The St. Louis Rams got some good news Tuesday when Danny Amendola participated, as expected, in their first practice after the bye week. After a bye week and a surprise "questionable" label prior to Week 9 vs. the New England Patriots this is the latest in the teetering stack of circumstantial evidence suggesting the Rams' top receiver will play Sunday; Howard Balzer got a typically optimistic Amendola quote afterward:
After brief practice back from the bye, Rams WR Danny Amendola says: "I feel good. I feel ready to play."
— Howard Balzer (@HBalzer721) November 6, 2012
For all that, of course, Jeff Fisher will wait until the last possible minute to say he's ready to go; that's just what Jeff Fisher does. We'll be surprised, personally, if he even confirms Amendola is still alive in the last press conference before gameday.
In hindsight, the bye week was probably timed perfectly—nobody wants to rush Danny Amendola back before he's ready, but the 41 points the Rams scored in the three games he's missed have made his return even more important than we expected it to be. Despite missing most of the last four games—almost half the season—he still leads Rams receivers in catches, yardage, and touchdowns.