shovelpass
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CAMP REPORT Camp report DAY 1: Wed July 28
- Thread starter VeteranRamFan
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shovelpass
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With QBs, some of them are perfectly fine with INTs during camp. It's about working out the kinks and testing what throws they can make.
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FIRST CAMP REPORT!
It was great to see all the fans there. Had to be 1,000 strong. Big crowd! Meeting up again with my old buddy Sam ( @bubbaramfan ) and Andy ( @theduke ) was a treat in itself!
I'll do a quick summary here and then start editing all the pics I took.
Let me tell you all something...WE HAVE A TEAM! These guys look like they could start playing this Sunday! They were sharp on both sides of the ball even though they were all in shorts and shells with helmets! @Merlin , remember when we met at camp a few years back and you said this was the best Rams team you had seen in awhile? You can say that again. My wife is laughing at me for how excited I am after just one practice. She says I say the same thing every year. But this year I really mean it!
QB1 - Stafford is really something to watch. Quick release, throws with determination and anticipation. The way he was throwing it around in all the various drills and hitting his receivers 99.9% of the time makes me think these guys have been doing a little side work. I think there was only one ball that fell short on an out route. All others were in a place where the receiver could make the catch.
RB - Funk is for real. A real steal in the draft. Don't now the exact count but it seemed he was in on a lot of the 1's plays. Not always getting the ball but still in the mix. He is quick and I can't wait to see him in pads as I'm sure he will pop some of our linebackers.
WR - It was already posted about D. Jackson wide open catch from Stafford for a TD. On that play, there was a fake handoff to Funk. I stayed with Funk with my camera and watched him go out in the flat to the left while everyone else was rolling right. Then I heard the crowd. Put down the camera and Jackson is coming towards the end zone where we were sitting, running a deep post. Beautiful throw by Stafford. @theduke made a comment that we in the stands were closer to guarding Jackson than anyone on the defense! There was no one close to him for 20-30 yards! Wish I could have seen it all unfold.
Other WR - The usual from Kupp and Woods. Ramsey had a great breakup on Woods on the right sideline on a go route (this was during passing drills, one on one). Ramsey actually intercepted (stole it from Woods) but came down out of bounds according the ref on the field. #84, Landon Akers fielding punts. Good hands! Good size. Good PS candidate.
Long Snapper - Wirtel was getting some work during FG trys as was Orzech. It seemed IIRC that Orzech was with the 1's with Hecker holding and Gay kicking. (that's for you @den-the-coach ).
DEF - That guy Rochelle? He's a keeper. Playing everyone tight. I think it was Burgess who had an interception on Wolford (Wolford didn't look too bad either!).
That's all I can recall from memory. On to my pictures and maybe I'll be able to add a thing or two. @bubbaramfan will be posting his report later tonight.
It was great to see all the fans there. Had to be 1,000 strong. Big crowd! Meeting up again with my old buddy Sam ( @bubbaramfan ) and Andy ( @theduke ) was a treat in itself!
I'll do a quick summary here and then start editing all the pics I took.
Let me tell you all something...WE HAVE A TEAM! These guys look like they could start playing this Sunday! They were sharp on both sides of the ball even though they were all in shorts and shells with helmets! @Merlin , remember when we met at camp a few years back and you said this was the best Rams team you had seen in awhile? You can say that again. My wife is laughing at me for how excited I am after just one practice. She says I say the same thing every year. But this year I really mean it!
QB1 - Stafford is really something to watch. Quick release, throws with determination and anticipation. The way he was throwing it around in all the various drills and hitting his receivers 99.9% of the time makes me think these guys have been doing a little side work. I think there was only one ball that fell short on an out route. All others were in a place where the receiver could make the catch.
RB - Funk is for real. A real steal in the draft. Don't now the exact count but it seemed he was in on a lot of the 1's plays. Not always getting the ball but still in the mix. He is quick and I can't wait to see him in pads as I'm sure he will pop some of our linebackers.
WR - It was already posted about D. Jackson wide open catch from Stafford for a TD. On that play, there was a fake handoff to Funk. I stayed with Funk with my camera and watched him go out in the flat to the left while everyone else was rolling right. Then I heard the crowd. Put down the camera and Jackson is coming towards the end zone where we were sitting, running a deep post. Beautiful throw by Stafford. @theduke made a comment that we in the stands were closer to guarding Jackson than anyone on the defense! There was no one close to him for 20-30 yards! Wish I could have seen it all unfold.
Other WR - The usual from Kupp and Woods. Ramsey had a great breakup on Woods on the right sideline on a go route (this was during passing drills, one on one). Ramsey actually intercepted (stole it from Woods) but came down out of bounds according the ref on the field. #84, Landon Akers fielding punts. Good hands! Good size. Good PS candidate.
