirit that has seemingly gotten players to play harder and has hasn't gotten the anger that Linehan seemed to elicit. I do fault him for some of the coordinators that he's chosen as they seem to have put a game plan in place that isn't working for this team.

Overall, we need to be content that the Rams have a good set of talent evaluators in place and are moving in the right direction. I think we'll see some changes to the coaching staff during the off-season.

I look forward to seeing how the team approaches the Draft.

Go Rams!

[txramsfan]

Re: How would you grade SPAGS up to this point?

I think it's fair to judge him on a year to year basis. I'm hoping he has a steep learning curve.

[RealRam]

Re: How would you grade SPAGS up to this point?

The grade I give Coach Spags at this point: C. My reason ... "all things considered". ;)

[locazn]

Re: How would you grade SPAGS up to this point?

I would give him an B "for effort"....but ultimately it comes down to the wins and losses columns and close games, so he gets a C from me

[Warner4prez]

Re: How would you grade SPAGS up to this point?

Yeah, a C- grade sounds fair to me. I like the guy a lot. He has kept his composure through the thick of it. This team really likes the guy and have bought in to most of his ideals. He's hacked out a lot of dead weight and brought in a lot of young guys with desire and raw talent.
He just hasn't brought in guys that are ready to win yet. The win column is the most important stat and I can see those wins coming next year... with a solid draft class and a few big FA acquisitions. This team just isn't ready yet, just a bit too raw.
The winning factor drops his GPA down a lot though. All other things considered I think he's done a helluva job.

[39thebeast]

Re: How would you grade SPAGS up to this point?

Considering we completely overhauled the roster and went with alot of young guys against an extremely difficult schedule I gave him a B. He is in year 1 and hasn't really been able to put all the players he wanted on the team, and build it in his image. What he has done with players that should be filling the bottom half of the roster is impressive.

[NJ Ramsfan1]

Re: How would you grade SPAGS up to this point?

I would give Spags a C-. On the positive side, I think he has maintained a positive approach during terrible times and has guys who believe in him despite having not reaped any rewards from their efforts. He has worked hard to change over the roster and weed out the trash. It is way too early to label him a failure, given the mess he walked into. Rome wasn't built in a day.

On the negative side, I feel he should have brought in a couple of veteran coaches- coordinators or advisors- to help him through his rookie campaign. I am really disappointed in Pat Shurmur. When you lack talent, you improvise, you get creative to try and generate points. Shurmur's offense is a cure for insomnia- and he is Spagnuolo's hire. While I appreciate Spags' positive approach, the "we're playing hard, I liked the effort" mantra starts to wear thin after awhile. There is no substitute for victory. And I think experienced coaches find a way to win a couple of games they actually had a chance to tie or win in their last possession. We've had several opportunities and came up empty each time.

One thing is certain from my perspective: A 3 or 4 win season next year will NOT be acceptable under any circumstances on the heels of the last three seasons worth of failure. I think Spags' true grade will be more clearly defined by about mid season in 2010.

[Dwight Frye]

Re: How would you grade SPAGS up to this point?

I'll say B. I still think this was a year we just had to "eat it". Cap damage (I think someone said "sins of the past" .... nice!) a ridiculous amount of injuries, minimal talent in some areas, atrocious play calling .... Our best reciever wasn't even here 6 wks ago .... and we've got Boller throwing to him. I mean really, what did you guys think was gonna happen? Of course SJ can't find holes. There are none when you've got 9 men in the box. On top of that we're for sale and some don't even think the Rams will be in St Louis next year. Yep, I still have faith. I think he's done quite well all things considered. To have a 1-11 record and not hear one word of disgruntlement from ANYONE is, in itself amazing.