The Rams have signed 52-year old Jeff Fisher to serve as their new head coach.  Fisher last coached in 2010 with the Tennessee Titans when they were 6-10.  Fisher has a regular season of 142-120 (54.2%) in his first 17 years in his career as a head coach in the NFL.  He is also 5-6 (45.5%) in the post-season in his career.  In 1999, he got the Tennessee Titans to the Super Bowl by they lost 23-16 to the Rams.  Fisher has won at least 10 games six out of his 17 years in charge.  He has also finished exactly 8-8 five times in his career and he has been sub-.500 six times in his career.  The Rams will definitely benefit from Fisher’s experience and ability to motivate his troops.  This was a good move for the Rams.

The Rams have fired 52-year old head coach Steve Spagnuolo.  The Rams finished tied with the Colts for the worst record in the NFL with a 2-14 record.  The Rams only averaged 12.1 points per game and they have gave up 25.4 points per game this year.  That was not all Spagnuolo’s fault to to the massive amount of injuries the Rams suffered this year, but NFL is a bottom line business and that is why he is looking for a new job.  The Rams were 10-38 (20.8%) in Spagnuolo’s three years with the team.

The NFL has suspended rookie WR Austin Pettis for the next four games for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug.  Pettis played in 12 games (3 starts) for the Rams this year and he caught 27 passes for 256 yards (9.5 avg).  He also returned 15 punts for 139 yards (9.3 avg) and he returned 3 kickoffs for 62 yards (20.7 avg) this year.  This is a disappointing end to a disappointing year for Austin Pettis as the Rams had high hopes for him after picking him in the 3rd round of the NFL Draft last April.

The Rams have claimed 28-year old QB Kellen Clemens off waivers from the Texans.  Clemens didn’t get into any games for the Texans this year.  He has played in 25 games (9 starts) in his first six years in the NFL and he has completed 147 of 284 passes (51.8%) for 1,686 yards with 5 TD passes and 11 INTs (67.4 QB Rating).  Clemens has also carried the ball 46 times for 128 yards (2.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far in his career.  Clemens as a career record of 4-5 (44.4%) as a starting QB in the NFL.  Clemens will likely be the Rams’ backup QB this Monday Night against the Seattle Seahawks, as Tom Brandstater will likely be making his NFL debut in this game.

34-year old A.J. Feeley has a small fracture in his right thumb, which could cause him to miss the next Rams’ game (Monday Night in Seattle).  He has played in 5 games for the Rams so far this year and he has completed 53 of 97 passes (54.6%) for 548 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (66.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 3 times for 4 yards (1.3 ypc) in this game.  24-year old Sam Bradford has a bad ankle and it’s not looking good as far as him returning to action next week.  He has played in 9 games for the Rams so far this year and he has completed 179 of 328 passes (54.6%) for 1,971 yards with 6 TD passes and 5 INTs (72.3 QB Rating).  Bradford has also carried the ball 16 times for 27 yards (1.7 ypc) so far this year.  It’s looking like 27-year old Tom Brandstater could be making his NFL debut on Monday Night Football next week in Seattle, and it’s a tough place to play.

The Rams have waived 32-year old LB Ben Leber.  Leber played in 7 games for the Rams this year and he had 15 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.   He has now played in 143 games in his first 10 years in the NFL and he has 498 tackles, 36 tackles for a loss, 24 sacks, 12 forced fumbles, 11 fumble recoveries, 29 passes defensed and 5 interceptions.  Leber didn’t do much for the Rams this year, so they aren’t going to miss him too much going forward.

The Rams have signed 27-year old G/C Kevin Mattison off the Ravens’ practice squad.  Mattison played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Ravens this year.  He has now played in 10 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the NFL.  The Rams will likely throw Mattison right into the fire somewhere along the line this weekend against the Cardinals.

The St. Louis Rams have placed 25-year old OT Jason Smith on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a nasty concussion.  Smith played in 6 games (all starts) for the Rams this year.  He has now played in 29 games (26 starts) in his first three years with the Rams. This is another blow to the Rams’ O-Line as they are losing players left and right.

The Rams have lost 29-year old WR Mark Clayton for the rest of the season due to a knee injury.  Clayton played in 2 games (1 start) for the Rams this year and he caught 3 passes for 26 yards (8.7 avg).  He has now played in 7 games (6 starts) in his first two years with the Rams and he has caught 26 passes for 332 yards (12.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Clayton didn’t play much this year but the Rams are going to miss him as they don’t have much depth at WR.

The Rams have lost 23-year old CB Marquis Johnson for the rest of the year as he has been placed on the Injured Reserve List with a lacerated spleen.  Johnson played in 3 games for the Rams this year and he had 5 tackles and 3 passes defensed.  He has now played in 5 games in his first two years with the Rams and he has 7 tackles and 3 passes defensed.  This will hurt the depth of the secondary a little bit.