By Bill Coats
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Monday, Oct. 13 2008
LANDOVER, MD. — As the referee reviewed wide receiver Donnie Avery's diving
grab at Washington's 16-yard line with 39 seconds remaining Sunday, the Rams
rookie insisted that he wasn't worried.
"No doubt in my mind that I had the ball," Avery said. "I knew it was a catch
... and I knew it was a fantastic catch at that."
Avery laid out to haul in the toss from quarterback
Marc Bulger for a 43-yard
pickup on a third-and-13 play. Three snaps later, Josh Brown's 49-yard field
goal gave the Rams a 19-17 victory.
Offensive coordinator Al Saunders ordered play "999" — the same one that Kurt
Warner and Isaac Bruce completed for the decisive 73-yard touchdown in Super
Bowl XXXIV.
"And it looked like that," said wideout
Torry Holt, who sprinted
stride-for-stride with Bruce to the end zone on Jan. 30, 2000, in Atlanta. "At
that point, it comes down to the individual. And Donnie did a great job of
stopping, finding the flight of the ball, and cutting back inside and catching
it."
Avery, a 5-foot-11, 184-pound speedster from the University of Houston, was the
Rams' second-round draft pick (No. 33 overall) — the first wideout selected. A
pelvic fracture in training camp and then a knee injury that kept him out of
the season opener delayed Avery's chance to prove that he deserved such status.
"The kid's going to go through a learning experience," coach
Jim Haslett said.
"But he did a nice job."
Running back
Steven Jackson recalled the oft-repeated subject of playmakers
getting opportunities to make plays during the week leading up to the game.
"And (Avery) showed why Coach Haslett referenced him as one of the guys that
needs to touch the ball," Jackson said.
With a broad smile, Avery said, "I guess I'm a playmaker, huh?"
On the same route earlier, he didn't make the play, as Bulger's pass fell short
of the streaking Avery. Wide receivers coach
Henry Ellard, a pass catcher of
considerable repute during his 16-year NFL career, had some advice for the
youngster.
"He told me to come back to the ball; I tend to fade away from the ball," Avery
explained. "I saw the ball in the air for a long time, and I knew I was behind
the cornerback (Leigh Torrence), so I knew I had to come back to the ball, and
that's what I did."
Bulger unloaded with "pretty much all I had," he said. "It's tough to overthrow
Donnie, and with that one-on-one matchup, it was perfect."
Center Nick Leckey had a good look as Avery stretched out. "I was like, 'He got
it, he got it!'" Leckey said. "That was amazing."
Not unlike the play that Bruce made, albeit under much different circumstances.
Avery has taken over for Bruce — released by the Rams in February — in the
starting lineup. But he emphasized that he's certainly not ready to claim to
have replaced the heralded 15-year veteran.
"Oh, I'm not going to say that," Avery said. "I'm just out here trying to make
plays."
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