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Grading out the Rams 1st Half: Coaching and GM
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Steve Spagnuolo leads the Rams into the second half of the season.
It is always weird to have a Sunday in the NFL without the Rams playing, but the bye week came at the right time for the Rams. A win in Detroit and some positive vibes heading into the second half of the season is exactly what this organization needed. Earlier this week we took a look at how the offense, defense and special teams graded out in the first half. Today we take a look at how the head coach, coordinators and General Manager did for the first half.
HEAD COACH
Steve Spagnuolo: C Everyone knew, including Steve Spagnuolo, that the Rams were not going to be rebuilt in a day. As much as everyone in St. Louis wanted the Rams to have a quick fix and have a shot at a playoff spot the reality was that the team was going to struggle. The talent is not where it needs to be and everyone knew that. What Spagnuolo has been able to do, and what he should get the greatest amount of credit for, is being a steady influence at Rams Park. It would have been easy for the team to become a disorganized mess as the team racked up 7 straight losses. It certainly would have happened under the Scott Linehan regime. Instead the team focused on the one game at a time mentality and has stayed pretty well together despite the 1-7 record. It is tough to determine long term success at this point but Spagnuolo has acquitted himself well with being a steady influence.
The reason his grade is not higher is because of gameday management and some of the horrendous duds this team has thrown out there at times this season. The gameday management has been horrendous at times and needs to get significantly better. Hopefully that is just failings of a first time head coach and can be corrected. The two losses to the Seahawks and 49ers were especially horrific. When you lose like that to the Colts, or someone of that caliber, it can be forgivable but not being ready on opening day was not a good sign.
The other part of Spagnuolo's tenure that should be touched upon is the way he handled the Richie Incognito, Alex Barron and Donnie Avery situations. In the case of Incognito and Avery, where both players did some really boneheaded on-field things, Spagnuolo did not blast them in the media as most would expect and both have responded positively. In the case of Barron his benching did cause him to play better for the short-term. I don't know if he can always treat the players like this but he has gotten positive onfield results and that should be commended.
I would like to see some more imaginative coaching in the second half of the season on some playcalling and would also like to see Spagnuolo start to plan for 2010. I would like to see Spagnuolo move Jason Smith to left tackle. I would like to see how he might envision some people off the radar now play a more important role next season and I would like to see continued growth from the rookie head coach in the gameday management.
Coordinators
Pat Shurmur: F The numbers don't lie on this one. The Rams are dead last in points scored averaging only 9 a game. The Rams are 26th on yards gained and 24th on 3rd down conversions. In short the Rams don't score, they don't convert on third downs and don't make big plays. Add on top of that the playcalling continues to be questioned week in and week out because Shurmur does not get the ball to Steven Jackson at important times of the game and it adds up to an F grade.
It is understood that the skill position talent isn't what it needs to be, especially at wide receiver, but the Rams have to take more chances down the field and need to find ways to get more points on the board. In the second half of the season the Rams can't afford to be putting up only 10 points a game.
Ken Flajole: D The numbers aren't good here either. The Rams are 29th in points surrendered, 27th in yards surrendered, and 24th in the league in sacks. Although better than the offense, the defense has not had a tremendous first half either. I thought before the season started that the Rams would be imaginative on defense with lots of different blitz schemes that would cause a number of sacks. In the first half of the season that has not happened. Part of that may be due to the fact that the Rams coaching staff is not comfortable leaving their young cornerbacks on an island. In the second half I would hope to see improvement in getting to the quarterback if nothing else.
General Manager
Billy Devaney: C Rome wasn't built in a day and rebuilding the mess that was left at Rams Park will not be built in a day either. Billy Devaney has made some attempts at cleaning up but there is still a long way to go. The offseason moves of picking up Jason Brown and Laurent Robinson were both great moves. Not addressing the teams glaring weakness at wide receiver is something that continually costs this team on a weekly basis. I do agree with the inseason moves of releasing Chris Draft, trading Tye Hill and Will Witherspoon and the signing of Danny Amendola to improve the return game. It has been a pretty good offseason and season for Devaney. Hopefully there are a few more waiver wire moves that can be done between now and the end of the season that gives the Rams a chance for success in the second half.
As you look at the Rams schedule there are some opportunities for success. Home games against Seattle and Houston could give them a chance to win and a road game at Tennessee doesn't look as difficult as it once did. If the Rams can get anywhere near three wins in the second half I think you can honestly say that the Rams made real improvement. One win in the second half will not be the measure of success in my mind. The Rams begin their second half against the New Orleans Saints next Sunday.
For more info: Get updates from Rams Park here and instant updates by Twitter here. Also please listen to my reports on The Morning After Monday and Friday on 1380 AM or at team1380.net.
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