Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › Case Keenum and other Rams veterans report to training camp
- This topic has 1 reply, 1 voice, and was last updated 8 years, 3 months ago by
zn.
-
AuthorPosts
-
July 28, 2016 at 11:00 pm #49607
znModeratorCase Keenum and other Rams veterans report to training camp
By Gary Klein
http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-20160728-snap-story.html
Case Keenum experienced a series of firsts as he arrived at Rams training camp.
The quarterback is atop a depth chart going into the exhibition season for first time in his NFL career.
He was greeted upon on arrival by a film crew that followed him to his room. And he is traversing the UC Irvine campus on a bicycle, a mode of transportation he has not used since he was about 12.
“This is a little different too,” Keenum said Thursday as he looked out upon a crowd of reporters, photographers and camera operators. “A few more of you guys.”
Keenum, 28, is expected to eventually become a backup for Jared Goff, the No. 1 pick in the draft. But Coach Jeff Fisher and General Manager Les Snead have said that Goff will not play until he is ready.
So for now, Keenum remains focused on becoming the starting quarterback for a franchise that has returned to Southern California after more than two decades in St. Louis.
Rookies reported Tuesday and veterans were expected to continue rolling in before Friday morning’s mandatory team meeting.
The Rams will hold their first full-squad open practice Saturday.
Keenum, Goff, Sean Mannion and Dylan Thompson are quarterbacks for a team that just released veteran Nick Foles, last season’s opening game starter.
Keenum supplanted Foles late last season and completed 61% of his passes with four touchdowns and one interception in six games. The Rams were 3-2 in Keenum’s starts.
Foles became expendable after the Rams traded for the No. 1 pick so they could draft Goff.
Keenum said Foles was one of his best friends.
“I know whatever team he lands with is going to land a really good quarterback and a great teammate,” Keenum said. “I know that it’s been kind of a weird situation for him, but that’s the tough part — it’s a business and you kind of have to handle a lot of that stuff before you can go play.”
The Keenum-Goff competition and dynamic will be one of the main story lines during training camp and exhibition games against the Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings as the Rams prepare for their Sept. 12 opener against the San Francisco 49ers on “Monday Night Football.”
Keenum, who will earn $3.6 million in his fifth pro season, said he had a “a great relationship” with Goff, who signed a four-year deal worth $27.9 million.
As he did before the start of organized team activities, Keenum said he would offer Goff help when needed but would not overload him with advice, deferring instead to offensive coordinator Rob Boras and quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke.
He looks forward to a healthy competition with the rookie.
“When it’s good people, it really makes it a lot easier — and he’s good people,” Keenum said. “We’re trying to make each other better.
“The way I’ve always seen it — I don’t want him to do bad. I want him to do good. But when I’m competing with somebody, I want my best to be better than his.”
Keenum and Goff kept busy during the break between the end of OTAs in June and their arrival at camp, practicing with receivers and tight ends.
“We thought we’d try to work a little bit — not just sit around on the couch and eat Cheez-Its all summer,” Keenum said. “I think we made a jump.”
Defensive tackle Aaron Donald, offensive tackle Greg Robinson and safety Cody Davis were other Rams veterans who spoke with reporters Thursday.
Donald, a two-time Pro Bowl pick, said he was in better shape than when he arrived for his first two training camps.
The 6-foot-1 Donald is listed at 285 pounds. He has 20 career sacks and is regarded as one of the most dominant defensive players in the NFL.
“I just lost some body fat and added some muscle,” he said, chuckling. “I had a little bit of a gut. It’s still there, but it just isn’t as bad as it was last year.”
Robinson, the second pick in the 2014 draft, said he was looking forward to making a jump at left tackle.
“I’m not satisfied with my performance the first two years and I have to fix that any way possible,” he said. “My main focus is just being consistent and trying my best to just perform to the best of my ability.”
