The news about Steven Jackson, for obvious reason, has dominated the Rams nation today, but we'd be remiss as a football blog to overlook the passing of Hall of Famer and NFLPA Executive Driector Gene Upshaw.

Labor leaders rarely endear themselves to everyone, nature of the business. Unions whose members earn million dollar salaries makes it even more difficult. Whatever side you fall down on, you have to respect Upshaw. He was also one helluva player.

Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Philosophy. Jackson's 27 day holdout came down to a difference in "philosophy." The philosophy of the contract's guaranteed money, rather than the number of angels on a pin's head, kept us breathing easy and wondering if this season wouldn't just end up a carbon copy of the last. Well, whatever your philosophy, we can be glad the damn thing's over.

Now, just how long will it take Jackson to get game ready?  There are two issues at hand here. First, Jackson needs to be in game shape. He's been working out throughout his holdout - and his colonic stands as a testament to just how much effort he put into keeping his body temple-like. Now, it's a matter of Jackson getting used to working in pads, at full speed, at full contact, and, lest we forget, getting used to making his turns and cuts on turf. It's stretch to think he'll play against B-more this weekend.

Larry Johnson, who missed 25 days of camp and preseason last year, carried the ball just 3 times against the Rams in the mighty Governor's Cup, the last preseason game for both teams. In a week one drubbing at the hands of the Texans, Johnson carried the ball just 10 times (more than anyone else) and led the Cheifs with 7 receptions. When you go back and look at the play-by-play for that game, Johnson didn't run as much as you would assume he normally would. The Chiefs limited Johnson's workload in that game because of his holdout. In fact, Johnson didn't have more than 20 carries until week 3 last season. However, it sounds like questionable play calling limited Johnson's reps in week 2.

The second factor in getting Jackson back to game speed is the playbook. Al Saunders' offense has stymied Bulger and the receivers with timing issues on the new routes (and just think, they're not running more than 50% of the playbook early on). But it's a little different with running backs. Jackson's going to see plenty of screens, throws in the flat, runs around the ends, the tackles and good old up the gut runs, not dramatically different than what he's already done with the Rams. In 2006, he had 346 carries for 1500+ yards and 90 receptions (second only to Holt's 93 on the Rams that year) for 800+ yards. For Jackson, Saunders' offense shouldn't come with a steep learning curve.

Let's go back to Larry Johnson for some perspective on that. In Saunders' last season with KC, 2005, LJ had 336 carries for 1700+ yards and 33 catches for 340+ yards. The next season, LJ had 400+ carries for another 1700+ yards with 41 receptions and 410 receiving yards. The change in coordinators didn't dramatically effect LJ's grasp of the playbook, but it likely didn't change all that much between seasons.

What's it all mean for Steven Jackson? Always defer to precedent. In the early goings Jackson won't see 30 carries a game, but he will be used pretty strategically on screens, a play he performs better than anyone in the NFL (sorry Westbrook fans) and a few runs. He'll also be on the field more than he touches the ball to create mismatches and get opponents to stack the box.

Holy... The Steven Jackson holdout is over! 

This is great news. Apparently, it's a deal similar to what the Rams offered in the first place - 7 years, $50 million with $17 million in guarantees. The hold up, according to the PD report linked here, was the structure. I'll bet it had something to do with the guarantee, but who knows. UPDATE: Apparently, they've agreed upon a deal in principle, and expect to sign on the dotted line soon. 

...and, quite frankly, who cares. Nobody's confusing this with the '72 Dolphins, but Jackson's presence, and running at full speed, gives this team a chance to compete week-in and week-out. That's a nice change after last season. 

The Rams wouldn't talk unless they got him in camp, and they didn't have to budge on that. It helps they made him an initial offer that wasn't way off the mark, a starting point. The rumblings that Jackson was unhappy with his agent could well have had something to do with this. Eugene Parker's other big client, Buffalo OT Jason Peters, is still holding out, which makes me believe Jackson may have leaked that to let his agent know he was going to play football this year, regardless of who his agent is.

Nobody's had much reason to talk about the Rams front office not scoring much these last few seasons, but I think they finally got on the board again this season, making changes, drafting what look to be solid guys, good depth at least, at key positions in rounds 2-7 of the draft and skating through the Steven Jackson situation with grace. 

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If you're new to TST, welcome. I hope you'll sign up (top of the page) and stop by during the season and make your voice heard. Now, I'm going to go celebrate. 

I guess he's not going to play this weekend and maybe not next weekend either, but I'd still think you can draft Steven Jackson in your fantasy league with some confidence. 

Released only yesterday by the Falcons, there's already rumors of the Rams being on Horn's radar for a potential destination.

