This is usually a forum to review Sunday’s action. Where I delve into each play and drive that ultimately lead to the outcome and made up the days drama. Today I find myself unable to take the same approach. This is not to say there was not big, important momentum turning plays throughout the game.

There was Nick Miller’s punt return for a touchdown, Lance Kendricks and Sam Bradford both fumbling the ball away, Interceptions by Rod Hood and James Laurinaitis, Beanie Wells running wild and Patrick Peterson again punishing the Rams for kicking to him. There was also Bradford and Brandon Lloyd connecting on a beautiful pass and catch at the end of the first half that put the ball on the three yard line and the two again connecting on a corner-route for a perfectly thrown touchdown in the 4^th quarter. Of course there was also Spagnuolo not challenging John Skelton diving for a first down.

As big as these moments were…as crucial as they were to the eventual outcome. They were all over shadowed by three grossly inept, cowardly and costly decisions by head coach Steve Spagnuolo. Three decisions that in my opinion lost Spagnuolo any remaining supporters he had out there and had to at least lose him some of his players. Most importantly these decisions will ultimately be the nail in his coaching coffin.

The Rams' run defense gave up 223 yards to Beanie Wells, making this the second time this season that the Rams have allowed an opponent to set a new franchise rushing record. Wells' performance joins Demarco Murray's atop the NFL leaderboard, and there is now little to look forward to but the draft. And open season on the men who might be running it. 

Our men in gold pants did little noteworthy in the first half, but were able to ferret out a rare punt return TD from newly-resigned Nick Miller, and a hell of a throw and catch from Sam Bradford to Brandon Lloyd that set the Rams up at the two yard line. (Naturally, because these are the 2011 Rams, a 35-yard field goal try ensued.)

However, Steve Spagnuolo did his best to lose his last remaining supporters in the stands with a horrendous series of second half decisions, making the job of second-guessing him all too easy. Recapping:

• Lance Kendricks fumbles the ball on a poorly conceived and executed screen pass, but the recovering member of the Cardinals appears to be out of bounds. No challenge flag thrown. Arizona ball at the Rams' 28.
• On the ensuing drive, John Skelton scrambles and dives, stretching the ball toward the sticks on 3rd and 13. Replays clearly show Skelton falling at least half a yard short, but again Spags keeps the red flag in his sock. Both of these plays happened on the Rams' sideline, right in front of the coaches.
• Down 13-10 now, Spagnuolo refuses to go for the first on 4th and 1 from his own 30.
• Instead, the Rams punt directly to Patrick Peterson, who scores a return touchdown. 20-10 Cardinals.

At this point, the #FireSpags hashtag is trending wildly among the twittering herd. But Spags' faith in his defense is rewarded by a series of stops, as the Rams get an interception, a 3-and-out, and a fumble on three successive Cardinals' drives, fueling a mild burst of comeback energy. Josh Brown gets a couple of long field goal attempts, going 1 for 2, and Sam Bradford flashes some of his rookie form (that's a good thing) on a pair of beautiful passes to Kendricks and Lloyd to tie the game.

However, yet another breakdown in the run game lets Beanie Wells get loose for yet another 50+ yard gainer. The Rams' defense stiffens and holds Arizona to a field goal, giving Bradford the ball and a chance to win with just under 5 minutes to play in the game. 

Josh McDaniels set a tone early in this game with a series of curious calls designed to keep Bradford out of harm's way. Of the Rams' first ten plays, only three were throws, and one of those was by Brandon Lloyd. Now, though, there was no sheltering Bradford.

But with the clock and any remaining chance of salvaging this game -- and his hold on the coaching job -- ticking away, Spagnuolo stepped in and took the ball out of Bradford's hands on a fourth and one, this time from his own 36.

St. Louis would never touch the ball again. And with a remainder of the schedule against teams with a combined 35-17 record, they may not win another game in Spagnuolo's tenure.

