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

Welcome to Thursday's St. Louis Rams "News and Notes at Noon," the one-stop destination for all major Rams headlines and other updates of interest with brief commentary and analysis for Rams Nation. 

ESPN's John Clayton Says Roger Goodell Wants Teams to Stay Put 

In an interview with 101sports.com, John Clayton of ESPN asserted that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell desires that, ideally, teams would remain in their current cities. 

He also expressed his thoughts on the Rams lease and what impacts it might ultimately have in regard to the Rams theoretically being in play for the Los Angeles market. 

Although Goodell later backtracked from comments made this winter about two expansion teams possibly coming to L.A., some believe Goodell truly had expansion in mind but realized his comments could hurt the efforts of owners to use L.A. as leverage.

After all, if Goodell's comments would have caused leaders in cities like San Diego, Buffalo, Oakland, St. Louis and Minneapolis to feel confident that the NFL had designs on filling the L.A. market with expansion teams rather than the team in their city, it would decrease any real threat of a move and ultimately lead to lesser deals for owners seeking enhanced or new venues in their current market. 

In a May 29 interview on 101 ESPN with Bernie Miklasz, Bob Costas stated that he believes the NFL wants to expand rather than relocate to L.A. and that the NFL and ownership groups love to use the nation's second largest market as leverage.  

This is just one viewpoint, however, and some, such as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, feel the L.A. market will ultimately be filled via relocation rather than expansion.

Pro Football Weekly Ranks the Progress of Last Year's Cellar Dwellers 

Eric Edholm shared his assessment of 2011's last-place teams in this piece for profootballweekly.com. 

Edholm sees marked improvement coming for St. Louis this fall, but does he envision enough enhancement to put the Rams in contention for an NFC playoff spot? 

For those details on the Rams as well as Edholm's opinions regarding the league's seven other cellar dwellars, please check the above-linked submission. 

St. Louis Rams Training Camp Preview via Foxsports.com

Peter Schrager of Fox Sports posted a terrific training camp preview of the St. Louis Rams at msn.foxsports.com. 

Schrager shares what he likes and does not like about the Rams, a burning question on Sam Bradford, his key training camp battle and his overall team prediction in the aforementioned piece. 

In addition, Schrager highlights two Rams while expressing an optimistic tone towards both: free agent acquisition Scott Wells (who will start at center) and 2011 first-round pick Robert Quinn, who is expected to start at defensive end opposite Chris Long. 

Sam Bradford Is Glad He Stayed in School 

As reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press and shared by sportsillustrated.cnn.com, St. Louis quarterback Sam Bradford is glad he stayed in school. 

As you can read via the aforementioned piece, Bradford feels that, in hindsight, staying at Oklahoma after winning the prestigious Heisman Trophy was the right choice:

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I know coming back was the complete right decision for me. There's no way I was ready to leave college after two and half years.

Even though I came back and got hurt, the experience that I gained in that extra year was invaluable. There's no way I would have been able to step into an NFL huddle and lead an NFL team at 21 years old.

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Latzke also shared Bradford's thoughts on head coach Jeff Fisher and the impact he believes the veteran head honcho will make for the Rams: 

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Having coach Fisher there is something that is really going to help our organization. He's a guy who's been in the league and winning games for a long time now. He's knows what he's doing. From Day 1, he's had the respect of everyone in our locker room, which I think is extremely important.

The changes that have been made this year and in the offseason are definitely going to help us win games.

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Finally, Bradford touched on the advantage he has this year in learning and implementing a new offense during a full offseason as opposed to last year's abbreviated one: 

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It was nice to actually have an offseason to do that. Last year with the lockout, trying to learn a new offense on your own isn't a lot of fun, in case you guys were wondering.

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With an offense being installed that is said to be reminiscent of the one Bradford orchestrated during his Rookie of the Year campaign of 2010 and the benefit of a full offseason and some enhanced weaponry surrounding him, the expectations for a better Bradford in 2012 seem appropriate. 

Please read the above-linked article in full for much more on Bradford, his football camp and his thoughts on the upcoming Oklahoma Sooners football season. 

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Robert Quinn's Rookie Performance Reminded D'Marco Farr of Grant Wistrom

Former Rams defensive end D'Marco Farr, currently a Rams broadcaster and contributor at 101sports.com, shared his thoughts on Robert Quinn's rookie year and how Quinn reminds him of a former teammate and productive defensive end for the Rams: Grant Wistrom.

As you likely know, the Rams chose Robert Quinn with the No. 14 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.  As for Wistrom, St. Louis selected him with the No. 6 overall selection in 1998. Wistrom's best year arguably came in 2000 when he notched 11 sacks, 63 tackles and a forced fumble. 

