The St. Louis Rams should have at least three of their injured starters back in action this week. Right tackle Jason Smith, tight end Michael Hoomanawanui and cornerback Bradley Fletcher increased their workload today. All three should play this week barring some unexpected setback.
Still out is running back Steven Jackson. A decision on Jackson's playing time might not come until Monday. Expect the Rams to take the conservative approach with Jackson, especially now that they have viable options behind him. I suspect at least some of the motivation in leaving Jackson's status up in the air is put gamesmanship, Belichick-ian psyche warfare. Call me crazy, but I'm just not a big believer in that sort of tactic paying anything more than ephemeral dividends.
Spagnuolo sounded a note of caution with second-year tight end Hoomanawanui today. He told the press that they were "monitoring" his reps. It might sound like an old fuddy duddy thing to do (I can't believe I just used that term), but given Hoomanawanui's history with ankle sprains it makes sense.