FanHouse Chris Long

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.

Despite making a good amount of money to coach in the National Football League, Steve Spagnuolo has an unenviable task this year: coaching the St. Louis Rams. The Rams won just two games a year ago, and the roster was in a state of transition -- and in disrepair, really -- when he took over as the new head honcho.

If not for the ineptitude of the Lions, the 2008 Rams would have easily been the worst team in football. Only two teams scored less points and only one team (Lions, of course) allowed more. Some of the most talented players were aging and they dismissed two former stars (Orlando Pace and Torry Holt) as part of the rebuilding process after the disastrous campaign. Spagnuolo, though, is tired of hearing about and having to talk about 2008.

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

The Rams enter the 2009 season in full-on rebuilding mode. Another bad season wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for the future of the franchise as a whole, as they need to continue to grow their young players. The remnants of the strong Rams rosters from earlier this decade are either gone or aging quickly. New head coach Steve Spagnuolo will look to mold the next generation his way, starting immediately.

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet the ...
Steve Spagnuolo era. The first order of business? To rebuild almost everything. The Rams have already begun a makeover which will most certainly continue after another season of double-digit losses. I don't think I'm going out on a limb when I say this is the last year Marc Bulger will be the Rams' starting quarterback. There isn't much to like about this squad from a fantasy perspective -- outside of the beast who is pictured to the right.

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Last month, NFL Network's Jamie Dukes argued that it was "hypocritical to say [Brett Favre] should stop playing because you think it's time for him to stop." Never mind that no one has ever argued that. Instead, most fans -- even those with just a casual interest in the sport -- would prefer Favre not fake retire every offseason. I don't think that's asking for a lot.

Dukes is back. The just-concluded NFL Rookie Symposium prompted Dukes to writes that, "... there is an expectation among the populous that NFL players are supposed to be perfect because they were given the right to play football. THAT NOTION IS LUDICROUS!"

In the weeks leading up to the Biggest Weekend of the NFL Offseason, I've wondered why the Rams haven't shown more interest in quarterbacks Matthew Stafford or Mark Sanchez. St. Louis has the second overall pick, managed just five wins in two seasons, and Marc Bulger looks like he's had enough.

Bulger's perceived disposition is a familiar one; quarterbacks who play behind an offensive line in name only often exhibit some combination of apprehension and apathy after years of physical abuse (Jon Kitna, David Carr, and Joey Harrington also come to mind). Of course, that's a solid argument for why the Rams should take Jason Smith or Eugene Monroe -- offensive tackles who could start immediately.

Every Play Counts is Michael David Smith's weekly look at one specific player or one aspect of a team on every single play of the previous game.

The Miami Dolphins selected offensive tackle Jake Long with the first pick in this year's NFL draft. The St. Louis Rams selected defensive end Chris Long with the second pick. On Sunday, they did battle at the Edward Jones Dome.

The Dolphins won the game, but who won the individual battle? I explore in this week's edition of Every Play Counts.

The Rams were a significantly better team on Sunday than they had been the past three games. That team was easily worse than the Detroit Lions, but it seemed like Steven Jackson being back changed the complexion of everything, including the defense and special teams. Well, everything except the man taking snaps.

Jackson ran the ball 21 times and gained 94 yards. Josh Brown and Donnie Jones were excellent kicking and punting, and the defense held the Miami Dolphins to only 16 points. Alas, it still wasn't enough for a Rams victory. Marc Bulger -- despite good run support from Jackson and Antonio Pittman -- was simply dreadful. He connected on less than half his pass attempts and was intercepted three times -- including a game-ender on their last-gasp attempt, when he badly overthrew Derek Stanley.

A head-to-head battle between the top two draft picks was also of interest. Jake Long was squaring off against Chris Long. Considering Chris didn't record a single stat, it would appear Jake got the best of Howie's kid. It was a close matchup, though, as Chris wasn't severely abused by any means. Both have worlds of potential in this league moving forward.

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterbacks: Marc Bulger is coming off an injury-riddled, subpar at best, season. For the first time in his career he threw more picks than touchdowns, and his yards per attempt were nearly a yard lower than his previous career-low. Much of this can be attributed to the brutal offensive line play in front of him, but that may not change if Orlando Pace isn't completely healthy. Overall, though, Bulger will have a much better season and Trent Green is a fine backup. Heat Index: 6