Welcome to Monday’s St. Louis Rams “News and Notes at Noon” the one-stop destination for all major Rams updates, related information and the latest regarding NFL Free Agency and the 2012 NFL Draft. 

NFL Free Agency

As most of you know, the Rams have inked cornerback Cortland Finnegan, defensive tackle/end Kendall Langford and center Scott Wells to deals thus far. 

For a great interview from Turf Show Times on Cortland Finnegan, please see this.  Great insight is provided via August West of Music City Miracles, a site that covers the Tennessee Titans.  

As is all too obvious, St. Louis has struck out in its efforts to land a bona-fide wide receiving option for quarterback Sam Bradford and the offense.  Howard Balzer of 101sports.com takes a look at this issue in Sunday’s column.

According to a post from Ron Clements of cbssports.com, he cites the Newark Star-Ledger as reporting the Rams are to host free-agent tight end Matt Mulligan of the New York Jets, who specializes in blocking.

Brandon Lloyd, who came to the Rams via a trade with Denver during the 2011 season, agreed to terms with New England, according to this from boston.com, who cites the NFL Network.

2012 NFL Draft

With the draft just a little over a month away, draft talk continues to heat up ever the more.  

Earlier today, I analyzed various aspects, options and scenarios of what the Rams might do with the No. 6 overall pick.  I encourage you to take a look at that column here.  

Randy Karraker of 101sports.com also shared an article regarding potential draft scenarios for St. Louis.

Finally, Tony Softli (also of 101sports.com) posted his insight regarding the evaluation of quarterbacks and his list of top five quarterbacks available for the 2012 NFL Draft. 

St. Louis Rams in the Community

St. Louis Rams Chief Operating Officer Kevin Demoff continued the organization’s continual increase in work within the community by participating in the celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday. 

Demoff joined with various corporate leaders, St. Louis mayor Francis Slay and others joining with 47 St. Louis public schools in a one-day literacy event earlier this month, as reported in this piece from stlouisrams.com.

In related news, the Rams recently traveled to tornado-ravaged Harrisburg, Illinois to assist in cleanup efforts and to spread goodwill and thoughtful care to that community.

Have a great day, 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.

Read More: Kellen Clemens (QB – STL), A.J. Feeley (QB – STL), Brandon Lloyd (WR – STL), Justin King (CB – STL), Chris Long (DE – STL), Sam Bradford (QB – STL), Josh Gordy (DB – STL), Pittsburgh Steelers, St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams hit the practice field today to prepare for their match up with the Pittsburgh Steelers, with quite a few players missing practice. Quarterback Sam Bradford (ankle) sat out practice once again and it is looking likely he will not play in the match up. It’s possible that newly signed quarterback Kellen Clemens will get his second consecutive start for the Rams. Five other players sat out practice for the Rams:

QB A.J. Feeley (thumb), DB Josh Gordy (abdomen), DE Chris Long (ankle) CB Justin King

Wide receiver Brandon Lloyd was listed on the injury report with an illness, but was a full participant.

For more on the Steelers, please visit Behind the Steel Curtain, SB Nation’s Steelers blog. For the perspective from the other side, please visit SB Nation St. Louis and Turf Show Times, SB Nation’s Rams blog.

This is how remarkably sad the St. Louis Rams’ offensive season has been to date: People cannot pat Kellen Clemens on the back enough for his 26-for-36, 229-yard performance in the Rams’ 20-13 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals, and it turns out that Sam Bradford’s replacement successfully, according to Football Outsiders’ DYAR measure, performed nearly exactly at replacement-level, the mythical sabermetric construct at which a guy plucked from the bench should be able to perform. That’s how bad Bradford and Feeley have both been, and how crushing this season has been to our hopes: Clemens, performing exactly as a guy off the street should, was enough to warm our shivering hearts.

So thank you, Kellen Clemens—I am not here, like Brett Favre or Mark Sanchez, to bury you. Thank you for being the one Ram all season not named Steven Jackson or Brandon Lloyd to take your position on offense and then do exactly what we were expecting of you, no more and no less. Thank you for coming in as the backup quarterback and behaving approximately like a backup quarterback. In this insane season I needed a little something to believe in. 

Let’s be honest here, OK? We are playing for a draft slot now. That’s it. There’s nothing else to play for besides “are we picking second or third?”

So why play it safe?

