St. Louis Rams: Friday's Rams News and Notes at Noon

Welcome to Friday's St. Louis Rams "News and Notes at Noon"—the one stop daily destination for all major Rams updates and other relevant content. 

Rams Offensive Tackle Rodger Saffold Reportedly Progressing 

The 2011 campaign of Rodger Saffold was disappointing from the jump.  

He began the year struggling with nagging injuries and poor play (likely related) and ended the season early in November after landing on the injured reserve after tearing a pectoral muscle while lifting weights at Rams Park. 

According to the following tweet from Saffold, his rehabilitation is progressing nicely: 

"

Rodger Saffold ‏ @Rodger_Saffold

Workin my tail off in rehab doin heavy weight with ease and actually getting stronger than last year #ijustwannawin.

"

It is obviously good to hear that Saffold appears to be on his way back to 100 percent health. Many believe, as do I, that Saffold's diminished play in 2011 was mostly a byproduct of the nagging injuries he dealt with.

In 2010, the second-round rookie played so well that the Indianapolis Colts admitted regret for passing him up in the NFL Draft, according to Don Banks of si.com as reported here. 

I expect to see the Saffold of 2010 (or better) in 2012 and not the banged-up version we saw last season. 

Free Agency Updates

In case you missed it, the Rams added veteran offensive lineman Qunn Ojinnaka last night, according to this from Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 

From the same above-linked report Thomas confirms the visits of the following free agents to Rams Park: New Orleans Saints outside linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar, San Francisco left guard Chilo Rachal, New York Jets offensive guard Robert Turner and Kansas City right tackle Barry Richardson.

As for Ojinnaka, the 27-year old is highly versatile starting games at left tackle, right tackle and right guard.  Of his 56 career games, Ojinnaka has started on 15 occasions.  

As for the NFL Free Agency period as a whole, as you have probably noticed, it has begun to slow down, as Howard Balzer of 101sports.com expounds upon in this column.  

Balzer states that although free agency has slowed down markedly already, action will eventually begin to heat up for running back and linebackers as their asking prices diminish. 

Steve Spagnuolo Reportedly an Option for New Orleans as Interim Head Coach

According to the Associated Press as shared in bnd.com, former Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo is among three Saints assistants in the running for interim head coach in the wake of the bountygate-related suspension of head coach Sean Payton. 

Other reported candidates via the aforementioned Associated Press article include offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. and offensive line coach Aaron Kromer.

Proposed NFL Rule Changes Announced 

The NFL has proposed seven rules changes and some other modifications to the rules and by-laws that govern the league.  The details therein can be found in this piece from Pro Football Talk. 

Just a few of the notable potential rule changes include the following per the above-linked column:

-Altering overtime rules so that the current playoff rules are instituted in the regular season to ensure that games cannot end on the first possession of OT if a field goal is made.

-Adjusting the horse-collar tackle rule to remove the exception for quarterbacks in the pocket.

-Automatic review of turnovers just as is currently done on touchdowns.

-Moving the trade deadline from week six to week eight.

-Allowing teams one roster exemption per week for a player who is inactive with a concussion.

St. Louis Rams and National Guard Team Up to Stop Bullying

According to an article from Nick Wagoner of stlouisrams.com, the Rams, the National Guard and select St. Louis schools are working together to fight bullying. 

For much more on the details of the project, please click this. 

Updated NFL Power Rankings 

Not that power rankings mean much (if anything) in March, ESPN has revealed their pre-draft power rankings for the league's 32 teams.  

The Rams do not rank well in the rankings.  I will go on record now and say that the Rams will not finish the upcoming season in this spot nor anywhere close to it.  

St. Louis is on the way up. 

Have a great day and a wonderful weekend, 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.