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Practice Report 12/15: Offense on a Short Week
By Myles Simmons
View: http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-practicereport/Practice-Report-1215-Offense-on-a-Short-Week/509b62f1-d05b-4058-82ee-3a6f4a7fb761
With the contest against the Buccaneers just a couple days away, the Rams have had to cram a lot into a little bit of time. It’s a challenge that’s keeping Rob Boras up at night once again, now in his second week since assuming the duties of offensive coordinator.
“This week’s really short. This is a hard turnaround,” Boras said. “Doesn’t matter if you’ve been doing this for 20 years as a coordinator or six days -- these Thursdays are hard.”
Head coach Jeff Fisher thought enough of Boras’ performance as a playcaller last week to give him a game ball, an honor Boras said speaks more about the team than just himself.
“I like living in anonymity,” Boras said. “To me, that was for all of us. The whole offensive staff was unbelievable. The players were unbelievable. Obviously, personally, there’s a lot of pride with that. But that’s just a compliment to how everybody stepped up.”
The reviews were positive from St. Louis’ quarterback, too.
“I think he’s working his tail off,” Case Keenum said. “You look at it, it’s a pretty tough time to take over. Your quarterbacks change, and then you get a short week. So that’s two pretty tough weeks on a coordinator, and I think he’s handled it very well.”
Now the club has moved on to a Buccaneers team that sports a quality defense. It’s difficult enough to come up with install a gameplan when there’s a full week of practice, but playing on Thursday can make that process tougher. However, it also can help in keeping things simple, according to Keenum.
“For me, it keeps a lot of the clutter out,” Keenum said. “I keep things simple. I’m not really seeing ghosts. I’m watching what I watch on film, and then I’m moving on to the next thing.”
“After a full week of watching film, sometimes you can watch the same clip so much that you start seeing things that aren’t there,” Keenum added. “You start trying to read too much into a defense, or trying to see too much, or do too much. When it comes down to it, you have to trust your fundamentals, and your technique, and your reads, and just go through them.”
Still, Tampa Bay is no pushover, especially defensively. Led by linebacker Lavonte David and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, the Buccaneers have developed a quality defense that plays well in Lovie Smith’s system. The so-called “Tampa 2” defense has worked well for years, going back even further than Smith’s long tenure as the Bears’ head coach.
“They do what they do and they’re good at it," Keenum said. "And they’ve got some really good players on the front end and back end that have done really well, put some really good things on film. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
“It’s not like they’re one of those exotic defenses that tries to fool your quarterback,” Fisher said. “They beat you by putting people in position, on their toes, ready to break, and then collapsing the pocket real quick, and the ball has to come out. That’s how his defenses have always been.”
In fact, Boras served as the Bears’ tight end coach from 2004-2009, saying Tuesday he recognizes many facets of what the Buccaneers are doing from that time.
“I went back to some of my notes from 2004 and 2005 when I was still there, and it’s a lot of the same stuff,” Boras said. “Obviously, there’s been influences with [defensive coordinator Leslie] Frazier joining him and some different things, but for the most part, it’s very similar to what we saw.”
The familiarity does work both ways. On his conference call with St. Louis media, Smith said he could tell then that Boras had potential to be an offensive coordinator.
“Rob had a wide range,” Smith said. “And a lot of times when you coach the tight ends, you’re involved with the passing game and of course you’re involved in the running game quite a bit. I know Rob was a coordinator, I think at UNLV, before that. You saw him heading in that direction.”
While coaching against an old friend could bring up fond memories, Boras said he’ll be able to handle it.
“If it was the first time I was getting the opportunity to coach against coach Smith, it’d probably be a little bit more special. But this is probably the third time I’ve coached against him since I left,” Boras said. “It’s always fun to coach against your friends and the people you respect.”
With Boras still sleep deprived given all that needs to be crammed in the short week, there likely isn’t much time for all that anyway.
ROSTER MOVE
On Tuesday, the Rams promoted defensive tackle Louis Trinca-Pasat from the practice squad to the active roster. The rookie out of Iowa flashed plenty during training camp, which may have caught the eye of other teams across the league.
