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Football career may be coming to an end for Rams' Alexander
Ron Clements
http://www.examiner.com/article/footbal ... -alexander
There’s an old phrase in the National Football League when discussing training camp battles.
“You can’t make the club in the tub.”
The tub refers to the basin usually filled with ice in which players can dip their aching bodies. Making the club alludes to the various position battles that take place annually in each NFL training camp. Players compete for roster spots, young players hope to earn a job while older veterans try to keep their position.
The St. Louis Rams are no different from any other team in that they have an excess of players in camp and hotly contested position battles.
One of those positional competitions is at wide receiver, where the Rams have 12 men competing for what will be five or six spots.
Danario Alexander is one of those players, but has practiced only sparingly this summer.
The Rams held their first full-squad practice on July 29 and Alexander has participated in 11-on-11 drills just twice.
With each day missed, Danario Alexander's football career is slipping away.
The 6-foot-5, 217-pound Alexander was a star at the University of Missouri, but has a history of knee injuries. His left knee was surgically repaired three times during college, but he still finished his senior season as a consensus all-American after catching 113 passes for an NCAA-best 1,781 yards and 14 touchdowns.
He needed another knee surgery in February of 2010 after injuring the knee at the Senior Bowl. Following the fourth surgery on his left knee, Alexander went undrafted.
In what was largely a public relations move, then-Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo decided to invite the popular Alexander to training camp.
His presence in training camp created a media frenzy with daily “Danario” questions. He was a fan favorite and burst onto the scene with a 38-yard touchdown reception during his NFL debut in a home win over the San Diego Chargers.
Alexander jumped to his feet following the diving catch, threw his arms out to the side, looked up to the ceiling at the Edward Jones Dome and let out a yell. He had made it.
“I wanted to come out and prove everybody wrong,” he said at the time. “The Rams gave me this opportunity, so I’m trying to make the best of it and prove the doubters wrong.”
Unfortunately for Alexander, moments like that have been few and far between for the talented receiver. His doubters were right. The injury-prone college star hasn’t been able to remain healthy in the NFL.
He’s played in just 18 games over the last two seasons with seven starts. He needed a fifth knee surgery late in his rookie season.
While he’s led the team over the last two years with an average of 16 yards per reception, he has just 46 catches for 737 yards and three scores. Alexander may be the team’s most talented receiver and its best deep threat, but Spagnuolo is gone and Alexander has to prove himself to a new coaching staff.
It’s difficult to display your talents on the field when you’re standing on the sideline wearing a ball cap. His latest ailment isn’t his well-chronicled left knee. It’s a nagging hamstring injury that dates back to last season.
Alexander did not participate in the team’s intra-squad scrimmage on Aug. 4 and has missed the first two preseason games. He is not practicing this week and likely will not play Saturday at Dallas.
“Obviously he’s got some talent and we just have to keep him out there,” coach Jeff Fisher said on Aug. 6.
Alexander has been through a lot of adversity in his football life and he’s overcome most of it. His latest hurdle keeps getting higher and will be difficult to clear.
The NFL is a cruel and impatient business. Unfortunately for the 24-year-old Alexander, his pro football career may be nearing its end.
You can’t make the club in the tub.
Ron Clements
http://www.examiner.com/article/footbal ... -alexander
There’s an old phrase in the National Football League when discussing training camp battles.
“You can’t make the club in the tub.”
The tub refers to the basin usually filled with ice in which players can dip their aching bodies. Making the club alludes to the various position battles that take place annually in each NFL training camp. Players compete for roster spots, young players hope to earn a job while older veterans try to keep their position.
The St. Louis Rams are no different from any other team in that they have an excess of players in camp and hotly contested position battles.
One of those positional competitions is at wide receiver, where the Rams have 12 men competing for what will be five or six spots.
Danario Alexander is one of those players, but has practiced only sparingly this summer.
The Rams held their first full-squad practice on July 29 and Alexander has participated in 11-on-11 drills just twice.
With each day missed, Danario Alexander's football career is slipping away.
The 6-foot-5, 217-pound Alexander was a star at the University of Missouri, but has a history of knee injuries. His left knee was surgically repaired three times during college, but he still finished his senior season as a consensus all-American after catching 113 passes for an NCAA-best 1,781 yards and 14 touchdowns.
He needed another knee surgery in February of 2010 after injuring the knee at the Senior Bowl. Following the fourth surgery on his left knee, Alexander went undrafted.
In what was largely a public relations move, then-Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo decided to invite the popular Alexander to training camp.
His presence in training camp created a media frenzy with daily “Danario” questions. He was a fan favorite and burst onto the scene with a 38-yard touchdown reception during his NFL debut in a home win over the San Diego Chargers.
Alexander jumped to his feet following the diving catch, threw his arms out to the side, looked up to the ceiling at the Edward Jones Dome and let out a yell. He had made it.
“I wanted to come out and prove everybody wrong,” he said at the time. “The Rams gave me this opportunity, so I’m trying to make the best of it and prove the doubters wrong.”
Unfortunately for Alexander, moments like that have been few and far between for the talented receiver. His doubters were right. The injury-prone college star hasn’t been able to remain healthy in the NFL.
He’s played in just 18 games over the last two seasons with seven starts. He needed a fifth knee surgery late in his rookie season.
While he’s led the team over the last two years with an average of 16 yards per reception, he has just 46 catches for 737 yards and three scores. Alexander may be the team’s most talented receiver and its best deep threat, but Spagnuolo is gone and Alexander has to prove himself to a new coaching staff.
It’s difficult to display your talents on the field when you’re standing on the sideline wearing a ball cap. His latest ailment isn’t his well-chronicled left knee. It’s a nagging hamstring injury that dates back to last season.
Alexander did not participate in the team’s intra-squad scrimmage on Aug. 4 and has missed the first two preseason games. He is not practicing this week and likely will not play Saturday at Dallas.
“Obviously he’s got some talent and we just have to keep him out there,” coach Jeff Fisher said on Aug. 6.
Alexander has been through a lot of adversity in his football life and he’s overcome most of it. His latest hurdle keeps getting higher and will be difficult to clear.
The NFL is a cruel and impatient business. Unfortunately for the 24-year-old Alexander, his pro football career may be nearing its end.
You can’t make the club in the tub.
