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Chat with Executive VP of Football Operations and COO Kevin Demoff
http://chat.nfl.com/front/index/1677?a_id=2
Jonathan, Spfld, IL
1:04 PM CT
Hey Kevin. Regarding the Dome... The P-D reported that both the Rams and the CVC hoped to negotiate before the June 15th arbitration date. Given that those talks are confidential, can you give us any insight at all to how they've been going? And although arbitration seems inevitable at this point, any chance the talks are going well enough that we could see a resolution by the end of the year?
DEMOFF: Thanks for the question Jonathan, why waste time getting to the lease issues since I know many of our fans are paying close attention to the first tier process. Once the CVC did not accept our May 1st proposal, a window in the first tier process called for the two sides to get together face to face to discuss the issues and ways to bridge the gap. While the lease outlines a two week process for discussions, I want to stress that we have an excellent working relationship with the CVC and will continue to do so. Even if the process winds up in arbitration, there can still be progress in numerous other ways. As for a timetable, let's face it, lease issues and stadium issues often take years to resolve, not months. The arbitration process should be resolved by the end of 2012, but we are only in the 2nd quarter of the stadium discussion. Our goal remains the same: a first tier facility for St. Louis that can attract signature events -- Super Bowls, Final Fours, Mizzou/Illinois, a college bowl game, the Olympic Swimming trials. Our vision is for this building to be a centerpiece of downtown.
Michael, Redwood City, Ca
1:09 PM CT
First of all thank you Mr. Demoff for taking mine and everyone else's quetions today, its alway's nice to talk with the boss..Anyway, my question is this C.Finnegan was on the NFL network this week and was asked the question are the Rams in a rebuilding mode this year and his reply which i loved was no were just remodeling..Meaning that he felt this team is and will be ready to play this season..From your position, this team in the last 5 years has gone 15-65 kinda dismal for all of us..Is this organization fully commited now to put a competitive product on the field, in hope that one day the St. Louis Rams can once again be superbowl champions..
DEMOFF: Last time I checked, you were talking with just one member of the group, not the boss. To be honest, if you've gone 15-65, you couldn't even call it rebuilding because its not like you were even built in the first place! However, with nearly 50% turnover and a lot of young, athletic players joining the roster, there is a lot of enthusiasm amongst the players, coaches and staff that this team is headed in the right direction. We went from being the third oldest team in the NFL to the youngest team in the NFL (footnote Mike Sando of ESPN) and we feel the team is much bigger, faster and stronger. But there were plenty of good pieces left for Coach Fisher and Les to build on -- #8, #55, #91, #39 and I could go on, so its not like the cupboard was empty. We are only a year removed from playing in Seattle on prime time for the NFC West title. Getting key players back healthy -- #16, #87, #32 for example -- along with the new additions makes this a competitive and feisty crew.
Gary Baute, St Charles
1:13 PM CT
I have done security for a while with the Rams at training camp. Is it true you are going to the Eagles?
DEMOFF:
Les hasn't told me I've been traded yet, but maybe we will check Philly radio for the update.
Bob , Cwe
1:14 PM CT
The stadium process....it's really bigger than that isn't it...with the new bridge, the city has the opportunity to modernize itself for the long run. Ridding itself of the depressed section and the 64 overpass...those things strangle development..just would like your comment....
DEMOFF: Bob, That's a great point. It's hard to look at stadium issues in a vacuum. It would be great for all of us to get together and view the re-development of downtown with a master plan that incorporates the new bridge, the arch grounds project and improving the waterfront. I feel like we've said this before, but Indianapolis is a great model that we've studied and I know many local leaders have as well. They unified the city and county to create Unigov, and that fostered the vision that led to a new airport, a new convention center and Lucas Oil Stadium. That vision turned into a Super Bowl and numerous Final Fours, the Big Ten Championship and other events. St. Louis is a great city, we should be able to compete for those kind of events. But this is all much easier said than done, but if we focus on what's best for St. Louis, we will figure out a great solution.
Todd, St. Louis
1:18 PM CT
With Long and Lauranitis about to be FA, are you looking into bringing both of them back or do you forsee money being an issue with signing both?