Long Snapper - Wirtel was getting some work during FG trys as was Orzech. It seemed IIRC that Orzech was with the 1's with Hecker holding and Gay kicking. (that's for you @den-the-coach ).
DEF - That guy Rochelle? He's a keeper. Playing everyone tight. I think it was Burgess who had an interception on Wolford (Wolford didn't look too bad either!).
That's all I can recall from memory. On to my pictures and maybe I'll be able to add a thing or two. @bubbaramfan will be posting his report later tonight.
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I'm calling our top 3 WRs all go over 1000
Hey, this is the time of year for optimism, is it not?
shovelpass
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Absolutely, TC and practice is for making mistakes and getting better overall.
I was commenting about how the reporter felt it was necessary to identify who threw the INT. Some fans were curious, even though it's TC and literally everyone makes a mistake. I remember somebody here was really down on the Woods signing based off of a report in the 1st week of camp because he dropped a pass.
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This is the "after" from the tackle of the day! Higbee catches an out rout from Stafford, turns back around to head up field and a Rams assistant is walking right into Higbee. they both go down! Higbee didn't drop the ball.
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oldnotdead
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Not surprised in the least. He gives them matching speed off the edge opposite Floyd and played the run well last year. IMO Okoronkwo is a bubble sitter and Lewis will be a rotational player to keep him healthy.
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Just got back from TC. Lots of fans, 85+ F. Hooked up with VFR, had our inaugural beer and got down to watching some Ram practice.
Used a voice recorder so I'm going to write as I playback, so it will be a kind of mish-mash of info as we saw what we had in front of us.
All players were good to go. Only TuTu and Cam Akers only players not suited up.
We had players field from the punt machine first. Landon Akers 84, Tristen Jackson 83, JJ Koski 17,J erimiah Haydel 18, and Ben Skowronek 81 and Ray Calias 30 all took turns. Calais looked the most fluid and fielded all of his the cleanest. Haydel has good hands.
Next had QB's warming up. Stafford has lots of zip. Nice tight spirell. Wolford and Price too.
Well there goes the recorder. From here on I' going on memory.
All the different position groups were sectioned off at different parts of both fields. We had WR's and QB's doing short routes without DB's. then later they did seen on sevens, then 11 on 11.
OL, DL, and LB's were never in front of us, so I can only comment on what we saw 11 on 11. Offense ones scrummed against Defense twos. O twos vs D ones.
Here's who we saw on 1st team O. LT Whitworth, LG Edwards, C Corbett, RG Evans, RT Havenstien. Corbett looked good snapping the ball, didn't see any problem with exchanges with Stafford. O twos Noteboom Lt, Brewer LG, Allen C, Shelton RG, Anchrum RT. Was hard to get the D down. D ones- AShawn Robinson DL. SJD DL, AD Dl. Floyd, Hollins DE, Kenny Young ILB, Kiser ILB Obo and Howard in and out with ones and twos. Fuller S (wearing the green dot) Rapp S, Williams DB, Ramsey DB, Long Slot. Defense two's Bobby Brown III DL, Gaines DL, Copeland DL, ( Hoecht and Silvanic also got snaps in with twos at DL) Lewis DE, Lawler DE, Jones ILB, Reeder ILB, Obo OLB, Rochell DB, Donte Deyon slot Burgess S, Nick Scott S. There were alot of substitutions with the second teams, not so much with first teams. I thin everyone got to play in 11 on 11.
11 on 11 was really fun to watch. Stafford running the ones with Henderson, XJones Calais and Funk all getting reps. Looked to like they targeted Funk the most. He got the most touches I think. ran the ball and went out for screens. He looks capable. Hendo only played with the ones. The other RB's played with ones and twos.
Stafford looked sharp. All the throws i saw were hitting them on the numbers and in stride. Quick release.
WR's looked sharp also. Catching everything. Kupp making a couple circus catches. Woods, Jefferson made good grabs.
Then there's new guy DeSean Jackson. He snagged a deep ball (maybe 45yarder?) after beating his guy. Jackson came out smiling and joking to begin the day while he was stretching with Kupp and Woods. Looks like these guys have been working together with Stafford this off season.
Other guys worth noting, Burgess got a pick, Ramsey on his game knocking balls away from WR's. Bobby Brown gave OL ones fits.
About all I can remember without damn Chinese POS recorder. Going to Best Buy tomorrow for one that a Neaderthal can work.
Today was only the first day of TC, everything they did was just basic stuff to get back in rythem. I expect them to go harder at it in the coming days.
I'll be keep tabs on this thread so if you have questions, ask here, you may jog my memory.
More after tomorrow's practice.