“This is the time of year when people express interest in players on your practice squad, and he had a couple opportunities,” Fisher said. “So, we went ahead and brought him up to our active roster.”
After practice, the defensive tackle said he was appreciative of the chance the Rams have given him.
“I'm excited and still working. You always have to be ready for an opportunity and I'm thankful,” Trinca-Pasat said. “I've enjoyed it, and I'm glad I get to continue the journey here.”
The young defensive lineman complimented Aaron Donald, Michael Brockers, and Nick Fairley for the ways they’ve let him pick their brain.
“I've learned a lot about pass rushing while I've been here,” Trinca-Pasat said. “Just watching Donald craft his technique -- the guy is really good. In certain situations, if I'm not sure what I'm going to do or if he has defeated his guy, I like to ask him what he did, and what kind of look he got.
“He's very down to earth, he's always helping out,” Trinca-Pasat continued. “It's just a great group of defensive linemen, coaches, and it makes everything more comfortable to play and learn.”
In order to add Trinca-Pasat to the roster, the Rams cut kicker Zach Hocker.
INJURY REPORT
There were no changes to the injury report from Monday’s estimate to Tuesday’s practice.
Todd Gurley (rest), Kenny Britt (shoulder), Rob Havenstein (calf), and Janoris Jenkins (concussion) were all limited.
Fisher said Jenkins has just one more test to pass before he can be a full participant.
“He’s cleared the concussion protocol. He just had to clear the exertion phase. I’m assuming he did that today,” Fisher said. “We’ll find out this evening how he feels.”
Robert Quinn (back), Andrew Donnal (knee), and Eric Patterson (ankle) did not practice.
Also on the injury front, Fisher said Alec Ogletree could be added to the active roster soon. The linebacker has been on injured reserve/designated to return, and his 21-day window to be activated is starting to run out.
“We’re considering taking him off and activating his practice time. He’s got 21 days, which we’re running out of time, but we’re thinking about doing that on Friday,” Fisher said.
“He’s not quite ready. He’s close,” Fisher added. “The goal would be to try to see if he’s available for San Francisco. If not, then he’s got a head start on the offseason program.”
By Myles Simmons
View: http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-practicereport/Practice-Report-1215-Offense-on-a-Short-Week/509b62f1-d05b-4058-82ee-3a6f4a7fb761
With the contest against the Buccaneers just a couple days away, the Rams have had to cram a lot into a little bit of time. It’s a challenge that’s keeping Rob Boras up at night once again, now in his second week since assuming the duties of offensive coordinator.
“This week’s really short. This is a hard turnaround,” Boras said. “Doesn’t matter if you’ve been doing this for 20 years as a coordinator or six days -- these Thursdays are hard.”
Head coach Jeff Fisher thought enough of Boras’ performance as a playcaller last week to give him a game ball, an honor Boras said speaks more about the team than just himself.
“I like living in anonymity,” Boras said. “To me, that was for all of us. The whole offensive staff was unbelievable. The players were unbelievable. Obviously, personally, there’s a lot of pride with that. But that’s just a compliment to how everybody stepped up.”
The reviews were positive from St. Louis’ quarterback, too.
“I think he’s working his tail off,” Case Keenum said. “You look at it, it’s a pretty tough time to take over. Your quarterbacks change, and then you get a short week. So that’s two pretty tough weeks on a coordinator, and I think he’s handled it very well.”
Now the club has moved on to a Buccaneers team that sports a quality defense. It’s difficult enough to come up with install a gameplan when there’s a full week of practice, but playing on Thursday can make that process tougher. However, it also can help in keeping things simple, according to Keenum.
“For me, it keeps a lot of the clutter out,” Keenum said. “I keep things simple. I’m not really seeing ghosts. I’m watching what I watch on film, and then I’m moving on to the next thing.”
“After a full week of watching film, sometimes you can watch the same clip so much that you start seeing things that aren’t there,” Keenum added. “You start trying to read too much into a defense, or trying to see too much, or do too much. When it comes down to it, you have to trust your fundamentals, and your technique, and your reads, and just go through them.”