Patrick Peterson won round one of his matchup with Brandon Lloyd. The Cardinals' rookie corner allowed only 3 catches on ten passes to Lloyd, and came away with an interception. What can the Rams do differently in round two? 

This is a big test for Lloyd, who made an early splash with the Rams but has since been swallowed up by opponents' top corners in division games. The Bradford-to-Lloyd connection has been good on only 7 of 23 passes against Peterson, Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman. 

With few other healthy or trusted options on offense, Bradford is going to continue to look Lloyd's way in this home rematch with Arizona. The big questions are: 1) can Lloyd get open? and 2) will Bradford look elsewhere if he can't?

Looking back 12 weeks ago just prior to the opener against the Philadelphia Eagles the fantasy potential for the Rams seemed legitimate and promising. Whoops. As the season has progressed the opportunities that have presented themselves have been few and far between.

Spagnuolo and McDaniels, along with the injury bug have all done their parts to confuse, frustrate and befuddle fantasy owners on any given week. That being said, if your patient, look really hard…and are a bit desperate, they plays are there. Of course remember we’re taking in IDP plays as well as the standard plays.

Week 12 at home against the Arizona Cardinals is one of those weeks. Brandon Lloyd with nearly 15 targets last week will be active for sure as will Steven Jackson. The others are harder to nail down but the opportunity will be there. And if you’re jonzen to start a Ram you might want to get it out of your system while the schedule is still favorable.

Standard Play & PPR

Sam Bradford: Beatable matchup by the numbers but he continues to struggle to get that 2nd TD pass every week. Regardless, if you are starting Sam your team is in trouble.

Steven Jackson: Put up 130 rushing yards on them earlier this year so you have to start him. Besides, no one is playing harder than Jackson and look for him to break out after being stymied by Seattle last week.

Brandon Lloyd: Continues to produce and he literally is their passing attack with another 14 targets last week.

Brandon Gibson: He's been starting and had 7 targets last week but hard to trust anyone other than Lloyd.

Austin Pettis: Had 5 targets last week but it's not really happening for him.

Marc Clayton: If you’re the Rams 4^th best fantasy option at WR you’re not really an option.

Lance Kendricks: Certainly not someone you ever want to start but they have nothing other than Lloyd at receiver.

D/ST: We could see Kolb but even he is a pretty good matchup and Cards giving up 5th most FPG to DTs in last five weeks. The D did a good time keeping them in check a few weeks ago and even put up four points of their own.

IDP

This is where it’s been at recently for any Rams fantasy value. Look back on the last time these two teams met and you’ll find the defense nearly outscored the offense. Over the last four weeks the Rams defense has really tightened up. It’s not league leading in any regard but they have cut their yards allowed by nearly 100 yards a game.

Chris Long: The Cardinals offensive line has been shaky and banged up Long should have the advantage Sunday. He has now recorded five sacks over the last three games.

Robert Quinn: Coming off his best game as a pro with five solo tackles and his fourth sack of the season.

James Laurinaitis: The defensive leader of the Rams' unit, Laurinaitis remains a very steady option and a quality IDP starter in your weekly lineup.

James Hall: Cardinal offensive line woes and recent history bode well for Hall. Pressure will be there again as will the opportunities for a sack.

Quintin Mikell: he has put up solid tackle numbers, along with 1 sack, 2 interceptions, 3 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Mikell is scoring enough points to make him fantasy relevant, and should still be considered a borderline S1.

Another week, another shuffle in the roster. Mark Clayton's grueling comeback from patellar tendon surgery -- mostly done on his own, and on his own dime -- ended disappointingly as the WR never got back to full game speed. The Rams placed him on IR yesterday, and have reportedly (according to Martin Kilcoyne at KFNS) made yet another change on the offensive line. Goldberg moves to LT, and Harvey Dahl and deposed center Jason Brown each slide over a spot on the right side. 

