“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…

Now, on a less bitter note, I thought the defense was outstanding today. It wasn’t just that they forced safeties on back-to-back Arizona possessions — which I don’t know that I’ve ever seen before — but they absolutely shut down the running game for most of the four quarters.I really thought the secondary did a nice job again, and the defensive ends played well again also. I didn’t see much from the defensive tackles in the pass rush, but I thought they did a nice job moving the line on running plays for the most part. It really looks like this defense is starting to figure things out, which is pretty huge. It’s no secret that the offense is going to struggle, so the defense is going to have to keep us in games. I know Arizona isn’t the greatest offense in the world or anything, but Beanie Wells is a nice player who had absolutely no room today and Larry Fitzgerald is an elite receiver who was largely kept in check for much of the contest. He did catch the TD pass, but that wasn’t so much bad coverage as it was a great throw by John Skelton. More on the next page.

Speaking of quarterback injuries, it looks like Cardinals QB Kevin Kolb will be out as well on Sunday. If Kolb can’t go, backup John Skelton will likely take the snaps. I really liked Skelton coming out of college, but he has a long way to go before he is ready to be a solid NFL quarterback. This will certainly be a benefit to the Rams defense, so if Skelton is in there, expect a heavy dose of pressure from Spags. We will probably see plenty of Beanie Wells no matter what as long as he plays, but prepare yourselves for the possibility of a Feeley vs. Skelton battle. Bet you didn’t expect that heading into the season.