Injury report, 11/11

* Jason Smith has been cleared for full action and will start at right tackle Sunday. He had suffered a concussion in practice two weeks ago. I'd still get him one of those Mark Kelso helmets.

* Only four players sat out practice yesterday, so I guess this is the whole injury report now:
- Danario Alexander (knee surgery)
- James Butler (sprained ankle)
- Britt Miller (?) No details provided. He had a hamstring issue about three weeks ago.
- Fendi Onobun (back).

There are a lot of players with dings - see Tuesday's post - but I guess the local media are blowing those off for now.

Battle of Troy Sunday

Troy Smith (above, buried in Rams defenders) will start for the 49ers at QB Sunday.

Troy's last outing vs. the Rams: He took all the snaps at QB in the 4th preseason game here in September for the Ravens. The Rams won the game 27-21.

Stats:
18-38-237, 2 INTs, passer rating 45.6, sacked three times.
He also had 56 yards rushing on 7 carries, with two short TD runs.

Keep. Him. In. The. Pocket!

Union, no?

Just to make sure the impending ruination of our favorite sport isn't too far in the back of our minds, Rams players have voted to decertify the players' union in the massively-likely event the owners lock them out next year. This is a legal maneuver that gives the union the right to sue the league if there is a lockout. This sounds like a good thing for fans, especially if the suit is heard by a judge who owns season tickets. Then again, whom does the union even represent once it has been decertified? Anybody? What would the decertified union even sue the owners for? Divorce?

Good luck explaining any of this to your kids if you don't have a law degree, and woe unto modern sports for creating a world where lawyers making motions becomes more important than receivers going into motion.

As for that explanation for the kids, I'd go with "the players and their bosses are fighting over who can be the most greedy," and I'm a capitalist.

The dance is over for Kurt

Kurt Warner was eliminated from Dancing With the Stars last night, becoming this season's fifth-place finisher. That's a little disappointing, Kurt; hell, when Warren Sapp was on the show, he came in second! And you didn't even outlast Bristol Palin, though her ability to come in last every week and still advance is more likely the first Great Tea Party Conspiracy.





Nice try, though, and good luck to Kurt on his next effort, as long as it's not a comeback with the Big Dead. I'm sure Ken Whisenhunt has already called, though.

photo - USA Today

Rams notes, 11/9

* Injury update: The FIRST-PLACE Rams practiced yesterday and have today off. These players were limited participants in Monday's practice:

- Jason Smith (concussion) sounds like a good bet to play against the 49ers Sunday - Steve Spagnuolo described him as "symptom-free" - but is being monitored daily and still has to be fully cleared to play.

- Danario Alexander (knee) is already jogging, just a couple of weeks after his latest knee surgery. Highly doubtful he'll be up for San Francisco, but his recovery appears to be on the quick side.

- Ron Bartell's being listed with thigh and shoulder issues again. I can only go off other people's reports, so somebody got sloppy when he dropped the shoulder issue in a previous report.

- Adam Goldberg was sent home sick.

- James Laurinaitis (sprained knee), Fendi Onobun (back) and David Vobora (hamstring) were also listed as limited participants.

Other injuries, as reported previously before the bye:
James Butler (sprained ankle); Daniel Fells (back); James Hall (broken hand); Michael Hoomanawanui (back, ribs); Steven Jackson (broken finger); Donnie Jones (calf); Justin King (hamstring); Fred Robbins (toe); Darell Scott (sprained ankle).

My total guess is that most of those players would list as probable for Sunday, with Butler and Scott possibly questionable.

* Hold that line. The Rams are SIX-point underdogs (over-under: 38) to the 49ers, which I think makes them an attractive bet. That would sound great if it weren't coming from someone who has to take two weeks of "whammy" picks back to even claim a mediocre 3-4-1 record this season. Still, I don't get such a big line, even given that the Rams are winless on the road this season. Two of those losses were by less than a FG. I'm also not certain what San Francisco has done to merit a six-point line over anybody. They're 2-6 for a reason, aren't they? Maybe I'm discounting the recent series history too much - the Rams have lost the last four meetings - but I don't feel anything other than a close game Sunday, like 16-13 either way.

More to add when there's more.

Congratulations Sam Bradford

Sam Bradford has been named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Month for October. He threw for over 1,000 yards and had 7 TD passes in leading the Rams to a 3-2 record for the month.

