Danny Amendola has a way to break ties

Mike Garafolo, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

ST. LOUIS – Now that he's had a taste of one, St. Louis Rams wide receiver Danny Amendola hates ties. And now that he understands that NFL games can actually end in a tie -- like the 24-24 deadlock last Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers -- he has a few suggestions for NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell:

Let the games keep going, if they're still tied after one overtime.

Or, like soccer, have a shootout -- a field-goal competition between the kickers. Start at the 30-yard line and ...

What, don't like that idea?

Well, he's okay with rock-scissors-paper, flipping a coin, cutting a deck of cards ... anything -- even throwing footballs through tires -- as long as there's a winner and a loser, because "it's just not a good feeling at the end of the game when nobody wins."

There's another thing Amendola doesn't like: comparisons. He was sitting by his locker the other day, answering a question about all of the comparisons between him and fellow former Texas Tech wide receiver Wes Welker when a couple of the other St. Louis wide receivers overheard and chimed in.

"He's better, though," Steve Smith said. "He's more like Julian Edelman, anyway."

Hmm, Amendola and the New England Patriots' Welker and Edelman. There's a common thread between them ...

"Right? I don't know what it is, either," Amendola said with a grin. "We must not go in the sun a lot."

Truth is, Amendola does a lot of the same things Welker does, or has done, for the Pats by running inside routes, catching shorter passes and turning them into longer gains, returning punts for chunks of yardage and forcing opposing coaches to realize containing him is much more realistic than stopping him altogether.

But Amendola (5-11) has a few inches on Welker (5-9) and will occasionally run the deep fade route to try out-position an opposing cornerback. He made an amazing one-handed diving catch against the Seattle Seahawks two years ago we'd like to see Welker try making.

It's not like Amendola and Welker are identical players. So does it bother Amendola he's compared to Welker, in part because of racial connections and collegiate affiliations?

"Yeah, obviously. But it is what it is," Amendola said. "Everybody has their own skill sets. It's only natural for everybody to compare one person to another. That's how we do it. That's why we have sports."

Sports also determines grittiness. Amendola battled back from a dislocated collarbone, which could've punctured his heart, to catch 11 passes for 102 yards against the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday. Performances like that have led many to wonder what his six-game stat line of 43 catches for 497 yards and two touchdowns would look like over 16 games.

In this week's USA TODAY Sports NFL Q&A, Amendola addresses the tie and gives some advice to Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, whose rib issue poses the same threat to the heart as Amendola's loose collarbone. Amendola also has some thoughts on his contract situation, which could be headed toward a franchise tag.

Ben Roethlisberger this week said doctors have told him his rib could puncture his aorta. Sound familiar?

Yeah. That's a wild deal to see two of them in the same year. Hopefully, he mends well. I would just say make sure it's healed before he throws. That's the one thing I didn't have to do was throw. But blocking is one thing I have to do that could be rough. But it feels good for me right now so I'm good to go.

Sprained ankles, a dislocated elbow, that's stuff you've had before. But when you hear things like "aorta," is that when it becomes a whole new ballgame?

Yeah, injuries are a part of the game. Everybody plays hurt. But when the doctors say it's life-threatening or you could cause serious damage to your body, you tend to take the doctors' side. As opposed to dying, which would be not good. (Laughs)

What do you remember about that whole situation? They had to put you under, right?

Yeah, the next day. It was late and we really didn't know what was happening, so I took the night and just slept through it. Got a CT scan the next day and it showed it was still dislocated. They had to put me to sleep to pop it back into place.

You were able to sleep that night?

Yeah, but for the first couple of nights it was hard to sleep. It still is hard to sleep sometimes. You learn how to lie (down) and what you can do to get around it.

When you fired your helmet into the wall as you headed to the locker room ... do you remember what you were thinking?

I was remembering the fact I had sat out the whole year before (because of the dislocated elbow) and to go from helping my team the first four or five games to potentially being out. At the time, they thought my collarbone was broken because it was dislocated and they could feel it moving. That would've been the whole season pretty much, or a lot of the season.

I remember hearing Mike Mayock on the NFL Network broadcast criticize you for not holding onto the ball.

I knew it had hit the ground. It slipped through my wrists when I caught it. I just tried to get up as fast as I could and throw the ball to the ref because I knew, one, my shoulder was messed up, I felt it crack or dislocate; and, two, I knew it was going to review, so I tried to make it look like I caught it. So I just to get up and throw it to the ref and, next thing I know, my shoulder is dislocated. That (expletive) hurt.

What hurt more – the collarbone or the elbow?

The elbow. The collarbone didn't hurt too bad. It just wouldn't work. I moved my arm and it would just give out. The pain didn't really affect me. The elbow was scary and it sucked. Yeah, the elbow sucked.

Have you ever seen the footage of the elbow injury?

No, I' m not watching that. No way.

Anybody bust your chops this week about not knowing the game could end in a tie?

Not really. We'd never practiced or talked about going into a number of overtimes. So I was just getting ready for the next one. I honestly didn't know a game could end in a tie. Call me stupid, but I don't give a (expletive). I don't agree with ties. It is what it is, I guess. I'm upset we tied. We should've won and they could've put it away. Either way, we could've had an outcome. I don't know. Maybe they should change the rule.

What's your suggestion? Play until somebody scores?

Play until somebody wins the game. It's just not a good feeling at the end of the game when nobody wins. We put all this time and this effort in, put our bodies on the line for five hours. Essentially, something needs to happen so somebody wins. That's just how I feel about it.

Well what if they said they were trying to limit the amount of football you guys play to not have your bodies take too much of a beating?

I don't care. Then have a shoot-off or something.

Like a shootout in soccer -- a field-goal kicking competition?

Yeah, something. I'd rather something happen for us to decide the winner of the game.

Throw footballs through tires?

(Laughs) Anything.

You're being asked now about a franchise tag maybe after this season. But you were an undrafted free agent and a practice-squad guy for a while. Does that experience help you keep perspective on this?

Absolutely. I'll never forget that for the rest of my life. That's the motivation I have to personally get where I want to be. To be honest, I don't think about my contract and whether it's going to be the franchise tag or sign a deal. The only thing I can control is playing good football and doing what I have to do.

Do you remember the conversation when you didn't re-sign with the Cowboys?

Well, they didn't let me go. They cut me at the beginning of the year to put me on practice squad, and then I chose to leave and go to Philly. Dallas wasn't a very good fit for me, given the personnel they had in front of me. I needed a new start, so I went to Philly. They wanted me after the season, too, to be a future for the next year. They were great. I loved Dallas, too. Everywhere I've been, they've been great to me. My receivers coach here (Ray Sherman) was the receivers coach in Dallas and he knew why I was leaving.

You said you'll never forget that experience. Why?

It's just one of those things. If you're a competitive person … I mean, I was mad at the time. I knew why I (wasn't on the roster) because they had great players at the positions I played, but I was just hoping for an opportunity. I was thankful to get picked up here Week 3 of my second year and that's all you could ask for is that opportunity.

So do you think about proving a point to people who never gave you that opportunity?

Absolutely. And it will be throughout my entire career.

Do you feel something being built here with the Rams?

A hundred percent, yeah. I'm thankful for the people that were here before and brought us in, but I'm also thankful for Coach Fisher and what he's brought in. The whole vibe around here is totally different and it's different for the better.

Jeff Fisher in one word.

Player's coach.

That's two. Okay, in as many words as you want.



He's the man.

"The man." That's close enough to one word.

The man.