2012 NFL Power Rankings are just beginning to come out, and thus far the St. Louis Rams' lot in life there has been more than a little similar to the one they vacated at the end of the 2011 season—in the basement, hanging out with the Indianapolis Colts and a few more misfit franchises. That kind of continuity makes me wonder: Who could use the 2012 NFL Draft to move out of the basement by the time the regular season begins?
The Rams, who have replaced their historically ineffective system with a head coach who has a long history of maintaining respectability, actually seem like reasonable bets; if they can do good things with their three early-round picks and Sam Bradford looks strong in the preseason, they could at least flirt with the edges of the Top 20.
Which is not exciting news unless you just went through the Rams' 2011 season. The Colts, also, could see a major improvement if their veteran team coalesces or appears to coalesce around Andrew Luck better than it did around the non-entities they trotted out over the course of their Peyton Manning-less Luck-sucking.
This is the sidebar to a larger SB Nation St. Louis piece on the same subject: Click through to read about the cold, hard dose of reality that came with the Rams' first 2012 power rankings appearance.