Rams confident in WR options

ST. LOUIS -- If Isaac Bruce's sprained ankle keeps him out on Sunday, the Rams are confident their passing attack won't be grounded. Two players culled from the fringes of professional football, Dane Looker and Mike Furrey, both have emerged this season.

Those two leave the Rams confident that Torry Holt, Bruce's running mate, won't get blanketed this week by the Bengals in the home finale.

"Isaac's a great player," quarterback Marc Bulger said. "We're going to game plan like we're going to have him and I don't know if we would change if we didn't have him.

"If we don't, then Dane and Mike will step it up."

Looker's claim to fame used to be his 2002 World Bowl MVP award. This season he's developed into a reliable No. 3 receiver for St. Louis.

He's filled the role that used to be held by Ricky Proehl, released after last season. Neither player has blazing speed, but both have sure hands and excel on third down.

"Third down is a down I take pride in to move the chains," Looker said. "When Coach Martz calls my number, I hope to produce for him."

It was a long time coming. Looker first appeared in training camp with the Rams in 2000, but he's bounced around a lot since then. He didn't appear in a game until last season, and didn't catch a ball until this year.

Now he's third on the team with 41 catches for 443 yards and three touchdowns, including a highlight reel tiptoe down the sideline for the score against the Packers.

"It feels good that I've overcome the odds and just kind of stuck with it," Looker said. "Now I believe I deserve to be here, I belong here, that I should keep making plays.

"And I'm not going to dwell on what happened in the past."

Furrey was starring for the New York Dragons and leading the Arena Football League with 108 catches for 1,574 yards and 46 touchdowns before signing with the Rams in April. He's been a favorite of coach Mike Martz ever since.

It didn't hurt that he came back two or three weeks earlier than expected from a high ankle sprain suffered in training camp. Furrey felt it was something he had to do, considering he was battling two rookies, third-round pick Kevin Curtis and fourth-round pick Shaun McDonald, for a job.

"They're going to get their opportunities, so I needed to get back in there as fast as I could to at least try to show what I had and what I can do," Furrey said. "It worked out and now we're here."

Furrey was held back during the season by an appendectomy but has 15 catches for 154 yards, and also gained a key first down with a flanker run against the Bears. He caught four passes for 45 yards in last week's victory over the Seahawks, including a key 17-yard third-down gain.

"He made three or four guys miss and got us a critical first down," Martz said. "He stepped in for Isaac and did just a terrific job."

Furrey plays all four wide receiver positions, adding to his value, and he's not awed by his surroundings anymore.

"I'm pretty much past all of that," Furrey said. "I just go out there and have fun rather than think about what's going on."

Earlier this week, Martz said he'd hold out Bruce, a four-time Pro Bowl pick who needs 19 yards for his fifth straight 1,000-yard season, until Saturday. But Bruce apparently is a quick healer, talking Martz into letting him practice on Thursday after running in the pool.

"We'll be very careful with him," Martz said. "He says he feels good and is ready to, and we'll kind of take it step by step."

Looker, Furrey and Holt all expect Bruce, who hurt his left ankle in the first quarter last week, to try to play.

"We'd rather go into the game with Isaac than not," Bulger said. "But if we don't, I think we'll be all right."