I haven't done any long write ups on training camp, even though I go to every one. I've actually now got it timed up so that I arrive just in time for scrimmages, 7-on-7s, 11-on-11s, and red zone drills rather than boring drills. I was telling
@VeteranRamFan that I can get to the practice field from my home in about 4 minutes.
Anyway, here goes my report today.
I was on the near field where we normally see the offense practice. My reasoning is that our defense will be fine. If the offense can keep them off the field for a few long stretches every game and if we don't have any major injuries, we have a top-5/top-3 defense. So, I don't really watch the defense anymore.
Drill Set #1
RBs/TEs vs. their LBs
Essentially, we had our TEs and RBs running different routes against their LBs. This was a 1v1 drill, so the RB/TE was matched up against the LB. Most of the RBs had out routes and wheel routes, while the TEs were working on seam routes and post/corner routes. Our RBs were giving them fits in coverage. Their defenders could not stop the RBs on most plays. It was so bad that in some cases, it looked like the defenders were sitting in zone because they seemed to let up after the first five yards. This may be by design. I don't know if LAC (because the Chargers are now the Los Angeles Clippers of the NFL) plays a zone-heavy defense, but the LBs may cover the RBs for the first five yards before releasing to help over the top. (I'm throwing them a bone here!)
Similarly, the TEs were doing very, very well on their deep routes against the LBs. At one point, I turned to my left just in time to see a LAC player who faked out of his boots and on the ground, while our TE had an easy 15-20 yd. completion. I didn't see too much because I was too busy watching...
WRs vs. their DBs
Goff and Mannion looked fantastic in this drill. There were some drops, but for the most part, they made good, accurate passes, mostly to the outside. The best WRs were Cooper Kupp, as always, Nelson Spruce, and Robert Woods. Kupp mostly seems to run hitches and deep dig routes. Woods tends to run a lot of 7/8/9-type routes, with the occasional out route or comeback, and Spruce runs a lot of in routes and slants. Spruce has amazing hands and great quickness. He's a lot like Amendola, in my mind. They seem to catch balls well despite being covered or held. Woods, on the other hand, does a great job by getting good separation. In traffic, he definitely struggles to locate the ball and snag it.
Kupp? He does
both very well. I hate to make the comparison, but he's kinda like Jerry Rice. His 40 time is 4.65 or something "terrible" like that, just like Jerry Rice. However, his route running is so crisp and his feints are very good. He sets up the defender well. He also uses some contact to knock his defender off balance just before the ball gets there. He did get caught of OPI once, but he does it very subtly. He's going to be our leading receiver, 100% He's already got Goff's eye. Goff often goes to him in third down situations because he knows Kupp will be open and that he'll catch the ball.
Drill Set #2
RBs against LBs in 1v1 blitz pick-up
Rams RBs need a lot of help in this area. They often failed to hold the LB for long, but we have to remember that RBs just need to knock the LB off course in a real game. They don't have to have the blocking power of an O-lineman, so they just need to thwart the LB a bit. Still, this is not a pretty sight, especially concerning given that we're often in 11 personnel, with three receivers. This means that there is no second TE lined up alongside the O-line. May the best blocker stay in on 3rd down situations. In my opinion, it looked like we are going to opt to motion the RB out to create a five-option passing situation to let Goff pick apart the defense quickly rather than keep the RB in to block. Seeing how poorly the RBs impeded the progress of the rushing LB, I'm glad we're doing that. Forget keeping Todd in to block the blitz; let him go out and be another receiving threat and maybe the defense will break down somewhere. None of these RBs are going to be anything close to #28 in pass protection.
The best defense is a good offense, as they say. This will be a problem in 3rd/4th and long situations because the defense will probably bring a DB blitz or a dog blitz to disrupt the longer passing plays.
Scrimmage
Scrimmage was interesting. Our offense was on the near field while the defense was on the far field, so I only saw the offense's plays.