DEMOFF: Todd, We have been focused on clearing up our salary cap situation over the past few years to make sure in 2013 we had the available space to re-sign our key core young players, such as Long and Laurinaitis. We're in the process of starting initial conversations with both players, and I'm optimistic that both will wear the horns for years to come. We have plenty of cap room in 2013 and the plan is to re-sign both of them.
Bruce Robertson, Wentzville Mo
1:20 PM CT
Thr Rams have given fans a less than satisfactory product over the past few years. A key home game has been moved to London. What price reductions or incentives are the Rams going to give fans to increase attendance? In the home city of the worlds largest brewery, why do the Rams have the highest price of beer in the NFL?
DEMOFF: Bruce, there is no excuse for the product that we have put on the field over the past few years and for missing the playoffs for nearly the entire past decade. That being said, I am confident that our ticket and concession pricing reflects the current state of our team and we are trying to reward fans for their loyalty. We have not raised prices on hot dogs, beer or soda in three years and have lowered many other prices. We are currently working on creating a kids meal at games to reduce the price for families to attend a Rams game. We are the only team in the NFL to my knowledge (I could be wrong but don't think so) that has fan appreciation day where food and soda is 50% off. Ticket prices remain among the lowest in the NFL, and if we controlled parking prices, we'd slash those too (sorry, starting to sound like Vince Vaughn in Old School). As for the highest price of beer, please read this story in the San Diego newspaper about how flawed that study was. They were comparing our largest and most expensive beer to other people's smallest beer. We are in the middle of the pack in terms of beer pricing. [web.utsandiego.com]
Ben, IL
1:24 PM CT
Any throwbacks this year? and what pant color will we have i heard the gold is out
DEMOFF: It wouldn't be a chat without a uniform question. The likely plan is to wear the throwbacks against the 49ers this year, but we have not finalized that. We also have the option of wearing them for another game, which we might leave up to the fans. Finally, we are considering wearing white uniforms for a home game this year, what do people think about that idea? The gold pants are out. The NFL mandates we can only have two pants colors and the players chose blue and white, so the gold is temporarily on hiatus.
Chris, Saint Louis
1:25 PM CT
NBC 10 Philadelphia reporter Howard Eskin says that he has sources that believe the Rams, Browns and Bills are for sale. What do you have to say about Mr. Eskins report?
DEMOFF: Sometimes reports are so baseless they don't even merit a response. Stan Kroenke is as excited about this year's team and the Club's future as he has been at any point during his ownership tenure.
Ken, San Luis Obispo
1:28 PM CT
Is Les having a good hair day today?
DEMOFF: Isn't every day a good hair day for Les? Make sure you follow his hair's twitter feed -@LesSneadHair
John, Uniontown, Ohio
1:30 PM CT
Hi Kevin....what is the current status regarding signing all of the draft picks. I saw something on the web saying the Rams have signed all of their picks, but haven't been able to confirm it anywhere.
DEMOFF: We have signed seven of our ten draft picks, with Michael Brockers signing his contract yesterday. See photo below. [twitter.com] The new CBA has simplified the signing process and we hope to have everybody signed before the end of the month if not sooner. Senior Assistant Tony Pastoors is handling most of the rookie contract negotiations and is doing a great job. He just doesn't have a flair for the palindromes though, a tradition comes to an end I guess. All of our draft picks except for Brian Quick, Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson are signed, and those are in the works.
TJ, mehlville
1:33 PM CT
R the rams looking to pick up chad ochicinco
DEMOFF: I'm sure Les and Ran Carthon, our new director of pro personnel, will look at every player on the street. That being said, our WR group has had a real strong offseason and there is great competition at the position. Danny Amendola, Greg Salas and Steve Smith have all bounced back from injury and are showing flashes. Brandon Gibson, Austin Pettis and Danario Alexander continue to get better, and Brian Quick and Chris Givens both are making plays every day. Michael Campbell and Nick Johnson both have had flashes as well. Our WR competition is going to be fierce in training camp and it should make everybody better.
Daryl, Ballwin
1:36 PM CT
We've been through this trauma before. Bill Bidwill didn't put a good product out there, and took the team away even after we showed up in a cold outdoor stadium. After the Rams arrived, St. Louis sold out more games in 5 years than Phoenix did in 25 years. Can you at least understand that it's difficult to get behind a team with this kind of record, that doesn't have a lease agreement in place that ensures they will be here in the long term? We've been burned before. I'm not convinced we deserve to have this issue hanging over our heads.
