Spags Press Conference Recap: 11/28

As you might imagine, Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo had plenty to say on Monday after his team’s 23-20 loss to the Arizona Cardinals over the weekend. Here is a recap of some of what he had to say. I have been highly critical of Spags and this team recently, and I think it has been justified. However, Spags brought something up that I think is worth mentioning. I will start with that, then we’ll get into the injury stuff. The quote is long, so jump to the next page for the injury report.

“I want to thank our fans for their passion. And I mean that sincerely. I know with that it goes both ways. Frustration and disappointment and their reactions to that, I understand it, I get it. I want to make one point that I think is a good example of what our football team is all about, at least I feel this way. And that was on the 53-yard run that Beanie Wells had in the fourth quarter. You saw there that (S) Quintin Mikell made a tremendous effort to get him on the ground. He was backside and was a ways away from the play, but the never say never, never die, the always fighting, I thought Quintin did that. I think our football team does that and what it resulted in, it was a four point swing. It kept us in the game. I know they kicked the field goal to go ahead three points, but I do want to point out that I think that’s very reflective of the guys in that locker room.”

You might say “that’s Mikell’s job,” but with all due respect I don’t think it’s fair to throw aside what he did. As bad as this season has been, I don’t know if there has been a moment when I thought the guys looked like they had given up. They make mistakes far too often, and they might not have the talent right now to win. That’s different from not caring. For all the questions about Spags as a coach, I have been impressed how his players seem to say all the right things to the media and give their all when they are on the field. I’m not saying nobody has taken a play off, but that happens on every team.

Again, I’m not trying to give Spags an excuse or anything, and I don’t think there’s any doubt his job is in serious jeopardy, but if we’re going to hammer him for every decision that he makes, then we need to recognize some of the positives as well. Take it for what you will, but that’s just my take. Injury stuff on the next page…