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Rodriguez thanks the Air Force during Rams practice at Scott AFB
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_56c6fd29-4f81-537b-ab70-ee9cab6754f6.html
At no point during the Rams' walk-through at Scott Air Force Base did Rams wide receiver Daniel Rodriguez get conflicted and side with the military.
"I think maybe he's always welcome with those guys," tight end Jared Cook said, smiling. "But he's with us for now."
No one ever seems to recognize Rodriguez, the Afghanistan war hero and Purple Heart recipient while in the Army. So it was coach Jeff Fisher who introduced Rodriguez to the Air Force servicemen and servicewomen after Wednesday's 45-minute walkthrough.
"I let the soldiers know that we had one of their own on our team," Fisher said. "So it was a special moment for them."
Speaking to the media later, Rodriguez joked that the time-honored "rivalry" between the branches of the military would never allow an Army man to switch sides and hook up with the Air Force.
But seriously. . . .
"I told them in all reality, if it wasn't for the Air Force I probably wouldn't be alive today," Rodriguez said. "During the battle (of Kamdesh) we had to have a lot of gun runs."
Twice during the 2009 battle, a B-52 bomber dumped its entire payload in the area of the battle, something that Rodriguez said had happened only once previously during the previous U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.
So after Wednesday's walk-through, Rodriguez said, "It was very humbling for me to go up there and say thank you to them. I'm glad that we had a great time and interacted with them."
Rodriguez said he never grows tired of telling his story.
"I'm just living my life and I try to be a positive," he said. "And all I want to do is make sure I live a life that honors my friends that were killed for our freedom."
Fisher doesn't really have a background of family members in the military. But he began having his teams visit the military during his time with the Tennessee Titans. The Fort Campbell Army installation is nearby.
When he came to St. Louis in 2012, Fisher continued the tradition with annual team visits at the end of training camp to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.
"Every year it gets bigger and better," Fisher said. "It's a great opportunity for players to come out and visit with the soldiers and everybody on the base. The National Football League and the armed services, there's a great relationship there. There's a great respect factor.
"We've told our guys, on Sundays we defend our goal line. And day after day after day, they defend their country. There's just such a respect factor from a players standpoint for those that are serving for our country."
Wednesday's event was open only to active duty military, veterans, and their families. Several hundred were in attendance and Rams players signed autographs afterwards. The unique twist to these visits is that the Air Force helps the Rams prepare, in this case for Thursday's preseason finale against Kansas City.
Service men and women from Scott formed a scout team for both the Rams' offense and defense.
"They had plays drawn up (from the Rams' coaching staff)," Cook said. "They had defensive calls up. Defensive alignments. Everything. Everything that we're gonna be seeing (Thursday) night, those guys were out there running. So I guess it was a bit of an NFL practice for them. And a bit of a run-through for us."
What the Scott scout team lacked in size, it apparently made up for in heart.
"Those guys are pretty competitive," Cook said. "They try and knock us down, intercept balls, all that kind of stuff. But it's all in good fun. . .Somebody shot the gap on me a couple of times, almost had a sack but Nick (Foles) got the ball off."
When asked if he saw any good prospects on the Air Force side of the line of scrimmage, Fisher paused and replied: "I'll have to look at the tape."
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_56c6fd29-4f81-537b-ab70-ee9cab6754f6.html
At no point during the Rams' walk-through at Scott Air Force Base did Rams wide receiver Daniel Rodriguez get conflicted and side with the military.
"I think maybe he's always welcome with those guys," tight end Jared Cook said, smiling. "But he's with us for now."
No one ever seems to recognize Rodriguez, the Afghanistan war hero and Purple Heart recipient while in the Army. So it was coach Jeff Fisher who introduced Rodriguez to the Air Force servicemen and servicewomen after Wednesday's 45-minute walkthrough.
"I let the soldiers know that we had one of their own on our team," Fisher said. "So it was a special moment for them."
Speaking to the media later, Rodriguez joked that the time-honored "rivalry" between the branches of the military would never allow an Army man to switch sides and hook up with the Air Force.
But seriously. . . .
"I told them in all reality, if it wasn't for the Air Force I probably wouldn't be alive today," Rodriguez said. "During the battle (of Kamdesh) we had to have a lot of gun runs."
Twice during the 2009 battle, a B-52 bomber dumped its entire payload in the area of the battle, something that Rodriguez said had happened only once previously during the previous U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.
So after Wednesday's walk-through, Rodriguez said, "It was very humbling for me to go up there and say thank you to them. I'm glad that we had a great time and interacted with them."
Rodriguez said he never grows tired of telling his story.
"I'm just living my life and I try to be a positive," he said. "And all I want to do is make sure I live a life that honors my friends that were killed for our freedom."
Fisher doesn't really have a background of family members in the military. But he began having his teams visit the military during his time with the Tennessee Titans. The Fort Campbell Army installation is nearby.
When he came to St. Louis in 2012, Fisher continued the tradition with annual team visits at the end of training camp to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.
"Every year it gets bigger and better," Fisher said. "It's a great opportunity for players to come out and visit with the soldiers and everybody on the base. The National Football League and the armed services, there's a great relationship there. There's a great respect factor.
"We've told our guys, on Sundays we defend our goal line. And day after day after day, they defend their country. There's just such a respect factor from a players standpoint for those that are serving for our country."
Wednesday's event was open only to active duty military, veterans, and their families. Several hundred were in attendance and Rams players signed autographs afterwards. The unique twist to these visits is that the Air Force helps the Rams prepare, in this case for Thursday's preseason finale against Kansas City.
Service men and women from Scott formed a scout team for both the Rams' offense and defense.
"They had plays drawn up (from the Rams' coaching staff)," Cook said. "They had defensive calls up. Defensive alignments. Everything. Everything that we're gonna be seeing (Thursday) night, those guys were out there running. So I guess it was a bit of an NFL practice for them. And a bit of a run-through for us."
What the Scott scout team lacked in size, it apparently made up for in heart.
"Those guys are pretty competitive," Cook said. "They try and knock us down, intercept balls, all that kind of stuff. But it's all in good fun. . .Somebody shot the gap on me a couple of times, almost had a sack but Nick (Foles) got the ball off."
When asked if he saw any good prospects on the Air Force side of the line of scrimmage, Fisher paused and replied: "I'll have to look at the tape."
