More photos » by Phil Coale - AP

St. Louis Rams KR Danny Amendola has a concussion.

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St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo just wrapped up a Monday afternoon presser. The big news to come out of it has to do with some injured Rams starters. The Rams have a bye this week, which will help players recover ahead of the next game.

First, WR Donnie Avery and TE Randy McMichael are fine. DE C.J. Ah You will test his ankle this week. Would the Rams really miss McMichael? Yes, in the depth chart sense, but not so much as a playmaker.

Jacob Bell has "head and neck" injuries, and will be tested this week. They didn't say anything about a concussion, which is what the coach said he thought Bell had in the wake of yesterday's game. Run blocking got better with Setterstrom filling in for Bell. Setts has proved his mettle as a starter before, and I'm more than willing to say he's a better for the Rams going forward than Bell. This is the second year of his six-year contract he signed in the Spring of 2008.

WR/KR Danny Amendola has a concussion and will be tested Wednesday. Keep an eye on this one. Amendola's work returning kicks has been a pleasant surprise for the Rams, and looked like the answer to a long overdue question of who could be a consistent kick returner for the Rams. Hopefully, it's mild enough that he's cleared by the time the team resumes play in week 10.

More photos » by Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

about 1 month ago: St. Louis Rams punt returner Quincy Butler tries to grab his fumble, which was recovered by San Francisco 49ers linebacker Scott McKillop for a touchdown in the second quarter of an NFL football game in San Francisco, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

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Afternoon notes about the St.. Louis Rams...

It sounds like Quincy Butler will get the start in place of Bradley Fletcher at cornerback. Butler had some really sharp moments in camp this year. And then it started to look like he was just really good at camp. He's had some ugly gaffs. He might suffice against Detroit, depending on what shakes out with their QB situation. I can't imagine that they won't find at least do their due dillengence to see who's out there at CB, though it's not likely to be much. The Fletcher injury really, really stinks for the Rams and their rebuilding effort. Finding solid starters from third round picks is key, and they just lost one.

Rams MLB James Laurinaitis was in the running for the NFL's Rookie of the Month, one of seven first-year players to be considered for the award. Bills S Jairus Byrd picked off the award, the second safety to win the award this season. Three first round picks, two second round picks, one fifth-rounder and one undrafted free agent were considered. They are:

Dallas kicker DAVID BUEHLER (fifth round, USC), who tied for third in the NFL with six touchbacks on kickoffs.

Seattle linebacker AARON CURRY (first round, Wake Forest), who started all three games and posted 21 tackles, one sack, two passes defensed and a forced fumble.

Houston linebacker BRIAN CUSHING (first round, USC), who led all rookies with 30 tackles and totaled a half-sack, one interception, two forced fumbles and three passes defensed as the Texans posted a 3-1 record for the month.

Indianapolis cornerback JACOB LACEY (undrafted free agent, Oklahoma State), who recorded 14 tackles, one interception, including a 35-yard interception-touchdown return.

St. Louis linebacker JAMES LAURINAITIS (second round, Ohio State), who started all four games and posted 37 tackles and two interceptions.

Green Bay linebacker CLAY MATTHEWS (first round, USC), who started all three games and posted 13 tackles, two sacks, four tackles for a loss and had a 42-yard fumble-return touchdown, the longest by a rookie in franchise history.

Come on, do you really deserve consideration for having a big day against the Rams?

More photos » by Tom Gannam - AP

12 days ago: St. Louis Rams cornerback Bradley Fletcher, right, breaks up a pass intended for Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Pierre Garcon during the third quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009, in St. Louis. The Colts won 42-6. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam)

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Just when you thought the news for an 0-7 St. Louis Rams team couldn't get any worse... CB Bradley Fletcher and LS Chris Massey are out for the season.

The kicking game could get interesting without Massey, who is one of the best in the business. The Rams haven't been able to generate enough offense to score touchdowns, so the kicking game is their primary source for points. We'll see how transferable this skill is.

Losing Fletcher to a hyper-extended knee hurts. A third-round pick this year he had edged his way into the starting lineup over the last three games. He plays a physical style of defense, and you could even make the case that he's our top CB right now. Er, he was.

Richie Incognito is out for a game in all likelihood as well with a foot injury. More thoughts on the offensive line to come, but this could be a good chance to test some theories I have as to why our offensive line is not as strong as it should be.

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

The St. Louis Rams will be thin on the defensive line this week as James Hall is expected to miss the team's week 7 game against the Colts.

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Some news on the St. Louis Rams injury front worthy of note...i.e. noteworthy.

WR Donnie Avery was on the sidelines for practice today. His hip was "too tight" during warmups. He expects to be on the practice field tomorrow. Stay tuned. If he practices tomorrow, there's a good chance he'll play this week. That's the good news.

Now the bad news. The Rams top defensive lineman, James Hall, is still sitting with a groin injury he suffered last week against the Jags, and is likely to miss the Colts game this week. As you might guess, that hurts the Rams hope of getting pressure on Peyton Manning, meaning they'll be working in coverage a lot. Coverage...against Manning. Yikes.

