Adelaide's 95-point thrashing against the Eagles at Patersons Stadium on Saturday saw it finish the season in 14th spot with a 7-15 record.
But Rutten said the Eagles' remarkable improvement to finish fourth with 17 victories after winning just four matches and taking the wooden spoon last year should serve as inspiration for the Crows in 2012.
"West Coast is definitely a good example for us to follow because we're in a pretty similar position now to what they were in last year," he said.
"It's great that they've been able to do it, but I'm sure it took a lot of hard work - it didn't just happen.
"They would have worked hard at things during the off-season and had a good, hard look at themselves, which is what we have to do.
"We need to have a good hard look at each other with where we go from here."
The Crows were dominated by the in-form Eagles, finishing with 20 fewer scoring shots and 26 fewer marks while losing the inside-50 battle 59-36 and the clearance count 60-43.
Scott Thompson capped off a stellar season with 40 disposals and six clearances, but his only support came from the likes of Nathan van Berlo (25 disposals) and youngster Rory Sloane (22 possessions and six clearances).
Rutten said the game showed how far the club had to progress to get back to the finals.
"I think that game summed up our year pretty well," he said.
"It's terrible to have a season like this, it's a waste of a year. I suppose being part of the leadership group and being a senior player, you feel a bit more responsible. We need to look at where we can improve and be the ones to drive it.
"I'm not even sure where we're at now to be honest."
The loss to West Coast was Mark Bickley's last as interim coach and Rutten said he was impressed with the way he operated after taking over from Neil Craig late in the season.
"He has been good. He's been positive and driving us and encouraging us to take the game on. It was a pretty hard position for him to be in, but he's done a good job for himself and the footy club," Rutten said.
"I think the last six weeks since Bicks took over we made some good inroads in the way we want to play, but in the last couple of weeks we took a few steps backwards."
