Training Camp (SUN Aug-06)

[CGI_Ram]

 

[CGI_Ram]

View: http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Training-Camp-Report-First-Joint-Practice-with-the-Chargers/07325dfb-31c5-4290-8b85-c6f34debbe8f


Training Camp Report: First Joint Practice with the Chargers

On the same day in which football legends LaDainian Tomlinson and Kurt Warner were enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, their former teams took the field at the StubHub Center for their first of two joint practices. In what proved to be a very big teaser to the start of NFL gamedays, the Rams kicked off Day 7 of Training Camp with a competitive and exciting afternoon on the field.

Today’s practice featured a variety of different drills ranging from full-team work to individual drills and just about everything in between. All 180 players from both sides were in high spirits, showcasing their athleticism and energy throughout the two-hour practice. Here’s what you missed from Rams Camp Day 7 - Joint Practice Edition:

TOP TAKEAWAYS
1. A friendly neighborhood matchup:

Even though the Rams and Chargers did not participate in live tackling, the intensity remained high throughout the entire afternoon. The practice began with a series of individual drills taking place at both end zones, with each team working on various positional warm-ups and stretches.

Then it was game-time… Sort of.

The field was split in half as each side got the chance to work on red zone drills and midfield work, switching off at each end. The Rams’ offense opened up their run-game routes, letting running back Todd Gurley loose on a selection of different plays. During one portion of the 11-on-11 drills Gurley managed to misdirect the Chargers’ defense running straight up the middle before cutting back to his left and taking it in to the endzone.

McVay was happy to let Gurley stretch his legs against another team’s defense, describing the back as a “violent runner,” impressed with his ability to power through the gaps and break would-be tackles.

"He did a great job getting it out into the open field and there was a couple where he’s reading it one gap at a time on some of the schemes we have and you can feel his speed once he gets to the corner," McVay said of Gurley's work during Day 7. "He’s a guy that has been motivated and has been a standout throughout the offseason program and it’s been the same throughout camp and we’re expecting big things from Todd.”

Both teams finished off with an assortment of situational drills taking up the full length of the field. It was during this portion of practice that the sidelines really came alive, giving the stadium a true game-like feel, specifically during the two-minute drills. The Rams' hard work on the field allowed the team some valuable experience going up against another system and will be very helpful in evaluating what the Rams will need to work on throughout the next phase of training camp.

"I think there was some good stuff that we saw and until you really get the chance to go back and look at the tape – especially because we were doing some two-spot stuff and I was a little bit more involved in the offense," McVay said of the joint practice. "There was some good, some bad, some things we need to clean up, but I thought it was great work that we got today."

"It will be a great opportunity for us to get back and look at the tape," McVay reiterated. "The Chargers have some great players on the corner, so I thought it was great work where it’s a little bit of a different structure than what we’re typically accustomed to seeing from our defense every single day. This work is invaluable for us.”

2. Goff showing improvement in game-time situations:

Saturday’s practice also gave us an inside look at quarterback Jared Goff’s improvement from Year One to Year Two in a game environment. Though the Rams did emphasize the run game there was plenty of passing to be seen from the second-year quarterback.

During the 11-on-11 drills, Goff recorded a nice completion to tight end Gerald Everett, rolling out of the pocket to his left before drilling the ball up field for a would-be first down. In his first red zone drill of the day, the quarterback found wide receiver Cooper Kupp in the endzone. Although Chargers linebacker Joey Bosa shook up the quarterback on the next play stripping the ball from his hands after the blitz, Goff recovered well - throwing to wideout Pharoh Cooper in the endzone on the following play.

But Goff's biggest bright spot of the day came in the tail end of practice during the team’s two-minute drill. Goff went 8/11 for about 75 yards, taking the Rams offense all the way to the three-yard line before being held to a field goal. After practice Goff said the joint practice proved very effective, allowing him to get some good looks at another team's defense, especially with preseason just a week away.