Spags, your job is on the line. Josh McDaniels, if Spags goes, chances are, you are gone with him. So throw caution to the wind and try to put some points on the board.

I’d love to see a game plan where Lance Kendricks is the focal point of the offense, because that would give Bradford some easy throws, and it would soften up the middle of the field.

If the D has to worry about the middle of the field, that opens up some running room for Steven Jackson, and it also creates more one-on-one chances for Brandon Lloyd on the outside.

At least, that’s how it works when I’m playing Madden, but hey, what do I know? I’m not a football coach. I’m just saying, the Rams are boring to watch. If we’re going to lose, why not lose trying to make plays? Why does it always look like we’re so afraid to take chances?

Shake it up. Try something crazy. Who knows, it just might work. Either way, it can’t be worse than watching the crap we’ve been exposed to so far this season.

Spags, go for the win this week. Stop calling the game like you’re afraid to lose.

What’s wrong with the St. Louis Rams? Not everything. Just
almost everything.

After nearly making the playoffs last season, the Rams were
supposed to take a big step forward this season.

Sam Bradford was supposed to become a Pro Bowl quarterback. Steve
Spagnuolo was set to take a post as one of the best coaches in the
game. St. Louis was ready to embrace football again.

Never has a season gone from flying high to crashing and burning
with one play, especially when that one play was the first
offensive play of the season.

In Week 1, Steven Jackson broke through for a 47-yard touchdown.
The Edward Jones Dome was rocking.

SJax’s lightning strike seemed to ignite a fire that would burn
straight into the playoffs. Instead, he ran the ball once more in
that game and left with a leg injury.

It wasn’t until Week 5 he was back to full strength, and by then,
it was too late.

The 49ers were already running away with the division, and St.
Louis had no wins.

Rams fans shouldn’t overreact though. This is football. Injuries
happen. They happen a lot. Unfortunately for St. Louis, the Rams
have had a ton.

Here’s some of the players who are on injured reserve: Danny
Amendola, Ron Bartell, Al Harris, Michael Hoomanawanui, Rodger
Saffold, Greg Salas and Jason Smith.

Saffold and Smith are anchors of the offensive line. Amendola is
the top receiver and punt returner. Harris and Bartell are the best
cornerbacks. Salas was supposed to help the receiving corps.
Hoomanawanui is one of the team’s top tight ends.

On top of that, Bradford has missed time. And like every team, many
others have missed games.

With all these injuries after a lockout-shortened offseason with a
new offense, the 2-9 record is more understandable.

The Rams had a tough nonconference schedule, which included losses
to the Packers, Giants, Cowboys and Ravens. That’s three, maybe
four, playoff teams.

They’ve also lost to the Eagles, Redskins, Cardinals (twice) and
Seahawks.

The point is this: Don’t give up on a return to glory. It’s
obviously just not coming as soon as we thought.

Spagnuolo is still the right coach. Bradford can still be a star
quarterback. Jackson is still a star running back. There are good
pieces all over the field.

The Rams still need a big playmaker. Even with Brandon Lloyd in the
fray, they still need another deep threat or two.

This season has been a combination of factors leading up to a very
disappointing record, and it may not get much better. St. Louis
finishes with the 49ers, improving Seahawks, Bengals, Steelers and
49ers again.

With a solid draft and a free agent move or two, the Rams should be
everyone’s dark horse again next season. Let’s just hope they can
avoid the injury bug and live up to the hype.

JEFF WILSON is the chief copy editor at The Southern Illinoisan.
He can be reached at 618-529-5454, ext. 5176 or
jeff.wilson@thesouthern.com.

The San Francisco 49ers will look to rebound from their November 24 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in a matchup against the St. Louis Rams. San Francisco will try to clinch the NFC West division championship and a playoff berth with a win. At 9-2 this would allow them to clinch the division with still four week left to play in the regular season.

The Rams have struggled greatly this season and have seen a regression from quarterback Sam Bradford(notes). Bradford has not played nearly as well in his second season and the team is just 2-9 through the first 11 games. For St. Louis, receiver Brandon Lloyd(notes) has played very well for the team since they traded for him and is always a downfield threat. Lloyd has scored a touchdown in each of the last three games. Steven Jackson is also a very good player and is a threat in any game. San Francisco’s defense is playing historically well against the run and should be able to continue that this week. This will leave the Rams very limited offensively in this game.