Used a voice recorder so I'm going to write as I playback, so it will be a kind of mish-mash of info as we saw what we had in front of us.
All players were good to go. Only TuTu and Cam Akers only players not suited up.
We had players field from the punt machine first. Landon Akers 84, Tristen Jackson 83, JJ Koski 17,J erimiah Haydel 18, and Ben Skowronek 81 and Ray Calias 30 all took turns. Calais looked the most fluid and fielded all of his the cleanest. Haydel has good hands.
Next had QB's warming up. Stafford has lots of zip. Nice tight spirell. Wolford and Price too.
Well there goes the recorder. From here on I' going on memory.
All the different position groups were sectioned off at different parts of both fields. We had WR's and QB's doing short routes without DB's. then later they did seen on sevens, then 11 on 11.
OL, DL, and LB's were never in front of us, so I can only comment on what we saw 11 on 11. Offense ones scrummed against Defense twos. O twos vs D ones.
Here's who we saw on 1st team O. LT Whitworth, LG Edwards, C Corbett, RG Evans, RT Havenstien. Corbett looked good snapping the ball, didn't see any problem with exchanges with Stafford. O twos Noteboom Lt, Brewer LG, Allen C, Shelton RG, Anchrum RT. Was hard to get the D down. D ones- AShawn Robinson DL. SJD DL, AD Dl. Floyd, Hollins DE, Kenny Young ILB, Kiser ILB Obo and Howard in and out with ones and twos. Fuller S (wearing the green dot) Rapp S, Williams DB, Ramsey DB, Long Slot. Defense two's Bobby Brown III DL, Gaines DL, Copeland DL, ( Hoecht and Silvanic also got snaps in with twos at DL) Lewis DE, Lawler DE, Jones ILB, Reeder ILB, Obo OLB, Rochell DB, Donte Deyon slot Burgess S, Nick Scott S. There were alot of substitutions with the second teams, not so much with first teams. I thin everyone got to play in 11 on 11.
11 on 11 was really fun to watch. Stafford running the ones with Henderson, XJones Calais and Funk all getting reps. Looked to like they targeted Funk the most. He got the most touches I think. ran the ball and went out for screens. He looks capable. Hendo only played with the ones. The other RB's played with ones and twos.
Stafford looked sharp. All the throws i saw were hitting them on the numbers and in stride. Quick release.
WR's looked sharp also. Catching everything. Kupp making a couple circus catches. Woods, Jefferson made good grabs.
Then there's new guy DeSean Jackson. He snagged a deep ball (maybe 45yarder?) after beating his guy. Jackson came out smiling and joking to begin the day while he was stretching with Kupp and Woods. Looks like these guys have been working together with Stafford this off season.
Other guys worth noting, Burgess got a pick, Ramsey on his game knocking balls away from WR's. Bobby Brown gave OL ones fits.
About all I can remember without damn Chinese POS recorder. Going to Best Buy tomorrow for one that a Neaderthal can work.
Today was only the first day of TC, everything they did was just basic stuff to get back in rythem. I expect them to go harder at it in the coming days.
I'll be keep tabs on this thread so if you have questions, ask here, you may jog my memory.
More after tomorrow's practice.
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Here's my personel thoughts on todays practice. Stafford is a definate upgrade over Goff, I don; think we have to worry yet about RB's. Henderson, Jones and Calais are good. Funk looked REALLY good today. Just the first day though.
Terrell Lewis Looked fully healthy and got a lot of snaps with the D twos. Was interesting Rapp played with the O ones and Burgess with the O twos.
Corbett and Stafford looked to have good exchanges and Corbett seemed to keep Matt clean.
Oh and Den, #44Steve Wirtel did the long snapping for Gay, with Wolford or Hekker holding.
This team look good. Big difference from the first TC I attended two years ago.
Terrell Lewis Looked fully healthy and got a lot of snaps with the D twos. Was interesting Rapp played with the O ones and Burgess with the O twos.
Corbett and Stafford looked to have good exchanges and Corbett seemed to keep Matt clean.
Oh and Den, #44Steve Wirtel did the long snapping for Gay, with Wolford or Hekker holding.
This team look good. Big difference from the first TC I attended two years ago.
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Great report, @VeteranRamFan! It was a treat to see you guys! I wanted to add a little bit of what I saw.
In practice, it was mostly the ones against the twos. #1 Defense vs. the 2s on offense and vice versa. The lineup for the O-line, left to right was Whit-Evans-Corbett-Edwards-Havenstein. This may not necessarily be the final lineup. In past camps, they tried out different lines at different times to see what worked because the o-line really needs to gel and whatnot. However, I had the strong feeling that this is the line that will be protecting Matt Stafford.
