Decision on injured Bruce will be made at game time
BY KATHLEEN NELSON AND JIM THOMAS
Of the Post-Dispatch
Friday, Jan. 14 2005
Wide receiver Isaac Bruce took part in a light practice Friday at Rams Park
and continued to be listed as questionable, meaning he has a 50 percent chance
of playing tonight when the Rams meet the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC
semifinals.
Bruce entered last week's game against Seattle with hip and hand injuries and
suffered what was listed as a groin injury. When first asked about Bruce on
Friday, Rams coach Mike Martz said he would decide before game time whether
Bruce would play, then sounded as if he was leaning toward playing him.
"We'll see how he's doing," Martz said. "I think he's going to be fine, but
we'll just check him out before the game and make sure. He's got a small muscle
strain in his stomach, which is something I'm sure he'll probably play with.
I'm not overly concerned about it, but we'll see at game time. The smart thing
was to keep him out (of practice)."
Bruce got limited work in practice all week. He did a few things Friday, but
the Rams' final workout of the week lasted only an hour. About 15 minutes of
the session was devoted to special teams. Even during offensive and defensive
team periods, the work was done only at about two-thirds speed.
Bruce was unavailable for comment after practice. Actually, all players were
unavailable. On a tight schedule, the Rams left in buses for Lambert Field and
the flight to Atlanta about an hour after practice Friday afternoon.
Kevin Curtis normally is Bruce's backup, and he had several catches Jan. 2
against the New York Jets in Bruce's spot after Bruce suffered a bruised hip.
If Bruce is sidelined or limited against the Falcons,
Dane Looker would get on
the field in four-wide-receiver sets.
Other injuries
Martz was more certain in all but ruling out defensive lineman Tyoka Jackson,
who also was listed as questionable with a sprained ankle.
When asked if Jackson would play, Martz said, "Probably not. That's a high
ankle sprain."
Though guard Tom Nutten aggravated his injured left knee in practice Thursday,
Martz sounded as if he expected him to play. Nutten was listed as probable
Friday and took a regular turn in practice wearing a knee brace.
"These are significant injuries, and he continues to play and play well," Martz
said. "He's there for us. He's always been there for us."
Nutten has a torn medial collateral ligament in the knee, a non-surgical
injury.
Other Rams on the injury report included running back Arlen Harris, listed as
questionable because of a hamstring injury. Listed as probable were running
back
Steven Jackson (ribs), defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy (foot) and guard
Adam Timmerman (foot, knee).
The groin injury that slowed
Leonard Little last week appears to have abated
somewhat. Martz said Little seemed to be completely healed, and Little said it
felt better.
"The last game, it bothered me a lot," Little said Thursday. "But it's the
playoffs, and I've got to try to block it out, try to go out there and play
anyway because my team is counting on me. ... I'll probably play a little bit
more this week than I did last week. It feels a lot better today than at this
time last week. So I'll probably get more snaps this week."
With Tyoka Jackson probably a scratch, and Little potentially limited, Erik
Flowers is expected to play for the second week in a row.
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