reporters on the fanfest scrimmage

Rams Camp Report: Day 8
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/10128/rams-camp-report-day-8

ST. LOUIS — A daily review of the hot topics coming out of St. Louis Rams training camp:

The Rams held their annual scrimmage Saturday, coming out in full pads for the first time. While none of the principals competed in any live drills, the first-team offense and defense did match up for some extended team drills. They spent those drills working at “thud” tempo with the defense making contact with the shoulder pads but with no live tackling. The first-team offense continued to show signs of life in the early live drills, with quarterback Sam Bradford and receiver Stedman Bailey hooking up for big gains twice in as many snaps. Bailey had a big day in general, catching about 10 passes during live drills and seven on seven. Bradford later connected with Kenny Britt for a long touchdown on a perfectly thrown deep ball. But when the drill moved closer to the goal line, the defense stood tall and kept the offense out of the end zone on consecutive handoffs from the 2.

At the end of the practice, the Rams did some live scrimmaging using primarily backups and rookies vying for roster spots. There were a few notable exceptions, though. Greg Robinson (left tackle), Aaron Donald (defensive tackle) and running back Tre Mason took some reps during the live portion.

One area worth watching in this camp is the development of the tight ends and running backs in blitz pickup. The running backs, in particular, don’t have much experience in blitz pickup. When those groups took on the linebackers in the one-on-one drills, the decided advantage went to the linebackers again. Presumptive starter Zac Stacy is coming along in that regard, but there is still a lot of work to be done. The tight ends had a little more success, with Cook actually getting a couple of good reps in. And another player to keep an eye on is undrafted free agent Alex Bayer. Bayer seems to be technically sound as a blocker and could emerge as a strong candidate to win a potential fourth tight end spot on the roster. The flip side, of course, is the linebackers’ success. Alec Ogletree was especially impressive in those drills. Gregg Williams should be able to have some fun with Ogletree behind this defensive line.

We haven’t had any full-blown fights in this camp, but a mini-scuffle broke out during the aforementioned linebacker-running back drills. Running back Benny Cunningham and linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong exchanged shoves and words before being separated.

The Rams took some precautions with their many banged-up players but at least so far it doesn’t seem they have any serious issues. Defensive tackle Michael Brockers left practice a bit early Friday after tweaking an ankle and returned Saturday only to depart when shaken up again. The Rams might just have to be cautious with him moving forward to ensure he doesn’t make it worse, but it doesn’t sound serious. Linebacker James Laurinaitis came out with a walking boot on his left foot after getting stepped on earlier in the week. The injury isn’t believed to be more than a mild ankle sprain, though. Offensive lineman Rodger Saffold also left Friday’s practice with an apparent hand/wrist injury. He did not practice Saturday and watched from the sidelines with no cast or wrap on his hand. Like Brockers, Saffold’s injury isn’t believed serious. Other notables not practicing: Cornerbacks Lamarcus Joyner and Janoris Jenkins, offensive lineman Barrett Jones, defensive lineman William Hayes and receiver Brian Quick.

Funniest moment of the day: Backup quarterback Shaun Hill took a snap and as he dropped to hand it off, tripped over his own foot into a head first somersault, with jeers and laughs from his teammates.

The Rams are off Sunday and will return to practice Monday at 4:30 p.m. ET at Rams Park.

Bradford pleased with Rams offense
Nate Latsch

http://stl.scout.com/story/1428893-bradford-pleased-with-rams-offense?s=124

ST. LOUIS — Sam Bradford is pleased with how the Rams offense has progressed so far through the first week of training camp and the 15,723 fans who showed up on Saturday for the team’s FanFest at the Edward Jones Dome got a sneak peak at how it looks.
“It was a pretty productive day,” the quarterback said following the team’s practice session. “To be honest I think we’ve had a really good first week as an offense. We’ve pushed the ball down the field. Those guys on the perimeter are playing great right now, making a lot of plays for us and it’s always a good thing to see from my end.”

The wide receiver group has been one of the biggest surprises in camp so far, with newcomer Kenny Britt joining returnees like Brian Quick, Tavon Austin, Chris Givens and Stedman Bailey and each of those players stepping up and making plays through the Rams’ first eight practice sessions.

“I think this is probably the deepest group we’ve had since I’ve been here, the most talented group we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Bradford said. “I think they’ve shown it. We rotate five or six guys in there with the ones and you really don’t notice a drop-off no matter who’s in there. To have the ability to do that and move guys from position to position, I think that’s going to be a big advantage for us.”

Bradford has been so sound in his return from the ACL injury that ended his 2013 season that any questions about his effectiveness at the beginning of the regular season have been already effectively answered.

“If there’s any question about Sam’s ability to play the position, I think it was answered today, at least early here in camp,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “He’s really had a good week of camp. Some great throws today.”

The Heisman Trophy winner and former No. 1 overall pick has looked good and in some cases even stronger than he was before the injury.

Bradford said Saturday that the upper-body training he did since his injury has helped him feel stronger than he’s been in his first three seasons.

“Obviously if you go back to the time of the injury, you spend more time working on your upper body just because you’re limited as to what you can do with your lower body,” he said. “So coming into this camp it’s probably the strongest I’ve been from the waist up and I think it probably has paid off a little bit. I feel like I do have a little more zip on the ball and I feel like I can make some of those throws that maybe were a little slower last year.”