49er fans should pleased to hear that fullback Bruce Miller(notes) is likely to return in this game from a concussion. Without Miller the rushing attack struggled against Baltimore. Miller will look to help open up running lanes for Frank Gore(notes) and Kendall Hunter(notes). San Francisco should have no trouble moving the ball up and down the field and should be able to control the game against the Rams.

San Francisco should be able to use this game and then final month of the season to improve the offensive line and other areas they have struggled.

In this game fans should expect to see San Francisco return to their style of physical football and control the game from start to finish. They are clearly a superior team and will prove that on the field. This is a big game for the team to show that they can mentally and physical rebound from a big loss. I thin Jim Harbaugh and his staff will have the team ready and they will respond to the challenge.

Prediction: 49ers 27, Rams 13

Kyle Rapoza is a Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network and grew up in Northern California rooting for the 49ers teams led by Joe Montana and Steve Young. Follow him on Twitter @kyler11.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Read More: Brandon Lloyd (WR – STL), Denver Broncos, St. Louis Rams

According to Joseph Alper of Pro Football Talk, the St. Louis Rams will be sending a 5th Round draft pick to the Denver Broncos to consummate their trade-deadline deal to acquire WR Brandon Lloyd.

Lloyd, who started the year with the Broncos, led the NFL in receiving yards in 2010 when he played under then-head-coach Josh McDaniels. Now reunited with McDaniels, the offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams, Lloyd has once again found considerable receiving success, racking up almost 400 yards and 4 touchdowns through just six games with the Rams.

When Lloyd — now at 31 receptions — caught his 30th pass, the Rams became obligated, as stipulated by the terms of the trade, to send the Broncos a 5th Round pick instead of a 6th Round draft pick.

For more updates and news on all St. Louis sports, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more on the Rams and the NFL, head over to SB Nation Pro Football.

For the second time this season, the St. Louis Rams (2-9) played a close game against the Arizona Cardinals (4-7) in a match that came down to the wire, but for the second time this season the Rams came up short. 

The Rams were able to meet the NFL’s requirements for a sellout and avoided a television blackout, which is a testament to a strong St. Louis fanbase that has continued to show support for the team despite witnessing only two wins this year.

However, just like the majority of football games that St. Louis fans have witnessed in recent years, the Rams were unable to reward their loyalty after falling short in a close 23-20 loss to Arizona at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. 

The Rams entered halftime with a 10-3 lead after Nick Miller returned a punt for a touchdown and Josh Brown nailed a 35-yard field goal. 

But the Cardinals owned the third quarter with a field goal and two touchdowns, including an 80-yard punt return touchdown by Patrick Peterson, which should sound familiar since Peterson returned a punt for a touchdown against the Rams just three weeks ago, which won the game for the Cardinals in overtime.

The Rams scored their only offensive touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter on a 16-yard pass from Sam Bradford to Brandon Lloyd, and they outscored the Cardinals 10-3 in the final quarter, but it was not enough to put the game away. 

It was not the most disappointing loss for the Rams on the season, but with a 2-9 record the fans are fed up with moral victories.

But with that, here are the players who made the biggest contributions for the team this week… 

Wells had 228 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown in only his third career 100-yard game and Peterson became the fourth player in league history with four punt returns for a touchdown in a season in a 23-20 victory on Sunday.

“The kid’s amazing,” Wells said of Peterson. “I mean, he’s a beast.”

Wells broke loose for 71 and 53 yards and rebounded after his fumble led to the tying score for St. Louis. The 53-yarder came on the possession after his turnover and set up Jay Feely’s go-ahead 22-yard field goal with 4:12 remaining.

Wells aggravated a lingering right knee injury on the fumble, but couldn’t wait to get back out there. He set the record with a 14-yard gain to the Rams 34 on the game’s next-to-last play to help secure the Cardinals’ third win in four weeks.

The lone regret? Not going the distance on either of his long carries.

“I blame it on my knee brace,” Wells said with a laugh. “I’ve got a big old offensive lineman’s knee brace.”

Rookie Sam Acho also had a career day on defense with two sacks and a fumble recovery.

Arizona (4-7) overcame another awful outing from John Skelton, who made his fourth straight start in place of injured Kevin Kolb and was 12 for 23 for 114 yards and two interceptions.

Skelton didn’t mind that the Rams seemed to be most interested in stopping the pass.