The #1 running back was Darrell Henderson, but I also saw a lot of Jake Funk with the ones on offense, and he looked good. I didn't really pay attention to his pass blocking (it doesn't really count when there are no pads), but he was catching everything and running pretty hard. Funk is MUCH faster than people think. He had breakaway speed at Maryland, and he still has it in the NFL. I think he will be a surprise to many. I did not see Otis or Xavier with the ones once, but I did leave a bit early, so maybe they got in there, but I didn't see it. Funk runs like a runaway bowling ball. He is a compact, wide, muscular, and fast. I would not want to be a small corner trying to stop him one-on-one. Keep an eye on him. Remember, we had another heralded running back whose only deficits was ACL surgeries. I'm rooting for Jake Funk. As with all young running backs, it will be his ability to pick up blitzes, meaning he needs to be able to diagnose and to stop blitzes from affecting the quarterback.
The wide receivers are all amazing. I'm pretty pissed that Tutu Atwell wasn't there, as he has that 4.27 speed that the Rams have basically never had, but I can't help but wonder if Tutu is going to be a Tavon Austin 2.0. I don't think so, but he's hurting not being here for ten days.
Cooper Kupp looked fast. He was getting into and out of breaks very well. On one drill, he faked a deep route, hit the brakes, faked inside to his right, then suddenly juked outside to his left. Poor Robert Rochell didn't bite on the deep route, but he bit hard on the inside fake and was left in the dust when Kupp went outside. Unfortunately, the ball was a bit off and Kupp couldn't catch the low ball.
Robert Woods looked very good. He had one one-on-one matchup at the end of one of the drill sessions where he was up against Ramsey. First of all, let me say that it is very weird to see #2 vs. #5 and remember that that is a Robert Woods-Jalen Ramsey matchup. They had that offseason kerfuffle over who gets #2 and Woods pulled rank, I guess. It looked like Robert had Jalen on a short hitch fake, and the ball from Stafford was right on point, but Jalen came out of nowhere and high-pointed the ball and knocked the ball away. Jalen still has it. It happened on the last drill of that series, but I saw Jalen jawing at Robert Woods, following him towards the offensive side, but I'm sure it was just competitive banter. What is the saying? Iron sharpens iron. Well, Jalen looked sharp as fuck.
Higbee looked like he had a pep in his step. I know that Higbee was Jared's roommate during their rookie years in the dorms at UCI, but he looks like he knows that Stafford is going to find his ass if he works hard. He looks faster than he's ever looked, and I'm hoping he becomes the safety blanket for Stafford that all QBs love in a big, fast tight end. I kinda missed Gerald Everett, but if we could get Jacob Harris going, I think it will be a difficult tandem.
If Harris is used as a tight end, he will be annoying as hell for defenses. Do you try to run past him to get to the quarterback, or do you try to slow him down on a passing route? The answer will be different for every play, and it will come late after the snap. He will be a problem. I can't wait to see him on offense with the ones.
I want to give a quick shout out to Ben Skowronek. He didn't get a ton of opportunities, but he looked good, especially on a play where he Mossed someone. It might've been David Long, Jr. We have an embarrassment of riches on the offensive side.
Darrell Henderson looked fast, but gosh, he's small. I don't think he'll end up being the answer at tailback, unfortunately. I think he's a phenomenal player, but I just don't see him lasting long enough. Oddly enough, I think Funk will start ahead of him by the end of the season, if he can stay healthy.
Van Jefferson looked fast. He has good hands, but his and everyone's route running was so crisp. All of wide receivers look good, to be honest. No one looked bad.
This brings me to a quick aside. I was here for Jeff Fisher's first year. I love Jeff Fisher. He made me proud to watch the Rams again. He had bravado and confidence, and the team had a joy and toughness when he was the coach. He brought us out of the dark ages. I used to watch the Rams in a small sports bar in North Carolina with the Rams game on a small tv in the corner, without any other Rams fans. Jeff Fisher made the Rams fun to watch again.
Having said that, the first training camp with Fisher was a mess, at least at the beginning of training camp. Balls were dropping all over the goddamn place. It was terrible, but we'd say, "Well, this is just day one. They should get better as they get back into it."
Today's practice was not that. Everything looked clean and efficient. There was nary a ball that was off target. I saw maybe one or two that were not catchable. Everything else was either caught or deflected. It was a stark difference from past years. It's VERY encouraging.
I've saved the best for last. I have never in my life seen anyone throw the ball as well as Matt Stafford. I've seen guys throw such nice and tight spirals that the ball just looks like a pinpoint at the throw, and the ball just looks like it's growing in diameter as it flies towards you. Just, "ZOOM!" and a ball appears to magically appear.
Matt Stafford's throws surpass that.
