CAMP REPORT Monday July 29 Camp Reports

[Rams43]

Many thanks, bubba…

 

[AllGasNoBrakes]

Phew! What a long day. TC was packed. Biggest crowd so far. Lots of disappointed people as Matt Stafford was given the day off. He was there in tee and shorts hanging with Big Whitt. Finally got to see Bennett with 11 on 11. He didn't do bad, hooked up with TuTu and Kupp, tried to run when no one was open, didn't get much.

They were in pads, di a lot of stretching, then separated into position groups. QB's RB's practiced hand offs, Wiglasz, Smith, Winn Wittington took turns fielding punts from the juggs machine. Xavier Smith hands down the best of them.

Notes from my voice recorder: Bruss now wearing a brace on his left knee, he only took snaps aon the first series for the 2nd team O.
South end of field Evans practicing punts with a d rush, he gets them off pretty quick, good hang time. Smith again the only one fielding. They worked on punts a good 15 minutes, Josh Wallace and Cam Lampkin raced down as gunnars.

Fun drill with Qb's passing to WR's going 15 to 25 yds with a DB covering. Interesting matchups. Whate on Kupp, Durrant on Nacua, Curl on Robinson. DB's did well.

11on 11's was intense. Lots of had contact. Grappalo and Bennett with some nice passes, and some shitty ones too. Lots of running plays with both Williams and Corum and then a few for Rivvers. Evans got a few handoffs late. Don't think Scott got any.

1st team O stayed the same. 2nd team O got a lot of guys some work. AJ Acuri got work at LT, Warren McClendon got a lot of snaps at RT. Mike McAllister saw work at C. Zach Thomas, Bruss, Leveston Larson all got snaps at G.

Lots of coaching going on between snaps from McVay and Shula. Defense did a good job stuffing the run several times.

McVay had the offense runs a few plays out of 12 personel for the first time. Parkinson on the right and Allen or Hunter on the left. All were running plays.

Thing got heated up between O and D where coaches had to break it up. No punches but lots of yelling.

I like the intensity of the players and coaches. I'm starting to have some confidence this defense can stop the run. The offense is looking real good. Best depth at every position since they came back from ST. Louis. That includes the SB teams. OL is deep. WR is deep. RB is Deep. Even TE.

My standout players today: Fiske, Brennen Jackson, Tyler Johnson and Xavier Smith.

VetRamFan and I are there tomorrow and that may be my last as I have personel stuff to take care of Wednesday.

GN

Great write-up. Hearing so many people praise Fiske. He must have had a day. Anything in particular stand out with him?

 

[dpjax]

Phew! What a long day. TC was packed. Biggest crowd so far. Lots of disappointed people as Matt Stafford was given the day off. He was there in tee and shorts hanging with Big Whitt. Finally got to see Bennett with 11 on 11. He didn't do bad, hooked up with TuTu and Kupp, tried to run when no one was open, didn't get much.

They were in pads, di a lot of stretching, then separated into position groups. QB's RB's practiced hand offs, Wiglasz, Smith, Winn Wittington took turns fielding punts from the juggs machine. Xavier Smith hands down the best of them.

Notes from my voice recorder: Bruss now wearing a brace on his left knee, he only took snaps aon the first series for the 2nd team O.
South end of field Evans practicing punts with a d rush, he gets them off pretty quick, good hang time. Smith again the only one fielding. They worked on punts a good 15 minutes, Josh Wallace and Cam Lampkin raced down as gunnars.

Fun drill with Qb's passing to WR's going 15 to 25 yds with a DB covering. Interesting matchups. Whate on Kupp, Durrant on Nacua, Curl on Robinson. DB's did well.

11on 11's was intense. Lots of had contact. Grappalo and Bennett with some nice passes, and some shitty ones too. Lots of running plays with both Williams and Corum and then a few for Rivvers. Evans got a few handoffs late. Don't think Scott got any.

1st team O stayed the same. 2nd team O got a lot of guys some work. AJ Acuri got work at LT, Warren McClendon got a lot of snaps at RT. Mike McAllister saw work at C. Zach Thomas, Bruss, Leveston Larson all got snaps at G.