“I felt good. [There were] a lot of things I thought we did good and a lot of things that I thought we can work on," Goff said. "Off the top of my head, I can point to a couple. But I thought for the most part, we moved the ball pretty well, especially in that two-minute drill there. I was really happy with what we were doing up front. Seeing something different today was good. It was refreshing."

McVay was also pleased with his quarterback noting Goff's football savvy during today's scrimmage along with his confidence throughout the situational drills.

"I thought he settled in, I thought he did a nice job in the two-minute drill taking completions, being smart with the football and then at the end where we did a little bit of move the ball, he made some good third down throws," McVay said of Goff. "I think he’s doing a nice job finding his rhythm, getting more comfortable every single day."

3. Secondary proves its worth:

After yesterday’s practice Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips mentioned that the secondary would be the most surprising part of the Rams defense. And so far throughout the last seven days of training camp, the defensive back group alongside the linebackers have truly proved their worth.

In the joint practice today, the secondary, led by cornerbacks coach Aubrey Pleasant and and safeties coach Ejiro Evero, played well, getting the chance to go up against the deep threat of a veteran quarterback in Philip Rivers. In training camp, Phillips' emphasis thus far has been on pass deflection and cutting down the vertical threat and today that was put on display.

Cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman continues to impress during camp. Today, Robey-Coleman had a great pass deflection stopping a long ball to the ten yard line. Linebacker Kevin Davis had the Rams' first interception of the day, placing his toes carefully in bounds for the pick. Overall, the secondary continues to be a bright spot of improvement for the Rams. Though McVay focused mainly on the offense in today’s scrimmage, he made sure to give high praise to the intensity of the secondary as a whole.

"I can’t wait to go back and see how the defense did," McVay said. "Because we did so many two-spot drills, I was a little bit more involved in the offense, so I can’t wait to go back and look at the tape. But anytime I’m kind of peeking over my shoulder just from what we’ve seen throughout the offseason program – it kind of carried on today where guys were flying around, doing a good job of playing smart. I thought they did a nice job from what I saw just kind of on the brink.”

FIELD-LEVEL OBSERVATIONS
- Wide receivers Tavon Austin and Josh Reynolds along with linebacker Samson Ebukam missed today’s practice, out with minor issues. They all remain day-to-day.

- Defensive tackle Michael Brockers and outside linebacker Robert Quinn were limited in today’s practice while safety Lamarcus Joyner did not participate at all. McVay said they were held out as part of the team’s management program, meant to keep all of their athletes healthy and performing at their best.

- Cornerback E.J. Gaines had a nice one-handed grab during the warm up portion displaying solid hands even on the sidelines.

- The defense struggled a bit with the mobility of Rivers who was able to cut up the middle on a few early routes. Later in practice the D-Line was able to hold down the run a bit more, adjusting well to the Chargers’ offense.

- Left tackle Andrew Whitworth held his own on the line, blocking well for the majority of the day against the Chargers’ Melvin Ingram.

- Linebacker Mark Barron had a nice play during the midfield drills forcing the incomplete pass from Rivers in man coverage.

- Tight end Tyler Higbee had a nice grab in the endzone for the touchdown during red zone drills. Has connected well with Goff for the last few days.

- Wideouts Robert Woods, Paul McRoberts, Cooper and Kupp saw a lot of action today taking the majority of the first-team reps at the receiver position.

PLAY OF THE DAY
Today’s play of the day was brought to you by veteran inside linebacker Alec Ogletree. During the last portion of this afternoon’s practice Ogletree showcased his quick speed on display, blitzing Rivers for the sack.

Rivers did not even have the chance to step back and settle into the pocket before Ogletree was all over him. The defensive play was a great example of the added mobility and aggressiveness in Phillips' new hybrid 3-4 scheme.

PRESS POINTS
After practice McVay spoke to the media about how he felt Day 7 went for the Rams, but also took the time to honor new Hall of Famer Kurt Warner. Catch up on his best point from Day 7:

SEAN McVAY:

On if the practice went like he expected it would: "I also wanted to just congratulate former Rams quarterback Kurt Warner on his Hall of Fame induction last night. What an important part of this organization he’s been. I reached out and connected with him a little bit, but what a great player, what a great person and a great representation of this organization.”

