By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer

After the Rams put the franchise tag on him before the start of free agency, safety Oshiomogho Atogwe had his choice of ways to handle his status.

Many tagged players opt to hold out, sit out and generally just avoid anything that has to do with the “offending” team. Those players want to chase the dollar signs and put their personal contract status ahead of the good of the team.

Not Atogwe.

“I believe as I have been taught that having a reputation and good character is more than your wealth and your riches and chasing after money,” Atogwe said. “I feel like if I was going to be a part of this team this year, it was important and imperative that I was here through the offseason just to show my teammates I am committed to them and I am committed to what we have going on regardless of my contract situation. That’s personal. I am committed to what the team is doing and what Coach Spags has us building.”

Therein lies the rub. When he was hired as the 25th head coach of the Rams in January, Steve Spagnuolo put forth his plan for how he was going to help re-build the Rams into winners.

At the foundation of that plan is what Spagnuolo refers to as the “Four Pillars.” And while those still get mentioned, one pillar seems to stand above the rest. The concept is simple, it’s the idea that a group of 53 players and a coaching staff putting the team first, ahead of any individual goals or personal accolades or money will ultimately lead to victory.

The question then becomes how do 53 individuals from widely varied backgrounds and values decide to put aside any differences and develop the trust necessary to lay it on the line for the man next to him?

THE BEGINNING

The team-first concept is nothing new. In fact, it’s not much of a coincidence that almost all of the Super Bowl champions in recent memory have been known for having the team chemistry and trust in one another to make the sacrifices necessary to succeed.

The idea can start with something small, little changes that can help make a difference. Soon after his arrival, Spagnuolo began putting in place some of those small alterations that can ultimately lead to wide scale change.

For years, the hallways of the Russell Training Center have been lined with pictures of individual players on the field. Whether it was a shot of Marc Bulger about to deliver the ball or long snapper Chris Massey firing another perfect snap, the photos were taken down.

In their place now hang a variety of shots that focus on nothing but team. The offense in the huddle before a play or the defense celebrating a big play.

In the Rams’ locker room, all individual photos hanging above the lockers were removed and replaced with team logos. Even the carpet of the locker room was altered to add Rams logos and the stools where players sit are now adorned with Rams logos.

Those changes surely won’t win games on Sundays but that’s not the plan. The plan is that those changes will help re-inforce the notion of putting the team first.

That attitude was necessary as the players convened for the offseason program. A major roster overhaul in which the Rams went from the third-oldest roster in the league to the fourth-youngest in one offseason meant there were plenty of new faces around looking to get acquainted.

Simply meeting new teammates was the first step in the actual team building process.

“The first (thing is) to try to get to know everyone,” running back Steven Jackson said.
“I know changes have been made but there are a lot of new faces around here and you want to get to know everyone. That’s from the locker room all the way up to the front office. It’s definitely a different feel. Football is first around here now and everyone is committed to winning and we are really trying to stick to not putting anyone above the team.”

After the many introductions were made among the players, the group went about beginning the team bonding process. On the field and in the weight room, the players were asked to get to know different groups that the might not normally spend time with.

Defensive backs have been hanging out with offensive linemen and various other dogs and cats living together situations have evolved.

That time spent working and sweating together left the Rams feeling good about where they stood in terms of building the team heading into their summer down time.

“I think it went very well in the spring,” linebacker Will Witherspoon said. “Spags emphasized that he wanted everybody here working and showing everybody else they were committed to not just being a player in this game but a player on this team. That’s what we really came into. It’s about forming that mentality and getting that egg ready to pop when the season starts. Once we get going and really are into it, I think it’s coming through well. Everybody can see the difference it has made. We are all holding each other accountable for the littlest mistakes and that’s what you should be. That’s how you should be.”

GOING TO CAMP

While the offseason program gave the Rams a getting to know you period, there is no better time for team building activities than training camp.

From the time the full squad camp started on July 31, the 80 players on the roster, 53 of whom will form the final roster, have been spending every waking minute together on the practice field, in the lunch room, in meetings and in the locker room.

Although the team is holding training camp at home in St. Louis, Spagnuolo mandated that all players stay in the team hotel with the idea that the time spent together will go a long way toward building the team first model.

“There’s tremendous importance,” Spagnuolo said. “We’ll talk about team chemistry and bonding.  It is all about team.  The more you get to know each other, let’s face it, the closer you get to each other and the closer you can be.  I think when push comes to shove and you hit those situations during the game where you’re going to lay it on the line for your buddy I do think it goes a long way.”

On the practice field, it’s growing ever-obvious that if nothing else; this will be one of the league’s most tight-knit teams.

Before letting the team go for the summer, Spagnuolo told his team to expect a physical training camp. He followed through on that promise by going to live action hitting and tackling on the first day of training camp.

There isn’t much that brings a group of guys together like hitting and tackling. As the bumps and bruises pile up, nobody understands better what a player is going through than the player next to him.

That can carry into the locker room, local restaurants, movie theatres; anywhere you might catch a group of Rams herded together.

“I think it’s a little different with the team bonding aspect,” Witherspoon said. “We are bonding a little more in the locker room but that isn’t really going to change much. You are going to bond with guys, especially guys you practice with, play with, sweat with. That’s going to naturally happen. Guys always try to get together. One of the things this team has always been good at is getting guys together off the field and moving forward from there. Not only can we keep guys moving forward all around, we can keep guys moving in the right direction as a whole, not just individually.”

The possibility exists that by the end of camp, players can be tired of spending so much time together but the idea is more for them to have an understanding of the guy next to them so when the real action begins there is nothing but trust that he’s going to do his job and he’s going to trust you to do your job. 

Ultimately, that could be the most important part of the whole training camp process.

“You get away from the norm where you come in and work and just go home,” cornerback Ron Bartell said. “Now we come in and we stay and stay longer and stay a little bit longer. Guys are rooming together so you get to kind of befriend guys you wouldn’t normally befriend. Like some of the offensive linemen, you hang out with, something you wouldn’t normally do during the season. It just builds that team chemistry I think we need.”

THE FINISHED PRODUCT

The nature of the NFL dictates that there is going to be a significant amount of turnover from season to season in terms of the roster. That can make sustaining success and a team-first concept a difficult chore.

But if the value is put in place as a core idea for how to build a team, it can make the year to year differences miniscule. That can spread into the front office where the decision makers can learn what type of personality will fit into what the team is doing.

The hardest part of it all might just be monitoring how the process of building a team is going. Because it’s an intangible concept that can’t be measured in bench presses or 40-yard dash times, the constant emphasis and discussion is the only way to keep a finger on the pulse of building a team.
 
“It’s just a sense, a feel,” Spagnuolo said. “It’s an everyday evaluation. We talk about it every night in the team meeting, one element of it. The guys have been great. They have been receiving it, embracing it. There’s still a long way to go but so far, so good.”

It might be difficult to judge just how quickly or well the team building ideals are coming along but there’s no doubt that the signs are there that the players are buying into what Spagnuolo and Co. are selling.

For proof, look no further than Atogwe. 

“Being a guy who has been here with the Rams now going on five years,” Atogwe said. “Some of the younger guys and some of the vets need to see loyalty and faithfulness from the guys that have already been here and that’s going to carry over throughout the locker room so you just build a team that is really focused on one goal and one purpose and being one.”