“You’re always going to have ups and downs, but I don’t think anybody lost confidence in the offense,” Skelton said. “Beanie had a great day and a lot of it goes to him for working hard.”

Brandon Lloyd’s 16-yard TD catch from Sam Bradford tied it at 20 midway through the fourth quarter. Nick Miller had an 88-yard punt return for a touchdown in the first for the Rams (2-9) only three days after he re-signed with the team.

The Rams juggled their offensive line to little effect, sliding guard Harvey Dahl to tackle, shifting Adam Goldberg to left tackle and inserting Jason Brown at guard two games after Brown lost his center job. Steven Jackson was limited to 64 yards with a 3.8-yard average and Bradford passed for 203 yards.

Peterson’s 99-yard punt return stunned the Rams in overtime three weeks ago in Arizona and he was untouched on an 80-yard return in the third quarter, dodging just a few tacklers before finding clear sailing to put Arizona up 20-10. St. Louis coach Steve Spagnuolo had vowed that the rookie would not beat the Rams again and Donnie Jones did a good job of directional punting except for one effort.

“We got bit again,” Spagnuolo said.

Peterson is the fourth player with four punt returns in a season and the first in NFL history with four returns of 80-plus yards. The cornerback from LSU was the fifth pick in the draft.

Wells was an even bigger factor, eclipsing the previous franchise mark of 214 yards by LeShon Johnson in 1996 at New Orleans. In the earlier meeting against the Rams, Wells had just 20 yards on 10 carries.

ST. LOUIS — Offense? Who needs offense against the Rams?

For 3 ½ quarters, it didn’t look like the Cardinals did in their 23-20 victory on Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.

Then the Rams took advantage of turnovers and came back from a 10-point deficit to tie the game midway thought the fourth.

Then Cardinals running back Beanie Wells busted a 53-yard run to the Rams 9.

That long run gave Wells 207 yards on the day and set up a 22-yard field goal by Jay Feely with 4:09 remaining.

The win was the Cardinals third in the last four games and improved their record to 4-7.

The defense set up the Cardinals first touchdown with a forced fumble. And Patrick Peterson scored the second, returning a punt 80 yards near the end of the third quarter.

It was Peterson’s fourth punt return for a touchdown this season, which ties an NFL record. All four of his returns were at least 80 yards in length, the first time that’s been done in league history.

A team with an efficient offense might have put the game away then. The Cardinals led, 20-10.

The Rams added a field goal and had a prime opportunity to crawl closer when John Skelton was intercepted for the second time.

But as it did most of the game, the Cardinals defense responded. The Rams went nowhere, and Josh Brown missed a field goal from 50 yards.

The Cardinals weren’t through giving the Rams chances. Wells, who had 157 yards rushing through three quarters, fumbled and the Rams recovered at the Cardinals 43 with 9:11 remaining.

The Rams didn’t waste this chance. It took them just three plays to score, and Sam Bradford’s 16-yard pass to Brandon Lloyd tied the game at 20 with 7:46 remaining.

Read More: Brandon Lloyd (WR – STL), Josh Brown (K – STL), Nick Miller (WR – STL), Sam Bradford (QB – STL), Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams tightened up the defense in the second quarter and hold a 10-3 led against the Arizona Cardinals at halftime on Sunday. The Rams took an early lead on an impressive punt return touchdown from Nick Miller, and have been excellent in stifling Arizona’s passing game.

The lead was actually extended essentially as time expired, with Josh Brown kicking a 35-yard field goal with less than ten seconds left to put St. Louis up 10-3. That play was set up by an impressive catch from wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, who continues to meld with quarterback Sam Bradford. Here’s video of that catch:

A couple of bad plays forced the Rams to settle for a field goal instead of a touchdown, but the team is still up a score as the second half begins at the Edward Jones Dome.

For more updates on the Rams, stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis. For more in-depth coverage of the team, head over to Turf Show Times. For more news and notes from around the NFL, visit SB Nation’s NFL news hub.

The St. Louis Rams have not had a lot of good news come their way this season. In order of severity: Sam Bradford’s long-awaited meetup with Josh McDaniels has been less Paul McCartney meets Michael Jackson and makes “Say Say Say” and more Michael Jackson meets Paul McCartney and makes “The Girl Is Mine”; Steve Spagnuolo’s vaunted defense has lost most of its vaunt, and with it Spagnuolo’s short-term job security; the active roster has reached the part in an Agatha Christie novel where people start dying every few pages, and Hercule Poirot doesn’t have any leads. Aside from Brandon Lloyd, the offense has been a barren wasteland of bad news. The defense, if nothing else, has Chris Long.