Hmm. Horn's been bothered by a hamstring injury that's kept him out of the Falcon's first two preseason games. The same injury limited his playing time last season, that and the general disarry of the Falcons offense after losing their starting QB in that whole dog fighting nastiness. His trouble with the Falcons started largely because he lost his role to the emegent Roddy White, prompting him to want out of his deal with the Falcons.

I suspect the Rams have popped up in conjuction with Horn's name given concerns about their experience at WR. Dave the Falconer at SBN's Falcons blog The Falcoholic, expected little from Horn this season, making us wonder if chasing Horn might accomplish little to nothing for the Rams. Horn hasn't played more than 13 games since 2004, and his best season of the last three came in '06 when he caught 37 passes for 674 yards and 4 TDs with the Saints, playing in just 10 games.

Horn's 36-years-old, about 11 months older than Isaac Bruce, so I'm not comfortable writing off Horn just because of his age. Bruce has been much more durable in his twilight years than Horn. (Pundits questioned Bruce's age last season you'll recall). However, depending on what he's got left in the tank, Horn could contribute in a limited role for the Rams, who'll still be leaning on Torry Holt as the top receiver and Drew Bennett would still be number two. It's tough to factor Donnie Avery into the Rams plans given the rookie has yet to play in a preseason game and learn the complex Al Saunders playbook that still has veterans scratching their heads. Horn would give them a veteran presence behind those two, something the team doesn't have at all, except for Dane Looker.

The jury's still out for me on this one. I'd definitely be willing to give him a look in camp, but he likely wants more than that given his statements surrounding recent events.

In last week's game, Bulger and his receivers, mostly Bulger, passed their way to the horse collar, or some other symbolic anti-MVP award. Unlike last year, when I was able to keep "if only the o-line..." on the computer's clip board, they were (mostly) above reproach against the Chargers. So, here's the kind of thing you don't want to read in the middle of the week, wondering if Bulger et al can get the playbook loaded into muscle memory:

Orlando Pace is experiencing soreness, including in his surgically repaired left shoulder. Swell. Head coach Scott Linehan says Pace's soreness is mostly a result of the big left tackle just getting back into game shape, having played at a high level through plenty of snaps in practice and preseason games. That makes sense, given that Pace played less than half a game last season, but it's something to keep an eye on...and don't let the Paxil get to far out of sight.

This makes the reported progress of Adam Goldberg even more important, and it's a good bet that Goldberg will see some time with the first team this weekend, giving Pace the chance to rest up for the regular season slog.

Some other items with comment:

• From the PD's Bill Coats, Torry Holt says you can blame the offense, the skill guys in particular, for ugly results recently as they learn Al Saunders' system and get the routes and timing down. That should be fairly obvious. You can watch the highlights (or lowlights) from last week's game and see Bennett and Bulger on a different page on the INT meant for Bennett. Unfortunately, that comes from two players looking to bury some poor results from last season, thus the deluge of "these guys suck" posts on the message boards. 
• I don't want to get off on a tangent here, but you can never underestimate the benefits of a healthy diet. Just ask Dante Hall, between that and Al Saunders, he's a new man this season. He sure looked sharp on his returns last weekend, giving the offense great field position (to squander). I have concerns about using the 5'8" Hall as a regular WR, for reasons you might imagine (hurts his return game, too small). However, during his best seasons with KC as a returner, 2003-05, Hall's work at WR didn't cut into his return game. In 2005, for instance, he caught 34 passes for 436 yards an 3 TDs to go with 65 kick returns for 1560 yards and 1 TD and 42 punt returns for 476 yards. Those 42 punt returns were a career high, by quite a bit too. 
• Torry Holt, back on the field yesterday for practice, has been in touch with Steven Jackson. No luck on breaking his holdout though. 
• I'd rather have rookies learning the guard position on the fly at the NFL level than the tackle position because the nature of the position is relatively simple and the more ability a rookie brings with him, the easier it is to perform well or at least adequately there. 2008 draftees John Greco and Roy Schuening will get plenty of chances to make an impression at guard with Setterstrom out now. I think Greco can have an immediate impact, and I'm, frankly, a little surprised that Schuening hasn't had a better preseason thus far given his ability. Plenty of time left to see just what these guys can do though. 

There's already been plenty of talk about 2008 being Tye Hill's breakthrough season, his third in the league.

Hill came to league as a track star, and at 5'9" came with plenty wondering how exactly he would work out at the pro level. Turns out he did just fine. In his first season, he started 10 games, made 47 tackles and 3 INTs. Notable, but it was ultimately lost in the shuffle as the Rams defense struggled so mightily against the run.

Last year, Hill was on his way, eventhough the Rams started the season without Fakhir Brown and a questionable bunch at corner behind Hill. Lenny Walls anyone? After an 8 tackle day against Carolina to open the season, the Rams lost Hill for the next four games after sustaining an injury in practice. He was back for good run from week 6-13 making 26 tackles and 1 INT before being lost to a thumb.wrist injury for the rest of the season.

