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Aug-05 Camp Thread
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Practice Report 8/5: Rules of the Game
By Myles Simmons
[www.therams.com]
Every year there are a few changes to the NFL rulebook. Some are designed to enhance player safety, others made to quell any competitive unbalance. On Friday, a crew of NFL officials were at UC Irvine to help explain them to the Rams through a short video presentation and officiating practice.
“It’s always good when you have a referee and part of his crew out,” head coach Jeff Fisher said. “We’ll kind of informally talk; they’ll informally talk with the players, answer questions and things like that. It’s always a good meeting to attend.”
“One of the reasons we come to training camp, is to show the video and to answer questions, and then put ourselves on the field with them, so [they can] ask questions out on the field,” said referee John Hussey, who also gave a presentation to the media. “A lot of times they won’t ask a question in the meeting, just for whatever reason. But they’ll come up to you out on the field and they’ll talk in further detail. It’s very helpful for us, and I’ve always found it good to engage with the players in an environment where we can kind of interact and kind of figure stuff out.”
VIEW GALLERY | 69 Photos
PHOTOS: #RamsCamp Day 6
Fisher said he wasn’t too concerned about any of the rule changes, though there was one he brought up that may take some adjusting.
“There’s not really anything significant other than, to me, from my opinion, other than the touchback,” Fisher said. “We have to wait and see where that goes during the year. Beyond that, subtle changes related to player safety and things like that.”
While many recent changes to the rulebook have a reputation for benefiting the offense, there are a couple this year at least in part designed for defensive players. The most clear example of that is the elimination of the chop block.
From the video the officials show to players around the league, a chop block is “a two-man, high-low block, in which a defensive player is engaged above the waist by one offensive player, and blocked at the thigh or below by another offensive player.” As Hussey put it, these blocks have mostly been phased out of offenses. But in the few instances that they do happen, it is a safety issue because of the high risk for lower-leg injuries.
“If you’re out there and you see it, it’s ugly,” Hussey said. “And it engenders ill will because players have careers. I like [the change].”
Another point of emphasis this year will be the quarterback feet-first slide. This year, it’s a point of emphasis for signal-callers to get down early if they want full protection from receiving a legal hit by a defender.
“They were pushing the envelope of getting to the ground,” Hussey said. “And that’s what the point of emphasis is to them, to say, ‘hey, you want max protection and you don’t want to get touched at all, then get down early.’ And that’s the message that we hope is clear.”
That, however, doesn’t mean a defender has free reign on a quarterback who’s clearly going to the ground — particularly when it’s a player-safety issue.
If [the quarterback] slides while the defensive contact is imminent, then the defender needs to stay off the head,” Hussey said. “If he’s airborne and he’s launching, and he’s up around the head or neck area [the quarterback is] fouled. Or if [a defender] lowers the crown of his helmet to any part of his body, [the quarterback is] fouled.”
Another headline-garnering change is two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties resulting in an ejection. Officials have always had the option to eject a player if necessary — for actions such as a punch or spitting. But implementing this rule is akin to making a deterrent so players will be less likely to do whatever they’ve done again.
“This is really an emphasis toward behavior toward your official and your opponent,” Hussey said. “Taunting, actions towards us — so it’s just putting more depth in the unsportsmanlike [conduct penalties].”
There are a few more rule changes and points of emphasis that will be implemented for the 2016 season. If you’d like to watch the video the players saw about them, you can view it here.
EXTRA POINTS
— The Rams will host Family Day at the Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. The players will strap up their pads at the stadium for the first time since returning to Los Angeles.
“Oh man, that’s going to be a great feeling. It’s definitely going to be breathtaking,” offensive lineman Rodger Saffold said. “You’re talking about just a ton of people in there. It’s going to be good just to just scrimmage.”
While the event is free, fans do need to register for tickets. You can do that at the link here.
Gates open at 1 p.m. and practice will start at 3 p.m.
— Rookie wide receiver Pharoh Cooper made his return to the practice field on Friday after sitting out a few practices due to a mild quad issue.
“They’re just being precautionary about it — nothing real, real serious,” Cooper said of his quad. “It felt good to get back on the field today after a couple of days off. It was the first time I could actually put the pads on, so it felt good to be back out there with the boys instead of just watching.”
— Fisher said cornerback E.J. Gaines has a mild hamstring strain and will be out for a little while.
“I haven’t ruled him out for Dallas yet, but I’m not anticipating him doing anything tomorrow,” Fisher said.
— As expected at this point, Fisher confirmed Case Keenum will be the starting quarterback in the Rams’ first preseason game against the Cowboys on Aug. 13. Rookie QB Jared Goff will follow Keenum and get significant playing time.
“Nothing unusual — what you want to do is you want to play your starting quarterback with your starters and then you start subbing and then Jared comes in,” Fisher said. “He will get to play. I’m sure he will get to play quite a bit — probably play a half.”
— Finally, the Rams had another special guest at practice as the club hosted new Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton for Friday’s session. Fisher said he was excited to have Walton around the team.