DEMOFF: Daryl, Your point is very well taken and we probably understand it better than anybody. As many of you know, my grandparents lived in St. Louis for over 40 years and were devastated when the football Cardinals left and overjoyed when the Rams returned. I remember my grandmother yelling at Martz when the Rams won by 25 that it wasn't enough. This city has tremendous passion for football and the NFL. That being said, because a team has already left once people seem to think that it can happen again very easily. I'm amazed that we are years removed from even having a lease that goes year to year yet there is more angst in St. Louis than there is currently in San Diego or Oakland where the lease issues are more pressing. There is more angst in St. Louis than there was in Minnesota and the Vikings lease was year to year. The reasoning is simple -- we've been burned before and now there is another lease issue to be resolved. Fans don't deserve to have this hanging over there head which is why we are excited about our proposal for a first tier facility which will give St. Louis a great NFL stadium. Then we can finally put the lease/stadium/team moving discussions to bed and focus on improving this football team and building the winner that St. Louis deserves.
tc, Toronto
1:41 PM CT
Hi Kevin, When does training camp open?
DEMOFF: Training camp opens on Sunday, July 29th at 3:30 at the Continuity X Training Center. We are trying to finalize a training camp schedule so fans can plan visits to Earth City.
larry calvert, vista, ca.
1:42 PM CT
how is steve smith doing
DEMOFF: Larry, Steve looks very healthy and seems to be returning to his Giants form. That would be a great addition to our team if he can continue to progress. He's a veteran route runner who is helping to coach up our young guys and a great person to have in the locker room.
Steve, Long Island NY
1:43 PM CT
Kevin I hope you can sign Chris Long to a long tearm contact before he becomes a free agent.
DEMOFF: I hope so as well, but I hear his agent is really difficult to deal with.
Randy Smith, Eugene, OR
1:44 PM CT
Hello Mr. Demoff, I would like to congratulate you on a job well done with the hiring of Jeff Fisher and Les Snead. And also apologize for being part of the fan base that was calling for your head last year season. I'm glad I was wrong about having you fired since you made up for it very quickly. Thanks helping us fans to have some better optimism on how the team be run.
DEMOFF: Randy, The person you should be congratulating is Stan Kroenke, we wouldn't have Jeff and Les wihtout his vision and his passion. I know both of them are excited to work with Stan to deliver our fans the team you deserve on and off the field. As for me, I'm sure you will be calling for my head soon enough again. Probably will be deserved too.
Lamont Samuel, Georgia
1:47 PM CT
Why isn't Josh Gordy's name even mentioned in the cornerback talks? He did step up with 3 picks last season when they had noone else. It's like he's not even there since the two draft picks.
DEMOFF: Lamont, Josh Gordy's name may not be mentioned, but he is certainly in the mix and has taken numerous snaps with the first team during OTA's. Josh did a nice job filling in last year after joining early in the season and I expect he will be part of the mix this year and very possibly a key part of our CB group. The fact that his name may not be mentioned demonstrates that we may have some depth at the position which is much needed after last year!
Adam Buddemeyer, Newburgh, Indiana
1:49 PM CT
About four years ago you guys had a huge pro shop in the stadium that slowly got condensed into smaller shops around the stadium. Is there any chance you could bring back the big pro shop instead of having it be a bar?
DEMOFF: Adam, we are strongly considering bringing back the pro shop this year to coincide with the Nike and New Era launch. The problem is there isn't a great spot in the building for a large pro shop that is accessible to all fans. Our hope is to create someday a street level store that is open on non game-days as well (Hint: See our May 1 proposal) Kevin
Matt , Baltimore md
1:52 PM CT
Do the rams have any plan on bringing in more help for James Laurinaitis at the linebacker position?
DEMOFF: The linebacker position is one that hasn't sorted itself out yet, but we have a number of younger players and undrafted free agents that are getting good reps during the OTA's. Like all positions, once the offseason program finishes up and we conclude veteran mini-camp, our coaches and scouts will sit down and evaluate each position to see if we need to add any players at those positions. If I know anything about Les, he's never going to be done tinkering with the roster.
