Rams stagger to 10-34 mark under Spagnuolo

~ The coach is 2-10 in his third season in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS -- Job security has to be keeping Steve Spagnuolo up nights. The St. Louis Rams coach is 10-34 in his three seasons after the latest dispiriting loss.

Spagnuolo met with owner Stan Kroenke after the Rams mustered a season-worst 157 yards in Sunday's shutout loss to the San Francisco 49ers but said the talk was not about his future.

"I'm not going to share it all, but we really just talked about the game," Spagnuolo said Monday. "I love having Stan there. He's tremendously supportive. It's inspiring to me to have him there, talking with the guys and all that."

Spagnuolo said it was great that Kroenke worked the locker room, encouraging players, but declined to say whether he got a comforting pat on the shoulder, too.

"I'm not going to go into the conversation," Spagnuolo repeated. "We talked about the game."

Quarterback A.J. Feeley said Kroenke "appreciates everyone's effort."

"We're not satisfied with where we're at, but we have a bunch of fighters in this locker room," Feeley said.

The Rams (2-10) made a six-game victory improvement last year and played for the NFC West title in the season finale. They now are staring at a top three pick for the fourth time in five years.

Deservedly so, too.

The offense is at or near the bottom of the NFL in most major categories, a total flop under new coordinator Josh McDaniels. They've mustered only 11 offensive touchdowns and had just one big play against the 49ers, a 34-yard sideline catch by Brandon Lloyd during the third quarter. The reception was followed by an interception on the next play.

Any other bright spots?

Certainly not at running back. Steven Jackson was held to 19 yards on 10 carries. The Rams totaled 31 yards rushing, averaging just 1.3 yards.

"It's kind of the same story we've had all year," Feeley said. "We just can't seem to put it all together. "

The Rams are dead last against the run on defense, which is Spagnuolo's specialty.

They did a nice job limiting the damage in the first half by allowing three field goals, one of them after Feeley was stripped to give the 49ers possession at the 6. The defense gave up some big gainers in the second half, though.

"That's their style of offense," safety Craig Dahl said. "Pound, pound, pound and then take a couple deep shots. Unfortunately we gave up two deep passes, and that is not something we're proud of."

The Rams have been hit hard by injuries much of the season.

There's a chance third-string quarterback Tom Brandstater, re-signed to the practice squad just last week, might start Monday at Seattle with both Sam Bradford and Feeley questionable.

Bradford aggravated a high left ankle sprain in practice last Wednesday and missed his third game, and Spagnuolo said the team would "probably tread lightly" early in the practice week.

"The less you put on it, the better off he is when you get down to a game-time decision," Spagnuolo said.

Feeley has a small fracture on his right thumb, sustained when he hit a helmet in the fourth quarter.

"Can he grab a ball and all those other things?" Spagnuolo said. "We're not really sure. That's obviously concerning based on the situation Sam's in right now."

The offensive line will have to be juggled again with guard Jacob Bell likely out for the year with a torn MCL in his right knee. Tackles Rodger Saffold and Jason Smith already are among the 13 players on injured reserve.

"These particular issues in this game of football are out of our control," Spagnuolo said. "We can't go out and put pillows on everybody and hope they don't get hurt. You just can't play the game that way."