With the departure of Rodney McLeod to the Philadelphia Eagles, Davis is listed as the starting free safety going into training camp. Like McLeod, Davis was an undrafted free agent when he signed with the Rams in 2013.
“It feels a little bit different just because I’m going into my fourth year — I can’t really believe that,” he said. “I guess I’m the old guy in the room, partly, so that feels a little bit different.
“But there’s not much different in is my mind-set going in.”
Etc.
The Rams put offensive tackle Rob Havenstein on the physically-unable-to perform list.
July 28, 2016 at 11:06 pm #49609znModeratorArriving for camp atop Rams’ depth chart, Case Keenum not looking over shoulder
Steve Dilbeck
IRVINE, Calif. — He is the Los Angeles Rams’ No. 1 quarterback. Proclaimed right there on the team’s depth chart, in ink and everything.
But Case Keenum understands his situation as well as anyone, and everyone understands it clearly: The Rams made a dramatic swap of draft picks in order to select Cal quarterback Jared Goff in April as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft.
The next day, Rams coach Jeff Fisher flat-out called Goff their franchise quarterback.
But as Rams veterans began checking in Thursday at training camp, Keenum remained atop the depth chart. It’s the first time in his career he’s gone into camp listed at No. 1.
“Never done that before,” Keenum said. “A lot of firsts. The first time cameras have followed me into my dorm when I’m checking in at training camp.”
The attention is a mix of Keenum being the Rams’ current starting quarterback, the team’s historic move back to Los Angeles, and HBO selecting the team for its “Hard Knocks” documentary series.
Keenum’s hold on the starting spot is more tenuous than teenage confidence. No one is certain when Goff will become the starter, only that given everything the Rams gave up to get him, at some point it will happen.
“There’s a lot of scenarios,” Keenum said. “That’s kind of training camp. It’s a time to compete. Time to compete against your position group, time to compete against the defense.”
Through early workouts, Keenum has already developed a relationship with Goff, if not an admiration.
“He’s a great guy,” he said. “I really like Jared. He’s a great football player, but a great person too. I’m excited to see what he brings to the team, to the quarterback room.
“He’s very, very talented. He came in that way. I’m excited to see where he’s going to grow and what he’s going to be able to accomplish. He’s going to play for a long time.”
In the interim comes the NFL’s summer grind. Drills and reps and near-daily practice. And daily competition, whether it’s to start the season opener or more.
Keenum sounds convinced that competition with Goff will not sour their relationship.
“I don’t think so,” the 28-year-old said. “When it’s good people, it really makes it a lot easier. And he’s good people. We’re trying to make each other better. The way I’ve always seen it, I don’t want him to do bad. I want him to do good. When I’m competing against somebody, I want my best to be better than his.
“Anytime anybody is doing well, it’s exciting for our team. It makes our team better. He’s doing well, it pushes me. I’m doing well, it pushes him. That’s what competition is about. Making each other better and, in turn, making the team better.”
Keenum was an undrafted 6-foot-1 quarterback out of the University of Houston who signed as a free agent with the Houston Texans in 2012. He started eight games the next season and lost them all.
He was traded to the Rams prior to last season to back up quarterback Nick Foles. When Foles struggled, Keenum took over. He went 3-2 as a starter, completed 60.8 percent of his passes, and threw four touchdowns to one interception. At the team’s season-ending press conference, Fisher said Keenum would enter the offseason as the team’s No. 1 quarterback.
Which is where he remains today, even if his name at the top of the depth chart should be written in careful pencil.
Foles, well-aware of the Rams’ quarterback landscape, asked for his release and was given it Wednesday.
“A great player and an even better person,” Keenum said of Foles. “I wish him nothing but the best. I know whatever team he lands with is going to land a really good quarterback and a great teammate. I know it’s been kind of a weird situation for him. But it’s a business and you have to handle a lot of that stuff before you go play.”
Just as Keenum is trying to handle it now.
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
