Rams News Recap: May 24

[RamBill]

What Happens to the Riverfront if the Stadium Proposal Fails? ‘Plan B’ –PD
Area leaders are working on a plan to redevelop 180 acres of riverfront real estate just north of downtown — with or without a new football stadium. They call it “Plan B.”

NFL Begins Work on Setting Relocation Fee –PD
In another indication of the growing momentum to have an NFL team in Los Angeles, the league has begun the process of establishing a relocation fee for the team — or teams — that might move to LA for the 2016 season.

The Daniel Rodriguez Story –Simmons
During rookie orientation at Rams Park a few weeks ago, one wide receiver was with the team on a tryout basis.

Army Vet Daniel Rodriguez Trying to Make Most of Chance with Rams –PFT
Memorial Day weekend has its fair share of gatherings around the grill, swimming in sunny weather and other fun, but none of that should get in the way of remembering that the holiday honors those who have given their lives in service to the country around the world.

Wagoner’s Rams Mailbag: Talking Departed Offensive Linemen
The St. Louis Rams still haven’t started organized team activities but they are moving ever closer. With the spring owners meetings in the rearview mirror, it’s clear there’s no shortage of things to talk about.

NFL Summer Rosters Include 41 Former Auburn Players
Former Auburn players in the NFL could form a complete team, at least for this summer.

Good Luck Keeping Track of the NFL-to-L.A. Stadium Scenarios –Schnake
The number of moving parts in the NFL-to-Los Angeles stadium race would be enough to make Einstein’s head spin.

Rams Rookie Profile: 3rd Round Pick QB Sean Mannion –Video

Raiders in St. Louis? Don’t Rule It Out –Video

 

[RamBill]

Morning Ram-blings: Stats point to Rams' improvement
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...ng-ram-blings-stats-point-to-rams-improvement

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- Over at Grantland.com, Bill Barnwell has an annual tradition of diving into some of the previous season's numbers to search for teams poised to improve or decline the following season.

Statistics from a previous season aren't always an indicator of what will happen the next year, but Barnwell aims to find some statistical anomalies that could be corrected and, in turn, yield better results for some teams and a decline for others.

This year, Barnwell's deep dive offers some hope for fans of the St. Louis Rams.

In one section, Barnwell points to point differential as a function of pythagorean expectation of records. The Rams had a pythagorean differential of -1.2 last year, ranking only behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants and Tennessee Titans as teams that didn't reach their expected wins based on their point differential. Theoretically, that should normalize, but the Rams' point differential was a little skewed by the blowout win against the Oakland Raiders.

The more likely-to-change stat that sticks out like a sore thumb is, of course, points allowed by the offense. It's no secret the Rams had a bad habit of giving up defensive touchdowns last season. It's also no secret they were 0-8 in games in which they allowed a defensive touchdown (plus a kick return for a score by the Kansas City Chiefs).

For the Rams, the hope is that a new quarterback in Nick Foles will offer better ball security and those types of costly errors can be mostly eliminated. There's no way to project these things from year to year, but it's probably a safe bet the Rams won't allow 48 points while playing offense again. That should be at least a starting point for improvement in 2015.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of the weekend's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... The Rams came in at No. 19 in the most recent Uni Watch rankings. ... The Rams are eligible but unlikely to participate in this year's "Hard Knocks." ... Will the Rams look to go for two more in 2015? ... In the first part of our weekend mailbag, we discussed potential breakout candidates for the Rams this season. ... In the second part of the mailbag, we revisited Joe Barksdale's move to San Diego and discussed more offensive line possibilities.

Elsewhere:

ESPN NFL Nation Chargers reporter Eric Williams examines the possible relocation fees for the Chargers, Raiders and Rams.

Interesting read from Jeffri Chadiha on some of the more memorable injuries around the NFL.

Michael Sam signed a two-year deal with the Montreal Alouettes to play in the Canadian Football League.

101sports.com looks at recent news on the Rams and relocation.

At stltoday.com, Bernie Miklasz writes that St. Louis getting financing together on a stadium guarantees nothing for keeping the NFL in the city.