Rams report, 8/22

* Pace's shoulder RE-injured. (stltoday/Bill Coats) Orlando Pace has been sitting out because he landed on it hard trying to make a tackle after one of Marc Bulger's interceptions last Saturday. The shoulder swelled up and restricted the range of motion of his arm.

Pace's status for tomorrow night's game against Baltimore is uncertain. I'd prefer he not play, myself.

Also, since Scott Linehan told the press all week that Pace just had lingering soreness from the Charger game, is there any reason to EVER believe him about a player's injury status again?

* Setterstrom waived. (stlouisrams/Nick Wagoner) Yes, waived, as in waived/injured, to make room for Steven Jackson on the 80-man roster. He has to be put on waivers because he hasn't been in the league long enough. Assuming no other team claims him, he will go on the Rams' IR. This seems like a stupid risk on the Rams' part, if they really want to keep Setterstrom in the first place. They could have held onto him a few more days and moved him to the IR during the roster cutdown phase, like they'll have to do with Justin King. With 11 wide receivers on the roster right now, it certainly seems as though one of them could have been cut to keep Setterstrom on the 80-man until cutdown day on Tuesday. How many snaps do they really think, say, Shaine Smith, is in line for Saturday night? Or Matt Caddell? Or Brandon Williams? I don't think he's even eligible for the practice squad.

And an apparent clarification on Brandon Gorin: he is already listed on the Rams' website on injured reserve. He's got the seniority (7 years) to not have to clear waivers first.

* Jackson contract. (stltoday/Jim Thomas) I've already seen different descriptions of the terms of Steven Jackson's contract, so I went to Jim Thomas' article for confirmation. It is a six year deal worth up to $44 million (original report was 50). The final two years may void out based on performance, which would turn it into a 4-year, $30 million deal. $20 million is guaranteed and Jackson received an $11 million signing bonus. (Minus a $405,000 fine, I trust.)

Linehan lost more points yesterday when he told the press, when asked about Jackson's contract negotiations, "It never once felt like it wasn't going to get done and get done in time and it's all behind us now."

DONE IN TIME? So Linehan didn't notice Jackson missed 27 days of camp, two preseason games, and EVERY TRAINING CAMP practice?

DONE IN TIME?

Jeez.


* Gene Upshaw 1945-2008. The Hall-of-Famer and players' union representative passed away suddenly from pancreatic cancer yesterday. NFLPA has named Richard Berthelsen as an interim successor, but, as Georgia Frontiere's passing seems to be marking a turning point for the Rams' future, Upshaw's passing may well be a turning point in the future of the relationship between players and owners. With Upshaw gone, the players' union is far more likely to dig in its heels when the owners try to make back some of the concessions they made in the last contract. That increases the possibility of hitting the 2010 season with no salary cap. And it'll all blow up from there.

One hopes the players will remember that Gene Upshaw helped make them very, very rich. One hopes the owners will remember that Gene Upshaw helped them stay very, very, rich. One hopes football players and owners are smart enough not to repeat the near-fatal mistakes of MLB and the NHL. One hopes negotiations will always be held with Upshaw's legacy in mind and that there will be long-time player/owner harmony in the NFL.

One hopes.

One assumes I'll be looking for new stuff to keep me busy in the fall of 2011. Madden Football, anyone?