Still, Tampa Bay is no pushover, especially defensively. Led by linebacker Lavonte David and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, the Buccaneers have developed a quality defense that plays well in Lovie Smith’s system. The so-called “Tampa 2” defense has worked well for years, going back even further than Smith’s long tenure as the Bears’ head coach.
“They do what they do and they’re good at it," Keenum said. "And they’ve got some really good players on the front end and back end that have done really well, put some really good things on film. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
“It’s not like they’re one of those exotic defenses that tries to fool your quarterback,” Fisher said. “They beat you by putting people in position, on their toes, ready to break, and then collapsing the pocket real quick, and the ball has to come out. That’s how his defenses have always been.”
In fact, Boras served as the Bears’ tight end coach from 2004-2009, saying Tuesday he recognizes many facets of what the Buccaneers are doing from that time.
“I went back to some of my notes from 2004 and 2005 when I was still there, and it’s a lot of the same stuff,” Boras said. “Obviously, there’s been influences with [defensive coordinator Leslie] Frazier joining him and some different things, but for the most part, it’s very similar to what we saw.”
The familiarity does work both ways. On his conference call with St. Louis media, Smith said he could tell then that Boras had potential to be an offensive coordinator.
“Rob had a wide range,” Smith said. “And a lot of times when you coach the tight ends, you’re involved with the passing game and of course you’re involved in the running game quite a bit. I know Rob was a coordinator, I think at UNLV, before that. You saw him heading in that direction.”
While coaching against an old friend could bring up fond memories, Boras said he’ll be able to handle it.
“If it was the first time I was getting the opportunity to coach against coach Smith, it’d probably be a little bit more special. But this is probably the third time I’ve coached against him since I left,” Boras said. “It’s always fun to coach against your friends and the people you respect.”
With Boras still sleep deprived given all that needs to be crammed in the short week, there likely isn’t much time for all that anyway.
ROSTER MOVE
On Tuesday, the Rams promoted defensive tackle Louis Trinca-Pasat from the practice squad to the active roster. The rookie out of Iowa flashed plenty during training camp, which may have caught the eye of other teams across the league.
“This is the time of year when people express interest in players on your practice squad, and he had a couple opportunities,” Fisher said. “So, we went ahead and brought him up to our active roster.”
After practice, the defensive tackle said he was appreciative of the chance the Rams have given him.
“I'm excited and still working. You always have to be ready for an opportunity and I'm thankful,” Trinca-Pasat said. “I've enjoyed it, and I'm glad I get to continue the journey here.”
The young defensive lineman complimented Aaron Donald, Michael Brockers, and Nick Fairley for the ways they’ve let him pick their brain.
“I've learned a lot about pass rushing while I've been here,” Trinca-Pasat said. “Just watching Donald craft his technique -- the guy is really good. In certain situations, if I'm not sure what I'm going to do or if he has defeated his guy, I like to ask him what he did, and what kind of look he got.
“He's very down to earth, he's always helping out,” Trinca-Pasat continued. “It's just a great group of defensive linemen, coaches, and it makes everything more comfortable to play and learn.”
In order to add Trinca-Pasat to the roster, the Rams cut kicker Zach Hocker.
INJURY REPORT
There were no changes to the injury report from Monday’s estimate to Tuesday’s practice.
Todd Gurley (rest), Kenny Britt (shoulder), Rob Havenstein (calf), and Janoris Jenkins (concussion) were all limited.
Fisher said Jenkins has just one more test to pass before he can be a full participant.
“He’s cleared the concussion protocol. He just had to clear the exertion phase. I’m assuming he did that today,” Fisher said. “We’ll find out this evening how he feels.”
Robert Quinn (back), Andrew Donnal (knee), and Eric Patterson (ankle) did not practice.
Also on the injury front, Fisher said Alec Ogletree could be added to the active roster soon. The linebacker has been on injured reserve/designated to return, and his 21-day window to be activated is starting to run out.
“We’re considering taking him off and activating his practice time. He’s got 21 days, which we’re running out of time, but we’re thinking about doing that on Friday,” Fisher said.
“He’s not quite ready. He’s close,” Fisher added. “The goal would be to try to see if he’s available for San Francisco. If not, then he’s got a head start on the offseason program.”
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