Locker Room News: Rodger Saffold Update, Jeff Fisher Talks Refs, Austin Pettis Returns

I think it is fair to start off every article by reiterating the win by the St. Louis Rams this week. However, much like the players, we must look ahead to the Chicago Bears this week, even though it feels nice to bask in the aftermath of a victory. There are a couple of player updates floating in from around the league, here they are in a nutshell…

Contrary to some reports earlier in the day, Rodger Saffold did not sustain an ACL injury against the Washington Redskins. Instead, Jim Thomas is reporting  that Saffold has some MCL injury to the left knee,

Wayne Hunter, aside from a holding call, played well in place of Saffold for a majority of the game. However, there is a huge difference between playing against a 3-4 base, and having to line up across the field from Julius Peppers on every snap. Look for the Rams to use a lot of tight end help on that side of the ball this Sunday.

Fisher and Shanahan both mentioned after the game that they had been disappointed with the officiating, but nothing specific had been revealed. Today, Coach Fisher spoke up specifically against the “offsides” penalty that was called against UDFA S Matt Daniels on a kickoff. He mentioned that the call resulted in a re-kick, a play in which Daniel sustained a hamstring injury.Speaking of injuries, Coach Fisher took the time to highlight again that Steven Jackson’s absence from the game was not a result of the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty like many had assumed during the game. He and Jackson both associated the sidelining with two factors, a) tightness in the groin, that had become more severe with time on the sideline and b) the outstanding play of Daryl Richardson allowing Jackson to take a break from the game instead of rushing back from the injury. It is a sigh of relief to Rams fans to hear confidence in a back-up running back, especially after the failed experiment with Cadillac Williams and Jerious Norwood last season.

Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan will unsurprisingly not be submitting any tape of the game to the NFL, nor will Jeff Fisher. Redskins’ news feed quotes Shanahan,

In non-injury related news, Austin Pettis is back in the locker room after serving the last two games of this four game suspension from 2011.Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson have quietly put together some stellar numbers in their two game, although the rest of the receiving core has been fairly absent in the box scores. Pettis was showing some impressive playmaking abilities at the end of the preseason, catching his first two touchdown passes in each of the final preseason games. It will be interesting to see where Pettis fits into the rotations, when rookies Brian Quick and Chris Givens continue to see their playing time diminish in favor of additional snaps for Steve Smith, as well as Gibson and Amendola.

Last week the Rams surprisingly released Quinton Pointer from the active roster to make room for practice squad player Tim Barnes, who served as the backup center against Washington. Jim Thomas is also reporting that Pointer has cleared waivers, and will likely be signed to the practice squad, filling the spot left vacant by the upgraded Barnes.

To end on a happy note, Danny Amendola was voted the Rams player of the game against the Washington Redskins. He has also decided to bite the bullet and join Twitter. You can follow Danny at @DannyAmendola! How this Twitter username has not been claimed prior to today is beyond me, but make sure you jump over and follow him now if you aren’t already. Also make sure you are following @RamblinFan for quick links to our articles as they are being published and @nkearns12 to follow me on Sundays with live coverage of the games from around the NFL.

We’ll end the post with our favorite pic of last night, Chris Long’s salute to the fans after the win!