Andy, STL
1:54 PM CT
For the most part, I think the stadium entertainment has improved. That said, “Rams Rules” wasn’t highly received by most fans and it’s obviously nearly impossible to coordinate a stadium chant of “SAAACCCCKKK” (which is silly in the first place) after a sack. Will this be removed in 2012?
DEMOFF: Seems like a chat can't happen without jersey questions and a reminder of how much fans disliked Rams Rules. I'll take the blame for Ram Rules, we were trying to improve the game day environment and it was just a flop. We stopped running Ram Rules after the first two games in 2011 and there are no plans to bring it back. That being said, we recently won 29 awards for our gameday entertainment, more than double any other team and even outpacing television networks. With Scott Brooks running our gameday production the videos and entertainment have been much improved. Also, look forward to some creative giveaways this year that we're going to have some fun with.
RUTH ZIMMERMAN, MIAMI OKLAHOMA
1:58 PM CT
I have to leave but I have wanted to ask someone from the Rams this. Why would you pay so much for Sam Bradford (who I adore...BOOMER SOONER) & not give him ANY help? I know football is a "business", but c'mon....any QB is only as good as his offensive line & WR. Thank you!
DEMOFF: Ruth, we've used five draft picks in the past two years on WR and TE for Sam, and if you had been in the Appalachian State indoor facility in April when Kellen Clemens broke the lights throwing to Brian Quick, you'd know what a special workout Quick put on that made us so excited to draft him. This group has the potential to excite. As for the offensive line, we went out and signed a Pro Bowl center this year to captain the line of scrimmage. Scott Wells will be Sam's best friend, just like he was for Aaron Rodgers. We expect Saffold and Smith to return to form and Harvey Dahl was our best OL last year. Throw in Brian Schottenheimer's creativity on offense and this should be a good year for Sam.
Mark Colvin, Muskogee, OK
2:01 PM CT
I really like the philosophy that Fisher brings to the team with controlling the line of scrimmage and I have seen many good things in the defense and had many high hopes for the offense. How are we going to keep Bradford off the turf and Jackson moving down the field?
DEMOFF: Mark, Watching practice, you can tell this team is going to play fast and physical. It's exciting to see Langford and Brockers manning the middle on defense, its like the Rockets with Olajuwon and Sampson or the Spurs with Duncan and Robinson. Offensively, there are a lot of good wrinkles in the play action pass game that should keep defenses honest when it comes to defending Sam and Steven.
Michaele, Springfield, MO
2:03 PM CT
It is good to see that the preseason network will be in 8 states in 2012, up from a previous high of five in 2011. This, over time, should help to grow the Rams reach throughout the Midwest and Southern Plains. On a related side note, thank you for your work in Joplin, MO. I hope you guys will make more appearances in the Springfield area at Springfield Cardinals games, Bass Pro Shops, Branson, etc.
DEMOFF: Thank you for the kind words. We are excited about the growth of the preseason television network into eight states and the fact that nearly every fan within 250 miles of St. Louis will be able to watch our preseason telecasts. We are also excited that Andrew Sicliano and Marshall Faulk will be back on the broadcasts, and we expect to announce another Rams great as part of the team in the near future. I know our entire building was moved by our trip to Joplin last summer and is excited about going back with our rookie class on June 21st to participate in the Governor's Joplin Habitat Challenge. I expect somebody like Michael Brockers will be pretty helpful in building a house.
Cory , Wentzville Mo
2:06 PM CT
A couple things. First off, how much interest is/was there in former Atlanta Falcons FB Ovie Mughelli? A secondly how much interest is there by the Rams in building a new stadium outside of downtown St.Louis? With the population boom in St.Charles County, is Earth City, the Chesterfield Valley, or a St.Charles County itself a possible landing spot if a new stadium is built?
DEMOFF: Ovie Mughelli obviously knows a lot of people in our organization and remains on our radar screen. To be honest, we haven't spent any time looking at locations outside of the Edward Jones Dome when it comes to the stadium discussion. We are focused on making the Edward Jones Dome a first tier facility and that is what the arbitration process is designed for. I'm sure there are many locations in the surrounding counties that could make great stadium sites but right now all of our energy is focused on getting the Edward Jones Dome to be first tier.