Farr insists that the sky is the limit for Quinn. Last season, Quinn notched five sacks in a rotational role with 23 tackles and two deflected passes.  

Farr shared high praise for Wistrom, praise that led to him asking some very intriguing questions regarding Quinn's future and how he could and should eventually be viewed.

Rams Rank Among Most Improved NFL Teams, According to Playersview.net

According to a piece posted at playersview.net, the Rams are the second-most improved team in the NFL.

Some of the reasons given for such a lofty assessment include the hiring of proven head coach Jeff Fisher, the potentially strong tandem of Cortland Finnegan and Janoris Jenkins at cornerback and the addition of a legitimate backup back for Steven Jackson, second—round pick Isaiah Pead.

These enhancements could lead to the Rams becoming an NFC Wild Card contender this fall, something that I believe could indeed be possible. 

Playersview.net ranked one team ahead of the Rams and detailed their five most-improved teams in the aforementioned piece.  You might be interested in seeing which NFC team took the title as most improved in the league. 

Where Does the Rams Defensive Line Unit Rank? 

In this piece for sbnation.com, Ryan Van Bibber ranked all 32 NFL teams' defensive line units. 

The defensive line of last season's NFC West champion San Francisco 49ers garnered the top spot from Van Bibber, a group led by former Missouri Tigers standout Justin Smith. 

The Baltimore Ravens checked in at No. 2.  

As for St. Louis, the slot Van Bibber gave them seems about right. 

If this group comes together quickly, however, they could potentially end up being quite a bit better than where they are currently ranked. 

Specifically, if first-round defensive tackle Michael Brockers and former Miami Dophins DT Kendall Langford can transition quickly and Robert Quinn plays to his potential, this defensive line could quickly become one of the league's best. 

Additionally, the depth looks very solid for the Rams with talented players like free-agent additions Williams Hayes (defensive end from the Tennessee Titans) and Trevor Laws (defensive tackle from the Philadelphia Eagles), both good run-stoppers with an ability to rush the passer, expected to provide very solid play in backup roles. 

Sam Bradford's Worst Habit 

Featured columnist Alen Dumonjic analyzed every expected NFL starting quarterback, including Sam Bradford, and then shared what he viewed as each QB's worst habit in this piece for Bleacher Report. 

As for Dumonjic's assessment of Bradford, it would be difficult to argue with the assertions that he made if only considering the signal caller's 2011 campaign. 

For a variety of reasons, Bradford indeed displayed the bad habit that Dumonjic detailed far too often. 

Earlier in the offseason, prior to the draft, I detailed nine reasons why Bradford should blossom beneath the Gateway Arch in 2012, as you can read here. 

Jeff FIsher's Annual Charity Softball Game Coming to St. Louis 

According to this post from stlouisrams.com, Jeff Fisher will be bringing his annual charity softball game to the Gateway City. 

The inaugural "Jeff Fisher and Friends" celebrity softball game will be held across the river in Sauget, Illinois at CGS Ballpark on July 26 and will benefit a plethora of charities. 

Jeff Fisher, according to the above-linked article, has been impressed with the city of St. Louis and its charitable spirit: 

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In my short time in St. Louis, I have been impressed with the charitable spirit of the folks that I have had the opportunity to meet. I have always believed in the power of sports to raise awareness and funds for charities and as head coach of the Rams, that commitment will continue.

The softball game will be a fun night at the ballpark for families and a great way to kickoff training camp. I think the fans will enjoy seeing their favorite Rams in a different environment.

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Thus far, the guest list includes rapper Murphy Lee, James Laurinaitis, Danny Amendola, Robert Quinn, Cortland Finnegan, Quintin Mikell and former Rams defensive back Dre Bly, among others. 

The event activities will kick off at 5:30 p.m. and the softball game will start at 7:30 p.m. and conclude with a fireworks display. 

For more information, please contact gatewaygrizzlies.com/tickets. 

Will Sam Bradford Be an MVP Candidate? 

Finally, Bleacher Report featured columnist Brandon Alisoglu boldy asserts that Sam Bradford will be in the mix, as a long shot, for the league's MVP award this season. 

If Bradford can lead this franchise back to the playoffs this year after coming off the worst five-year winning percentage in NFL history, his name and reputation will certainly be elevated around the league. 

That said, players like quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers and Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, among others, look to have a better supporting cast. It will be tough for Bradford to rack up the numbers needed in this strong offensive era to garner much MVP consideration, regardless of how well St. Louis performs this season. 

Have a great day, as always, STL Rams Nation. 

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 has also joined missourisportsmag.com and Missouri Sports Magazine. Finally, Gray also owns and operates stlramscentral.com.