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Practice Report 12/30: Last Session of 2016
By Myles Simmons
Another season of practice has come and gone, with interim head coach John Fassel lamenting its ending.
“I guess the only thing on my mind now is I’m going to miss football practice,” Fassel said. “It’s great to always be able to come out here on the grass, huddle the guys up, and pick some dirt and grass up, and said this is pretty sacred stuff – this green grass and dirt that’s between the lines. Just never take it for granted. Practice is fun, man, and it’s a long time before we get to do it again. I’m going to miss it.”
The Rams will take on the Cardinals in the season finale for both teams. Los Angeles won the first divisional matchup with Arizona in Week 4, coming away with a 17-13 victory in a game that seems like it was played a very long time ago.
Though both the Cardinals and Rams are constituted differently than they were during the first quarter of the season, going against a fellow member of the NFC West can aid either team from a gameplan standpoint.
“It helps because you’re not going against somebody you don’t know, or you haven’t gone against them for the first time,” defensive tackle Michael Brockers said. “So, just going back looking at our old game, trying to see what we did good versus them the first time and kind of repeat it the second time, so we can leave the Coliseum with a victory.”
“it’s the same gameplan and a little more,” middle linebacker Alec Ogletree said. “You can’t base [your plan] on what you did last game [because it] is not going to happen the same way in this game. Each game is different.”
One element that’s unique to a Week 17 matchup is how teams will deal with players approaching milestones. Fassel cited running back Todd Gurley and Ogletree as two Rams who will likely be monitored for that reason in this game.
“‘Tree’ needs, I think, five more tackles to get his career best, or something like that,” Fassel said. “That would be a factor. Week 17, at this point in the season, you try to get guys to achieve their goals — whether if you have to manufacture a play-call, or something like that.”
There’s the incentives aspect of motivation, but then there’s also pride. That’s what Ogletree brought up when addressing how he’s staying in it for this final game.
“Just the fact that you get to suit up one more time with guys that you trained with all summer and it’s the last game of the season,” Ogletree said. “And it sucks that we don’t have one after this, but we have to put all our effort into this one game and go try to win.”
But because of the coaching change, this contest also represents the last time the Rams will play as currently constructed. And for a group as close as the 2016 Rams have become, that’s tough.
“You know, you tend to be closer to guys when you’ve been through a struggle,” offensive lineman Rodger Saffold said. “This group is just very resilient. They’re very tough. With everything that’s been going on, all these distractions going on, it’s been a distant memory. We haven’t used any excuses. So that’s the type of guys you want to run with.”
“It’s different every year. The only difference this time is it’s a whole different coaching staff that may come in,” Ogletree said. “Right now, our focus is on Arizona this week and that’s all that we can control at this moment. So, the guys that are here, they’re putting all the effort into coming out here and trying to win this game this weekend. And we’ll worry about the rest later.”
And with the final game coming on New Year’s Day, getting a win would make for some nice symbolism.
“I think it would be big because we’d be 1-0 in 2017,” Fassel said this week. “It would be a great start to a very much needed new year.”
INJURY REPORT
The Rams have four players with an injury status for Sunday’s game.
Wide receiver Kenny Britt (shoulder), right tackle Rob Havenstein (ankle), and defensive back Lamarcus Joyner (ankle) are all listed as doubtful. Neither Britt, Havenstein, nor Joyner practiced this week.
Wide receiver Mike Thomas (hip) is listed as questionable after practicing on a limited basis Wednesday and fully on Friday.
And safety Maurice Alexander (concussion) is expected to play after practicing in full on Friday.
Additionally, wide receiver Nelson Spruce was on the practice field for the first time since being placed on injured reserve. The Rams had not had a player return from injured reserve all season, and Friday marked six weeks since the wideout was put on the list. Thus, he was able to participate.
[www.therams.com]
By Myles Simmons
Another season of practice has come and gone, with interim head coach John Fassel lamenting its ending.
“I guess the only thing on my mind now is I’m going to miss football practice,” Fassel said. “It’s great to always be able to come out here on the grass, huddle the guys up, and pick some dirt and grass up, and said this is pretty sacred stuff – this green grass and dirt that’s between the lines. Just never take it for granted. Practice is fun, man, and it’s a long time before we get to do it again. I’m going to miss it.”
The Rams will take on the Cardinals in the season finale for both teams. Los Angeles won the first divisional matchup with Arizona in Week 4, coming away with a 17-13 victory in a game that seems like it was played a very long time ago.
Though both the Cardinals and Rams are constituted differently than they were during the first quarter of the season, going against a fellow member of the NFC West can aid either team from a gameplan standpoint.
“It helps because you’re not going against somebody you don’t know, or you haven’t gone against them for the first time,” defensive tackle Michael Brockers said. “So, just going back looking at our old game, trying to see what we did good versus them the first time and kind of repeat it the second time, so we can leave the Coliseum with a victory.”
“it’s the same gameplan and a little more,” middle linebacker Alec Ogletree said. “You can’t base [your plan] on what you did last game [because it] is not going to happen the same way in this game. Each game is different.”
One element that’s unique to a Week 17 matchup is how teams will deal with players approaching milestones. Fassel cited running back Todd Gurley and Ogletree as two Rams who will likely be monitored for that reason in this game.
“‘Tree’ needs, I think, five more tackles to get his career best, or something like that,” Fassel said. “That would be a factor. Week 17, at this point in the season, you try to get guys to achieve their goals — whether if you have to manufacture a play-call, or something like that.”
There’s the incentives aspect of motivation, but then there’s also pride. That’s what Ogletree brought up when addressing how he’s staying in it for this final game.
“Just the fact that you get to suit up one more time with guys that you trained with all summer and it’s the last game of the season,” Ogletree said. “And it sucks that we don’t have one after this, but we have to put all our effort into this one game and go try to win.”
But because of the coaching change, this contest also represents the last time the Rams will play as currently constructed. And for a group as close as the 2016 Rams have become, that’s tough.
“You know, you tend to be closer to guys when you’ve been through a struggle,” offensive lineman Rodger Saffold said. “This group is just very resilient. They’re very tough. With everything that’s been going on, all these distractions going on, it’s been a distant memory. We haven’t used any excuses. So that’s the type of guys you want to run with.”
“It’s different every year. The only difference this time is it’s a whole different coaching staff that may come in,” Ogletree said. “Right now, our focus is on Arizona this week and that’s all that we can control at this moment. So, the guys that are here, they’re putting all the effort into coming out here and trying to win this game this weekend. And we’ll worry about the rest later.”
And with the final game coming on New Year’s Day, getting a win would make for some nice symbolism.
“I think it would be big because we’d be 1-0 in 2017,” Fassel said this week. “It would be a great start to a very much needed new year.”
INJURY REPORT
The Rams have four players with an injury status for Sunday’s game.
Wide receiver Kenny Britt (shoulder), right tackle Rob Havenstein (ankle), and defensive back Lamarcus Joyner (ankle) are all listed as doubtful. Neither Britt, Havenstein, nor Joyner practiced this week.
Wide receiver Mike Thomas (hip) is listed as questionable after practicing on a limited basis Wednesday and fully on Friday.
And safety Maurice Alexander (concussion) is expected to play after practicing in full on Friday.
Additionally, wide receiver Nelson Spruce was on the practice field for the first time since being placed on injured reserve. The Rams had not had a player return from injured reserve all season, and Friday marked six weeks since the wideout was put on the list. Thus, he was able to participate.
[www.therams.com]
