Spags on the Hot Seat?

by revrue914 on Mar 7, 2010 6:35 PM CST Comment 11 comments

Steve Spagnoulo is in his 2nd offseason as the Head Coach of the Rams after a 1-15 rookie season record.

A season that had him shuffling between Qbs because of injuries and bringing in practice squad guys from other teams to fills needs because of other injuries in other positions. Spags and company made some moves last year that had alot of rams fans wondering what they were doing. They released leading tackler for the past few seasons before Spags got hired Pisa Tinoisamoa(Spell Check?). They release Chris Draft a week or so before the beginning of pre season and in mid season trade away Starting OLB Will Witherspoon for a 5th round pick and an unknown receiver Brandon Gibson. With the Eagles releasing Will Witherspoon it's like we got Brandon Gibson for free along with the draft pick. Gibson showed some spark as a young WR that can have some success with other talent around him. As for the other moves they made last year we were all mind boggled by the release of our Line backers, regardless what kind of fate they had with another team that picked them up(i.e Pisa getting injured). But I believe those guys still would have helped us better than Paris Lenon!

Yes injuries plagued us this past season and we had alot of 3rd and 4th stringers having to play for us but how much of this is Spags fault? Another intriguing question going in to last season was we only had 3-4 WRs on our final roster. So of course if they get injured(Laurant Robinson) , who is going to step up? Spags and co. did bring in Danny Amendola who seemd to be a Wes Welker type reciever and return specialist.

We go 1-15 and now have the 1st pick in the draft. But what do the Rams do in Free Agency? Thus far we sign AJ Feely and Resign Craig Dahl. The FO tenders OJ Atogwe at the lowest possible tender witn no compensations!! So if a team offers OJ a contract we can't or won't match, he is gone and we get nothing!!! I know the rookie pool sucks and having to pay the #1 pick is gonna be $$$$ but do we just let our guys walk and not also try to get Playmakers? Having a new owner in transition may have some thing to do woth how tight we are pinching those pennies

If the Rams are hoping to become a better team through the draft then they better hope that EVERY selection they make have makes an impact and can be the playmakers we so DESPERATELY need. I fear that if we win 3-4 games this season that Spags will be in the hot seat and we could be starting from scratch again with a new Head Coach. I hope that does not happen and that the guys can have a stellar draft and give us loyal fans some hope

Go Rams!

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We're saving the bullets for next offseason when some younger guys are available in free agency.

I think its the right way to go.

by Carneros on Mar 7, 2010 7:25 PM CST reply actions

He's not on the hot seat.

Life is tough, but it's tougher if you're stupid.

- John Wayne

by Tackle Box on Mar 7, 2010 9:24 PM CST reply actions

No...he is not, or at least should not be on the hot seat

Spags inherited this mess. This is not his fault, now if 2-3 years from now we aren’t seeing positive results than he will be on the hot seat.

by bdemartin on Mar 7, 2010 9:30 PM CST reply actions

Yea he is definitely not.

It would do no good to keep firing coaches every year we don’t go from 2-14 to 14-2. Although he won less games, he is taking this team in the right direction. He just had nothing to work with and had to do a lot of cleanup and repair.

by Carneros on Mar 7, 2010 9:56 PM CST reply actions

Yea but...

If we keep dodging free agents and end up having a terrible draft and making weird financial gambles with our playmakers(OJ) then at what point do you say that this is Spags’ mess? Last years Free Agency went well and injuries still hurt us but if we continue in the next few years making “moves” the way we’re doing this year then whoever comes in after Spags will have to clean up his mess. Don’t get me wrong I like Spags and want him to lead our team for years to come, I’m just curious to some of the decisions they make.

by revrue914 on Mar 7, 2010 11:50 PM CST via mobile reply actions

We aren't dodging quality Free Agents.

There really aren’t many quality free agents who aren’t 30 years old or older so I’m not positive who we’re “dodging”. We weren’t “dodging” Sproles and he would have probably gotten a lot of money. But that money would have been well spent since he’s actually young and can be a very valuable piece to the team for many years.

All of these guys in their 30s don’t help down the road and all they do is eat up cap space in 2011 when there’s a new CBA and better FAs available and worth the money.

And in regards to Atogwe. I’m not 100% sure of their intentions. I know he was disappointed with the Franchise Tag last year and probably wasn’t happy with the prospect of losing 2 years of Un-restricted-ness. Part of me hopes this is a good faith move on the Rams and will lead to a long-term contract. But if it’s not, then it’s not the end of the world.

Is Atogwe good? Yup. But he’s ultimately replaceable at a much lower salary. So, I’m not going to loose too much sleep over it.

Life is tough, but it's tougher if you're stupid.

- John Wayne

by Tackle Box on Mar 8, 2010 9:09 AM CST up reply actions

What??

Based on last years draft, Spags first in St. Louis, I’m not sure why you would assume that this year’s draft will be poor. FA decisions don’t have completely fall on the shoulders of Spags. Last I checked he was not coach and GM, he is the coach. The majority of his responsibility falls with the players on the team. The GM is largely responsible for the financial decisions. I feel like you are getting Coach and GM responsibilities jumbled up a bit.

by bdemartin on Mar 8, 2010 12:25 AM CST reply actions

If Anything

I think Free Agency shows trust in both the front office and the head coach. Rather than make moves in desperation and overpay in an attempt to have some improvement this season, Detroit, the front office has made moves that while not favorite with fans, provides for the future success of the team.
Overpaying OJ would be a move that could cost this franchise dearly for many years. He is a good player coming off an injury that wants top safety money. The Rams could not tender him at a draft pick level without owing a hefty salary. Thus they tendered him with matching rights to let him test the market. This appeases OJ by letting him see if he is worth what he thinks on the open market. I would be surprised to see a team willing to pay the money OJ wants and am expecting him to be a Ram next year at a more reasonable rate. The worst case scenario is the Rams lose a good, not great, player but still save millions against future cap space. Sure this year is cap free, but his contract will effect the cap the following years. Fells I am assuming is demanding starting TE money and the front office must feel they can upgrade via the draft or are waiting for a young TE to be released or reasonably traded.
As far as FA signings, there is not 1-3 players out there that will turn this team into a Super Bowl winner and thus not worth overpaying and losing draft picks over.The front office has added limited role players familiar with our schemes that provide veteran guidance. By drafting solidly again this year, the Rams can put themselves in a position to make a splash in next year’s free agency when hopefully filling a few holes can be the difference between the playoffs and not just winning a few more games.
To me this demonstrates the comfort level of the coach and front office as they stand by their belief in building from the draft. I expect to see a couple of small pickups during the remainder of the free agency period but doubt any big moves will occur. Fortunately this is a talented draft class that should players competing for roster spots.

by maybra48 on Mar 8, 2010 1:41 AM CST reply actions 2 recs