That was too bad. Not only could the Rams have used Hill - everyone knows they needed a bright spot - Hill might have had something of a breakthrough performance against pass happy teams like the Packers, Bengals and Cardinals in the last four weeks of the season. Of course, no team had much reason to pass against the Rams, when the games turned into run-out-the-clock excercises.

There's not really anythign magical about the third season for a cornerback. It takes time to learn the position at the pro level for all but the best of the best, esp with the NFL's rules about contact with eligible receivers that differ from the college game. Hill's already shown excellent ability in man-to-man coverage and his early numbers belie some of that rookie inconsistency that can show up from time to time.

If the Rams have a better, more consistent unit up front and can keep the d-backs together, then those expectations for Hill could very well come to fruition. The regular stat lines for corners hide much of their ability, but we can take somethin away from their number of INTs and passes defended.

Drafted two years prior to Hill, Falcons CB and noted mouth Deangelo Hall, whom Hill has been compared to before, brokeout in his second season with 6 INTs, 10 PD, and 59 tackles. Cowboys CB Terrance Newman had 4 INTs and 15 PD in his second season, after pulling in 6 INTs and a whopping 20 PD in his rookie year of 2003. Is it out of the question to expect similar numbers from Hill this season?

Tired of the Steven Jackson holdout situation and, more recently, tired of wondering whether or not Bulger has some kind of sack-induced PTSD that's going to keep fans wondering if graybeard Trent Green should be starting, it's as good a day as any to think about something else. For some reason, after a long delay between waking up and the first cup of coffee, I settled on the Rams defensive backs. The defense looks like it could be a real bright spot for this year's team. Hell, if the offense can keep them off the field for something less than 45 minutes, they have the potential to steal a game or two. With Leonard Little looking spry and svelte and two recent draft's worth of first round picks, the defensive line has garnered most of the spotlight. And that's fine. Their work up front ought to give the backfield defenders a real boost. So here's a little time for those guys in the mighty TST spotlight, a pedestal so bright it could well up their value beyond the reach of this humble mid-market team.

The bane of Ron Bartell's existence on the field has always been his inconsistency. From play to play, fans and coaches never knew which Bartell would make an appearance, the gifted corner able to smother an opposing wide receiver or the bumbling traffic cone.

A second round pick from 2005, Bartell started seven games at CB filling in for Travis Fisher who broke his arm that season, alongside such notables as DeJuan Groce.  He had 32 tackles and 1 forced fumble as part of a Rams defense that ranked in the bottom fifth of the league in all categories. Bartell had a more limited role with the 2006 team, working as the third corner. The Rams' defensive backfield was still a mess that season, but things started to solidify with the addition of Fakhir Brown and an impressive rookie debut from first round pick Tye HIll (more on him later). Bartell showed some ball skills that year, nabbing three INTs, matching teammates Atogwe, Brown and Hill, and made 25 tackles.

Last season, starting at various times for a suspended Fakhir Brown and an injured Tye Hill, Bartell made 12 starts. Bartell flashed that maddening inconsistency, but I really felt like he improved as the season went on and he got more playing time. Bartell even played a little safety last season. He finished the year with 63 tackles, 2 INTS, and a sack.

So far this summer, Bartell's seen plenty of playing time filling in for the injured Fakhir Brown (rotator cuff tear), and the possibility of Bartell starting in place of Brown to open the season looms. He's impressed through camp, shaking off some early inconsistency. Against the Chargers on Saturday, Bartell tied for the team lead with 4 tackles and had a pass defense as well, pleasing coaches and pundits alike.

Most of Bartell's progress can be attributed to experience and improved coaching since Bartell started with the Rams in 2005. Don't discount the motivation that comes from playing in the last year of a contract though. Bartell will be eligible for unrestricted free agency after this season.

With one potential "franchise" player nowhere near a playing field and the "franchise" quarterback making fans pine for the accuracy and consistency of Gus Frerotte, this afternoon's as good a time as any to think back upon more pleasant memories.

ESPN recently surveyed readers to determine the ultimate franchise player for each NFL team. For the Rams, Marshall Faulk took home the honor. No surprise there.

I wonder if disillusionment with the Rams current running back and the team's recent seasons got Faulk some votes? Nah. It's pretty hard to argue with a one man offensive weapon, who could lead the league even when mediocrity surrounded him. (Ah, the Mike Martz legacy...)

The case for Merlin Olsen makes for a heady debate though. And defensive end Jack Youngblood was left off the list.

The "franchise" concept is strange for Rams fans, particularly St. Louisians. Remember, St. Louis had an NFL team for a long time, the Cardinals, and other than a basic familiarity with superstars like Youngblood or Olsen, how many people in the area were Los Angeles Rams fans? So, Faulk unquesitonably gets the honor if you consider the Rams post move.