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Spagnuolo Hoping For Happy Handshake In Week 3

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Smarting from a poor performance, Steve Spagnuolo barely broke stride for the obligatory postgame handshake after the St. Louis Rams' Monday night loss to the New York Giants. No matter that the hand was being extended by mentor Tom Coughlin.

After cooling down, Spagnuolo texted congratulations to the man whose vision ultimately led to Spagnuolo's first NFL head coaching job. Spagnuolo made his name as the Giants defensive coordinator who shut down the seemingly unstoppable New England Patriots in the 2008 Super Bowl.

"The immediate moment after, it's hard and he understands that," Spagnuolo said. "Even when he texted back he said 'Steve, I appreciate it. I know you're hurting right now.'

"And he had a couple of nice things to say."

Game 3 is Spagnuolo's third straight matchup to open the season with an all-too-familiar face on the other side of the field. Eagles coach Andy Reid gave Spagnuolo his first NFL job in 2000 before schooling him with a team aspiring to a Super Bowl run in the opener, and now comes Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who was a fellow assistant coach in Philadelphia.

"There is no finer person," Spagnuolo said. "I consider him family. He's like a brother to me, I go to him for advice and vice versa."

The rest of the way, Spagnuolo joked, they're all enemies. Win or lose, he won't have to worry about being too wound up to have a sincere chat with his opposite number at midfield.

"Yeah, I'm getting them all out of the way early," Spagnuolo joked. "No more friends after this."

Maybe this week, too, there'll be no consoling remarks from another old pal.

The Rams are 0-2 for the fifth straight year, quickly exposing the irrelevancy of a perfect preseason, with most of the woes on an offense directed by Sam Bradford that has mustered two touchdowns in 10 trips inside the 20. They couldn't keep up in the second half with the Eagles and were doomed on Monday night by an offense that piled up yards but stalled when it really counted, settling for chip-shot field goals on three trips inside the 10.

"Definitely very frustrating," wide receiver Mike Sims-Walker said. "You've got to get in the end zone, no matter what."

Harbaugh also had one of those grit-your-teeth handshakes last week after the Ravens (1-1), who opened with an impressive victory over the Steelers, absorbed a 13-point loss to the Titans in Week 2.

It was their first double-digit setback since December 2009.

"You come back in here and it's an empty feeling. It's gut-wrenching," Harbaugh said. "But you put the emotions aside and you go to work. And that's what our guys have done."

Quarterback Joe Flacco anticipated criticism the Ravens experienced a letdown after their strong opener. He threw two interceptions in the loss to the Titans.

"Hey, it happens. That's what you guys are here for, to criticize, make judgments on how we played," Flacco told reporters. "The Super Bowl champion is not decided after Week 2.

"It's not decided after Week 1, just like everybody wanted to react to that. We have a long way ahead of us."

Several Ravens watched the Monday night game, getting in a bit of advanced scouting. Flacco was among them.

"I'm going to watch the game anyway," Flacco said. "Anytime you get a team on a short week, I think it definitely is a little bit of an advantage in the NFL. We'll take that when we can get it."

The Ravens' defense also was off its game in Week 2, forcing one turnover after setting a franchise record with seven against the Steelers. They had no sacks and gave up 358 yards passing.

The franchise highlight this week was All-Pro defensive tackle Haloti Ngata's new contract.

"We can be a dominant defense in a lot of ways because he's that presence in the middle," Harbaugh said. "They always say you want to be strong up the middle and we're pretty strong up the middle."

Rams running back Steven Jackson missed last week's game with a strained right quadriceps and could miss the Ravens game, too, leaving Cadillac Williams and Jerious Norwood. Top wide receiver Danny Amendola is likely out a second game with a dislocated left elbow and outside linebacker Ben Leber (groin) also has issues.

The Ravens have injury woes, too. Kick returner David Reed is out at least three weeks with a strained left shoulder. Wide receiver Lee Evans (ankle) and cornerback Domonique Foxworth, returning from knee surgery, are not at full strength, and cornerback Chris Carr (thigh) was limited in practice earlier in
the week.

Guard Ben Grubbs (toe) did not practice earlier in the week.

"Sometimes, as a coach, you have to say, 'You know what? Let's get this thing right, get you healthy so you can come back and play at your very best,"' Harbaugh said. "And, that's where we are with some of those guys right now. They may step up this week, because they've been getting rehab all along, and they may feel good and they may be able to go. But, they may not."

The Rams were effective especially early running a no-huddle offense, gaining 89 yards on nine plays in their opening possession and 67 yards on 10 plays on the second possession. Both times they stalled inside the 10, leading to increased emphasis on red zone efficiency during the week.

"It's something they've done both games so far, and they've done it really well," Harbaugh said. "So, the ability just to get the communication done and get lined up, all those things are going to be really important."

Baltimore stuffed Chris Johnson last week but was porous against the pass. On offense, the run game stalled.

It's a new week. A chance for the Rams to put it together for the first time and an opportunity for the Ravens to reassert themselves.

Whether or not Jackson plays, linebacker Ray Lewis is gearing up for the challenge.

"He's a real animal. I want to call him, because he plays the game almost like a linebacker at the running back position," Lewis said. "And our front seven is definitely always up for the task. So, here we go again."

Since the current playoff format began in 1990, only 22 teams have made the postseason after losing their first two games. Safety Quintin Mikell was a rookie on the 2003 Eagles team that began 0-2 and made it to the NFC championship game, and he's just as optimistic about St. Louis' chances as he was before the season began.

"We need people to stick with us," Mikell said. "Don't jump ship on us. We've got a good team, we're putting this thing together."

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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