It should be improved. But it was so bad last year, even a significant improvement could lead to a below-average offense. There are 4 keys as I see it: 1.) Bradford has to step up his play and get his confidence back; 2.) the offensive line and the blocking in general (let's include TEs, RBs, and even WRs) must improve; 3.) The rookie skill players _ Quick, Givens, and Pead _ must make significant contributions, the earlier the better; 4.) the offense has to stay healtier than it did last season.

Neither kicked much outside during the two-day rookie minicamp. New special teams coach John Fassel literally is starting with the basics. They spent much of their time simply working on the mechanics of the snap, the hold, etc.

Haven't asked them specifically. But it's either him or Hoomanawanui as the No. 1 tight end.

I agree with you that maybe Bradford looked for Amendola almost too much. But I'm sure he would have rather had his secrurity blanket out there.

Too early to tell. I'm going to need at least a couple of weeks of training camp _ plus some practices in pads, to answer that one.

Ouch! Here's some of what we missed last season. www.youtube.com

Well, that could be a long list. Let's start with Jason Smith. It's a make or break season for him. With the influx of highly-drafted corners _ Bradley Fletcher needs to stay healthy and play well. Tight end Michael Hoomanawanui. Those are three namems that quickly come to mind.

The first full-squad OTA was today _ it was closed to the media. There are two more OTAs this week _ one Wednesday and one Friday _ and both are open to the media.

I think Daniels and McLeod are both intriguing prospects. RIght now, Daniels projects as more of a box safety. He has a reputation as a big hitter. McLeod moves around pretty well. Free safety? I wouldn't say either is primed to be a starter. But at least one has a good chance of making the team because the Rams have only three veteran safeties on the roster: Mikell, Stewart, and Dahl.

Yes, both the Wednesday and Friday sessions.

Don't hold your breath.

None. The Rams have stated that organizationally, they've decided to wait just a little while before signing their picks. I think part of it is that coach Jeff Fisher wants to put into the draft class' heads what's expected of them on and off the field, before handing over any money. It's not a race. And because of the new CBA and working wage scale, any negotiating is basically.

KEVIN DEMOFF: The new G-4 provision allows for funds to go to renovations, which is a positive change for all clubs looking to upgrade their stadiums. However, NFL owners must approve all G-4 requests, so it's impossible to predict whether those funds would be available.

KEVIN DEMOFF: I always enjoy spending time next to Jim.

KEVIN DEMOFF: There are a lot of very good questions in this chat pertaining to the lease situation that I wish I could provide answers to. As we go through the process, hopefully some of these things will become more clear. I will try to answer as much as I can, but most of these questions are the subject of confidential talks between us and the CVC. I know that it may frustrate our fans but the goal is to get a first-tier facility that makes St. Louis a great sports destination. And we believe keeping these discussions confidential is the best way to achieve that goal.

KEVIN DEMOFF: Better than last year! But we currently have the youngest team in the NFL, so we are excited to see the team progress throughout the offseason and training camp. I'll give my "homer" prediction in September.

We've done a lot of public appearances _ even in the last month. Coach Fisher last week keynoted the Backstoppers' annual event. Coach Fisher and Les (Snead) hosted a great pre-draft event before 1,500 people at Rams Park. We expect many more appearances throughout the summer.

KEVIN DEMOFF: 90% lease questions. I can at least pretend I'm answering some of those questions. I have no chance pretending to block Mike Brockers.

KEVIN DEMOFF: Sounds good to me, however, if we do our job and fill the seats, the color of the seats isn't such a big issue.

KEVIN DEMOFF: It would be naive to think that this process wouldn't be easier if we hadn't been playing terrible football. That is why our focus is on getting the football team right. We went out and hired the best available head coach (in our opinion), and for the first time since the club moved here, hired both a new head coach and a GM at the same time. We spent $100 million in the first three days of free agency (on Cortland Finnegan, Scott Wells, and Kendall Langford). We all know how terrible the product has been, and our first priority is to get it right for the fans.

KEVIN DEMOFF: It is never easy to ask a player to take a pay cut, especially a young player who we still have great hope for. The goal in Jason's restructure was to give him the opportunity to perform at a high level and have the market determine his value after this season as an unrestricted free agent. We still believe he has a very bright future with our team.

KEVIN DEMOFFF: We are not looking to free up cap space for the 2012 season. We feel fine with where we are at. We've worked very hard to put ourselves in good position in 2013 and beyond with the salary cap, and we don't want to jeopardize that by pushing money into the future. That being said, we are focused on trying to re-sign are young core players such as James Laurinaitis and Chris Long and are in the process of starting those discussions.