Rams News Recap: Jan. 21

[RamBill]

Bernie: Kroenke Isn’t the Real Issue
We’re in for an intense debate over the merits of building a new football stadium in St. Louis. Many will support the idea simply because a new venue is mandatory if our city hopes to remain on the NFL map. Many will understandably oppose the plan for economic or ethical reasons.

Search for Offensive Coordinator Continues –PD
The Rams’ list of offensive coordinator candidates continues to dwindle. Former Denver coordinator Adam Gase decided to reunite with former Broncos head coach John Fox in Chicago, taking the same position Wednesday.

Is the Rams OC Position a Desirable Job? –Clayton Audio

Bernie: Why Rams are Still Searching for a Coordinator
Rams head coach Jeff Fisher apparently is having a difficult time in his search for a new offensive coordinator to succeed the Georgia-bound Brian Schottenheimer.

Browns Pass on Rams-Affiliated Coordinator Candidates –Wagoner
Another offensive coordinator job went off the board Wednesday morning when the Cleveland Browns decided to go with former Raiders quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo to fill their vacancy.

Plays That Shaped the Rams’ Season: No. 8 –Wagoner
By the time the Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams met in Week 10, the Rams had already established themselves as a team capable of jumping out to a big first-half lead but failing to finish games when the opportunity arose.

Morning Ram-blings: Defending St. Louis –Wagoner
There’s little doubt that when it comes to sports and St. Louis, the city is known for its baseball affinity. It’s a longstanding love affair that the Gateway city has with baseball and that’s probably not going to change anytime soon.

Rob Rang’s Senior Bowl Report: Day 1

Mark Brunell on the Advantages Of Underinflated Footballs –Video

Rams Find Draftees at Senior Bowl –Video

 

[RamBill]

Morning Ram-blings: On PSLs, the Rams and Chargers
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...ning-ram-blings-on-psls-the-rams-and-chargers

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- We start today's proceedings with some news from my colleague and pal Eric Williams, who covers the San Diego Chargers here at ESPN.com.

As everybody knows, the Chargers join the St. Louis Rams and Oakland Raiders as the three teams searching for a new stadium solution. Those are also the three teams expected to be in place for the vacant Los Angeles market when the league allows relocation to become an option, possibly as soon as 2016.

In conversations about new stadiums going up anywhere, one key to the funding of those stadiums is the sale of personal seat licenses. The sale of PSLs has become one of the primary resources for revenue to offset the cost of a new stadium. Such is the case in San Diego, where the Chargers are attempting to get something done to keep the team in the city.

But, as Williams explains in his piece, the Chargers don't have the luxury of leaning on PSLs to get a new stadium built. As Williams reports, the Chargers have done studies on the feasibility of using PSLs to help pay for a stadium and the response in the corporate world simply isn't strong enough to lean on them.

Meanwhile, here in St. Louis, the stadium plan put forth by Dave Peacock and Bob Blitz pencils in about $120 million coming from the sale of PSLs. That falls more in line with what Atlanta and Minnesota expect to raise from PSLs for their new stadiums rather than the extravagant sums the likes of San Francisco and the New York teams earned.

The response of St. Louis football fans to buying PSLs would be interesting if it ever got to that point. On one hand, the Rams' original move to St. Louis was one of the first uses of the PSL so fans are used to paying for them. On the other, those fans expected to get more than about 20 years of use out of their PSLs and might not be as willing to pay for them again.

In the big picture, this is another example of how difficult it's going to be for the Chargers to get a stadium built in San Diego. One idea that's been floated as a possibility: the league could get football back in Los Angeles while finding a middle ground with Rams owner Stan Kroenke by letting him build his stadium, move the Rams into it and house the Chargers as a possible second tenant.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of Wednesday's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... The Ram-blings opened the day with a look at the fan support for football in St. Louis. ... We examined the improving chances of having a shot to land Adam Gase as offensive coordinator. ... In this week's Buzz video, I discussed the Rams' penchant for finding talent at the Senior Bowl. ... A pair of Rams-affiliated coordinator candidates were passed over for the Cleveland Browns job. ... The No. 8 play that shaped the Rams season was a pick-six by quarterback Austin Davis in a loss at Arizona.

Elsewhere:

John Clayton's mailbag takes a spin around the coaching carousel.

Here's an early viewer's guide to the Super Bowl.

At 101sports.com, Dick Vermeil discussed a possible Rams move.

At stltoday.com, Bernie Miklasz writes why the Rams are still searching for a coordinator.

Jim Thomas takes a look at local prospect Markus Golden from the Senior Bowl.