Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has an excellent “5 Minutes” blog post up about the Rams and the two “pillars” of the Rams.  First Jackson:

But Jackson’s attitude and professionalism have been as impressive as his running. He’s been a total team player in 2009. A positive influence in every way. Someone who tries hard to keep his teammates fired up. Someone who refuses to dwell on any kind of negativity. Jackson just keeps pressing on, running through the fog of losing, trying to desperately to break through to the sunlight..

The Rams could have easily had a problem at running back like the Kansas City Chiefs have with Larry Johnson.  Jackson, to his credit, has taken the mantle of leader for the Rams team.  We are lucky, as Rams fans to have Steven Jackson on our football team.  Now, the Rams just need to build a team around him before he is over the hill.

And Spagnuolo:

Spagnuolo’s overall steadiness and consistency in dealing with his players is a real plus in this situation. No gimmicks will turn around years of roster-management incompetence and losing. There are no short cuts on the long road back to being a respectable franchise. Spags has a message and stays on it. He refuses to let any player drift away from the cause.

Reasonable people understand the situation he’s in. And they’ll give him time to develop. And Spagnuolo definitely has to improve in some areas, including game management and in coaching up his assistants.

I think the last part is something that is certainly not talked about as much when it comes to the Rams.  They have a first time head coach, a first time offensive coordinator and play caller and a first time defensive coordinator.  These guys are not “veteran” coaches or retreads.  These guys are literally learning on the job.  And at the pace of the NFL, it may take them a whole year to get aclimated.

Lot’s of credit and thanks to our two Stevens this week!