May 23, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins (21) catches a ball during an OTA at ContinuityX Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

Let the Janoris Jenkins issues officially begin. Adam Cole of Yahoo Sports is reporting that Jenkins and the Rams are in the middle of a dispute over a pre-draft agreement between the two sides that Jenkins hire a specific financial advisor. According to reports, the Rams want Jenkins to hire Lou Taylor of Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group, but the rookie cornerback is happy with his current team that includes agent Malik Shareef, Army staff sergeant Sandy Cornelio and financial advisor Rich DeLuca of Merrill Lynch. Furthermore, the team has admitted that any pre-draft agreement is against the CBA, but that isn’t stopping head coach Jeff Fisher from pushing Jenkins to agree to work with Taylor.

I have a feeling people are going to be quick to jump all over Jenkins here, but I can actually see where both sides are coming from. Jenkins wants to keep his own people who have helped him and who he feels comfortable, while the Rams want to use their hand-picked group to make sure the young man doesn’t fall back into his irresponsible ways. After taking a chance on the kid, I have no problem with Fisher pushing to get his people involved in keeping Jenkins on the straight and narrow. But I also believe that Jenkins should be able to keep the people he is comfortable with provided that his group meets a certain set of standards set forth by the Rams. It sounds like Shareef, Cornelio and DeLuca have done a solid job keeping Jenkins straight since they took over, but if the organization is going to give him millions of dollars I don’t blame them at all for trying everything they can to take precautions. They may have overstepped their bounds here, but I find it hard to condemn the Rams for trying to look out for their interests in what is likely a high-risk player. With that being said, you have to give a grown man some leeway to make decisions, and if he doesn’t want to use your people, then you can’t force him to do so.

This whole situation is obviously holding up the process of getting Jenkins under contract, but both sides have said they want to work it out together without getting the courts involved, so let’s hope they can find some middle ground and get him in camp on time.

August 27, 2010; New Orleans, LA, USA; NFL referee Ed Hochuli (85) during the first half of a preseason game at the Louisiana Superdome. The New Orleans Saints defeated the San Diego Chargers 36-21. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Apparently NFL fans haven’t been put through enough of the league’s labor issues. The league announced on Monday that they have started the process of hiring and training replacement officials since talks broke down between the two sides. The refs and the league have been negotiating on a new deal since October, but they haven’t been able to come to terms.

So, as if there aren’t enough problems already with reffing in the league, we may get to experience life with replacements this season. Needless to say, this is bad news. We don’t know if a deal will get done with the refs before the season starts, but let’s all hope it does. Aside from the obvious issue of poorly called games, you have to think that player safety coud be an issue. It is the job of an official to keep things under control on the field, and I’m not sure if replacements can do that. The NFLPA has an issue with this, and I don’t blame them. If the league and the officials can’t get on the same page, the players won’t have a choice.

Now, I don’t want to be all gloom-and-doom about this, because Smith also said that he is optimistic because the two sides are in discussions, but this is a major blow to all the puppy dogs and rainbows we have been hearing over the last few weeks. Several other insiders, including Mike Freeman, Pete Prisco, and Albert Breen just to name a few, aren’t convinced that things are worse than everyone thinks, but in my experience, Glazer is almost always spot-on with his reports. He is one of the most informed “insiders” in the business, so if he says something happened, I believe him. The real question is: Is Smith using this to gain leverage in negotiations?

With all of the stories out there about the two sides being close, there is a certain amount of pressure to get this thing done soon. If the players turn down the offer, they are the bad guys for keeping the season from getting started. I think Smith is using this “leaked” story to show the public that the owners are still trying to get one over on the players. We are really getting into crunch time now, so this is the last thing any of us wanted to hear, but I wouldn’t give up all hope just yet. Let’s just all pray that the next report is