Have the Rams added WR Danario Alexander? Yes, they have.
by Ryan Van Bibber on Aug 22, 2010 7:50 PM CDT
in St. Louis Rams news
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PrintHave the St. Louis Rams made an offer to former Missouri WR Danario Alexander?
UPDATE: The answer is yes, the Rams have signed Danario Alexander. Essentially swapping him out for last year's 5th round pick Brooks Foster. As I said earlier, it's a good move for the Rams to add some real potential to a group of young receivers, few of whom played well against the Browns this week. The only risk here is his health. Now, about that running back...
As reported here last night by Tevin, Alexander said he was "STL bound." The question remains as to whether or not he's headed to the Gateway City to join the Rams or maybe just to have some toasted ravioli. Given the nature of his tweets, I suspect he'll join the Rams.
That's good news for a team whose wide receiver competition hasn't been much to talk about beyond the first few roster spots. Alexander, who couldn't pass a physical at draft time thanks to another knee surgery (he's had four), has been back up to speed, running a 4.4 at his "pro day" last month.
What does Alexander bring that the Rams need? He has a real ability to separate himself, both physically and with his speed, which can turn a catch into a big play. That's something the Rams really lack in their receivers, beyond the first few guys on the depth chart. He's good on a screen pass too, according to scouting reports, which would be a huge help for the Rams.
He'll have to add some bulk to his frame with the goal being to help prevent injury, a la Donnie Avery this year. He plays a physical style and can block, which is an asset, but as we've seen with other physical receivers the injury risk goes up with those guys, see Burton, Keenan.
If the Rams do sign him/have signed him, he's still not a sure thing to make the final cut. However, he does make the picture at wide receiver much more interesting. I hope that the Rams have added him to the mix.
For more on why the Rams should sign Alexander, check out this post from Rams Herd.
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He tweeted this 2 hours ago
Up early, got a flight to #STL for a workout Monday, then we’ll go from there. Thanks for all of the support
Onubon > Gates
i don't thikn we'' be saying goodbye to avery any time soon
and i hope burton can stay healthy he always looks good in training camp.
Bradford to Onobun!
Ah ha
That makes more sense. Sounds like the rams are def interested, as they should be
Turf Show Times
by Ryan Van Bibber on Aug 22, 2010 9:41 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
No doubt.. If they like what they see
…and sign him, that really shakes up things as far as who goes and who stays.
Avery
Robinson
Alexander
Amendola
Gilyard
?
Burton, Kent, Gibson, Foster, Curry all outside looking in
(Curry impressed on special teams)
"The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall." - Vince Lombardi
I wondered if anyone else caught that
Curry doesn’t do much for me reciever wise but he packed a mean punch on special teams last night.
The Rams need Alexander.
The depth chart would probably read: Avery, Robinson, Amendola, Gilyard, Alexander, Curry/Burton.
Avery is a nice deep threat, but he’s not a great possession receiver who can move the sticks on a 4-yard reception on 3rd down. Robinson is the guy who can move the sticks on a 3rd-and-short/medium. He can go up and get some balls, and he’s a very serviceable wide receiver. Amendola and Gilyard can make the plays on screens, slants, and other short passes (as well as returns and reverses). So basically, on first and second down our options are wide open because we have a few different types of receivers who can get yards in different ways. On a third and short where we pass, we could go for Gilyard or Amendola, or we could try something with Laurent Robinson (he seems to flourish on third down). On a third and medium, it’s basically the same thing. Third and long we don’t really have anybody. Gilyard or Amendola could get some separation, but they’d likely be covered. Robinson isn’t fast enough to get good separation on a long route. Avery probably wouldn’t get much separation because the defense would be preparing for him to go deep.
What we need is Danario Alexander. He’s big so he can go and get anything. His hands are pretty good, so he’d be a good complement to Robinson on a third down and less than 6 yards. He probably isn’t fast enough to make screen passes go for touchdowns like he did at MU, but he’s fast enough to at least get a little separation on a long route. The best thing is, he’s big. He doesn’t need separation. On a third down, send him on a route toward the first-down line, throw it up and let him go get it.
