With Mizzou Homecoming in full swing, his knee in fair shape, and the first catch and touchdown of his career behind him, Danario Alexander looks to become an important cog in the St. Louis Rams’ offense Sunday at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With fellow rookie Mardy Gilyard likely to miss Sunday’s game, he’ll have every chance to do just that.
Alexander, who reported knee soreness after last Sunday’s debut but will be ready to play tomorrow, will join Laurent Robinson in picking up the slack from Gilyard’s absence, which leaves just four wide receivers on the active roster.
It will be interesting to see if Sam Bradford is as unpredictable in his use of his options as he was in last week’s upset of the San Diego Chargers. With Alexander and his full corps of tight ends finally healthy, Bradford hit nine separate targets in 18 completions, including four wide receivers, three tight ends, and two running backs. Alexander, Brandon Gibson, and Danny Amendola all benefited the most from this targeting, but only Alexander picked up more than 34 yards.
With the receiving corps weakened once more, it’ll be interesting to see if Steven Jackson ever becomes a part of the receiving attack again. Jackson, who caught one ball for two yards last week, is on pace to set a career low in receptions with 37, confounding those who expected Sam Bradford to lean on his running back in the early going. Jackson caught a career-high 90 passes in 2006, and his 51 in 2009 was his highest total since.