“We made contact over a week or so ago and I was really impressed that he wanted to come down and see what we do,” Fisher said. “We got to spend a lot of one-on-one time together today, which was very, very impressive from my standpoint — to have an opportunity to learn his world and he got an opportunity to learn our world.”
Our Dani Klupenger sat down with Walton for her own one-on-one time with the head coach, which you can view in the video below.
By Myles Simmons
[www.therams.com]
Every year there are a few changes to the NFL rulebook. Some are designed to enhance player safety, others made to quell any competitive unbalance. On Friday, a crew of NFL officials were at UC Irvine to help explain them to the Rams through a short video presentation and officiating practice.
“It’s always good when you have a referee and part of his crew out,” head coach Jeff Fisher said. “We’ll kind of informally talk; they’ll informally talk with the players, answer questions and things like that. It’s always a good meeting to attend.”
“One of the reasons we come to training camp, is to show the video and to answer questions, and then put ourselves on the field with them, so [they can] ask questions out on the field,” said referee John Hussey, who also gave a presentation to the media. “A lot of times they won’t ask a question in the meeting, just for whatever reason. But they’ll come up to you out on the field and they’ll talk in further detail. It’s very helpful for us, and I’ve always found it good to engage with the players in an environment where we can kind of interact and kind of figure stuff out.”
VIEW GALLERY | 69 Photos
PHOTOS: #RamsCamp Day 6
Fisher said he wasn’t too concerned about any of the rule changes, though there was one he brought up that may take some adjusting.
“There’s not really anything significant other than, to me, from my opinion, other than the touchback,” Fisher said. “We have to wait and see where that goes during the year. Beyond that, subtle changes related to player safety and things like that.”
While many recent changes to the rulebook have a reputation for benefiting the offense, there are a couple this year at least in part designed for defensive players. The most clear example of that is the elimination of the chop block.
From the video the officials show to players around the league, a chop block is “a two-man, high-low block, in which a defensive player is engaged above the waist by one offensive player, and blocked at the thigh or below by another offensive player.” As Hussey put it, these blocks have mostly been phased out of offenses. But in the few instances that they do happen, it is a safety issue because of the high risk for lower-leg injuries.
“If you’re out there and you see it, it’s ugly,” Hussey said. “And it engenders ill will because players have careers. I like [the change].”
Another point of emphasis this year will be the quarterback feet-first slide. This year, it’s a point of emphasis for signal-callers to get down early if they want full protection from receiving a legal hit by a defender.
“They were pushing the envelope of getting to the ground,” Hussey said. “And that’s what the point of emphasis is to them, to say, ‘hey, you want max protection and you don’t want to get touched at all, then get down early.’ And that’s the message that we hope is clear.”
That, however, doesn’t mean a defender has free reign on a quarterback who’s clearly going to the ground — particularly when it’s a player-safety issue.
If [the quarterback] slides while the defensive contact is imminent, then the defender needs to stay off the head,” Hussey said. “If he’s airborne and he’s launching, and he’s up around the head or neck area [the quarterback is] fouled. Or if [a defender] lowers the crown of his helmet to any part of his body, [the quarterback is] fouled.”
Another headline-garnering change is two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties resulting in an ejection. Officials have always had the option to eject a player if necessary — for actions such as a punch or spitting. But implementing this rule is akin to making a deterrent so players will be less likely to do whatever they’ve done again.
“This is really an emphasis toward behavior toward your official and your opponent,” Hussey said. “Taunting, actions towards us — so it’s just putting more depth in the unsportsmanlike [conduct penalties].”
There are a few more rule changes and points of emphasis that will be implemented for the 2016 season. If you’d like to watch the video the players saw about them, you can view it here.
EXTRA POINTS
— The Rams will host Family Day at the Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. The players will strap up their pads at the stadium for the first time since returning to Los Angeles.
“Oh man, that’s going to be a great feeling. It’s definitely going to be breathtaking,” offensive lineman Rodger Saffold said. “You’re talking about just a ton of people in there. It’s going to be good just to just scrimmage.”
While the event is free, fans do need to register for tickets. You can do that at the link here.
Gates open at 1 p.m. and practice will start at 3 p.m.
— Rookie wide receiver Pharoh Cooper made his return to the practice field on Friday after sitting out a few practices due to a mild quad issue.
“They’re just being precautionary about it — nothing real, real serious,” Cooper said of his quad. “It felt good to get back on the field today after a couple of days off. It was the first time I could actually put the pads on, so it felt good to be back out there with the boys instead of just watching.”
— Fisher said cornerback E.J. Gaines has a mild hamstring strain and will be out for a little while.
“I haven’t ruled him out for Dallas yet, but I’m not anticipating him doing anything tomorrow,” Fisher said.
— As expected at this point, Fisher confirmed Case Keenum will be the starting quarterback in the Rams’ first preseason game against the Cowboys on Aug. 13. Rookie QB Jared Goff will follow Keenum and get significant playing time.
“Nothing unusual — what you want to do is you want to play your starting quarterback with your starters and then you start subbing and then Jared comes in,” Fisher said. “He will get to play. I’m sure he will get to play quite a bit — probably play a half.”