"I turn around and I’ve got Cueto kicking me in the back with his spikes. It’s super unprofessional. I don’t know where he learned how to fight."
-Chris Carpenter commenting on a bench-clearing fight with the Reds, 8/10/10
dont take it all away from robinson
hes not a slow receiver by any means. second to avery. He’s tall and can go get the ball in traffic. Easily the first option every 3rd down
I didn't say that Robinson was slow.
There’s nothing wrong with Laurent Robinson. He’s actually an amazing player (11 of his 13 catches last year went for first downs). It’s just that Danario Alexander would be a great option to go alongside him on a third and long. Alexander has good speed, not great speed, just like Robinson. Laurent Robinson can go up and get passes, but Danario is slightly better at it. On a 3rd and 8, Robinson is one of those guys who would run a nice in-route and hopefully use his body to go and get the ball. Danario would run a slant toward the first down line, you can throw it a little high and he’ll bring it in for a first down. Robinson is already a great option on third down, Alexander would become one.
Robinson and Alexander both complement each other. On a third down, we could come out with a nice set of Jackson in the backfield, Avery, Robinson, and Alexander at wide receiver, and either Amendola or Gilyard in the slot next to Robinson with Avery by Alexander, or have Alexander on the right side, Robinson on the left, Avery in the slot, and put Fells or Hoom’ at tight end. I’d love that.
"I turn around and I’ve got Cueto kicking me in the back with his spikes. It’s super unprofessional. I don’t know where he learned how to fight."
-Chris Carpenter commenting on a bench-clearing fight with the Reds, 8/10/10
That would be a great lineup...
…unfortunately, we’d get a penalty every time for having 12 men on the field…
Yeah, I got confused with my wording there. I meant that to be two possible lineups.
I meant to have it be:
Robinson-Amendola/Gilyard-Avery-Alexander-Jackson (backfield)
OR
Robinson-Amendola-Fells/Hoom’-Avery-Alexander
"I turn around and I’ve got Cueto kicking me in the back with his spikes. It’s super unprofessional. I don’t know where he learned how to fight."
-Chris Carpenter commenting on a bench-clearing fight with the Reds, 8/10/10
you say robinson has good speed not great speed...
yet he’s a 4.3 40 guy and is very very quick. probably the second fastest guy on our roster behind avery. i call that great speed.
Bradford to Onobun!
idk where this comment came from or what its trying to say but....
go Houston! Onubon and Avery went to the University of Houston and Amendola went to highschool in the area…still say we should have gotten Suh and drafted Keenum this upcoming draft
Why arent we working out any backs?
We have a cornucopia of wide receivers in the mix but NOTHING to back up SJ. Hello….? Is anybody home????
SO HAPPY WE SIGNED DANARIO!
Sad to see Brooks go, hope he finds success with another team, but right now I am ecstatic we have Danario. anyone know what number he’s gonna take?
Bradford to Onobun!
I never liked the pick anyway
They only thing he did was a ton of bench press reps. He couldn’t even start in college.
Shurmur, your career is in 3rd and long. Don't run a draw.
Onobun > Gates
Foster was like 3rd WR option at UNC
I’m not bought into all of the fawning over Danario like some here (admittedly, I did not see him as much not living in MO). As Chop said – it can’t hurt anything, but IMO he is not the #1 we are in need of so that person still needs to be indentifyied, traded for, or drafted as soon as possible.
My expectations for Danario are not high so heres hoping he exceeds them.
I should be working right now...
don't know if you have ever seen danario play
He is really good. He is a rookie of course, and we will have to train him but he is an athletic animal. He has a monster vertical leap and runs a 4.4 40. He is a playmaker and between his size and his leap he is very difficult to cover. Here is a link of a 10 minute highlight reel on him, If you have never seen him I would take a look and see what you think. He might be a bust but he has an amazing ceiling. Definately worth the low dollar we spent on him in comparison to some of our other players.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTDP19DFQjk
Lot of upside
Throws a better deep ball than anyone on our team besides Bradford (kidding)
Catches the ball with his hands and not his chest
Fast
Can turn on a dime
Tall
Strong
Please make a good impression and please stay healthy.
haha good job
not many people that have seen that clip have mentioned that they saw his throw to number 4 to me. Good watchin….lol….. it was a pretty decent pass IMO
He has to make an impression fast
13 days until final cuts. I see him headed for the practice squad, but hopefully he’ll help in the future.