Lots of coaching going on between snaps from McVay and Shula. Defense did a good job stuffing the run several times.

McVay had the offense runs a few plays out of 12 personel for the first time. Parkinson on the right and Allen or Hunter on the left. All were running plays.

Thing got heated up between O and D where coaches had to break it up. No punches but lots of yelling.

I like the intensity of the players and coaches. I'm starting to have some confidence this defense can stop the run. The offense is looking real good. Best depth at every position since they came back from ST. Louis. That includes the SB teams. OL is deep. WR is deep. RB is Deep. Even TE.

My standout players today: Fiske, Brennen Jackson, Tyler Johnson and Xavier Smith.

VetRamFan and I are there tomorrow and that may be my last as I have personel stuff to take care of Wednesday.

GN

Great report Bubba!! Love hearing the intensity was high without going over the line. Great to hear about Fiske and Jackson standing out, and I notice Tyler Johnson’s name keeps coming up. Thanks for putting in the time.

 

[ramzie4718]

Any notes about how Verse looked with pads on?

 

[TheTackle]

Yes, there will be a TC report tonight, almost wasn't, had to get the RV to the shop, anyway that got done.
Rumor is pads go on today. I will post that as soon as I know. No VFR pics today, he had family comitment
so I gotta do this one on my own.

Thanks, Bubba

Have you noticed Nick Hampton who McVay said "has shown some good stuff as well"?

It's starting to sound like the Edge rotation is going to give other teams plenty-trouble



View: https://youtu.be/CDXN_7B2KOo?si=R0HS8Pz-NupRGfog

 

[TheTackle]

From reports so far is it safe to think the Rams keep 7 WRs with Xavier Smith the KR/PR?

Coop
Puka
Robinson
Johnsen
Tutu
J Whit
X Smith

Will they only suit two TEs on game day? That seems an important question. I think so, in which case kick the third, e.g. H Long, to the practice squad. OK, that changes when Higbee comes back off PUP/IR but it seems likely we will maintain 11 personnel because it opens up so many options with how well our WRs block - so it makes sense to keep 7 all the way around until Higbee's return

 

[Ram65]

Best depth at every position since they came back from ST. Louis. That includes the SB teams. OL is deep. WR is deep. RB is Deep. Even TE.

I was thinking that too. Thanks for your efforts.

 

[Loyal]

Thanks Bubba!

It's exciting to hear good things about Fiske! Since we traded up for him, I've had a sense about how good he could be.

I've heard very little about Boston Scott and that surprises me somewhat. I thought we picked him up because of how great of a kick off returner he was at Philly? Anything more about him, @bubbaramfan ?

 

[Juice]

Thanks, @bubbaramfan. I look forward to seeing these reports.

 

[Fatboy]

Thank you Bubba ! always a good read . -- the Fatboy !

 

[bubbaramfan]

Boston Scott is out there, he's worked on fielding punts/KO, worked with RB's in their drills, but hasn't got many touches in 11 on 11.

Hampton has only played with 2nd team in 11 on 11 and I haven't, seen him stand out, doesn;t mean he hasn't, just that I haven't noticed him.

 

[HitStick]

Thanks, Bubba!

 

[WestCoastRam]

From Jourdan at Athletic (you should buy, great stuff there on Verse, Dotson, Brennen and more!)

Rookie defensive lineman Braden Fiske rushed well against Jonah Jackson in his first rep, and got some push. Center Steve Avila stood up against him on a later attempt. Fiske was pretty unblockable through team drills later in practice, blowing up a run play and getting deep into the backfield on one snap, and completely bowling over a backup right guard on another. There is a lot of camp left, but Fiske doesn’t look like a rookie second-round draft pick.

 

[WestCoastRam]

Describes Fiske "out there wrecking people."


View: https://x.com/RamsNFL/status/1818337885952586231

 

[rdlkgliders]

Jourdan's Athletic write-up this morning is good but doesn't really tell us anything we aren't hearing from Bubba & VRF along with the tweets and what other members have added in the camp reports threads. What she does so great is summarize neatly all in one place

Hoecht is taking on more of a leadership role and being very vocal he is also leading by example playing with his "hair on fire"

Adding Jimmy G allows the practices to be more fluid and efficient.

