First day of lifting and conditioning

What to watch as Rams open offseason program

By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/17744/what-to-watch-as-rams-open-offseason-program

EARTH CITY, Mo. — The St. Louis Rams will officially begin their offseason program today, the first day they were able to according to NFL rules.

Since the Rams didn’t go through a coaching change in the offseason, they had to wait until Monday while teams with new coaches already have begun the process. Here in St. Louis, it’s on to what figures to be a pivotal fourth year with the Rams for coach Jeff Fisher and Co.

While Fisher, general manager Les Snead and the rest of the coaching and personnel staffs finish up their final homework for the NFL draft, the players can now report to work at Rams Park, go through workouts and begin diving into playbooks.

According to league rules, Monday’s beginning of the program is part of phase one. Phase one allows for strength and conditioning work and rehabilitation. After two weeks, teams can transition into phase two, when they can begin on-field workouts with players but with no contact or any sort of offense-vs.-defense drills. Phase three comes later in the form of organized team activities. Each team gets 10 of those and the Rams wrap up in mid-June.

All of the above activities are voluntary and though most teams have a mandatory minicamp, the Rams are the lone team that chooses not to. In a general sense, part of the reason for eschewing the mandatory minicamp is that it’s something of a carrot for players to attend the voluntary portions of the offseason. Under Fisher, the Rams regularly have had near-perfect attendance for the offseason program.

With all of the details out of the way, here’s a few things we’ll be monitoring as the offseason program begins:

Finding Foles: Newly acquired quarterback Nick Foles technically has been with the Rams since the early March trade with the Eagles, but league rules have prevented him from getting a chance to really dive into his new system. Now that the offseason program is here, Foles finally can dive into what offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti has for him. In fact, the entire offense can get an up-close look at whatever tweaks Cignetti has in mind. For Foles, it’s an important opportunity not only to get deep into his playbook but to begin building rapport with his new receivers. It’s a safe bet that Foles will be very attentive in this offseason program.

On the recovery: The Rams don’t have a lot of players on their roster coming off serious injury, but they have enough guys still working their way back that the offseason program actually has been going on for awhile in their worlds. Rehab for a guy like receiver Brian Quick has been an ongoing process, and Fisher indicated in March that while Quick is progressing, he still didn’t want to put a timetable on his return. Tackle Greg Robinson is coming off a foot issue and still is working his way back. Fisher said in February that Robinson should be able to bounce back just fine. Aside from that duo, the Rams seem to be mostly in good shape in the bigger health picture.

Man in the middle: The start of the offseason program won’t offer many clues on who will ultimately be the team’s starting center, but it is an important time for the three players currently on the roster who figure to be competing for the job. Barrett Jones never has been able to make it to a season healthy and has been in need of additional strength since arriving in the league. Some of his most important work will come in the weight room. Demetrius Rhaney is returning from an injury and also could use some added bulk in his pursuit of the job. Tim Barnes also is back in the mix. Of course, the dynamics of the position could change through the draft but it seems a good bet at the moment that one of these three will get a chance to win the job.

Rams gather for start of strength, conditioning work

AP

http://www.foxsports.com/midwest/st…or-start-of-strength-conditioning-work-042015

ST. LOUIS — The start of offseason workouts gives St. Louis Rams players their first real opportunity to collectively get over the Sam Bradford trade. And to get to know Nick Foles.

The Rams, in search of their first winning season since 2003, also are breaking in a new offensive coordinator. The defense returns virtually intact.

Players gathered Monday for strength and conditioning with no field work. Tight end Jared Cook said it was like “the first day of school.”

“You come in with a fresh new outfit, fresh new shoes. Spider-Man lunch box, you’re showing off your new stuff,” Cook joked. “Naw, it’s just guys getting acclimated again.”

It’s anticipated the playbook won’t change dramatically under Frank Cignetti, who had been the quarterbacks coach before Brian Schottenheimer left for the coordinator job at Georgia.

Cignetti’s familiarity with the roster figures to be a plus. Cook said 80 percent of the playbook is in but wouldn’t give up any secrets.

“If we would have gotten a totally new offensive coordinator, there ain’t no telling what changes he would have brought that would have confused everybody,” Cook said. “The coaches have been working diligently to get this stuff in, so now is our time to learn. No, you can’t have a preview.”

Generally speaking, he wouldn’t characterize the scheme as simplified, either.

“You’re here to do your job, so do your job,” Cook said. “No matter what you have to do to learn it, you learn it.”

Many players were taken aback by the Bradford trade to Philadelphia in February. Coach Jeff Fisher had said several times that Bradford was his quarterback, but an agreement on a restructured deal could not be reached.

“Sam’s a good friend of mine, so whenever you lose friends on the team, there’s that aspect of it where you’re still human,” middle linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “You miss your friends. I was friends with Jake Long, friends with Chris Wells.

“Heck, one of my closest friends being here was Josh Hull and he ain’t here anymore, either.”

Now, they’re getting acquainted with Foles.

“Just kind of a fan of the way he plays the game, how he’s picked up the offense,” Cook said. “I just admire the way he slings the ball around.”

Added Laurinaitis: “I would like to have a QB for all 16 games, no matter who it is.”

There’s little turnover on defense. Tackle Nick Fairley gives the line five former first-round picks and Akeem Ayers adds depth at linebacker. Ayers had four sacks and an interception in nine games with New England, and Fairley, who slumped last year, combined for 11 1-2 sacks in 2012 and ’13.

“It’s very rare, and it’s exciting,” Laurinaitis said. “When you have five first-round D-linemen, it makes your short yardage a lot better, your goal line a lot better.”

Players aren’t wasting time fretting over the possibility of a franchise move back to Los Angeles after this season, either.

“Look, everybody can sit here and talk about it but the truth is it’s out of everybody’s hands except for one guy or a couple of guys on the other party,” Cook said. “All this stadium talk on both ends, it all sounds good, but really what can you do about it?”

When he was a boy, Laurinatis was taught not to worry about something that’s out of your control.

“There’s a lot of things in life I can worry about that I can control,” Laurinaitis said. “I can’t control whether we go, whether we stay. All I know is for this season we’ll be playing in St. Louis and there will be big expectations.”