Quotes & Notes 7/28: Marcus Peters enjoying Eric Weddle’s veteran presence

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CGI_Ram

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https://www.therams.com/news/quotes-notes-7-28-marcus-peters-enjoying-eric-weddle-s-veteran-presence

Quotes & Notes 7/28: Marcus Peters enjoying Eric Weddle’s veteran presence

After each media session, Quotes and Notes will bring you what was said, who said it, and what it means for your Los Angeles Rams.

eing here and getting myself in football shape and working my moves, hopefully it won’t take me four games to get going this year. … If anything, I should be better.”
— DT Aaron Donald
  • You’ve probably heard it by now — defending back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald is at training camp for the first time since 2016.
  • Last year Donald finished with 20.5 sacks — good for a franchise record as well as the league record for sacks by an interior lineman.
  • But Donald pointed this out himself after Sunday’s practice: It took until Week 4 for him to get his first sack last season.
  • Being at training camp this year, Donald says his expectation is to be more “football ready” when the first game against the Panthers rolls around in September.

“You been watching? He looks pretty good.”
— HC Sean McVay
  • Head coach Sean McVay joked a bit when a reporter asked how he thinks Donald has looked through the first couple practices.
  • This is the first time Donald has been at training camp since McVay became the Rams’ head coach in 2017.
  • McVay said it’s good to have Donald around because he elevates those around him simply from his strong work ethic.
  • McVay added on Donald, “The best part about Aaron is, he’s gong to look at himself, he’s going to be critical, and he’ll come out tomorrow expecting to improve on some of the things he did today.”

“That was part of the plan. He’s feeling good.”
— HC Sean McVay
  • Rams running back Todd Gurley did not practice on Sunday. He was on the field in a jersey to support his teammates, but he didn’t participate in the full-speed activities.
  • McVay said Gurley did do some of the work the club did during walk-thru in the morning.
  • On Saturday, Gurley said he loves the schedule that’s been set out for him.
  • For now, Gurley is on an every-other day schedule. But that’s likely going to change with the way the Rams will move around throughout the month of August.
  • L.A. will travel to Napa to take on the Raiders for a couple of practices. And then the Rams will travel to Hawaii to face the Cowboys in the second preseason game.

“I’m just here to play football. The rest of that stuff, we’ll take care of when it’s time.”
— CB Marcus Peters
  • Cornerback Marcus Peters is entering the last year of his rookie contract, but he’s not holding out for a better deal.
  • Peters said he has bigger goals than just worrying about his contract at this point.
  • The cornerback said he feels if he comes in, does what he needs to do, then everything else will take care of itself.
  • As McVay put it, if Peters has a big year, that’s a benefit to the Rams as a whole. That seems to be exactly the attitude Peters is bringing to the table as well.

“It’s amazing to have him here, and it’s going to be wonderful to have him here.”
— CB Marcus Peters
  • Peters has also been enjoying the veteran presence safety Eric Weddle has added to the secondary.
  • It’s easy to see the impact Weddle makes during practice, as he’s often communicating with players either as they’re on the field or on the sideline.
  • Peters likes that he can soak up the veteran knowledge from Weddle and his fellow cornerback Aqib Talib. He noted that third-year safety John Johnson III now has the same kind of veteran mentorship that Peters received last year.
  • How exactly that will translate on the field remains to be seen, but it certainly should make the secondary better.

“He’s telling me my weaknesses and things I need to clean up and trying to teach me things that I can do better and work better that can help my game.”
— DT Aaron Donald
  • When a player has 20.5 sacks, it seems like there isn’t really that much room for improvement.
  • But Donald wants to maximize all of his talents, which is why he’s been enjoying new defensive line coach Eric Henderson’s presence.
  • Donald said that the drills Henderson was one of the biggest reasons he wanted to be around during the offseason program.
  • According to Donald, Henderson broke down the defensive tackle’s film well to bring up things he could improve. Plus, Donald liked the drills Henderson brought to the field.
  • All these elements are adding up to mean that there’s a real possibility Donald is better in 2019 than he was in 2018.
 

CGI_Ram

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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #2
https://www.therams.com/news/10-observations-from-day-2-of-2019-rams-training-camp

10 Observations from Day 2 of 2019 Rams training camp

1) As the Rams were working on special teams on one field, some of the Rams’ key defensive players were getting in a little extra work to start the day. As he did throughout OTAs, outside linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. was working on some moves with outside linebackers coach Chris Shula. And defensive lineman Michael Brockers was working on his first steps after the snap with fellow lineman Morgan Fox.

2) Offensive linemen and tight ends got practice started by pushing the sled. Again, much like OTAs, run game coordinator Aaron Kromer had one player push the sled for a few steps and rotated through the group. With Los Angeles’ system, the fundamentals of run blocking techniques are certainly important.

3) During one-on-ones, wide receiver Michael Thomas had a diving catch along the right sideline on one field with the wideouts going against the corners. On the other field, safety Steven Parkerhad an interception while covering a running back on the defense’s right sideline.

4) Running back Darrell Henderson continues to impress over the first couple days. Again during on-on-ones, he tracked a deep ball down the right side from quarterback Brandon Allen, reeling it in over his shoulder. There are wide receivers who don’t have that kind of ability. It’s early and the Rams aren’t in pads, but he looks like a weapon.

5) During the first 11-on-11 drills — with the first-team offense taking on the second-team defense — quarterback Jared Goff connected with wideout Brandin Cooks on a deep, out-cutting route. Cooks used his speed to get separation and Goff’s ball placement was perfect.

6) On the next play, Goff threw another dime — this time down the left sideline to wide receiver Coper Kupp for what would’ve clearly been a touchdown.

7) Goff continued what was his best period of the day a bit later, when he threaded the needle on an intermediate route to wide receiver Josh Reynolds on the right side. Then he followed that up with a seed over the middle to Kupp after pump faking to throw off the defense. Kupp went up and got it, but the ball was where only he could make a play.

8) During seven-on-seven drills, the offensive line was working on how to handle combination blocks with stunting defensive linemen. That chemistry is important to establish along the offensive line, especially for a unit that’s integrating a new center and left guard.

9) Goff added to his strong passing day in later 11-on-11 drills, connecting with wide receiver Robert Woods on a deep crossing route, with Woods moving from right to left. Again, Goff’s ball placement was right where it needed to be.

10) The veterans finished up practice around 5:15, but the younger players stayed on the field to get in some work in 11-on-11 drills. The Rams did this on the first day of camp, too, mainly because it’s the first- and second-team units that get snaps for the vast majority of practice. This way, the younger players do get a little experience with the playbook before the bright lights of preseason games.
 

FaulkSF

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#8 - Was very concerned about this since the Rams O Line had trouble against stunts from the Pats and Bears. Good to see McVay actually working on fixing the problem instead of just saying he will.
 

snackdaddy

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  • All these elements are adding up to mean that there’s a real possibility Donald is better in 2019 than he was in 2018.

YIKES!

Sincerely, every Rams opponent in 2019.
 

Selassie I

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#8 - Was very concerned about this since the Rams O Line had trouble against stunts from the Pats and Bears. Good to see McVay actually working on fixing the problem instead of just saying he will.


Hey... I gotta ask about the new avi???

Who's this little one?