— Finally, the Rams had another special guest at practice as the club hosted new Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton for Friday’s session. Fisher said he was excited to have Walton around the team.
“We made contact over a week or so ago and I was really impressed that he wanted to come down and see what we do,” Fisher said. “We got to spend a lot of one-on-one time together today, which was very, very impressive from my standpoint — to have an opportunity to learn his world and he got an opportunity to learn our world.”
Our Dani Klupenger sat down with Walton for her own one-on-one time with the head coach, which you can view in the video below.
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Warner4Prez
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This is all I want. I think of the last 4 years of Fisher and how camp and preseason were all very vanilla, and then see their record the first 4 games of each year and get a little pissed. Crank it up, have these guys compete and have them in fighting mode come September.
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Go inside day six of the LA Rams training camp with Rams insider, Myles Simmons as he talks about having referees at Friday’s camp.
Watch Rams Camp Report
Watch Rams Camp Report
ReddingRam
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JackDRams
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That would be nice. We already know what Keenum can do. Keenum in the first, Goff the second and third, and Mannion the fourth. It's perfect.
Sweet avatar by the way, A55VA6
Roman Snow
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So I read Goff threw one interception and two nice TD's. Is the one interception the reason people are saying he struggled? Personally at that rate it's 32 td and 16 int I don't know many people that wouldn't take that especially from a rookie QB.
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It's hard for me to get excited (or down) on any players...
A week into camp...
Before any preseason...
I mean I guess I prefer good news... But I just don't put much weight into it.
A week into camp...
Before any preseason...
I mean I guess I prefer good news... But I just don't put much weight into it.
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I concur and the only concern I have now is injuries, I'm confident in the coaching staff on both sides of the ball and I feel good about the talent on the team, stay healthy find a couple of gems and win at the very least 2 preseason games to keep hope alive and pick up a more consistent kicker.
lockdnram21
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Its not just the one interception I've read that passes are late and he should have way more interceptions
lockdnram21
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Check out @AllbrightNFL's Tweet:
View: https://twitter.com/AllbrightNFL/status/761936285007089664?s=09
View: https://twitter.com/AllbrightNFL/status/761936285007089664?s=09
LACHAMP46
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Excellent....just excellent....did you take notes, or was this all from memory?
great work my man... @CoachO & @Hammer would be proud....
As to this question /\,I have seen Goff behind the 2nd team O-Line...And Keenum behind the ones....And most of the time, I see AD, Brockers, Quinn, and Hayes going after Keenum...so....1's against 1's...2nd's vs 2nd's...mostly....sometimes they sub the 1st team defense out often....and keep the first team offense in...
okay...we shall see...I remember the LACK of conversions on 3rd downs last year...Keeping the D on the field all day...If we want to convert on 3rd down...the money$$$$ down, we need our best targets out there...actually getting the ball thrown their way....
Hmmm....see, I'd figure he'd struggle with mechanics...remember, Goff's footwork is magical...his pocket presence, under pressure has been honed for 3 years in the mighty Pac-12 (stay with the narrative, no giggling), I knew he'd look better, physically. I wonder does he know the checks, and does he call the plays in the huddle better? Can Wentz call plays and basically do the simple stuff, better than Goff? At this point, I don't know...
On another note, I'm pissed that Hundley won't play this Sunday....curious to see how his game has grown with the proverbial "redshirt" year.
@lockdnram21
you're just tryin to get me pissed, huh?:redcard::sadwalk::mrburns:
alm:
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fancents86
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Thanks for the update, Merlin. Good to hear Marquez is doing well. I'll be rooting for him hard this season considering alot of people are willing to write him off for rookies who haven't even played a down.
Anyone know what's up with Battle? I've heard one thing and it was positive, but I'd like to know more if possible.
Anyone know what's up with Battle? I've heard one thing and it was positive, but I'd like to know more if possible.
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Rams43
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Yeah, thanks for an outstanding report with lots of insight, Merlin.
Know what?
I think we've stumbled onto some O playmakers this offseason...
Goff (of course)
Higbee (steal)
Cooper (possible steal)
Thomas (possible steal)
Spruce (yes, Spruce)
Add in Groh who seems to be able to maximize these WR's.
An apparently "reborn" Quick.
A surging Williams.
I'm expecting that this '16 O will bear little resemblance to that pathetic '15 O.
By mid season, when they've gelled together, I predict that this O will be a real handful for our opponents. A very worthy complement to our D and ST. Finally...
Know what?
I think we've stumbled onto some O playmakers this offseason...
Goff (of course)
Higbee (steal)
Cooper (possible steal)
Thomas (possible steal)
Spruce (yes, Spruce)
Add in Groh who seems to be able to maximize these WR's.
An apparently "reborn" Quick.
A surging Williams.
I'm expecting that this '16 O will bear little resemblance to that pathetic '15 O.
By mid season, when they've gelled together, I predict that this O will be a real handful for our opponents. A very worthy complement to our D and ST. Finally...
Legatron4
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If you are right; this would be one of the best drafts ever considering the investment to go get Goff.