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Competition never ends for Rams trying to earn a spot at OTAs
By Rich Hammond,
[www.dailynews.com]
It’s difficult to know what to make of the team’s OTA sessions, which reached a midpoint Wednesday afternoon. On one section of the field, teammates laugh and taunt each other. Nearby, linemen grunt as they repeatedly crash into tackling sleds. It’s fairly easy, though, to identify who has the most to gain or lose.
Consider fourth-year pro Cody Davis, who has never started an NFL game. Davis is the early favorite to win the Rams’ open free safety starting spot, but the season opener is still three months away.
Can what happens on a makeshift practice field in June during nine no-tackling practices really make a difference when coach Jeff Fisher pencils in his depth chart? It certainly seems so.
“Personnel is one thing (coaches) talk about in every single meeting,” Davis said after. “So you’re constantly getting evaluated and graded. The depth chart is open for competition, so you can move up or down every single day.”
That’s no exaggeration. Fisher said he meets with his assistant coaches several times a week and instructs each position coach to construct a depth chart of his players from top to bottom.
Fisher has compared his OTAs to college football spring practices, but really, they’re even less formal. These OTA sessions are optional — but almost all Rams have attended — and league rules prohibit tackling.
Players who are nursing injuries from the end of last season are held out for precautionary reasons, but those who participate are judged just the same as in midseason practices.
“Those rankings change every time we meet,” Fisher said, “and they’re based on the experiences we have out here (on the field). You can go from 6 to 3 or 4 to 6. That’s good news for the guys who are rising. We’ll have a good feel for where we are going into (training) camp. This has an impact.”
There seem to be three distinct categories in OTAs. There are players with secure starting spots, players with secure roster spots who are fighting for starting spots and players simply trying to make the roster.
The second category seems to be the least populated. A reasonable look at the Rams’ depth chart reveals perhaps three starting spots up for grabs, in the secondary and along the offensive line.
The defensive backfield is most compelling during OTAs because the Rams need to replace cornerback Janoris Jenkins and free safety Rodney McLeod, both of whom left via free agency. Lamarcus Joyner, Coty Sensabaugh and E.J. Gaines (recovering from a 2015 injury) are competing at cornerback, while Davis, Christian Bryant and Mo Alexander are the presumed top options at free safety.
Competition and evaluation during OTAs is more complicated for defensive players, who are prohibited from hitting, but players said they’re mindful of impressing coaches and of their places on the depth chart.
“There’s a lot of that going on,” Sensabaugh said. “We preach competition every day. (Defensive coordinator) Gregg Williams always says that this is a production business. We’re not going to apologize for competing. I like to say that iron sharpens iron.”
It’s an interesting dynamic on the practice field during OTAs. Coaches attempt to minimize injury risk but also want to see full effort. An impressive effort in June won’t necessarily lead to playing time in September, but players understand the need to gain every possible edge.
“It’s a competition but it’s a friendly competition,” second-string running back Benny Cunningham said. “We do whatever we can to help each other out. At the same time, whoever had the last rep, you want the next rep to be better. I feel like we do a pretty good job of doing that.”
COACH BAILEY
Stedman Bailey, who is recovering from gunshot wounds he suffered last November, cleared waivers Wednesday and will be placed on injured reserve by the Rams with a non-football injury.
Fisher said Bailey will not play in 2016, but that the team will utilize the 25-year-old receiver as something of an adviser or unofficial coach.
“At this point, there’s no medical research that will allow him to play,” Fisher said. “We will put him behind a desk and bring him out on the field and see how he likes it.”
DAY OFF
Fisher has been sprinkling in off days for some of his top players, those who aren’t competing for roster spots or starting jobs. Also, running back Todd Gurley was held out of drills Wednesday.
The work continues for No. 1 overall draft pick Jared Goff, who is being brought along slowly. Fisher praised Goff’s improvement, even as he cited the rookie’s occasional on-field decision-making errors.
“He saw some situations out here that he hadn’t seen before,” Fisher said.
