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

Welcome to Friday's St. Louis Rams "News and Notes at Noon," the one stop destination for all major Rams headlines and other items of interest for fans around the globe within Rams Nation. 

Looking at Rams Running Back and Linebacker Positions and Prospects in the 2012 NFL Draft

With the draft now less than two weeks away, Nick Wagoner of stlouisrams.com shared his look at the running back prospects and the linebacker prospects while looking at the state of the Rams at both positions in the two aforementioned linked pieces. 

St. Louis is expected to select both an outside linebacker and a running back within the first four rounds of the rapidly approaching NFL draft.   

Rams Head Coach Believes Sam Bradford Can Be Best Quarterback in the NFL 

St. Louis head coach Jeff Fisher shared some bold proclamations today regarding his starting quarterback, Sam Bradford.  

Fisher, speaking on Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN stated the following, as shared in this terrific piece by Bleacher Report's NFL lead blogger Aaron Nagler via this from Pro Football Talk: 

"

There’s no doubt. There’s a number of friends of mine in the league that know the league, and I had one of them tell me during the process that they thought Sam may be one of the better quarterbacks—or the best quarterback—in the league, he just hasn’t had a chance to prove it yet. That weighed very heavily in my opinion. Very, very impressive player. I think he has a tremendous upside.

"

St. Louis Defensive Playbook Still Has Jeff Fisher's Name On It 

According to a report from Ron Clements of cbssports.com as found here, Fisher stated today on ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning that the defensive playbook "still has my name on it." 

Fisher was undoubtedly referring to the indefinite suspension of Rams defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. 

Fisher, it seemed, was asserting that the St. Louis defense will be just fine without Williams on the sideline since he himself will be there to ensure that it is implemented and executed properly.

For much more from Fisher today via Mike Sando of ESPN including his thoughts on player safety, please read this. 

Rams Could Draft an Interior Offensive Lineman This Year 

Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch asserts that St. Louis may take an interior offensive lineman in the draft for the first time since 2008 in this article.  

It would not be much of a surprise to see the Rams draft an interior O lineman this year, especially if that player is a left guard, an area where a clear void exists. 

Thomas analyzes several options that might be appealing for St. Louis when they make their selections this year.  David DeCastro and Cordy Glenn are two of the prospects discussed in the above-linked piece. 

Bradley Fletcher's Knee Strong Enough to Deliver Basket of Hope in St. Louis

It is still unknown whether cornerback Bradley Fletcher will be ready to resume playing following his second stint on the injured reserve in three seasons. 

However, it is clear that his leg is strong enough to participate in the Basket of Hope program that the St. Louis Rams participate in. 

To read more about this great story, check this from stlouisrams.com. 

Whom Should the Rams Take at No. 6? 

Earlier today, I posted a piece suggesting whom St. Louis should select with the No. 6 pick in this month's draft. 

In my opinion, the choice is crystal clear, as I explained in detail here. 

Finally, watch out for tomorrow's "Saturday St. Louis Sound off" column right here on Bleacher Report. 

Have a great afternoon and a wonderful weekend, STL Rams Nation. 

Follow @ShaneGmoSTLRams

Shane Gray covers the St. Louis Rams daily as a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You are encouraged to check out the rest of his work here. Gray also owns and operates stlramscentral.com.