UPDATE: Rams report, 8/21

UPDATE: STEVEN JACKSON SIGNS 6-YEAR DEAL...
(stltoday.com)

* Jackson's back. Well, Steven Jackson has finally chosen to grace us with his presence at Rams camp. He will arrive in town today for a physical and is expected to practice, though his appearance in either of the remaining preseason games is doubtful.

Great. I'm expecting multiple fumbles like the season opener against Carolina, then.

Jackson may even have a new contract shortly, in the 7-year, $50 million, $17 million guaranteed range, pretty much what he was offered BEFORE HE STARTED HIS HOLDOUT.

My analysis of the contract is that it's good for everyone concerned. I still think the Rams are getting Jackson on the cheap for just over $7 mil a year. Jackson will get his money up front, while the Rams don't figure to be on the hook for a lot of money toward the end of the contract. (I say that because all reports make it sound really front-loaded.) The Rams have done Jackson a solid with a long-term, megabucks contract; now he owes them play that lives up to the potential he showed in 2006.

How will Jackson be received by Rams fans? Well, we won't get a chance to greet him in the preseason, so my recommendation to him is to have a bulletproof game in Philadelphia Week 1 and give the Giants plenty to think about in Week 2. Fans have very short memories in the face of a couple hundred yards and 2-3 TDs.


* Injury report.
- Orlando Pace sat out for the third consecutive day. Gulp. He is questionable for Saturday night's game. Gulp.
Supposedly he would play if this were the regular season. We'll see. I am still very leery about this whole situation.
- OJ Atogwe is still out. Gulp.
- Donnie Avery, though, will play Saturday night.


* Upcoming roster moves. Mark Setterstrom and Justin King will go to IR officially on Tuesday when the first, and fairly pointless, roster cutdown is made. It seems like Brandon Gorin should go IR as well. And of course, the Rams will add Jackson back to the roster. So the way I see it, there'll be just 3 guys who have to be cut to get the roster down to 75.

* The Ravens game will be aired live on local TV. The Rams used a couple of accounting tricks to get the game to be considered a sellout. Since I want to records as many home games as possible, I encourage all the creative accounting the front office can muster throughout the regular season. Bill Coats article