 

[OldSchool]

Great summary CGI thank you! It looks like you double pasted some stuff though at the end

 

[CGI_Ram]

Great summary CGI thank you! It looks like you double pasted some stuff though at the end

Thank you for pointing that out! I have corrected it!

 

[DaveFan'51]

I hadn't realized that some of our starters where, like Quinn & Brockers, where held out of yesterday practice against the Charger!
I want to here what McVay has to say after he reviews the film from the practice!
Today should be Fun, "Kids Day", should be packed-up!!

 

[Florida_Ram]

Sunday, August 6 ( 3:30 PM ) KIDS DAY !

Most everyone of us fell in love with the Rams as a young kid. I was 6 years old when my older brother and father taught me how to read the statistics in the sports page from the local newspapers.

From 6 years old until the internet was invented, I became addicted and had to have a copy of the sports page so I could read the football articles and view the statistics to see how the Rams were stacking up vs the other teams.

Once the Rams get your heart at such a young age, you will never be able to separate your childhood emotions and passion for them no matter how old we get. :yess:

 

[Ram65]

Left tackle Andrew Whitworth held his own on the line, blocking well for the majority of the day against the Chargers’ Melvin Ingram.

Other reports had Ingram giving the Rams a hard time, like he was unstoppable. Was it against backups? I read the Rams O Line backups had a bad day.

- Defensive tackle Michael Brockers and outside linebacker Robert Quinn were limited in today’s practice while safety Lamarcus Joyner did not participate at all. McVay said they were held out as part of the team’s management program, meant to keep all of their athletes healthy and performing at their best.

This makes the reports of Rivers beating the Rams deep a little easier to take. Hard to know exactly who was playing when something happened.

Wideouts Robert Woods, Paul McRoberts, Cooper and Kupp saw a lot of action today taking the majority of the first-team reps at the receiver position.

McRoberts getting some PT. I liked him but, he seems to play similar to Reynolds. Could be with Reynolds out he gets his chance. Hope the injured guys heal up. Tavon and Reynolds need to be on the field.

 

[Zero]

Bonsignore: Jared Goff provides glimmer of hope…

http://www.ocregister.com/2017/08/0...provided-a-glimmer-of-hope-saturday-for-rams/

Through the haze of the early-evening sunset Saturday at StubHub Center, a glimmer of hope emerged for the Rams.

It came and went as fast as Melvin Ingram bursting off the edge of the line of scrimmage toward an opposing quarterback. And it will be long forgotten by the time the Rams return to practice Sunday at UC Irvine, let alone when they kick off next week against the Cowboys in their preseason opener or when they welcome the Colts to the Coliseum the second week of September to open the regular season.

In the whole scheme of things, it was nothing more than a footnote in a 16-game NFL season.

But it was there nonetheless, witnessed by the several thousand Chargers season-ticket holders who showed up at StubHub Center to watch the Chargers and Rams practice together.

Toward the last half of practice, the two teams lined up 11 on 11 in a two-minute drill. It was first-team offense against first-team defense, the ball being set down 70 yards from the opposing end zone.

First up was the Rams and second-year quarterback Jared Goff who, operating exclusively out of the shotgun, marched the Rams down the field while completing 8 of 10 passes.

The drive ended short of the Chargers goal line when Goff threw out of the end zone on third down rather than try to force the ball into tight coverage. His phase of the drill was done at that point, but the work he put in and the results it elicited were not lost on anyone.

The Rams have invested heavily in Goff, and it goes well beyond even the six draft picks they traded to move to the top of the 2016 draft to select him first overall. They hired a new coach in Sean McVay with an offensive background and experience in developing quarterbacks. And he, in turn, surrounded himself with an offensive staff heavy on offensive and quarterback development.

They reached into the free agent market to add a reliable wide receiver in Robert Woods and an elite left tackle in Andrew Whitworth. They took a deep dive at wide receiver and tight end in the draft with Gerald Everett and Cooper Kupp and Josh Reynolds.


