FanHouse Jason Smith

Steve Spagnuolo is going through a rough season in his first as an NFL head coach. He had the unenviable task of taking over a roster which was left in disarray by the previous administration. No real effort had been done to bridge the gap from The Greatest Show on Turf to the next wave of players, with the notable exception of drafting studly running back Steven Jackson before Marshall Faulk was retired.

The results to this point have hardly been surprising. Poor Spags and his troops endured seven losses, including several blowouts, before finally earning their first victory this past Sunday against the Lions. While he's cherishing this first win, Spagnuolo realizes it's the first step of many.

Having trouble keeping up with all of Sunday's NFL injury reports? We've got you covered with our one-stop landing spot for all the latest news from pregame to postgame. Get the latest updates below.

6:35: Hunter Hillenmeyer, the Bears' replacement for injured LB Brian Urlacher, has left Sunday's game in Seattle with a rib injury.

6:17: Bengals LB Ray Maualuga limped off the field, then was carted to the locker room with an apparent knee injury.

6:00: NFL Network reports that Frank Gore suffered a high ankle sprain and could miss a couple of weeks.

5:53: Shawne Merriman has reaggravated a groin injury and is done for the day.

Despite making a good amount of money to coach in the National Football League, Steve Spagnuolo has an unenviable task this year: coaching the St. Louis Rams. The Rams won just two games a year ago, and the roster was in a state of transition -- and in disrepair, really -- when he took over as the new head honcho.

If not for the ineptitude of the Lions, the 2008 Rams would have easily been the worst team in football. Only two teams scored less points and only one team (Lions, of course) allowed more. Some of the most talented players were aging and they dismissed two former stars (Orlando Pace and Torry Holt) as part of the rebuilding process after the disastrous campaign. Spagnuolo, though, is tired of hearing about and having to talk about 2008.

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

The Rams enter the 2009 season in full-on rebuilding mode. Another bad season wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for the future of the franchise as a whole, as they need to continue to grow their young players. The remnants of the strong Rams rosters from earlier this decade are either gone or aging quickly. New head coach Steve Spagnuolo will look to mold the next generation his way, starting immediately.

Offensive tackle Andre Smith became the 31st 2009 first-round draft pick to sign, coming to terms with Cincinnati. Find all the signed picks' contract details below:

The number of unsigned 2009 first-round draft picks dwindled from two to one on Sunday, as offensive tackle Andre Smith finally agreed to terms with the Cincinnati Bengals. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The No. 6 overall pick missed all of Cincinnati's training camp and the Bengals' first three preseason games. Smith is basically locked into a starting tackle spot once he gets up to speed -- his challenge now will be accelerating that process with the regular season two weeks away.

Smith's signing also means that Michael Crabtree's San Francisco mess is the lone top pick not under contract yet.

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Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's daily gathering of links from around the web, covering the goings-on in NFL Training Camp which have an impact on fantasy value.

The Michael Vick hype train stopped in Buffalo today, with Rich Eisen mistakenly tweeting about a phantom press conference after the interweb stirred up some Vick-to-Buffalo hype. I still think it would be best for Vick to play behind an elite QB for a while and build some good faith with the NFL. At this point, you can still ignore Vick in your drafts, and keep Edwards steady as a solid QB2.

Update: Vick reportedly has signed a two-year deal with the Eagles. He'd certainly have a ton of weapons if he saw the field in Philadelphia. I don't think that'll happen, unless Donovan McNabb succumbs to the injury bug, not out of the question considering the QB's history of health issues.

What else happened on this football-packed Thursday?

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Scott Linehan arrived in St. Louis in 2006 billed as one of the next up-and-coming young coordinators to make the jump to the head-coaching ranks. He won eight times his first season, but managed just three more wins over the next 20 games before the Rams mercifully sent him on his way.

Steve Spagnuolo, previously a young coordinator with the Giants, got the gig this offseason, and he went about rebuilding a team that regularly made playoff appearances earlier this decade.

And after a two-win effort in 2008, things can only get better. For Spagnuolo that starts with overhauling the offensive line. The club signed free agent center Jason Brown away from the Ravens, and selected tackle Jason Smith second overall in the April draft.

The biggest domino amongst the remaining group of unsigned 2009 first-round picks has toppled. No. 3 overall pick Tyson Jackson signed with the Chiefs on Friday, a deal that's believed to be for five-years and just above $50 million. (Update: ESPN's John Clayton reports the deal is $57 million over five years, $31 million guaranteed).

Assuming Jackson joins Kansas City's training camp immediately (and stays healthy), he's a near-lock to be the Chiefs' starting left end in Week 1.

The situation is not as rosy for the Bengals' top choice, offensive tackle Andre Smith. The No. 6 pick in 2009, Smith is reportedly miles away from signing with Cincinnati.

HOUSTON --There is an unusual buzz around the Baylor football program this summer.

It's the buzz of expectations.

The Bears faithful have been more than patient, going some 13 seasons without a winning campaign. But second-year coach Art Briles gave them hope in his first season at the helm with a exciting brand of football and an out-of-this-world freshman quarterback that put the Bears in some games they normally would not have been and kept them out of their usual spot in the Big 12 South cellar.