St. Louis Rams: News, Nuggets and Notes at Noon (Monday Edition)

Thanks for taking a look at Monday's St. Louis Rams "News, Nuggets and Notes at Noon" the one stop daily quick-hitter for all major Rams headlines and brief analysis regarding the Rams.

With the upcoming 2012 NFL combine coming up (February 22-28) and with free agency (March 13) and the 2012 NFL Draft arriving in April, draft talk is intense and widespread.  

According to St. Louis Rams' senior writer Nick Wagoner, the Rams have "plenty of options" at hand regarding the second overall pick that St. Louis possesses. 

Speaking of the aforementioned approaching draft, I have just posted my second 2012 Rams mock draft today, with some notables changes from version one. 

With the previously mentioned events approaching, the offseason is in full-swing.  New general manager Les Snead and the Rams scouting department are evaluating their players and needs, according to this from Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  

The article is very detailed with some great insight into the approach of the Rams and Snead going forward over the next few months.  

The veteran coaching staff, put together by head coach Jeff Fisher, is garnering some rave reviews across the country, including this one from Dan Pompei of the National Football Post.  

The Rams have added highly-regarded assistant coaches like defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, assistant head coach Dave McGinnis and defensive backs coach Chuck Cecil, among others.  

According to a new tweet from @profootballtalk, the Rams have a shot at re-signing the veteran wideout:

"ProFootballTalk @ProFootballTalk

Lloyd: "Of course" Rams have shot to keep him. Expects talks to start this week.

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That is encouraging news, to most, for a team who desperately needs good weapons at receiver.

Turf Show Times asks if the Rams should use the franchise tag on free agent wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, who excelled in St. Louis after arriving here with 11 games remaining last season.  

After arriving in STL, Lloyd hauled in 51 catches and five touchdowns on 13.4 yards per reception in an abysmal Rams offense. 

I am not a proponent of using the franchise tag unless talking about a rare instance where a dominant young player is at risk for being lost to free agency and when there is little chance of adding a capable replacement.

In this case, the free agent wide receiver class is deep and includes Vincent Jackson, Stevie Johnson, Marques Colston, Pierre Garcon, Dwayne Bowe, Robert Meachum, DeSean Jackson, Mario Manningham, Plaxico Burress, Reggie Wayne, Mike Wallace and Wes Welker, among others.  

Speaking of Johnson, he is now not expected to be franchised by the Buffalo Bills and are said to be "far apart" in regard to the numbers being tossed about in initial contract discussions. 

The Rams will also be looking at upgrades in free agency at other positions, one potentially being defensive back.  

Cortland Finnegan is an intriguing option as he made the Pro Bowl for the Tennessee Titans following the 2008 season under then head coach Jeff Fisher and then secondary coach Chuck Cecil, both of whom now coach under the Gateway Arch.  

According to Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean, Finnegan is not making a lot of progress in talks with the Titans: 

"Jim Wyatt@jwyattsports

No progress has been made in contract talks between the #Titans and the agent for CB Cortland Finnegan, though the 2 sides talked Friday.

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Finally, the Turf Show Times also produced a good piece regarding the cooperative work of St. Louis Convention and Visitors Convention chairman Bob O'Laughlin and Rams owner Stan Kroenke's real estate company, THF Realty. 

As most of you know, the Rams and CVC have begun negotiations regarding the Rams home venue in St. Louis since 1995, the Edward Jones Dome.  

It is an encouraging sign to many in St. Louis to see two of the major people directly involved with the lease negotiations working together on a project that may eventually directly or indirectly impact the future of that area, now the EJD, and the Rams as well.  

Hope each of you have a terrific week.  Enjoy the day, STL Rams nation.  

Shane Gray covers the St. Louis Rams year-round. You are encouraged to check out the rest of his work here and to follow him on Twitter.  

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