These were necessary moves to try to inject life into an offense that ranked dead last in far too many NFL categories. But also to help expedite the development of Goff, for whom so much was invested and so much is expected.

And while his performance Saturday will soon fade from memory, it was one of those signposts teams like to see on the often bumpy road from which quarterbacks are either or made or broken.

The last time we saw Goff share the field against a team other than the Rams, he was was a shell-shocked, beaten-down rookie whom the Arizona Cardinals terrorized with seven sacks. It was the seventh and final leg of a demoralizing rookie season in which Goff continually operated under pressure behind a hapless offensive line and alongside wide receivers who struck little fear in anyone.

On Saturday, playing behind a rebuilt offensive line and a retooled receiving corps, Goff looked confident and decisive as he smartly and prudently moved the Rams down the field connecting on short passes to Woods and second-year wide receiver and tight end Pharoh Cooper and Tyler Higbee.

With the Chargers scheming to take away the big pass, Goff didn’t try to force the issue by driving the ball into dangerous areas and tight windows.

“Taking what they gave us,” Goff said afterward. “They were playing their base defense, and with what they brought the underneath stuff was open so when it’s there you keep taking it.”

Or, as McVay put it: “Being smart with the football.”

Those are sacred words for a head coach, especially one with an offensive background like McVay. No need to try deliver ball into nearly closed windows when targets are bound to be open somewhere on the field.

Sometimes they’re identified on a pre-snap read, sometimes by taking the necessary time to survey the field. Point being, there’s usually a safe place to throw a ball on any given play. Even if it’s out of the end zone to preserve a shot at a field goal.

In fact there’s a drill McVay puts his quarterbacks through in which they slowly, methodically scan from one read to the next on their read progression before finally throwing the ball. It forces them to slow down and look at every potential receiving target.

Goff did that Saturday in the two-minute drill. The reward was a segment of practice tape he’ll be satisfied to scour over.

“There were a lot of things I thought we did good, there were a lot of things I feel we need to work on,” he said. “Off the top of my head I can point to a couple, but I thought for the most part we moved the ball pretty good especially in that two-minute drill.”

It helped that, for the most part, the rebuilt offensive line he’s playing behind gave him pockets to work from.

“I was really happy with what we were doing up front. Really confident, really felt good.”

Goff is by no means a finished product. Coming from a spread offense in college in which he operated mostly out of the shotgun, he still looks more comfortable in that setting than under center. Balancing that out is a constant point of emphasis in camp

“That’s the biggest thing is figuring out a way to transition some stuff where you’ve been in the gun and then operating under center with some of the play actions and bootlegs and just dropping back from under center,” McVay said. “But I think he’s doing a nice job finding his rhythm, getting more comfortable every day.”

Saturday was one of the more comfortable days.

It provided just the tiniest glimmers of hope.

But it was a glimmer of hope nonetheless.
********************************************************************************************

 

[Legatron4]

Now that's a pocket Rams fans

 

[Loyal]

Why couldn't we have gotten an Andrew Whittworth 8 years ago? He alone, may get us a playoff spot by protecting Goff's blind side and plowing a patch for Gurley. GRob was a cancer, which I am sure that he did not mean to be....He made so many drives worthless by penalties/false starts/holding....Let's hope that Whit can take the same juice Tom Brady is using and be with us playing at a high level for 3-5 more years. Meanwhile, Snead get his replacement next year and don't fark this up!

 

[Ram65]

View attachment 20847
Now that's a pocket Rams fans

Yes but this one looks muddy. Seems like the Chargers pass rush was better than the Rams pass blocking.

 

[JackDRams]

Yes but this one looks muddy. Seems like the Chargers pass rush was better than the Rams pass blocking.

Yeah, looks like Brown and Sullivan got beat bad. But Saffold, Whit and Havenstein holding their own.

 

[Ram_Rally]

Yeah, looks like Brown and Sullivan got beat bad. But Saffold, Whit and Havenstein holding their own.

I was gonna say the exact same

 

[BonifayRam]

Who is #65? Appears to be the center in all these photo's. Must be Sullivan?Sully's listed #no is 61.