Shurmur, your career is in 3rd and long. Don't run a draw.
Onobun > Gates
Dont want to be THAT guy but....
Theres a reason he was undrafted and unsigned for so long. I live in Memphis so Im not as familiar with him and also not obsessed with him. He has great potential but hes still a project, just like almost every other WR. We dont need another project, we guys need who will actually get it done.cough cough Vincent Jackson cough cough
nfldraftdog.com
At 6’5" 210lbs, his size alone is enough to make NFL teams drool, but he also brings incredible speed to the table as well. His speed is the sneaky Randy Moss kind, a long strider that is faster than he looks.
So far this year (11 Games) Alexander has 92 Receptions, 1411yds, and 12TD…thats 128yds per game folks! In his first three years at Missouri, Alexander had a combined for a total of 78 catches, 997yds and 8TD. I assume thats the definition of a breakout year.
Alexander is a QB’s dream receiver too. With his ability to go up and get balls that no other receiver can catch, he can bail out a passer that is under pressure, or in the red-zone catch TD passes that a cornerback can’t even get close to.
Admittedly the Missouri Tigers struggled as a team against the better opponents this year, such as Texas and Nebraska, and as a result Alexander didn’t have great games against those guys. His best game of the year came a few weeks ago against the Kansas State Wildcats, racking up 10 catches for 200yds and 3 TD. Anyone who watched that game could not help but realize that this was a man amongst boys out on the football field. Twice Danario has gone over 200yds in a game (Baylor- 214, Kansas State- 200), and 7 games over 100yds.
There are going to be some really good receivers taken out of this years Draft. Mardy Gilyard- Cincinnati, Jordan Shipley-Texas, Dezmon Briscoe (Jr.)-Kansas, Dez Bryant (Jr.)- Oklahoma State, etc, are all polished, very skilled wide outs that any team would love to add. One of the reasons that some of the other receivers might get taken before Alexander is because of their ability to be utilized in the kick return, or punt return game.
When the Draft is over and done with, I think it might be found that WR Danario Alexander is the best player at the Wide Receiver position to come out of the 2010 Draft Class. I foresee him going in the middle to late first round, simply because of the depth on defense at the top of this years Draft. Watch this kid in the skill assessment bowls after the regular season ends and you will see why I am so high on him. If he slips past the 1st Round, I will immediately put Alexander in my steals of the Draft list.
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Aug 23, 2010 9:35 AM CDT reply actions
This could be...
the true #1 WR I’ve been clamoring for…and then next year we can rebuild the DL per RamChop’s request!
by Pekka for Predator Pontiff on Aug 23, 2010 9:36 AM CDT up reply actions
Our Randy Moss?
Honestly, I haven’t seen this guy play much but after checking out some of the highlights on him, I am pumped up. He reminds me of Randy Moss or Brandon Marshall. He has an unbelievable acceleration and has the ability to avoid defenders on the run. Really good size… I am starting to wonder if we hit gold on this one. He definitely looks like a #1 receiver to me. I am not sure how things will pan out but he definitely has the potential to be a great threat. I am guessing Bradford is really excited about this news! If he stays healthy and we don’t have a crazy good passing game is going to be all on you Shurmur… Go Rams!
Oops. That's the big question.
His knees have been hurt so often you have to wonder if he can make it through a season healthy.
Holy crap! He was around for 3 weeks and since he was close by we invitied our new number one to camp.
Ok I promised that if Spags and Devaney went after this guy I would write something nice about them. Ok, Thank you Mr Spags and Devaney for getting someone who can catch the ball for Bradford. There I said it. If this guy breaks his leg and is on a stretcher he is still better than Avery. Here is how our mid season line up should read at WR……
- Alexander #2 Robinson #3 Amendola #4 Gilyard #5 Paul Hornung 6# Bubby Brister #7 Don Majkowski #8 Tigers Ex wife. Errr something…Wait that gives me an idea. Here comes a fan post!
Ignorance is bliss and way too many people are happy.
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