St. Louis Rams: Shane's Saturday St. Louis Sound off

Welcome to the inaugural edition of "Shane's Saturday St. Louis Sound off", a weekly column where I will voice my thoughts and opinions regarding various Rams related topics such as the NFL Draft, the lease situation, free agency, training camp and the regular season.  

I hope you will enjoy the new weekly piece and I look forward to you reading your feedback below. 

How Many Games Will the Rams Win in 2012? 

People have been asking how many games do I feel that St. Louis will win in the coming campaign.  Of course, that is always hard to predict, even as the season opens, let along a month before the NFL Draft. 

That said, I expect the Rams to draft well and add some key contributors in next month's highly anticipated event.  

They have already added some terrific players via the 2012 NFL Free Agency period, who should make an impact immediately.  

As of now, I would feel comfortable predicting a six to eight win season.  That does not sound that great, however, it would constitute a significant improvement from last year's 2-14 season. 

I would say put five on the low end of projected wins and nine at the high end.  Of course, these predictions could certainly change between now and September, but my gut feeling says six to seven wins, for now.  

What About Backup Quarterback?

If it was up to me, I would lean towards bringing back Kellen Clemens, who played will while filling in last season.  All things considered, he played some solid football. 

Clemens also brings a familiarity with Brian Schottenheimer and his offense, having played with the New York Jets from 2006 through 2010.  

Furthermore, Clemens is just 28 and is young enough to hold down that role while retaining his skills for at least several seasons.  He possesses some nice athleticism and showed good poise in St. Louis in 2011.

If you have an alternative suggestion for the backup quarterback role, please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

My Favorite Second Round Receiver Prospect for the Rams in the 2012 NFL Draft

At the moment, I would go with Mohamed Sanu, who played for Rams new quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti, who was with Sanu at Rutgers in the offensive coordinator position. Sanu, who goes 6'2' and 215, brings great size and toughness to the position.

The only thing some have questioned about Sanu is his speed; however, he ran a 4.41 40 yard dash at his pro day, easing some concerns there.

St. Louis will have the inside track on Sanu with Cignetti on board, who would certainly know him extremely well.  

You can bet that St. Louis' general manager Les Snead will be picking the brain of Cignetti in regard to Sanu if the Rams are interested in the former Rutgers wideout.

If the Rams indeed grab Sanu in round two, you can bet it will have been a well-informed selection.

Keep in mind that the similarly built Michael Irvin ran in the 4.6 range.  Sanu is every bit as fast as "the playmaker" and possesses many similar traits that Irvin displayed in his historic career. 

If Stephen Hill were to fall to the top of round two, I would love to see St. Louis grab him as well. 

What receiver do you like best of those projected for round two? 

Ranking the Current Positional Needs of the Rams 

If I were to rank the Rams positional needs at this moment as we move into the second and third-tier of free agency and the fast approaching NFL Draft, I would rank the positional needs as follows: 

1. Wide Receiver 

2. Defensive Tackle

3. Outside Linebacker

4. Offensive Tackle

5. Left Guard

6. Cornerback 

7. Backup Running Back

8. Backup Quarterback

How would you rank the Rams positional needs?

Have a great day and a great 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.