It's shocking how different it is from Jared Goff's throws. Here's where it makes a difference. Goff was very good at anticipating a player becoming open. His connection with Kupp was so good because Kupp could predictably get open and Goff could often throw it before Kupp makes his break. That is Jared Goff at his best. The advantage that Matt's ball speed offers is that he doesn't NEED that anticipation--or at least, THAT much anticipation. Matt could watch someone get open and throw the ball "late", and it's still on time, in the perfect spot. That's amazing. This is not to say that Matt doesn't play with anticipation, but I would suspect that if you could test him compared to other, lesser QBs, his anticipation "muscle" is probably not as developed as someone with a slow arm who MUST use anticipation to make his throws (i.e., Goff).
Think of that late throw to Cooks in the Super Bowl. Even if Matt recognized the pass as late as Goff did, the ball would've gotten there and changed the game. Matt's ball speed is an absolute game changer.
What about his accuracy? The ball was plenty accurate, and I want to say that his touch was very good as well. He does not throw the ball at one speed. He has a fastball, but he has a change up as well. I'm not worried whatsoever about his accuracy.
The thing I was most impressed with when it comes to Matthew Stafford was the way he practiced. Jared would practice to get the ball in the right spot, to be accurate, to be on time. Matthew, even in no-defense, one-receiver drills, would practice looking the safety off! So, what does he do? Let's say he's throwing to Kupp, who's split wide to his left. There's no defender, no safety, no one. When he catches the snap or drops back, he's looking to the right--for like the ENTIRE time. At the very last second, he'll turn to Kupp and rifle it to him, just as he gets out of his break.
That is SO FUCKED UP to do to a safety. When you play against Stafford as a safety, you're going to have to remind yourself that your eyes are LYING to you. He is throwing like that on ALMOST every practice rep. The only time he doesn't is when he has to throw a quick out. So, as a safety, do you rush down to help on that quick out? Or do you remind yourself that your eyes are lying to you?
I think this is what happened on a 7-on-7 play that you've surely already heard about. @VeteranRamFan has his eyes glued on Stafford. Stafford looked like he handed the ball off to Jake Funk, but I saw that it was a fake. I shouted, "Fake!" and saw that Stafford had already thrown it to his left. The ball was out of sight from our vantage point, but we saw DeSean Jackson streaking down the field. NO ONE was with him. Not a safety, not a corner. NO ONE. The ball had great touch. It fell gently down into Jackson's hands, and I just knew that if that were a game, Jackson would've probably danced on the way in or something. It was a thing of absolute beauty.
Stafford never seemed like he did not know what he was doing. It was impressive. Go to Vegas and make your bets now. The Rams have a good chance of winning the Super Bowl this year (provided that most people stay healthy).
@bubbaramfan mentioned that part of the reason for Jackson's lack of game action in the past two years may have been because his heart was not in it. If that's the case, we should see a totally different Jackson. He's in his hometown, in one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world, with one of the largest cannons in the NFL throwing to him. Stafford could unlock Jackson in a way few quarterbacks can. I'd be pissed if I were tasked with stopping the Rams offense.
I want to add one more thing about Stafford--he had guys like McVay and other random coaches running at him during drills to replicate the kind of chaos he could expect to see--a free rusher from the left with absolutely no warning, a free rusher from the right all of a sudden. He did a really great job of sidestepping or moving in the pocket to complete the throw on time and keep his eyes down the field. I want to see the Miami Dolphins try their fucking zero blitz against Stafford.
This brings me to the defense. I liked seeing our guys out there. Terrell Burgess looked really good. He had a nice pick on a dumpoff pass in the middle of the field (off of John Wolford). I'm glad Burgess is healthy. (On a side note, I saw some 13 year old with a #26 Burgess jersey. Respect, kid!). We saw #4 Jordan Fuller at left safety and #24 Taylor Rapp at right safety. It seemed to me that they were playing Rapp as more of a free safety and Fuller as more of a strong safety, though my understanding is that the Rams scheme doesn't really designate a SS vs. FS. The defense was already doing a good job of disguising their defense, often looking like cover-4 at the snap, but it was a cover-3 concept or sometimes Fuller would be a robber. The outside corners would play with outside leverage sometimes on cover-2 man concepts, which made it look like some sort of cover-3 zone presnap, so I liked what they were doing.
Rochell looked like he couldn't get a break, but he looked really good. Jalen looks like he's in midseason form already. You can't really judge the front seven without pads, so I won't say anything there. David Long, Jr. is fucking disappointing to me. I thought he would become the type of player that Darious Williams has become, but he's just in over his head or something. He's constantly getting burned, it seemed. Speaking of which, I am glad not to see Troy Hill out there anymore. I know he's had his moments, but as Jalen would say, "Every dog has his day." I am NOT a Troy Hill fan.
