CANTON, Ohio -- Here are five observations from the Rams' training camp.

Camp Classic Moment

There have been some sweltering times for the Rams in their steamy Macomb, Ill., training camp, but few rival the red-hot passion for his teammates that quarterback Kurt Warner demonstrated last summer. Coming off a 1999 campaign in which he was the league's regular-season most valuable player, and also the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIV, the quarterback was in the midst of negotiations on a new, long-term contract. Warner vowed, however, to report to camp on time, even if the longer deal wasn't completed, announcing he would sign a one-year qualifying offer. "I thought it was important, symbolically and every other way, for me to be there," Warner said. "If I had to sign the one-year deal, just to allow me into camp, I was prepared to do it." In fact, Warner initially signed the qualifying offer to assure his presence in camp. Then on the night he reported, his agents and team officials completed a seven-year contract worth more than $6 million per year and including an $11.5 million signing bonus. What his teammates recall, though, is Warner's faith that the long-term deal would eventually be consummated and his insistence on not missing a single workout. — Len Pasquarelli

1. If speed really kills, the revamped St. Louis defense could be murderous to opponents. But the infusion of so many new starters on the unit could also be suicidal to the Rams' aspirations of getting back to the Super Bowl for a second time in three years. There is no denying they now possess speed to burn on defense but, with seven or eight new starters on a defense that gave up 471 points last year, it will take some time for everyone to coalesce into a viable group. Coach Mike Martz wants his defense to mirror his offense. The scheme will be built on overall quickness with speed meant to create better matchups. But you don't just make seven lineup changes over the course of six months and expect everything to click immediately. Especially early in the season, expect the Rams to bust some coverages and to manifest some confusion, even if new coordinator Lovie Smith has simplified the scheme. On the plus side, new starters like weakside linebacker Mark Fields, free safety Kim Herring and perennial Pro Bowl cornerback Aeneas Williams will allow the Rams to get to the ball a lot sooner than they did in 2000. A pair of rookie first-round picks, tackle Damione Lewis and strong safety Adam Archuleta, figure to start immediately. Even at this early stage of camp, Archuleta has developed a reputation as a big hitter.

2. Martz is an inveterate tinkerer, a guy who never met a cocktail napkin on which he wasn't diagramming new and creative formations, and it appears he has targeted the tight end position as one from which the Rams will get more big plays this year. Over the past two seasons, St. Louis aligned in so many three- and four-wideout sets that the tight end was on the field for only about 25 to 30 percent of the snaps. The Rams' tight ends combined for just 54 catches in 1999 and 2000, the fewest in the league over that period. Roland Williams, who was traded to Oakland the day before the draft, developed into a fine receiver in the "red zone," but was rarely utilized as a receiver until the Rams moved inside an opponent's 20-yard line. St. Louis spreads the field so much, and Martz so constantly seeks matchup advantages, that it only makes sense that the next evolution for the Rams is to get the tight end involved in some deeper pass routes. With five-year veteran Ernie Conwell healthy again, after spending much of the past two seasons rehabilitating from 1998 knee surgery, that should be the case in '01. Conwell might not be as solid a blocker as was Williams, but he has enough upfield speed to split the safeties and is a more polished receiver overall. So intent is Martz on getting more plays from the tight end in the middle of the field, that he signed former Bears second-rounder John Allred earlier in the spring to add another speed dimension to the position. Unfortunately, the oft-injured Allred was not healthy enough and was released. That setback notwithstanding, look for the St. Louis tight ends, especially Conwell, to become the newest wrinkle for Martz this season.

3. This is a key training camp for a couple of young veterans, third-year quarterback Joe Germaine and second-year tailback Trung Canidate. Both of them must prove their mettle in the exhibition games to alleviate any concerns about depth. A fourth-round choice in the 1999 draft, Germaine didn't throw a pass in the 2000 season. But in the '99 regular-season finale at Philadelphia, in which he got considerable playing time because the Rams had already secured homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, Germaine demonstrated a surprising grasp of the Martz offense. The Rams don't have the safety net of Trent Green around anymore, having dealt him to Kansas City, so the No. 2 job behind Kurt Warner now belongs to Germaine. St. Louis did sign journeyman Paul Justin, but only to provide an insurance policy in case Germaine stumbles. What makes Germaine so important, of course, is that Warner missed five games last season with a thumb injury and then sustained a fairly serious concussion at New Orleans in the season finale. Warner was still experiencing some problems with sensitivity to light well into the spring. Canidate was a rather surprising first-round choice in 2000, then spent much of his rookie campaign in the whirlpool and got just three carries for six yards. Despite reports to the contrary, there are some private concerns about the sturdiness of Marshall Faulk's knee. The Rams simply aren't the same team with Faulk out of the lineup and, if he is sidelined for any length of time, Canidate will have to start living up to his first-round status.

4. Another young player facing plenty of pressure and high expectations is fourth-year defensive end/linebacker Leonard Little, who is being counted on to compensate for some of the sacks racked up by the departed Kevin Carter (who was traded to Tennessee this spring). A hybrid-type player who has now bulked up to about 260 to 265 pounds, Little posted five sacks as a situational rusher in 2000, and Rams coaches feel he can double that total with expanded playing time. Little probably won't play much in the "base" defense, but he will log a lot more snaps and, thus, get more opportunities to rush the quarterback. Little has flashed terrific quickness in camp but isn't nearly as polished a rusher as Carter was, and he will have to develop some counter moves. For all the acrimony the team insisted Carter caused last year, he still totaled 10½ sacks and averaged 10.4 sacks in his six seasons with the Rams.

5. Unlike a year ago, when they were coming off a victory in Super Bowl XXXIV, the Rams have their entire starting offensive line back, and that makes assistant coach Jim Hanifan a happy man. One of the premier offensive line mentors in league history, Hanifan had to replace center Mike Gruttadauria and right tackle Fred Miller last summer. "It's a rarity anymore to have all five guys back, but it's a good feeling this year, and we should be an even better unit because of it," Hanifan said. The group is led by Pro Bowl left tackle Orlando Pace, who traveled to Warren, Ohio on Monday for the funeral of former Ohio State teammate Korey Stringer. When Pace was being recruited by the Buckeyes, it was Stringer who was assigned to escort him around campus. "He was kind of my idol, at the time, I guess," Pace said. For all the well-deserved attention Pace receives, it is the right side of the St. Louis line that sets a physical tone for the team. Guard Adam Timmerman and tackle Ryan Tucker are physical strongside presences who come hard off the ball. Tucker is a converted center who made the move to tackle last year and should develop over the next couple of seasons into a standout performer.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.