At this point in the season, it might be easier to list the players and positions that haven't seen change, than those that thave: 

On Offense: 

LG: Jacob Bell
RG-RT: Harvey Dahl

On Defense: 

DE Chris Long
DE James Hall
DT Fred Robbins
DT Justin Bannan
LB James Laurinaitis
S Quintin Mikell
S Darian Stewart 

There's your list, in its entirety, of Rams from our starting 22 that have played all ten games this season. (I had Brandon Gibson on the list too, but forgot about his non-injury benching in Week 7.) 

According to last week's Fox broadcast, the Rams have lost 20% of their roster to the IR this season. Given that 20% of 53 is 11, I think that number might actually be low. We've lost nearly that many cornerbacks, let alone players at other positions. 

Even as the pile of the dead rises outside Rams Park, the clock is ticking on the remainder of the season, and on the remainder of the current regime's job audition. For his part, Peter King thinks he thinks (in this week's print edition of SI) that Spagnuolo needs another four wins in these next six games to keep his job. I had the count at seven wins myself, thinking that the Rams needed to not lose ground on last season.

While the failed chemistry experiment on defense cost the Rams a number of early chances at wins, Bernie Miklasz points out that Spagnuolo's unit has actually improved dramatically over the last month. Now it's the offense that is under fire.

If the Rams respond with an offensive explosion this week against Arizona, maybe we'll be able to see it as something to build on. Having anything at all to build on from this lost season would be an improvement.

As I write this I am fully aware and prepared that this will be the least popular and poorly received post I have written to date. I considered penning it under a stage name as to protect myself and family from further persecution and shame. Yet as I put pen to paper, rather keystroke to computer these words appear before me…keep head coach Steve Spagnuolo.

I am well aware the numbers and every piece of data imaginable are against me. Through 42 games Spagnuolo has only won 10 and the 2011 Rams are at the bottom of the league in well, pretty much everything. Taking into account that 2009 was considered by most a wash year. Spganuolo inherited absolute garbage of a roster most notable a quarterback choice between battered-quarterback-syndrome Marc Bulger and Kyle Boller. Using this logic that gives Spags one good year and one bad year completely on him.

Meaning 2012 would be the rubber-match year in his head coaching career. Is he the head coach that improved a one win team by six wins in a single year earning coach of the year type praise? Or is Spags the coach who took a seven win team and drove them right into the gutter? In reality he is both.

Everyone, myself included, was so quick to praise after a strong 2011. The defense finished in the top 10 in sacks and Sam Bradford won the offensive rookie of the year and league wide praise. Now everyone, myself included, has lined him up for the firing squad in the midst of what truly is total and complete failure of a season. Are we really that short sighted? Did we all forget that less than a year ago the very same head coach had the Rams one win away from the NFC West title?

While 2010 does not excuse this season’s failures, at the same time the short comings of the 2011 Rams should not wash away last year’s success. It’s a mind bender I know. But one that deserves serious thought.

For example, Sunday’s loss to Seattle featured a terrible offensive game plan offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. In his first year of installing a new and complex offense McDaniels was given little time to prepare and work with his new players. Not to mention installing his new schemes into the Rams offense required Sam Bradford to not only learn another new system but new players as well.

Aside from Steven Jackson nearly every target of his is new to him. Injuries are not an excuse but also cannot be ignored. Danny Amendola went down, Marc Clayton has been around for one game and Lance Kendricks, Austin Pettis, Greg Salas and Brandon Lloyd are all new to Sam. And before he was mercifully let go so was Mike Sims-Walker.

Bradford and the offense did their best to get together during the lockout but most of those parts were either hurt or gone before the season even got underway. And to that point, another issue on frustration for many is the fact that McDaniels did not bring in a quarterback’s coach to work with Sammy franchise. Well, get a QB coach and bring him in early and let them get to work.

If it makes Stan feel better, he can make a list of coaching candidates and keep it in a safe place. If next year goes south early…pull the trigger. That would no more damaging than getting rid of Spagnuolo and McDaniels now, or in the off season, then ushering in regime for 2012. Neither one will speed up the development of Bradford or the team as a whole. Continuity and consistency are good things for a young team. And from all accounts the players like and play hard for Spags.

