The St. Louis Rams shocked a lot of people, fans and otherwise, when they opted to have WR Donnie Avery return the first kickoff the game against Seattle last week.
As you may recall, he fumbled it.
Reportedly, the decision to use Avery, who did return any kicks in preseason play, was a late one, part of an attempt to use his speed on the kick return to surprise Seattle. Head coach Steve Spagnuolo later said that they probably should not have used Avery to return the ball.
But is that the last we'll see of Avery on kick return duty? If the second-year wide receiver has his way, he would return more kickoffs. This week, the Rams have yet to indicate whether or not Avery will return kicks against Washington.
I guess I lean toward not using Avery on returns, since we need him to play like we saw him last year, and step it up a notch, as the Rams top receiver. Why put him at risk returning kicks? Obviuosly this is a need for the Rams.