Banged-up Dane Looker perseveres for St. Louis Rams
Plucky wide receiver Dane Looker deserves a shout-out from all Rams fans. Looker, who is in his eighth NFL season, seems to be in a battle every summer to land a roster spot, and yet he always does. That certainly was the case this year, after the Rams spent two of their first four draft picks on WRs Donnie Avery and Keenan Burton.
Again, Looker beat the odds and made the team. Now, let’s take a look at his season:
*Looker caught at least one pass in each of the first four games, averaging a solid 18 yards per reception.
*He suffered a concussion in Week 4, vs. Buffalo, and a CAT scan revealed a rare abnormality in his brain that was diagnosed as a dolichoectatic artery, which means that it’s slightly larger and longer than normal.
*Over the next four weeks, Looker was among the inactives three times and played sparingly in the other game. As Avery, Burton and Derek Stanley emerged, Looker was shoved out of the picture.
*Still, Looker persevered in practice, even playing in the secondary with the scout team, before getting back into action Nov. 19 vs. the Jets. He caught two passes in that game and two the next week at San Francisco, including a 2-yard TD grab.
*In the past two games, Looker has totaled a team-leading 10 catches for 98 yards.
“Ever since the Jets game, I’ve been more involved. I just got a few more balls today,” he said after Sunday’s 16-12 loss to the Dolphins. Looker had six receptions, the second-highest total of his career and the most since he caught eight passes vs. the Giants in 2005.
With 20 catches for 235 passes, Looker is on pace for the second-most-productive season of his career.
Looker, 32, has been nursing a sore knee. Coach Jim Haslett reported Monday that he also suffered hand and thumb injuries Sunday. “He’s got a little bit of everything,” Haslett quipped. But, typically, Looker is expected to practice Wednesday and be ready to go Sunday at Arizona.
<><><>
Notes & quotes:
*Ever-improving Victor Adeyanju recorded seven tackles Sunday — highest among the Rams’ defensive linemen — and had two QB pressures.
*With two more Sunday, S Oshiomogho Atogwe has forced seven fumbles this year.
*For Antonio Pittman to establish himself as a suitable backup for Steven Jackson, he must become a better pass-catcher. Pittman dropped both balls thrown his way vs. the Dolphins.
*Daniel Fells had three catches and is emerging as the top receiving TE on the squad.
*P Donnie Jones leads the NFL in gross average (49.7 yards) and is No. 3 (but first in the NFC) in net average (40.7). “I do think he’s a Pro Bowler,” Haslett said Monday.
All for now . . .
I don’t think Bulger should have been playihg so soon after a serious brain injury. I think his ability to estimate time and distance was off. I think the whole team deserves kudos for playing hard for the whole game when they have no chance of going to the playoffs. Warner is amazing isn’t he? Sometimes old quarterbacks do better than younger ones. There have been several who have played even longer than Warner and done well.
Wether or not Bulger’s head injury mattered or not doesn’t matter. He has benn staring down his receivers before throwing all season, continues to throw to quickly on deeper routes even when there is no pressure, throws off his back foot even without pressure, and the younger receivers continue to misread defenses and do not change their routes in effect leaving Bulger out to dry on blitz’s.
Always glad to see Looker get involved. He’s been solid ever since he got here, wish he saw more action.
Looker is all heart. The whole team was all heart that last game…its a shame that bad qb play lost the game.
I have been a Rams fan for over 30 years and until they get a young quarterback who can play they will never be good.
The rams cannot relive their past they once had but they can win with the right combination. Bulger is not comfortable back there and hasn’t been for a long time. Green is not as good as he was either. New quarterback and a better defense would do the trick. There are some good college quarterbacks, GET ONE PLEASE!!!!!
Looker is the real deal! A must keep for the Rams. With out a lot of consistant players is was nice to see the Rams get it done by committee. The tag teams of MLB Vabora and Witherspoon, SS Chavous and Johnson, DE Little and Andeyjo a.ong with RB, TE and some OL swithcing, was exciting and a precursor to the type of sucess the team can have if they work together and the coaching staf put players in positions that they can succeed in. The only downer was the fact that The O Line provide the best protection Ive seen in 3 years and Bulger couldnt capitilize on it. Bulger needs a break and he can come back fresh next season along with some new talent on the O line and hell be effective once again.
I think we should draft a quarterback, running back, five good corners and a coach in the next draft. Let’s get Torry the ball and work on getting Kevin Curtis back. Maybe we can trade all of our corners for Kevin Curtis, Matt Cassell and Wes Welker. How does a defensive coordinator who has one of the worst ranked defenses get to be head coach? This guy is sinking us jus like non-productive Bulger and Jackson.