The offense has been helped in recent days by the returns of left tackle Jake Long and center Scott Wells from injury, though the offensive line lost right guard Rodger Saffold when he left Friday’s practice with an undisclosed upper-body injury.

Saffold did not participate in Saturday’s session but he is expected to return to practice soon.

The Rams’ passing game has been one of highlights of training camp so far, but the team knows that the running game should once again be one of the strengths this season like it was a year ago when rookie Zac Stacy emerged as the go-to guy in the backfield.

Bradford is happy with what he’s seen so far.

“I’m really pleased with where the offense is right now with some of the things we’ve done early in camp,” Bradford said. “I think going into next week a big part of our plan is going to be attention to detail. I think we’ve had the bulk of our install. We’ve put in most of the playbook. Next week is going to be more of a review and making sure we clean up some of the mistakes we had this week.”

Rams notes: Locals Alexander, Hill enjoy first on-field action at Dome
• By Joe Lyons

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-notes-locals-alexander-hill-enjoy-first-on-field-action/article_23e8618f-2084-5e6b-9a72-9a9c1770c314.html

The last time Maurice Alexander worked at the Edward Jones Dome, he was part of the cleaning crew. Saturday, he was there to practice with the Rams.

“It’s a blessing to be in this stadium again, with my family and friends watching me,” the rookie safety from Eureka High said following the FanFest workout at the Dome. “It’s just crazy being down here as a player. For me, it’s emotional because of the adversity and what I’ve been through and to have all these people here supporting me.

“It really is a dream come true.”

Early in 2012, while attending Utah State, Alexander was involved in a fight with a teammate following an off-campus party. As a result, Alexander pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of aggravated assault resulting from bodily injury and spent 45 days in a Utah jail.

“There was a lawsuit filed, and as a result the university suspended him for the 2012 season,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said after the Rams selected Alexander with a fourth-round draft pick in May. “He came back here to St. Louis and worked at the Edward Jones Dome as a janitor, picked up, cleaned up after our ballgames for a year so he could financially pass the time before he was reinstated.”

Fisher and general manager Les Snead investigated the incident and also discussed it with Alexander during a pre-draft visit at Rams Park.

“He was very professional, very upfront, very honest,” Fisher said shortly after the draft. “We didn’t have a problem with it.”

Alexander, 23, returned to Utah State for the 2013 season and made the successful shift from linebacker to safety, contributing 80 tackles, 3 ½ sacks, six pass breakups and an interception. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound Alexander missed all but one practice in OTAs recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery but has been coming on strong in camp to earn some second-team reps.

“Wherever they need me, I’m there,” he said. “It’s football, man, the same as high school and college, just a different speed of the game. As a rookie, you’re going to make mistakes, but today I definitely feel like I took a step forward.”

Alexander wasn’t the only player with local ties to enjoy a solid FanFest workout. Linebacker Aaron Hill, an undrafted free agent from Lutheran St. Charles High and the University of Minnesota, had a big day Saturday, picking off a pass to end the two-minute drill and breaking through for what would’ve been a pair of sacks — one in a drill with the running backs and another in the “live” scrimmage that wrapped up practice.

“It’s my first time playing in the Dome, and I definitely enjoyed the experience,” the 23-year-old said. “Getting a chance to play for my hometown team and to do it in front of my family and friends, it was definitely special.”

And the big plays?

“In the two-minute, everybody on the defense did their job,” he said. Defensive coordinator “Gregg Williams made a great call, and we just executed, and we were able to score on defense to end the game.”

RAM-BLINGS

Saturday’s FanFest at the Edward Jones Dome drew a crowd of 15,723.

“This puts an exclamation point on a real good week of training camp practice,” Fisher said. “The players are always excited to come down for this event, particularly for the fan participation and the attendance. … I think the fans got to see a lot of good things today, as we did from a coaching standpoint.

“A lot of big plays down the field. If there’s any question about (Sam Bradford’s) ability to play the position, I think it was answered here, at least early in camp. Some great throws today.”

Some other highlights:

• While warming up, Greg Zuerlein booted a 63-yard field goal that bounced off the cross bar and through. Later, after coming up short on a 65-yarder, the crowd cheered for another try. But that, too, came up short.

• Rookie running back Tre Mason received the bulk of the work in the live session to wrap up practice. The third-round draft choice has shown excellent quickness and cutback ability. He and returning starter Zac Stacy seem to complement each other.

• The list of players not practicing Saturday was longer than usual, no doubt to give them back-to-back days off before training camp resumes on Monday. That 3:30 p.m. practice will be free and open to the public.

Not taking part in the FanFest workout were linebacker James Laurinaitis, defensive end William Hayes, cornerback Janoris Jenkins, receiver Brian Quick, guard Rodger Saffold, center/guard Barrett Jones, cornerback Lamarcus Joyner, guard Brandon Washington, safety Christian Bryant, cornerback Jarrid Bryant, linebacker Johnny Millard, running back Trey Watts, fullback Kadeem Jones, and linebacker Pat Schiller.

Defensive tackle Michael Brockers appeared to suffer a foot/ankle injury Saturday, but it didn’t appear serious.

• NFL Network host Andrew Siciliano, the preseason television voice of the Rams, was on hand to get a look at the team Saturday. The Rams open the preseason at home Friday, taking on the New Orleans Saints at 7 p.m. at the Edward Jones Dome.