Everything was going just fine when players on the offense's field started running off towards the defense's field. Well, sorta. You see, the LAC
defenders ditched the scrimmage to go looking for a fight on the far field. However, the Rams offense stayed put. This just goes to show you the different mentalities of the defense and offense. As
@VeteranRamFan put it, "The offense doesn't want to get into a fight because they might injure their hands." The defensive-minded players are always looking for someone to hit. :-D
When their defense returned, scrimmage resumed. Again, Spruce, Woods, and Kupp dominated. Hemingway and Higbee also did very well. Higbee is going to be the type of tight end that takes the lid off the defense because the safety sometimes gets distracted by the slot receiver (usu. Kupp/Spruce/Pharoh) or the wideout (usu. Woods). I am expecting big things from the TEs. Hemingway almost always is an in-line TE, meaning he is usually lined up next to a T. Gerald Everett and Higbee sometimes line up on the outside, even in 12-personnel (1-RB, 2-TEs). So, from the QBs left to right it sometimes looks something like this: 10 Cooper out wide, 84-Hemingway next to LT, 86-Spruce in the slot, and 89-Higbee/81-Everett out wide right.
I also noticed the the DBs guarding Cooper gave him plenty of space. They rarely played bump and run against him, which is interesting to see. I wonder if they have done some scouting on their own already.
Another observation from the scrimmages (11v11 and 7v7) was that Goff was operating out of shotgun like 75-80% of the time. Might as well let him do what he does best rather than make him take it from under center because he is supposed to be a QB for a run-first, run-second offense as under Jeff Fisher! I think this is a sign of McVay's willingness to cater to his players' strengths rather than force them to fit into the offensive agenda. Goff makes good, fast decisions these days, and it may be because he is operating more frequently out of shotgun. He can scan and see the field better.
Speaking of seeing the field better, Goff needs to be careful about picking up blitzes. On one particular play, it was obvious that he wanted to throw to Kupp out of the left slot position. He eyed it the whole way, only to see Kupp double-teamed. By the time he went to his second read, the corner blitz from the other side would have annihilated him. This lack of awareness concerns me. Those sack-fumbles are huge game changers. I hope he improves his awareness based on his pre-snap reads.
Hmm, what else? Mannion is fantastic. Don't need to say anything about him except that he will be more than a serviceable backup QB. His arm strength is not as good as Goff's, but his awareness in the pocket and his ability to antipate passing windows is fantastic. He has a stranglehold on the QB#2 position.
Oh, look, Orlovsky threw another INT. Luckily, it was to our defense! Oh well, he's not making the team. QB3 on most game days will be Hekker, so it's really hard to see Safety Dan making the team.
Jamon Brown is the RG. Havenstein is the RT. They only switch in practice, in training camp, to give each some experience in case someone goes down and we need to shuffle. Havenstein is great at RT and Brown is great at RG, end of discussion.
I also noticed that Goff and Mannion had much more time against the LAC defense that they usually do against the Rams D. I hope this is a sign of our defense's superiority. Of course, the back of my mind says that it's because the defense knows the offense's moves better, but who knows? Goff had time all day, and when he didn't, he did a great job of sliding up in the pocket to complete the throw.
Paul McRoberts had a great leaping catch, but he caught the back end of the ball. Got lots of oohs and aahs from the crowd, but I don't see how he makes the team. PS guy against this year, I think.
Only three PBUs by LAC defense, all on the same type of play--an out route from the left wideout position. I dunno if the Rams were just practicing one type of play concept today, but the same guy #43 read it and swatted it away each time, including a near two-handed INT by the sideline. Luckily, he dropped it.
Finally, I wanted to comment on the fact that the LAC DBs were holding our WRs like crazy. Most were called by the officials, and some were missed. Many of them were blatant.
Special Teams
Hekker had one beautiful coffin-corner punt. The ball flew off the field at like the 3 or 4 yd. line. Incredible. On another punt, he had the punt returner running back like 20-25 yds after the punt! It looked a lot like that 78-yd. punt from the Jets game. What a weapon!
Zuerlein hit a field goal from 55 yd. that would have been good from 65 yds. He's fine.
Shakeir Ryan made a nice punt return TD. He caught the ball, started running to his right, saw a cutback lane to his left, and then got past the punter. Touchdown! He is really fast and QUICK. Hard to see him making this team though. We have a lot of TEs and WRs that we need to keep. Think about this:
Tight ends
89-Higbee
84-Hemingway
81-Everett
46-Harkey
39-Rogers
87-Travis Wilson
Of those guys, I would say that Harkey is at most risk for being cut!
Wide receivers
11-Austin
18-Kupp
17-Woods
10-Cooper
86-Spruce
It's nuts.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed my little write-up!