Tyler Johnson is having a very good camp

Fiske is making his mark and getting attention from the coaches (looking like he should make an impact year 1)

Dotson is very good

Brennan Jackson has some swagger (looking forward to seeing him in preseason)

 

[Kupped]

Hoecht looking good is only good news. Having four guys who can legitimately rush from the edge will be a big deal for this defense. Can't wait to see it all in action.

 

[Merlin]

Mentioned a while back that I expect the edges will be better this season at stopping the run consistently than they will be on the rush. Not that I don't expect them to get pressures and sacks, they will of course, but in looking at this group on paper I feel like the defense will need to dial up heat to get it consistently on key downs.

But if Fiske can continue doing what he's been doing, which is dominating through the latter portion of last season with the Noles, then dominating during the Senior Bowl, and obviously dominating during Rams camp... That may result in this front being better than expected, as the dropoff from AD might not be as great as expected.

And from there you also have Turner going into year two. Also the edge rotation is certainly more stout with Verse and Jackson added to the mix and Young in year two.

It's an interesting group. Young in years, undoubtedly will play with their hair on fire as a group. When opponents come to SoFi as an OL they will know they're gonna get a full 60 of hard work vs these dudes. So even minus AD it feels like we may end up with a very good defensive front. And given the talent and youth they should improve as the season goes on.

Lastly have to admit that I have been very concerned with the change in DL coach. Given the early reports though it seems like these boys are locked in so I'm gonna put those fears to rest.

 

[Merlin]

Speaking of coaches one of these guys who I expect will be a top name this upcoming offseason for OC jobs will be Nick Caley. According to rumors at least he already turned down an offer to run the Patriots offense this year, so there's no doubt in my mind he is on the league radar as a top choice for next year's staffs when the feeding frenzy begins.

From my perspective Caley has positively impacted this staff from the moment he came onboard, by upgrading their ability to see talent. We saw the Rams finally draft a TE who looks the part in Allen, who if he continues his rise will be the first TE they have hit on in the draft in McVay's era as Rams head coach. Allen is a big boy but he moves well in space and has great hands. Then the move to go get an underappreciated TE from Seattle in FA who is even bigger has resulted in what looks like a complete overhaul of the TE room, to the extent that they haven't missed a beat in camp thus far even with Higs out.

Two years ago Higs missing this much time would have been a catastrophe. Nothing against the old TE depth group, who deserves cred for stepping up during our title run, but this season's group is far better when you consider that Higs will probably return at some point this season, being four deep on guys I would call starter quality players (Higs, Allen, Parkinson, Long).

Also intriguing is the way Caley has moved to integrate move blocks into the Rams system. This was alluded to in a recent Athletic article by Jourdan, and I suspect this had to do with why Caley passed on the Patriots job. Creatively tying in the TE group and working timing of move blocks in the OTA teaching periods without violating the rules on contact is the kind of next level mentality that McVay needs on his staff.

Looking at the staff changes overall it feels like McVay has made this organization stronger. Still think Henderson was a big loss, and there's a lot of unknowns on the defensive side overall. But the offense is the best it's been in years IMO with two strong coaches leading the charge at TE and RB and I can't wait to see what the overall effect is on this offense. Will it finally result in a run game that McVay is confident enough in to dial it up when it matters. I sure hope so.

 

[HitStick]

I take it Fiske already did his offseason trainings with AD99?

Because if that hasn’t happened yet, watch out.

 

[LA_Rams_#29]

From reports so far is it safe to think the Rams keep 7 WRs with Xavier Smith the KR/PR?

Coop
Puka
Robinson
Johnsen
Tutu
J Whit
X Smith

Will they only suit two TEs on game day? That seems an important question. I think so, in which case kick the third, e.g. H Long, to the practice squad. OK, that changes when Higbee comes back off PUP/IR but it seems likely we will maintain 11 personnel because it opens up so many options with how well our WRs block - so it makes sense to keep 7 all the way around until Higbee's return

IF X continues to shine as our return guy.... and Johnson continues to shine.... Tutu may be on the block