Rams hold annual night scrimmage after extending Nick Foles/Wagoner

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RamBill

RamBill

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Rams hold annual night scrimmage after extending Nick Foles
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...al-night-scrimmage-after-extending-nick-foles

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- The St. Louis Rams held their annual scrimmage Friday night at Lindenwood University. The biggest event of the night took place before the team ever stepped on to the field, as the team struck a deal with quarterback Nick Foles on a two-year contract extension.

But Rams coach Jeff Fisher was pleased with more than just getting his starting quarterback signed.

"(It's) just a good change-up and it was another training camp day and we got a lot of stuff," Fisher said. "We got a lot of situational stuff done. Tomorrow we're going to move over to the special teams area and then have a couple good practices before we get in the preseason. So it was a productive week for us."

Some other notes and observations from Friday's scrimmage.

The list of Rams sitting out Friday night included end Chris Long, receiver Kenny Britt, guard Cody Wichmann, linebacker Korey Toomer, defensive tackle Doug Worthington, running back Tre Mason, safety Maurice Alexander and cornerback Brandon McGee.

Pretty much every season, the battle for the backup quarterback job unofficially picks up steam at the scrimmage. This year, it's Austin Davis against Case Keenum for the No. 2 job, with Sean Mannion right behind. Neither had much success Friday. Keenum was up and down as he bounced one swing pass in team and sailed one in seven-on-seven. He later rebounded with a strike to Brian Quick on a comeback route and followed by hitting Bradley Marquez down the seam for what would have been a big gain. The order of substitutions at the position went Foles then Davis then Keenum then Mannion in the first set of team drills. Keenum and Davis switched during the next rotation.

With Mason and Todd Gurley not participating, Isaiah Pead got some work with the first-team offense at running back. Under the same scenario Thursday, Chase Reynolds and Benjamin Cunningham got most of the reps, but Pead got some chances on Friday as well. He had a touchdown catch on a pass from Davis with the second-team offense during red-zone drills.

Mannion continues to have some nice moments. He lofted a perfect touchdown pass to Marquez from 5 yards out to the far right corner of the end zone in 7-on-7. Offering an example of how up and down it can be for a rookie signal-caller, Mannion threw a bad interception on the next play to linebacker Marshall McFadden.

Demetrius Rhaney took his turn with the first team at center. The rotation will start back over with Tim Barnes when the team has its next full-squad practice on Sunday. Barnes stepped in for Rhaney at one point when it appeared Rhaney got something in his eye.

On Thursday, Fisher offered praise for his offensive line and his team as a whole for cutting down on pre-snap penalties. With the officials in attendance Friday night, though, it was back to the usual penalty woes. Garrett Reynolds and Greg Robinson were both responsible for a false start. There were a handful of other miscues as well.

Kicker Greg Zuerlein nailed a 64-yard field goal during special teams portion of the practice. That's nothing new. It was at the team scrimmage his rookie season when he drew attention for converting from distances beyond 60 yards.

In the most lighthearted moment of the night, 318-pound guard Brandon Washington caught a kickoff and ran it back for a "touchdown." Washington drew a loud applause from the fans in attendance. We'll have to double check but I think he fell just short of a land-speed record.

The Rams are back at it Saturday for a special-teams-only practice scheduled for 5:45 p.m. ET. That session is closed to the public.
 
shovelpass

shovelpass

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RamBill said:
In the most lighthearted moment of the night, 318-pound guard Brandon Washington caught a kickoff and ran it back for a "touchdown." Washington drew a loud applause from the fans in attendance. We'll have to double check but I think he fell just short of a land-speed record.
Click to expand...
He still has a chance to make the team.
 
RamBill

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Rams notes: TE Cook excited about upcoming season
• By Joe Lyons

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_35c52cf7-b2cc-5078-973c-acbfc550b1ba.html

In his seventh NFL training camp, Rams tight end Jared Cook has never felt better about an upcoming season.

“I’m always excited at this time of year, but this is definitely the most excited I’ve been in my career,’’ Cook said. “I think we’re putting all the pieces together to play a good game each and every Sunday and I’m really excited about that.

“Everything just feels right. This is by far the most confidence I’ve had going into a season. It’s probably the best team I’ve been a part of. Now, it’s just a matter of putting everything together and getting things done on the field.’’