Speaking of coverage, the Rams do have some good news on that front. CB Ron Bartell is cleared after suffering a minor concussion. Joining him on the practice field today was SS James Butler, which comes at the right time on the heels of Will Witherspoon being traded.

Also, the small part of life that is not Rams related has interfered and Turf Show Radio is cancelled for tonight. We'll be back on the air next week.

More photos » by Bradley C Bower - AP

The St. Louis Rams acquired WR Brandon Gibson from the Eagles today.

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The St. Louis Rams made a big move at the NFL trade deadline, sending one of their top linebackers to the Philadelphia Eagles for a much-needed wide receiver and a 2010 draft pick.

Since coming to the Rams in 2006, LB Will Witherspoon had been miscast as the team's middle linebacker. This season, he was moved back to the weakside to take advantage of his speed and athleticism. The Rams linebackers have been much better this season thanks in part to the decision to move Witherspoon and the emergence of 2009 second round pick James Laurinaitis, the team's first true MLB since London Fletcher. Ironically enough, it sounds like the Eagles will move Spoon to the middle.

In exchange for Witherspoon the Rams get WR Brandon Gibson and a fifth-round pick in the 2010 draft. It sounds like Gibson is not without talent. By all accounts he's said to have a great work ethic and dedicated to his team, i.e. he meets the "four pillars." To me, he seems like a decent enough complement to Avery's deep speed and Amendola in the slot. Could Gibson be the Laurent Robinson replacement the Rams need? He was a sixth round pick in this year's draft. I can't imagine that he won't suit up with the receiver depleted Rams.

I'm shocked by this move. Witherspoon has been among the Rams better defensive players in recent seasons. Of course, for a defense that's set records for their ineptness, that means nothing. Witherspoon will be 30 next season, and the Rams don't have many players left on the roster over 30, an intentional move on the part of the team's leadership. This leaves a hole on defense right now. Paris Lenon most likely takes over on the weakside once David Vobora returns after this week's game against the Colts.

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

There was nothing to dance about when Donnie Avery left the game last week.

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The St. Louis Rams came out of the Jacksonville game this week bruised and battered. For a time yesterday, the injury list looked a little too much like it has in recent seasons, with the few key players the Rams have sidelined. 

WR Donnie Avery would have been the most costly name on the list, but it sounds like his hip injury is not serious. He's officially being called day to day right now. Wait and see what his status is when they start practicing later this week. For now at least, it looks like the Rams will have Avery in uniform. 

CB Ron Bartell is dealing with a head injury and will have the battery of concussion tests this week. The cornerback will be extremely important this week against the Colts. After watching Bartell get burned a couple times last week, I wonder if he's still not dealing with some injury issues. 

What could be the most important injury news of all for this week's game is word that SS James Butler could be back in the lineup. Craig Dahl served admirably, but it was obvious last week how much the Rams missed Butler. They were gashed on the run and Jax receivers picked up too many YAC on short throws to the middle.

More photos » by Tom Gannam - AP

City's sports saint or carpetbagger?

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The decision by Dave Checketts to drop Rush Limbaugh from the group of investors he had assembled in an effort to buy the St. Louis Rams makes me wonder about Checketts' ability to buy the Rams in the first move.

Does he have the money or not? Was it that easy to replace whatever cash Rush brought to the table? And if the share Rush planned to buy was small, why risk bringing him on board in the first place? Did you not think Rush Limbaugh would attract any controversy? He could be a damn genius too.

What is my intuition telling me about Checketts?

More photos » by Ron Edmonds - AP

Rush speaks out on his bid for the Rams.

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I'm almost loathe to wade into discussion of Rush Limbaugh and his role in bidding on the St. Louis Rams, but it's hard to avoid. Run a Google search for the Rams and you'd be hard pressed to find anything but Rush-related news. Of course, the Rams aren't giving people much to talk about with their performance, so how's that go...all press is good press? Whatever.

Here's Rush on NBC's Today show, today (via the PD).

They’re gonna go nuts. This is the kind of stuff they’ve been trying to make sure doesn’t happen with me. All this stuff is the mainstreaming of Rush Limbaugh from off this far-right fringe they’ve tried to put me [in]. I just keep tiptoeing into the mainstream. And it just irritates them.

What bothers me most about his statement is the "me vs. the world" aspect. First of all, you have to suspend belief a little when people with enough money to purchase part of a NFL team claim the world is against them. And therein lies the problem: be gracious about it, leave the oppressed meme for your radio show, where it's making money. The reason people are opposed to Rush being an NFL owner is because of his divisive remarks. The best way to take the oxygen out of that debate would be to leave the schtick for the radio, and assure people that your politics will not factor in to your role as (partial) owner.

His inability to seperate his regular gig from the world of NFL ownership is what bothers me the most and makes me think that his entrance into the league's ownership circles might not be a good thing after all.