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August 6, 2014 at 4:35 pm #3413
RamBillParticipantRams report: Team works on special teams, preparing for Saints on Friday
• By Joe LyonsThe Rams wrapped up a short special teams practice on Wednesday morning.
It was more of a walk-through than anything else. No pads, which meant no hitting.
It was the final open-to-the-media practice of the week for the Rams, who open their preseason schedule on Friday when they host the New Orleans Saints in a 7 p.m. game at the Edward Jones Dome.
PRESEASON BROADCAST TEAM
Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk and Rams’ Pro Bowler Torry Holt will join veteran sportscaster Andrew Siciliano to once again lead television broadcast for the Rams’ four preseason contests.
Faulk and Holt will serve as color commentators, with Siciliano handling the play-by-play duties. Sideline reporters will be KTVI -TV Fox 2 sportscaster Martin Kilcoyne and Casey Phillips of StLouisRams.com.
For the sixth consecutive year, KTVI-TV FOX 2 will serve as the flagship station for the Rams’ preseason broadcasts. The Rams will host the New Orleans Saints on Friday, Aug. 8 at 7 p.m. and the Green Bay Packers in a 3 p.m. on Saturday Aug. 16. The team will then head to Cleveland for a 7 p.m. game on Saturday, Aug. 23, before closing out its presason slate with a 6 o’clock start in Miami against the Dolpins on Thursday, Aug. 28.
KPLR 11 will re-air the broadcast on Sunday afternoon from 2-5 p.m.
RAM-BLINGS
No less than four Rams Super Bowl champions were on hand for Wednesday’s workout _ wide receiver Holt, defensive tackle D’Marco Farr, defensive end Grant Wistrom and center Andy McCollum.
McCollum coaches youth football locally and helps out with Eureka High football program.
Wistrom brought several members of his youth football team from Springfield, Mo. But Wistrom explained that only the 9-year-olds who made it to every practice during a two-week camp were eligible to make the trip.
• Author/sportswriter Peter King of Monday Morning Quarterback fame, was on hand to watch Wednesday’s workout.
• The Rams next open-to-the-public workout will be Monday at 3:30 p.m.
(Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.)
August 6, 2014 at 4:35 pm #3414RamBillParticipantRams Camp Report: Day 11
By Nick Wagonerhttp://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/10250/rams-camp-report-day-11
EARTH CITY, Mo. — A daily review of the hot topics coming out of St. Louis Rams training camp:
Wednesday’s practice was a special teams only workout with no pads, which also meant very little excitement or activity. On the bright side, running back Zac Stacy did go through the practice after limping off during Tuesday’s practice. The injury didn’t seem serious at the time and it appears there is nothing to it as he was back to go through special teams drills Wednesday. Stacy said after the practice that he’s feeling good and though he’s unsure if he’ll play in the preseason opener, made it clear he’s ready to go if called upon.
In the absence of pads, the Rams didn’t have their usual contact drills and one-on-ones near the end of the practice like they usually do. Defensive end Michael Sam is still getting a lot of work as a blocker on the respective return units and that appears to be his best shot to make the roster. I’d be surprised if Sam didn’t get a lot of work on both special teams and defense against the Saints on Friday night.
Punter Johnny Hekker is unfazed by the lack of attention that came with the punt team’s record-setting performance in 2013 and told me after he spent the morning booming punts that he’s looking to get better in 2014. In addition to breaking the record again, Hekker offered left directional punting as an area he’d like to improve going into the season. There are other personal goals he has in store but he preferred to keep those to himself.
It’s hard to take roll in special teams practices because you never know exactly who is and isn’t supposed to be there. But there were a few sideline observers who have been missing practice all week. Running back Trey Watts and fullback Kadeem Jones were among those watching from the sideline.
Although there wasn’t much happening on the field Wednesday, there were some special visitors to the practice. Super Bowl XXXIV winners Torry Holt, Andy McCollum, Grant Wistrom and D’Marco Farr took in the practice. Farr is a regular at practice in his role as the team’s radio color analyst. But Holt dropped by in advance of resuming his color analyst duties for the Rams’ preseason games. McCollum and Wistrom were just stopping by to visit. The quartet took the opportunity to catch up. They’ll get another chance later this year when the Rams celebrate the 15th anniversary of that championship season before the Monday night game against San Francisco on Oct. 13.
The Rams are entering final preparations for the preseason opener Friday night against New Orleans. They’ll have their usual day before game walk-through Thursday before Friday’s game.
August 6, 2014 at 5:21 pm #3418RamBillParticipantRams Day 11 camp report
Nate Latschhttp://stl.scout.com/2/1430366.html
ST. LOUIS — The Rams went through their final practice before the preseason opener against the Saints on Friday, but it was a special teams practice with no pads.
The good news, if there was any news, was that running back Zac Stacy participated after leaving Tuesday’s practice early because of an issue.Stacy said he’s gone into his second training camp with a mindset that he’s got to prove himself to earn a roster spot.
“My mentality going into this season, this training camp, was to be an undrafted free agent trying to compete for a job,” Stacy said. “There’s no guaranteed spots. There’s no doubt about that. So it all goes back to productivity and consistency.”
The 23 year old showed both of those traits in his rookie season.
The fifth-round pick from Vanderbilt turned out to be one of the steals of the draft when he accounted for 1,114 yards (973 rushing, 141 receiving) and a team-high eight touchdowns in 14 games.
Stacy knows one of the keys to another production campaign in 2014 will be staying healthy, which was something he focused on during the offseason.
“Stay on top of body maintenance stuff, try to stay ahead of the curve in the playbook, which will allow me to play faster, smarter,” he said. “Just doing all the little things.”
That he was back out on the practice field Wednesday was a good sign.
• Wednesday’s practice was one of the least interesting of training camp, considering the players weren’t in pads and it was just for some special teams work, but the session drew some big name onlookers.
Former Rams wide receiver Torry Holt, defensive end Grant Wistrom and offensive lineman Andy McCollum were among the visitors.
Holt played 10 seasons with the Rams, with the last coming in 2008 when he caught 64 passes for 796 yards and three touchdowns. He played one more season in the NFL, in 2009 with Jacksonville.
He finished his career with 920 receptions for 13,382 yards and 74 touchdowns.
Wistrom was a first-round pick in 1998 out of Nebraska and spent six seasons with the Rams and three with the Seahawks before calling it a career, at age 30. He finished with 53 career sacks in 132 games.
McCollum played 14 seasons in the NFL, including nine with the Rams. He retired after playing his one and only season with the Lions in 2008.
• The Rams will not practice Thursday in preparation for Friday’s game.
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