Dec 18, 2011; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams outside linebacker Chris Chamberlain (57) celebrates a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals during the second half at the Edward Jones Dome. The Bengals defeated the Rams 20-13. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE

When I heard that linebacker Chris Chamberlain was meeting with the Saints and former coach Steve Spagnuolo during free agency, I was pretty sure that’s where he was going to end up. The Saints made it official on Friday, as they signed the former Rams backer to a three-year deal. Chamberlain was always a favorite of Spags while he was here, so it’s not much of a surprise. Chamberlain has been a special teams leader for years, and he has given the team some good snaps on defense as well. I have always liked him, and he’s going to be a nice addition to the Saints.

In other roster news, the team re-signed fullback Brit Miller to a deal on Friday as well. Miller is an underrated piece of the team’s offense, so it’s good to have him back. He is a pretty good athlete, and he knows his role and plays it well. It has been interesting to watch Miller develop into an NFL fullback after his days at linebacker for the University of Illinois, and he has turned into a legit player for this team.

“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…

Injury Report: As far as the health of the rest of the team goes, Sam Bradford was full-go at practice today with his sore ankle, and he will be just fine for Sunday. Ron Bartell and OJ Atogwe didn’t practice today, but Atogwe said he will be fine for Sunday with his shoulder injury. As far as Bartell goes, we probably won’t know about him until closer to the end of the week. Kenneth Darby sat out today as well with an injury to his ribs, and I’ll update his condition when I know more. In other roster news, the team signed LB Maurice Simpkins to the practice squad to take Nixon’s place.