Bye week report, 11/4

The Rams practiced for the last time this week yesterday and will be off the rest of this bye week. They'll return to practice Monday. Here's where everybody stands (or sits) with injuries:

* Jason Smith (concussion) practiced on a limited basis yesterday. He passed an exertion test but still has to pass a neurological test to be completely cleared to play. If Jason doesn't already have one of those old Mark Kelso "Gazoo" helmets, the Rams seriously ought to think about getting him one.

Also not practicing Wednesday:

* Danario Alexander, knee, out 1-3 more weeks. Steve Spagnuolo did not rule Alexander 100% out for the 14th in San Francisco.
* Ron Bartell, thigh, day-to-day. The good news is that Bartell's shoulder problem - he left the field at one point clutching it and in a lot of pain - has apparently improved enough to make his thigh bruise the main concern.
* James Butler got a low-ankle sprain in the Carolina game. He has a chance to play on the 14th.
* Daniel Fells, back, apparently an injury from Sunday's game. Has had it CT scanned but no results were disclosed.
* Donnie Jones, strained calf. This has been bothering Donnie since about the end of September but has been kept pretty quiet. He was to have an MRI on it Monday.
* Justin King, hamstring, inactive for Carolina game. He's had hammy problems on and off all season and is starting to smell like the latest Scott Linehan draft bust, if you ask me.
* James Laurinaitis, sprained knee. Has been bothering him for a little over a week now.
* Fendi Onobun, back, inactive for Carolina game. Injured in practice last week.
* David Vobora, hamstring. Was listed as having played Sunday but he's been fighting this problem for about three weeks now.

Other injuries:
* James Hall suffered a broken hand in the Carolina game.
* Steven Jackson played with a broken finger, which, as you might expect, was very sore after the game.
* Michael Hoomanawanui got a CT scan on his back and ribs after taking a couple of hard shots Sunday. I'm assuming no further news there is good news.
* Fred Robbins still has a sore toe that has bothered him since early in the Tampa game.
* Darell Scott was inactive for the Carolina game due to re-aggravating the ankle he sprained back in September. His timeline is unknown.
* Darian Stewart continues to fight hamstring problems and has for about a month now.

In other words, the bye week is here at the perfect time.

Other stuff:
* Gathering no Moss. A Rams blog that didn't suck would have discussed the Randy Moss issue before it was over, but he was waived by the Vikings, passed up by the Rams and claimed by the Titans before I got to weigh in. I was against it, but only 50.1% to 49.9%. The Rams unquestionably could have used his on-field talent, and he could have been the piece the Rams need to win the very-even NFC West. The 49ers and Seahawks also passing on him surprised me. I think the Rams are at the point now where they could add a character risk. And as a risk, Moss is a better bet than Vincent Jackson, and isn't any worse than T.O., who the Rams very nearly signed before this season. But the front office appears to have done its homework, and if they don't think Moss will fit into the locker room well enough, then I'll trust their judgment.

To me, the Moss deal felt a little too much like the time the Blues traded for Wayne Gretzky. Superstar player, helped them for half a season, but only stayed around long enough to screw up their playoff run.

* Judgment I don't trust: Got my Sports Illustrated in the mail yesterday, and saw that Peter King had written up his midseason all-pro team, on which his offensive rookie of the year is: MAURKICE POUNCEY?

Further evidence that sportswriters shouldn't be allowed to vote on the awards they actually give out. Really? The center for the Steelers is better than the rookie QB who's taken a 1-15 team last year to 4-4 at this year's halfway point? Really?

* Practice squad shuffle: Hyphen Jr., Jimmy Saddler-McQueen, was added back to the practice squad October 28th, kicking off Antoine Thompson. Meanwhile, the Rams have had so many injuries at wide receiver, they've actually used the practice squad injured reserve, which I didn't know even existed. A fracture was found in Brandon McRae's fibula, and he's done for 2010. He was replaced on the PS by WR Greg Mathews, formerly of the Bears and Michigan Wolverines, and Ted Ginn, Jr.'s cousin.

* Dancing fool: Kurt Warner's proving as unstoppable on the dance floor as he was on the field, at least until Dancing With the Stars turns into a ballroom blitz. Rick Fox was eliminated Tuesday night.

photo - Mental Floss