FanHouse St Louis Rams

Steve Spagnuolo is going through a rough season in his first as an NFL head coach. He had the unenviable task of taking over a roster which was left in disarray by the previous administration. No real effort had been done to bridge the gap from The Greatest Show on Turf to the next wave of players, with the notable exception of drafting studly running back Steven Jackson before Marshall Faulk was retired.

The results to this point have hardly been surprising. Poor Spags and his troops endured seven losses, including several blowouts, before finally earning their first victory this past Sunday against the Lions. While he's cherishing this first win, Spagnuolo realizes it's the first step of many.

Sunday's St. Louis-Detroit matchup appeared destined to be one of the worst of the NFL season -- the teams entered Week 8 a combined 1-12 on the year -- and one second-quarter play summed up the ineptitude of both teams pretty well.

With Detroit facing 3rd-and-10 from the Rams 12, quarterback Matthew Stafford fired a pass over the middle that ricocheted off the hands of running back Aaron Brown and right to waiting St. Louis safety James Butler.

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He's back, and it's stealing all of the headlines. It's going to be a highly emotional Sunday for many NFL fans, as former Detroit Lions defensive lineman James Hall makes his return to the Motor City as a member of the St. Louis Rams.

Oh, and Brett Favre is back in Green Bay. Not sure if you've heard about that one.

The Philadelphia Eagles have been battling depth issues at linebacker all season. Starting middle linebacker Stewart Bradley was lost in training camp, and things got so bad that former Eagle Jeremiah Trotter was brought back.

Trotter was awful against the Oakland Raiders Sunday, and head coach Andy Reid apparently has seen enough. Tuesday, as the NFL's usually quiet trade deadline approached, Reid pulled off a deal to add a solid veteran to the mix.

Zebra Report is FanHouse's analysis of actual NFL rules and how they are to be applied ... because most fans think they could do a better job than the NFL officials, yet definitely could not. Click here for an introduction as to how we do things.

I'll agree with the defenders of Dante Wesley on one front, but just one: he hasn't made a career out of being a dirty player. Sunday, though, he was. What Wesley did, whether intentional or not, was one of the most egregious things I've ever seen done on a football field. Honestly, I didn't even think I'd have to cover it for Zebra Report, but I've seen so many absolutely appalling arguments in defense of Wesley on comment boards across the internet, that I feel I have to. It's simply mind-boggling (and, as a football fan, a bit embarrassing) that some people seriously think his hit was, or should have been, legal.

Radio talk-show icon Rush Limbaugh was angered earlier this week. He felt that there were words attributed to him that he had never said. He said claims of controversial remarks about slavery were unfounded, and he felt he was unfairly dropped from a bid to buy the St. Louis Rams.

Limbaugh took to his radio show to defend himself, but he didn't stop there. On Saturday, an op-ed piece written by Limbaugh appeared in the Wall Street Journal. But in that article, Rev. Al Sharpton believes Limbaugh crossed the line.

Two NFL sources said Wednesday afternoon that the Dave Checketts-led group bidding to buy the St. Louis Rams has dropped controversial radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh from its group of bidders. One of the sources said Checketts is concerned that his bid is weak to begin with, and that the presence of Limbaugh in the group would effectively kill any chance he had.

Limbaugh's emergence as a possible part-owner of an NFL franchise has caused a major controversy in recent days. Several NFL players, with the support of DeMaurice Smith and the NFL players' union, have spoken out in opposition to the idea of the right-wing Limbaugh owning a team. Colts owner Jim Irsay said he wouldn't vote to award a franchise to a group that included Limbaugh. And even commissioner Roger Goodell cited "divisive comments" made by Limbaugh as something the NFL would want to avoid adding to the ranks of its owners.

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson attacked the bid by Rush Limbaugh to buy the St. Louis Rams on Monday, saying the conservative radio host's track record on race should exclude him from owning an NFL team. Sharpton sent a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, arguing that Limbaugh has been divisive and "anti-NFL" in some of his comments.

Jackson said in a telephone interview that Limbaugh had made his wealth "appealing to the fears of whites" with an unending line of insults against blacks and other minorities.

"The National Football League has set high standards for racial justice and inclusion," Jackson said. "He should not have the privilege of owning an NFL franchise - and it is a privilege." The civil rights leader said he's had contact with numerous players and ex-players concerned about the bid.
Limbaugh shot back at Sharpton on his radio show.

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It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, FanHouse will keep you updated weekly on NFL teams facing potential quarterback controversies.

We're here every week, hoping to make some sense of quarterback issues facing teams in the NFL. Sometimes, it feels like we're picking on Eric Mangini and the Cleveland Browns. However, at 0-3, and with little reason to think the problems in the passing game are just going to disappear, the Browns again find themselves at the top of the heap.

After three Rams losses, it's pretty evident 2009 is going to be a long season in St. Louis (the third straight of the variety). Monday, they received some more bad news -- that Laurent Robinson, a member of the already paper-thin receiving corps, will likely miss the remainder of the season after injuring his lower leg (both a fractured fibula and high ankle sprain) during Sunday's loss to Green Bay.

Quarterback Marc Bulger also left the game injured, but his injury isn't deemed as serious, now that he's been diagnosed with a bruised rotator cuff. Earlier Monday, some feared Bulger had a torn rotator cuff and would also miss the remainder of the season. Of course, clouding matters is that Kyle Boller came in relief of Bulger and looked far superior.

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