St Louis Rams: Weekly Weekend Question and Answer Session

Welcome to another edition of the St. Louis Rams "Weekly Weekend Question and Answer Session", a collection of Rams-related inquiries sent my way either here on Bleacher Report or via my twitter account. 

I have been sent a lot of questions recently so without further adieu let us jump right to a few of them: 

From Corey (via Bleacher Report):

Do [you] know what kind of suspension that new defensive coach Greg Williams is looking at? Should we be worried about the Rams getting punished?

Most likely, a very hefty fine and probably at least a suspension of several games. Potentially, his punishment could me much worse.  

As for the Rams, they will absolutely not be punished. This happened in New Orleans, not St. Louis. That said, if Williams retains his position here, any suspension would directly affect the Rams. In addition, the aftermath could result in the Rams terminating his contract.  

Williams and Fisher are extremely close friends, which could muddy the water even further. Another complicating matter is Fisher's role on the NFL's Competition Committee, which reviews and recommends rules related to player safety, among other things.  

However, one has to ask, do the Rams want this type of stigma hanging over their heads?  Do they want to go forward with him and the reputation that he now carries?

On the other hand, several former NFL players, such as Bucky Brooks (who wrote this piece for nfl.com), say variations of the bounty system have been common in the league.

It will be interesting to see both his eventual punishment from the league as well as the response from the St. Louis organization. 

From Jon (via Twitter): 

I just heard the Titans plan to franchise Cortland Finnegan. Is this true?

There had been discussions along those lines, but ultimately Tennessee has chosen not to franchise tag the former Pro Bowl cornerback, according to this report.  He will be hitting the open market and the physical 27-year-old will be in high demand. 

According to this column, which cites league sources, Finnegan may be pursued by the Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys and, of course, the St. Louis Rams, among others. 

From Corey (via Bleacher Report): 

How big of a play do you think we will make for Finnegan? 

I think the Rams will be one of the top two or three options for Finnegan based on him having his best year yet (2008) under Jeff Fisher and his then secondary coach Chuck Cecil, who is now in the same position with St. Louis.

I would not be surprised at all to see him as one of the Rams primary free agent targets and potentially our number one guy. 

From Tony (via Twitter): 

If the Rams sign Finnegan in free agency and Justin Blackmon is gone, do you draft Morris Claiborne (DB from LSU) or go in another direction?

If St. Louis ends up with Finnegan, I would not expect the Rams to draft Claiborne at the top of the draft even if Blackmon were gone.  

Depending on where the Rams end up picking, I would expect them to lean towards a Matt Kalil (OT), Riley Reiff (OT), Dontari Poe (DT), Courtney Upshaw (OLB) or Trent Richardson (RB).  

From Los Angeles Rams (via Twitter): 

What else could the CVC offer the Rams to keep them in St. Louis? 

I know of nobody who was connected with the lease negotiations in any manner or who has followed situation closely who expected the Rams to accept the initial proposal from the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission.  

The President of the CVC, Kathleen "Kitty" Ratcliffe did not even expect it to be accepted as is, as she said here. 

That said, there are plenty of alterations that could be made. 

For one, St. Louis has a multitude of land not under development all over the city that could potentially be given to Rams owner Stan Kroenke as a sweetener to a deal.  

He and his developing firm (THF Realty) have implemented a slew of projects in the St. Louis metro and continue to do so.

There is no reason to believe that some prime land would not be coveted by Kroenke.  Giving him some prime real estate to develop could benefit not only the Rams, but the city and its' citizens, too.

The CVC could also do any of a number of other things including but not limited to: making provisions or commitments towards a new future stadium, contributing a higher percentage of Edward Jones Dome renovation costs, commiting towards a larger total cost (such as that done at the rehabilitation projects of Atlanta or New Orleans) and/or use other creative solutions such as giving more parking monies to the franchise or establishing more parking that could be used to also financially benefit the Rams.  

These are but a few ideas.  There are many possibilities being kicked around as options going forward. 

At this point, a lot depends on what the Rams present in their counterproposal.  We will have to wait and see the details of what the franchise wants (on or before May 1) before knowing what alternative or additional upgrades may be viable. 

From Dakatkinson (via Twitter): 

If we were to trade to No. 4 or No. 6, do you think Blackmon will still be on the board?

At this point, the answer is yes.  His stock has dropped just a bit in the eyes of some draft evaluators over the last couple of weeks.  

He measured in at under 6'1" at the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine and since he has not ran yet (he will at his pro day on March 9), that too is hurting him in the eyes of some right now.

There are still some questions about his top end speed.  Although 40 yard dash times are often overrated, they could be important to Blackmon's eventual draft slot nonetheless.  

If he runs a 4.55 or faster, his stock will likely remain where it is or even escalate a little. On the other hand, if he runs anything slower than a 4.6, he will probably slide down boards some, especially considering the aforementioned height concerns.  

From Levine (via Twitter):

If Rams owner Stan Kroenke ends up with the L.A. Dodgers, and an NFL team decided to move there, would Stan then have to sell the Dodgers (or the Rams)? 

First off, if Kroenke were to come away with the Dodgers in April, there would be no current cross-ownership issues since there is not an NFL franchise in Los Angeles right now. 

According to this article from cbssports.com, a group led by NBA legend Magic Johnson may be the current favorite to win the bidding war for the iconic MLB franchise. 

That said, there are at least seven groups still vying for ownership and if Kroenke were to be the winner and an NFL team eventually attempted to move in, that is where complications would likely arise.  The situation, in some regards, would be an unprecedented one for the NFL.  

Pro Football Talk takes a look at the issue here.  

If Kroenke were there first, I do not see why he would necessarily be forced to sell either the Rams or the Dodgers. After all, he would have been there first.  In all likelihood, Kroenke would be in a very solid leverage position from many angles. 

From DeWayne (via Bleacher Report): 

If the Redskins trade for Robert Griffin III, when was the last time Washington had a quarterback of that talent before him? 

To be honest, you would probably have to go all the way back to the 1980s and Joe Theismann, who earned two trips to the Pro Bowl and led his team to a Super Bowl win in 1982.

From Raheem (via Bleacher Report): 

Any chance the Rams would trade with Seattle for the No. 2 pick? 

Although you can never say never, it would be extremely unlikely.  Inter-division trades are very rare, especially towards the top of the draft.  Nobody wants to trade a draft pick or player to a division opponent and risk getting beat over the head by that player or players for years to come.

However, anything is possible.  

For instance, if Seattle were to offer a Ricky Williams like package where New Orleans sent its entire set of 1999 draft picks plus their first- and third-round picks in 2000 to Washington for the No. 5 pick, the Rams would obviously have to consider it (and probably make an exception).

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.