Give Sam a full off season with his receivers and quarterbacks coach. Give Spagnuolo a healthy roster and what will be a more representative schedule. Give McDaniels the appropriate time to teach this offense. Give Spagnuolo the opportunity to prove 2010 was what can be expected, that this, this ugliness is but a mere outlier of his coaching resume.

Who is Kroenke going to get to come it here anyhow that will appease the masses? Gruden? Nope. Cowher? Even less likely.  No whomever replaces Spags is more than likely going to be just a different version of Spags. A top assistant looking to prove himself wearing the big boy pants.

The next Jim Harbaugh is not walking through the doors at the ED and turning this team in the 49ers over not. I hate to be the one to tell you but It’s not happening. No, look at 2012 for what it is. A winner-take-all-rubber-match-battle in Spagnuolo’s coaching career. Find that 2010 magic again and congratulations…you get to keep you job. Loss again and don’t let the door hit ya where the…you know the rest.

The grass is truly greener on the other side, at least for players who leave St. Louis. 

Several players released by the Rams in the last two seasons of the tenuous tenure of the Spagnuolo-Devaney regime have gone on to prosper for other teams.

This speaks to the state of the Rams in a whole new facet. St. Louis is not only a football Siberia for free agents but is also a black hole where developing consistent talent is next to impossible. 

Take for example Laurent Robinson, who is having a breakout season in Dallas after Miles Austin was lost to injury.

Rams fans remember how awful Robinson was in 2010 and I can’t blame the team for letting him go, but there must be some explanation on why he has exploded for the Cowboys after leaving the receiving quagmire in St. Louis.

Robinson played in 14 games as a Ram in 2010, caught 34 passes for 344 yards and two touchdowns. In Dallas, Robinson has only played eight games and already has 31 receptions for 475 yards and five touchdowns.

The talent surrounding Robinson is much better in Dallas than in St. Louis but he is only one example.

Adam Carriker is another prospect that has moved on to more productivity. Carriker wasn’t a product of Devaney’s drafts, but was expected to flourish under the defensive mind of Steve Spagnuolo.

Instead, he finished his 31-game career as a Ram with 53 total tackles in three seasons and two sacks.

He was released before the 2010 season and moved on to Washington to reunite with Jim Haslett.

Haslett has drawn out the player the Rams thought they were getting in 2007 with Carriker amassing 43 tackles and 6.5 sacks in five fewer games.

Again, Carriker has more talent around him and is probably better suited as a 3-4 defensive end in the Redskins system, but this is why the Rams continue to whiff on wins and valuable roster depth.

Finally, there is Chris Ogbonnaya, who has moved on to Cleveland as the new feature back in Pat Shurmur’s system.

Ogbonnaya was a seventh round pick in the 2009 draft by St. Louis and was seen as an eventual developmental third down back.

Instead, the Rams gave up on him and shelled out some cash this offseason for Jerious Norwood and Cadillac Williams to finally “solve” the lack of depth behind Steven Jackson. 

Norwood and Williams: 255 yards in 11 combined games with a 3.5 yards per carry average and zero touchdowns.

Ogbonnaya: 285 yards in five games with a 4.3 yards per carry average and one touchdown. 

There is no argument of more talent around Ogbonnaya in Cleveland, the Rams have spent just as many draft picks and as much money on lineman to compliment Steven Jackson as the Browns have in recent offseasons.

The point is each of these glaring examples represent yet another failure in the laundry list of problems plaguing the Rams. 

Devaney uses picks on players who are released too soon or become a victim of the vicious circle of no development structure at Rams park.

Player development is the foundation of why St. Louis is constantly outclassed by teams who help their rosters grow from top to bottom to reduce crippling turnover.

These players are a staggering example of the ineptitude surrounding the Rams but at least fans have Donnie Avery, who has yet to register a catch in Tennessee.