Finally, the last bit of news is a bit sad. I don't see our defense repeating as the #1 defense.
I just can't see it.
It's not happening.
Our offense is going to score so many goddamned points that opposing teams will be throwing all kinds of shit and picking up random yardage and points. I don't know if the Rams will go 17-0, but I know that as I look at the schedule, I see the Rams being favored in every single one.
Go Rams! (Bless all the knees and ankles! Please accept our honorable sacrifice of Cam Akers' Achilles and protect us from further harm. Amen!)
Hope you guys enjoyed my report!
P.S. The crowd was nuts. It took me 35 minutes to get in. Parking was a bitch. Luckily for me, I rode my bike there. Don't bring any food and water in unless you have kids who need it. One poor guy had a nice looking Yeti Rambler, but they told him AT THE GATE that he couldn't bring it. He was considering tossing it in the bushes or going back to his car. Couldn't someone tell us the rules at SOME POINT of the 35 minute line? I was practically in the nearby preserve when I got to the back of the line. Come early, guys. This is NO LONGER the St. Louis Rams of Los Angeles. We are BIG TIME. Come early. Remember that the first 1.5 hours are like bullshit stretching and calisthenics, so don't worry if you're in line for a long time. The fun shit starts at 4 pm., and Sean McVay's trains run on time.
P.P.S. Let me know if you have any questions about logistics or about the play of our guys!
In practice, it was mostly the ones against the twos. #1 Defense vs. the 2s on offense and vice versa. The lineup for the O-line, left to right was Whit-Evans-Corbett-Edwards-Havenstein. This may not necessarily be the final lineup. In past camps, they tried out different lines at different times to see what worked because the o-line really needs to gel and whatnot. However, I had the strong feeling that this is the line that will be protecting Matt Stafford.
The #1 running back was Darrell Henderson, but I also saw a lot of Jake Funk with the ones on offense, and he looked good. I didn't really pay attention to his pass blocking (it doesn't really count when there are no pads), but he was catching everything and running pretty hard. Funk is MUCH faster than people think. He had breakaway speed at Maryland, and he still has it in the NFL. I think he will be a surprise to many. I did not see Otis or Xavier with the ones once, but I did leave a bit early, so maybe they got in there, but I didn't see it. Funk runs like a runaway bowling ball. He is a compact, wide, muscular, and fast. I would not want to be a small corner trying to stop him one-on-one. Keep an eye on him. Remember, we had another heralded running back whose only deficits was ACL surgeries. I'm rooting for Jake Funk. As with all young running backs, it will be his ability to pick up blitzes, meaning he needs to be able to diagnose and to stop blitzes from affecting the quarterback.
The wide receivers are all amazing. I'm pretty pissed that Tutu Atwell wasn't there, as he has that 4.27 speed that the Rams have basically never had, but I can't help but wonder if Tutu is going to be a Tavon Austin 2.0. I don't think so, but he's hurting not being here for ten days.
Cooper Kupp looked fast. He was getting into and out of breaks very well. On one drill, he faked a deep route, hit the brakes, faked inside to his right, then suddenly juked outside to his left. Poor Robert Rochell didn't bite on the deep route, but he bit hard on the inside fake and was left in the dust when Kupp went outside. Unfortunately, the ball was a bit off and Kupp couldn't catch the low ball.
Robert Woods looked very good. He had one one-on-one matchup at the end of one of the drill sessions where he was up against Ramsey. First of all, let me say that it is very weird to see #2 vs. #5 and remember that that is a Robert Woods-Jalen Ramsey matchup. They had that offseason kerfuffle over who gets #2 and Woods pulled rank, I guess. It looked like Robert had Jalen on a short hitch fake, and the ball from Stafford was right on point, but Jalen came out of nowhere and high-pointed the ball and knocked the ball away. Jalen still has it. It happened on the last drill of that series, but I saw Jalen jawing at Robert Woods, following him towards the offensive side, but I'm sure it was just competitive banter. What is the saying? Iron sharpens iron. Well, Jalen looked sharp as fuck.
Higbee looked like he had a pep in his step. I know that Higbee was Jared's roommate during their rookie years in the dorms at UCI, but he looks like he knows that Stafford is going to find his ass if he works hard. He looks faster than he's ever looked, and I'm hoping he becomes the safety blanket for Stafford that all QBs love in a big, fast tight end. I kinda missed Gerald Everett, but if we could get Jacob Harris going, I think it will be a difficult tandem.
If Harris is used as a tight end, he will be annoying as hell for defenses. Do you try to run past him to get to the quarterback, or do you try to slow him down on a passing route? The answer will be different for every play, and it will come late after the snap. He will be a problem. I can't wait to see him on offense with the ones.