Following a stellar career at the University of South Carolina, Cook was drafted in the third round in 2009 by the Tennessee Titans. After four seasons there, he signed as a free agent with the Rams before the 2013 season.

Largely because of the five-year, $35 million deal he signed, Cook has been criticized by some during his time with the Rams. But the 6-foot-5, 254-pounder has been productive, leading the team in receptions both years. In 2013, he caught 51 passes for 671 yards and five touchdowns and followed up last fall with 52 catches for 634 yards and three scores.

“Things are coming together pretty well,’’ said Cook, 28. “But we’re never satisfied. No matter what, there’s always more work to do.’’

For Cook, the focus in this year’s camp has been working to get on the same page with new quarterback Nick Foles. The two seem to be hitting it off, especially in red-zone drills through the first couple of weeks of camp.

“It’s about building a rapport with your quarterback, making sure he knows where you’re going to be,’’ Cook said. “He’s a hooper, a former hooper, so he’s used to throwing alleys (alley-oops), so that might have something to do with it. Like everybody, we’re just working to get better. Myself, I’ve been doing a lot of one-on-one work with Kenan Smith, our new assistant tight ends coach, both pre- and post-practice.’’

CATCHING UP

With cornerbacks E.J. Gaines and Brandon McGee out with foot injuries, the Rams added defensive back Trovon Reed to the roster early this week.

“I’ve definitely got a lot to learn,’’ said Reed, an Auburn University product. “I’ve been working a lot with Coach D (assistant Dennard Wilson), going over the playbook and technique. It’s different than college, a lot more details, but before you know it, I hope to hit the ground running and make some noise out here.’’

A highly regarded recruit from Louisiana — he and Rams tackle Greg Robinson were high school teammates in Thibodaux, La. — the 6-foot, 190-pound Reed played three seasons at wide receiver for Auburn, making 39 catches for 384 yards and a touchdown. As a senior last fall, he shifted to cornerback.

“My mom always taught me that you have to take risk to get reward,’’ said Reed, who was in on 12 tackles with four pass breakups and three interceptions as a fifth-year senior. “At that point, I felt like I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. A lot of people had counted me out. ... I feel blessed to be here.’’

Just after the NFL draft, Reed signed with the Seattle Seahawks.

“I had a minor injury during mini-camp and was cut, so things didn’t go as planned,’’ said Reed, who got the call from the Rams on Sunday. Reed, it turns out, was a major factor in Robinson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 draft, electing to attend Auburn instead of LSU.

“He went to Auburn the year before me,’’ Robinson recalled. “Our high school coach had gone to LSU and Trovon kept telling me that Coach was going to get me to LSU. Then, spur of the moment, I told him that was coming to Auburn. I had to battle it out with my family — they wanted me at LSU — but I stuck to my word and followed Trovon to Auburn.

’’Reed added: “I’m not going to say I made him come to Auburn, but I offered myself as a big brother, somebody to keep an eye on him. And now I guess the roles have reversed; now he’s keeping an eye on me and I’m rolling with him. That’s all God taking care of us.’’

Robinson said that Rams coach Jeff Fisher asked him to look after Reed.

“That’s understood,’’ Robinson said. “That’s my boy,’’

RAM-BLINGS

The Rams drew an estimated crowd of 4,000 for Friday evening’s scrimmage and practice at Lindenwood University.

“My understanding was they used the facility previously. It’s a great venue,’’ Fisher said. “We want to thank Lindenwood University for allowing us to come out. Players really were looking forward to it. It was a good change-up and it was another training camp day. We got a lot of stuff done. We got a lot of situational stuff done.’’

Some highlights from the workout, which was sloppy at times, were a crowd-pleasing coast-to-coast kickoff return by 6-foot-2, 318-pound tackle Brandon Washington and a 64-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein.

Players not participating in Friday’s workout were DE Chris Long, WR Kenny Britt, RB Tre Mason, S Maurice Alexander, CB Brandon McGee, CB E.J. Gaines, LB Korey Toomer, DT Doug Worthington and OL Cody Wichmann.

• The Rams will hold their final three open-to-the-public training camp workouts on Sunday (3:30 p.m. start), Monday (3:30 p.m.) and Tuesday (5:30 p.m.). The team will kick off its preseason schedule Friday, taking on the Raiders in Oakland.
 
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