Thankfully, we don't have to look to minicamp for answers about the Rams upcoming season. Players get together and run through drills for a few days. Spirits seem to be high, and everyone's ready to move forward to a new chapter. That's good enough for me.

I don't know if it's just the rookie the season or what, but Chris Long is really, really positive about things .

On getting around Alex Barron in a drill:

"That's a great tackle in the NFL, and just to be able to compete with him is going to make me better."

On D-line coach Brian Baker:

"Coach Baker's a great coach. He's got 20-something-odd years of experience. It's my job to be receptive to whatever he throws my way. You've got to come in here with no ego, and no idea that you know what's going on."

All kidding aside though, it's nice to see a little humility with athletes, top draft picks in particular. At least we don't have to take it on the chin from a hold out like so many other teams have had to struggle with. Chris Long's going to be the face of this franchise someday.

If you like things ranked and graded for easy consumption, ESPN has got your fix with their first round of power rankings for 2008. The Rams ranked 28th, and will have to play their way out of that spot. They did get some love from Mike Sando, who put them at 19th on his ballot. He presents a solid case , repeating what we've said here for sometime: the core of this team is solid and surely the injury bug doen't bite twice...or thrice for Orlando Pace.

I still think, barring injuries, the Rams can compete for the division title. They match up well against the Seahawks , who figure as the preseason favorites for that coveted spot. We'll take a look at how they compare to the Cardinals later this week.