I want to give a quick shout out to Ben Skowronek. He didn't get a ton of opportunities, but he looked good, especially on a play where he Mossed someone. It might've been David Long, Jr. We have an embarrassment of riches on the offensive side.
Darrell Henderson looked fast, but gosh, he's small. I don't think he'll end up being the answer at tailback, unfortunately. I think he's a phenomenal player, but I just don't see him lasting long enough. Oddly enough, I think Funk will start ahead of him by the end of the season, if he can stay healthy.
Van Jefferson looked fast. He has good hands, but his and everyone's route running was so crisp. All of wide receivers look good, to be honest. No one looked bad.
This brings me to a quick aside. I was here for Jeff Fisher's first year. I love Jeff Fisher. He made me proud to watch the Rams again. He had bravado and confidence, and the team had a joy and toughness when he was the coach. He brought us out of the dark ages. I used to watch the Rams in a small sports bar in North Carolina with the Rams game on a small tv in the corner, without any other Rams fans. Jeff Fisher made the Rams fun to watch again.
Having said that, the first training camp with Fisher was a mess, at least at the beginning of training camp. Balls were dropping all over the goddamn place. It was terrible, but we'd say, "Well, this is just day one. They should get better as they get back into it."
Today's practice was not that. Everything looked clean and efficient. There was nary a ball that was off target. I saw maybe one or two that were not catchable. Everything else was either caught or deflected. It was a stark difference from past years. It's VERY encouraging.
I've saved the best for last. I have never in my life seen anyone throw the ball as well as Matt Stafford. I've seen guys throw such nice and tight spirals that the ball just looks like a pinpoint at the throw, and the ball just looks like it's growing in diameter as it flies towards you. Just, "ZOOM!" and a ball appears to magically appear.
Matt Stafford's throws surpass that.
It's shocking how different it is from Jared Goff's throws. Here's where it makes a difference. Goff was very good at anticipating a player becoming open. His connection with Kupp was so good because Kupp could predictably get open and Goff could often throw it before Kupp makes his break. That is Jared Goff at his best. The advantage that Matt's ball speed offers is that he doesn't NEED that anticipation--or at least, THAT much anticipation. Matt could watch someone get open and throw the ball "late", and it's still on time, in the perfect spot. That's amazing. This is not to say that Matt doesn't play with anticipation, but I would suspect that if you could test him compared to other, lesser QBs, his anticipation "muscle" is probably not as developed as someone with a slow arm who MUST use anticipation to make his throws (i.e., Goff).
Think of that late throw to Cooks in the Super Bowl. Even if Matt recognized the pass as late as Goff did, the ball would've gotten there and changed the game. Matt's ball speed is an absolute game changer.
What about his accuracy? The ball was plenty accurate, and I want to say that his touch was very good as well. He does not throw the ball at one speed. He has a fastball, but he has a change up as well. I'm not worried whatsoever about his accuracy.
The thing I was most impressed with when it comes to Matthew Stafford was the way he practiced. Jared would practice to get the ball in the right spot, to be accurate, to be on time. Matthew, even in no-defense, one-receiver drills, would practice looking the safety off! So, what does he do? Let's say he's throwing to Kupp, who's split wide to his left. There's no defender, no safety, no one. When he catches the snap or drops back, he's looking to the right--for like the ENTIRE time. At the very last second, he'll turn to Kupp and rifle it to him, just as he gets out of his break.
That is SO FUCKED UP to do to a safety. When you play against Stafford as a safety, you're going to have to remind yourself that your eyes are LYING to you. He is throwing like that on ALMOST every practice rep. The only time he doesn't is when he has to throw a quick out. So, as a safety, do you rush down to help on that quick out? Or do you remind yourself that your eyes are lying to you?
I think this is what happened on a 7-on-7 play that you've surely already heard about. @VeteranRamFan has his eyes glued on Stafford. Stafford looked like he handed the ball off to Jake Funk, but I saw that it was a fake. I shouted, "Fake!" and saw that Stafford had already thrown it to his left. The ball was out of sight from our vantage point, but we saw DeSean Jackson streaking down the field. NO ONE was with him. Not a safety, not a corner. NO ONE. The ball had great touch. It fell gently down into Jackson's hands, and I just knew that if that were a game, Jackson would've probably danced on the way in or something. It was a thing of absolute beauty.
Stafford never seemed like he did not know what he was doing. It was impressive. Go to Vegas and make your bets now. The Rams have a good chance of winning the Super Bowl this year (provided that most people stay healthy).