 

[Ram65]

Yeah, looks like Brown and Sullivan got beat bad. But Saffold, Whit and Havenstein holding their own.

Yes I didn't realize how bad Brown got beat till after I made my post. It way worse than muddy. Well, three out of five being beaten IS bad.

 

[Ram65]

Who is #65? Appears to be the center in all these photo's. Must be Sullivan?Sully's listed #no is 61.

Here is a link with a picture of Sullivan wearing #65 as a Viking. Seems like it is him getting beat. Rams have his number messed up. He might have changed from 61.

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgur...ved=0ahUKEwjvrZC6hsPVAhUD0WMKHeMECaoQ_B0ILjAB

 

[OldSchool]

Who is #65? Appears to be the center in all these photo's. Must be Sullivan?Sully's listed #no is 61.

Yes the Rams site and many others have the numbers wrong. Sullivan is 65 and a rookie UDFA from Appalacian St is 61.

 

[Florida_Ram]

ut this one looks muddy. Seems like the Chargers pass rush was better than the Rams pass blocking.

Yeah, looks like Brown and Sullivan got beat bad. But Saffold, Whit and Havenstein holding their own.

Sucks that we have to wait until the second preseason game to get a decent sample size of the starting O-Line unit. I honestly have no feeling of how good this group is going to be and I'm concerned about the 2nd string unit.

At least we will get to see the second and 3rd string O-Line units get plenty of snaps vs Dallas next Saturday.

I'm concerned for Mannion and Orlovsky getting a clean pocket to throw from against the Cowboys 2nd & 3rd string front seven.

Dallas already has one preseason game under their belt so their front 7 reserves might be much more game ready than our O-Line reserves.


The 2016 O-Line unit was as bad as I've seen in a long time

 

[BonifayRam]

Yes I didn't realize how bad Brown got beat till after I made my post. It way worse than muddy. Well, three out of five being beaten IS bad.

We all new that Brown would be the Rams OL biggest question mark in this OL. With 4 of the 5 starters being new to this team or to new OL positions it would be a given there will be some bumpy early events. I still maintain that Andrew Donnal might end up starting @ RT if Jamon Brown has issues. As for Saffold having a bad day......might be because of who he was facing off against .....Melbane who has assaulted & battered Rodger for most of his NFL career when he played for Seattle.

I think I read in many articles that the DL of Joey Boza/ Melvin Ingram/ Brandon Mebane/ Corey Liuget may be the most improved DL in the NFL. I even seen where they are listed as #1. Ref. Mebane....now 32 was voted Chargers team Captain & Chargers Most Inspirational Player. He played 9 seasons as a Seahawk.

http://chargerswire.usatoday.com/2017/07/12/usa-today-ranks-chargers-defensive-line-no-1-in-nfl/

 

[WestCoastRam]

Things I think I think going into week two of training camp:

1) Competition between Webster and Gaines is still on-going. I thought Webster had the edge but competing reports out of the scrimmage makes me think it's still up in the air.

2) Our oline depth is BAD. Sounds like we have nothing in the cupboard which is frustrating since that prob means Wichman, Donnal et all haven't progressed.

3) Brown needs some seasoning at RT. Seems like he struggled some against SD. That being said, Bosa and Ingram are top talents and he was likely against them a lot.

4) Goff looks better than last year but his timing on deep passes needs work and more importantly his timing work on plays needs work. Getting the ball out on time or throwing it away are the top things for him to work on.

5) Doesn't sound like Mannion's in any different of a place talent/skill wise from last year.

6) Rams need their speedsters to get healthy quick. Why is Thomas still on PUP? Something's strange there. I fear any timing on deep routes will have not developed going into regular season if this continues much more into this week.

7) Brown has solidified the #2 running back spot but who plays on third down? How are the backs doing blocking? Seems like we'll be seeing backs out on routes far more with less blocking anyways.

8) Higbee has the right attributes... it will all come down to consistency catching the ball. Everett is the real deal but needs work almost all TE's do coming into the league blocking and learning the O.