That’s right: I don’t want to curse things prematurely, and since he’s off to an outstanding start to the season it’s likely I’ll look like I’m doing it when he regresses a little, but right now Chris Long’s 2010 breakout looks to have been more real than we could have reasonably expected. After earning 8.5 sacks in 2010 Long’s got nine already in 2011, sixth in football.

The Rams’ occasionally derided draft pick is finally paying off. Of course, there’s additional good-bad news, too—Robert Quinn, Long’s newly drafted partner in quarterback-terrorizing, is second on the team in sacks. With four. Despite having not yet made a single start. 

He has played for two offensive coordinators in two years, endured a lockout that stunted his growth, and he has the worst set of receivers in the NFL.

Oh yeah, and the offensive line is pretty terrible.

That is a recipe for “How to Ruin a Young QB” right there. Just mix all that up, and you end up with a second year player that looks shell shocked. 

Seriously, should the Rams start considering putting Bradford on the shelf to keep him from developing bad habits? I mean, you’ve all seen the deer-in-the-headlights QB that I see every third down, when you know a blitz is coming.

It’s almost like you can hear Bradford saying, “I know Jason Smith isn’t going to block, I know Jason Smith isn’t going to block…”

If the Rams can protect Bradford, and get him another receiver to go beside Brandon Lloyd, then I think he can still be an elite player.

If the Rams don’t do that, they are going to ruin one hell of a young prospect.

It’s time for Sam Bradford to step up, and it’s time for the Rams’ to step up the effort to support him. 

On Sunday, Nov. 13, the St. Louis Rams beat the Cleveland Browns 13-12 on kicker Josh Brown’s(notes) field goal with 7:42 left in the game. Steven Jackson rushed for 128 yards to lead the Rams.

Here are three thoughts on Sunday’s game:

More injuries batter St. Louis

The worst part of being a Rams’ fan in the past few years hasn’t been the losses, but the injuries. I’m getting tired of seeing multitudes of St. Louis players go down every year. This season alone, the Rams have seven defensive backs on injured reserve. The team came into this game missing valuable receivers Danny Amendola(notes) and Greg Salas(notes) for the year, while Danario Alexander(notes) was inactive for yet another game. This season has been hard to watch, and it only got worse during Sunday’s game.

Five Rams were injured in the game and didn’t return. It appears that cornerback Al Harris(notes) and tight end Michael Hoomanawanui(notes) have “significant” knee injuries and could be out for the season. Left tackle Rodger Saffold(notes) suffered a head injury and safety Darian Stewart(notes) hurt his neck. Carnell Williams(notes) also injured his calf. This is getting old.

Part of me wonders what’s going on with the strength and conditioning staff in St. Louis, but it seems like the injuries that took place on Sunday were simply part of the game. Nonetheless, I’m sick of seeing Rams players go down like this. I don’t think there is another team in the NFL this ravaged by injuries in the past three years.

Tale of two halves for Sam Bradford(notes)

I loved watching Sam Bradford play quarterback in the first half of the game. He was confident, stood tall in the pocket, and made some nice throws. However, after injuring his leg running for a first down in the third quarter, Bradford’s confidence seemed to disappear. All of the sudden his timing was off, and his passes were going everywhere. I wish the Rams would hire Bradford a quarterback’s coach. Bradford needs someone who can help him work his way through his on-field struggles.

Brandon Lloyd’s(notes) catch

There haven’t been many bright spots for the Rams’ receivers this season, but Brandon Lloyd provided one of those moments with his acrobatic 24-yard catch in the first quarter. Lloyd stretched in the air and caught Bradford’s pass with one hand while managing to get two feet in bounds. Lloyd is the kind of receiver the Rams need to re-sign in the offseason. The effort he makes on each play is something the team has needed all year.

Derek Ciapala has been a Rams fan since he was a child and the team was in Los Angeles. His favorite Rams moments include Flipper Anderson’s 336-yard receiving night against the Saints in 1989, and their miracle 1999 run to their first Super Bowl victory. You can follow him on Twitter @dciapala.

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