@bubbaramfan mentioned that part of the reason for Jackson's lack of game action in the past two years may have been because his heart was not in it. If that's the case, we should see a totally different Jackson. He's in his hometown, in one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world, with one of the largest cannons in the NFL throwing to him. Stafford could unlock Jackson in a way few quarterbacks can. I'd be pissed if I were tasked with stopping the Rams offense.
I want to add one more thing about Stafford--he had guys like McVay and other random coaches running at him during drills to replicate the kind of chaos he could expect to see--a free rusher from the left with absolutely no warning, a free rusher from the right all of a sudden. He did a really great job of sidestepping or moving in the pocket to complete the throw on time and keep his eyes down the field. I want to see the Miami Dolphins try their fucking zero blitz against Stafford.
This brings me to the defense. I liked seeing our guys out there. Terrell Burgess looked really good. He had a nice pick on a dumpoff pass in the middle of the field (off of John Wolford). I'm glad Burgess is healthy. (On a side note, I saw some 13 year old with a #26 Burgess jersey. Respect, kid!). We saw #4 Jordan Fuller at left safety and #24 Taylor Rapp at right safety. It seemed to me that they were playing Rapp as more of a free safety and Fuller as more of a strong safety, though my understanding is that the Rams scheme doesn't really designate a SS vs. FS. The defense was already doing a good job of disguising their defense, often looking like cover-4 at the snap, but it was a cover-3 concept or sometimes Fuller would be a robber. The outside corners would play with outside leverage sometimes on cover-2 man concepts, which made it look like some sort of cover-3 zone presnap, so I liked what they were doing.
Rochell looked like he couldn't get a break, but he looked really good. Jalen looks like he's in midseason form already. You can't really judge the front seven without pads, so I won't say anything there. David Long, Jr. is fucking disappointing to me. I thought he would become the type of player that Darious Williams has become, but he's just in over his head or something. He's constantly getting burned, it seemed. Speaking of which, I am glad not to see Troy Hill out there anymore. I know he's had his moments, but as Jalen would say, "Every dog has his day." I am NOT a Troy Hill fan.
Finally, the last bit of news is a bit sad. I don't see our defense repeating as the #1 defense.
I just can't see it.
It's not happening.
Our offense is going to score so many goddamned points that opposing teams will be throwing all kinds of shit and picking up random yardage and points. I don't know if the Rams will go 17-0, but I know that as I look at the schedule, I see the Rams being favored in every single one.
Go Rams! (Bless all the knees and ankles! Please accept our honorable sacrifice of Cam Akers' Achilles and protect us from further harm. Amen!)
Hope you guys enjoyed my report!
P.S. The crowd was nuts. It took me 35 minutes to get in. Parking was a bitch. Luckily for me, I rode my bike there. Don't bring any food and water in unless you have kids who need it. One poor guy had a nice looking Yeti Rambler, but they told him AT THE GATE that he couldn't bring it. He was considering tossing it in the bushes or going back to his car. Couldn't someone tell us the rules at SOME POINT of the 35 minute line? I was practically in the nearby preserve when I got to the back of the line. Come early, guys. This is NO LONGER the St. Louis Rams of Los Angeles. We are BIG TIME. Come early. Remember that the first 1.5 hours are like bullshit stretching and calisthenics, so don't worry if you're in line for a long time. The fun shit starts at 4 pm., and Sean McVay's trains run on time.
P.P.S. Let me know if you have any questions about logistics or about the play of our guys!
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I've always been biased about obo but I really like his pass rush repertoire. I'm a big fan of Lewis too. So maybe I should just start hating our edge rushers so that they can become great and injury free lol
oldnotdead
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Looks like they liked what they saw of Corbett at center and will roll with him. That's good because hes a very good inside blocker with mobility and vision to make second level blocks which Blythe simply couldn't do. I like Evans at RG but still have questions about Edwards at LG. Hope he has improved his technique.
Glad to hear Hollins is playing with the ones, he earned it last year. Not worried about Harris as he is going to be the #3 TE this year anyway. He's got time as he got a good look in OTAs. Playing Fuller and Rapp with the ones now makes sense as they have the experience. Burgess will have his role this year I have no doubt.
Calais struggled with punts last year so it's good he's looking comfortable now. I think it will be a revolving door on STs until DeCamillis finds his guys. Preseason is most likely the PR and KR guys will be determined.
Thanks for the reports guys!
Glad to hear Hollins is playing with the ones, he earned it last year. Not worried about Harris as he is going to be the #3 TE this year anyway. He's got time as he got a good look in OTAs. Playing Fuller and Rapp with the ones now makes sense as they have the experience. Burgess will have his role this year I have no doubt.
Calais struggled with punts last year so it's good he's looking comfortable now. I think it will be a revolving door on STs until DeCamillis finds his guys. Preseason is most likely the PR and KR guys will be determined.
Thanks for the reports guys!