By Rich Hammond,
[www.dailynews.com]
It’s difficult to know what to make of the team’s OTA sessions, which reached a midpoint Wednesday afternoon. On one section of the field, teammates laugh and taunt each other. Nearby, linemen grunt as they repeatedly crash into tackling sleds. It’s fairly easy, though, to identify who has the most to gain or lose.
Consider fourth-year pro Cody Davis, who has never started an NFL game. Davis is the early favorite to win the Rams’ open free safety starting spot, but the season opener is still three months away.
Can what happens on a makeshift practice field in June during nine no-tackling practices really make a difference when coach Jeff Fisher pencils in his depth chart? It certainly seems so.
“Personnel is one thing (coaches) talk about in every single meeting,” Davis said after. “So you’re constantly getting evaluated and graded. The depth chart is open for competition, so you can move up or down every single day.”
That’s no exaggeration. Fisher said he meets with his assistant coaches several times a week and instructs each position coach to construct a depth chart of his players from top to bottom.
Fisher has compared his OTAs to college football spring practices, but really, they’re even less formal. These OTA sessions are optional — but almost all Rams have attended — and league rules prohibit tackling.
Players who are nursing injuries from the end of last season are held out for precautionary reasons, but those who participate are judged just the same as in midseason practices.
“Those rankings change every time we meet,” Fisher said, “and they’re based on the experiences we have out here (on the field). You can go from 6 to 3 or 4 to 6. That’s good news for the guys who are rising. We’ll have a good feel for where we are going into (training) camp. This has an impact.”
There seem to be three distinct categories in OTAs. There are players with secure starting spots, players with secure roster spots who are fighting for starting spots and players simply trying to make the roster.
The second category seems to be the least populated. A reasonable look at the Rams’ depth chart reveals perhaps three starting spots up for grabs, in the secondary and along the offensive line.
The defensive backfield is most compelling during OTAs because the Rams need to replace cornerback Janoris Jenkins and free safety Rodney McLeod, both of whom left via free agency. Lamarcus Joyner, Coty Sensabaugh and E.J. Gaines (recovering from a 2015 injury) are competing at cornerback, while Davis, Christian Bryant and Mo Alexander are the presumed top options at free safety.
Competition and evaluation during OTAs is more complicated for defensive players, who are prohibited from hitting, but players said they’re mindful of impressing coaches and of their places on the depth chart.
“There’s a lot of that going on,” Sensabaugh said. “We preach competition every day. (Defensive coordinator) Gregg Williams always says that this is a production business. We’re not going to apologize for competing. I like to say that iron sharpens iron.”
It’s an interesting dynamic on the practice field during OTAs. Coaches attempt to minimize injury risk but also want to see full effort. An impressive effort in June won’t necessarily lead to playing time in September, but players understand the need to gain every possible edge.
“It’s a competition but it’s a friendly competition,” second-string running back Benny Cunningham said. “We do whatever we can to help each other out. At the same time, whoever had the last rep, you want the next rep to be better. I feel like we do a pretty good job of doing that.”
COACH BAILEY
Stedman Bailey, who is recovering from gunshot wounds he suffered last November, cleared waivers Wednesday and will be placed on injured reserve by the Rams with a non-football injury.
Fisher said Bailey will not play in 2016, but that the team will utilize the 25-year-old receiver as something of an adviser or unofficial coach.
“At this point, there’s no medical research that will allow him to play,” Fisher said. “We will put him behind a desk and bring him out on the field and see how he likes it.”
DAY OFF
Fisher has been sprinkling in off days for some of his top players, those who aren’t competing for roster spots or starting jobs. Also, running back Todd Gurley was held out of drills Wednesday.
The work continues for No. 1 overall draft pick Jared Goff, who is being brought along slowly. Fisher praised Goff’s improvement, even as he cited the rookie’s occasional on-field decision-making errors.
“He saw some situations out here that he hadn’t seen before,” Fisher said.
