Rams report, 2/2

* Injury report: Wait a minute, how can there be a Rams injury report when the team hasn't played a game in a month? It's because several Rams have gone "under the knife" since the end of the season:

Chris Long: surgery for a thumb injury, which I believe he incurred in the finale against Seattle.

Ron Bartell: foot surgery for a bone spur. Bartell is one fellow who's owed a lot of good injury karma after this season.

Chris Chamberlain: had calcium deposits cleaned out of his ankle.

Mardy Gilyard: wrist surgery, to correct a problem that Steve Spagnuolo said had been bothering him BEFORE the Rams drafted him. They're now hoping Gilyard will be available for spring minicamps (assuming the players are not locked out). I'll say. Gilyard's really under the gun here after a disappointing rookie season. Another year of playing catchup with the offense would not serve him well.

Jerome Murphy: surgery on a broken finger from the Dec. 26 win over the 49ers. I suppose he had pins put in right away, because Jim Thomas reported that they've been removed.

* Congratulations to Steven Jackson on his second Pro Bowl TD last weekend, a 21-yarder that saw him rumble over Chiefs safety Eric Berry at the end. He gained 33 yards on 6 carries in the NFC's 55-41 victory.

* Rams coaching staff getting raided again? RBs coach Sylvester Croom interviewed with Nick Saban at Alabama over the weekend. In slightly-related news, Pat Shurmur hired Dick Jauron to be his defensive coordinator in Cleveland. Another electrifying hire for the Browns. That team is going to be as bland as its uniforms.

* Ex-Rams news: just one item to report: the Seahawks have signed TE Dominique Byrd. Good luck to them, and to Seattle-area bar patrons.

* Where the hell is the Senior Bowl report? Still on the way... I only made it to halftime yesterday. Got busier than expected for a snow day.

-$-