rotoworld reports that Danny will already be their primary returner, even though they just only signed him. here's a
link to the article.
they also envision him as a slot receiver, we might have another WW in making!
here's another
article about Danny.
New Rams receiver may be returning kicks soon
Signed from Eagles' practice squad
ST. LOUIS -- Being a return specialist who also happens to be Italian and who last played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Danny Amendola has heard the comparisons to Vince Papale, the subject of the movie, "Invinceable.''
"They used to joke about it,'' Amendola said. "It doesn't help that I'm a short little white guy, too.''
The 5-foot-11, 186-pound Amendola (pronounced ah-men-DOLE-uh) was signed by the St. Louis Rams on Tuesday.
Amendola said he's seen "Invinceable,'' but he never met Papale, a 30-year-old bartender who was signed by the Eagles after attending an open tryout held by coach Dick Vermeil in the summer of 1976.
"It's good movie,'' Amendola said. "I don't work in a bar, though.''
Amendola could be returning kickoffs and punts in the team's home opener against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome.
"It just depends on how quickly we can get him oiled up,'' Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo said.
The Rams released wide receiver-return specialist Derek Stanley to make room on their roster for Amendola.
The Rams have been searching for somebody to spark their return game for a long time. They haven't had a top-caliber return man since Tony Horne filled that role from the 1998 through 2000 seasons.
Since 2001, the Rams have only two punt returns and one kickoff return for touchdowns.
The Rams have tried three players -- Donnie Avery, Kenneth Darby and Samkon Gado -- on kickoff returns already this season.
Avery fumbled on the opening kickoff of the Rams' season opener against the Seattle Seahawks, while Darby failed to get back to the St. Louis 20 on two of his returns against the Washington Redskins last Sunday.
Spagnuolo said ball security is his top priority for his returners.
"I think we can all stand here and say the first thing to do is secure the football,'' Spagnuolo said. "We want to make the catch. We want to try to catch them all on punt. We want to try to catch them all on kickoff. That's the first thing. And the guy secures the ball and whatever they can give us after that is a bonus.''
Amendola has also been compared to New England Patriots wide receiver-punt returner Wes Welker.
Both Amendola and Welker attended Texas Tech.
"He came from Texas Tech, too, so I watched tape of him in college,'' Amendola said. "I've tried to emulate a little bit of my game after his. He's a good player. He has been successful in this league. He went to the Pro Bowl last year. One day, I'm going to try to get to where he is.''
Amendola was an accomplished receiver at Texas Tech, catching 204 passes for 2,246 yards and 15 touchdowns in his career.
As a senior, Amendola caught 109 passes for 1,245 yards and six touchdowns, despite being overshadowed by teammate Michael Crabtree.
"He has got some juice to him,'' Rams quarterback Marc Bulger said of Amendola's receiving ability. "Littler guy, but he's quick and he was in there with the (starters) on a couple plays today, and he made a big play. I think he will help us immediately. I don't think he is going to be a guy who we are going to have sitting around.''
Amendola also returned 116 punts for 1,283 yards -- an average of 11.06 yards per season -- to rank third all-time in Texas Tech history in punt returns and yardage behind Welker and Tyrone Thurman.
Despite his collegiate success, Amendola went undrafted after running the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds at the NFL Combine.
"I'm not the biggest, the fastest or strongest guy, like the NFL is looking for, but I'm going to make some plays,'' Amendola said. "I feel like I'm a good football player. I feel like I can play in this league.''
Amendola was signed by the Dallas Cowboys, and he spent the entire 2008 season on their practice squad. He was signed to the Eagles' practice squad during the playoffs last January.
Amendola was released by Eagles at the end of the preseason.
Edited by: backrow 
