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June 16, 2016 at 10:47 pm #46394
znModeratorRams wrap up offseason, move forward in “odyssey of 2016”
Associated Press
OXNARD, Calif. (AP) — After the linemen entertained their teammates by fielding — and mostly dropping — a few punts on a postcard-perfect Thursday on the California coast, the Los Angeles Rams’ yearlong road show was ready to move on.
The Rams have finished their offseason workouts in Oxnard, and training camp begins next month in Irvine, California. After that, they’ll settle into their temporary regular-season home in Thousand Oaks while they await construction of their permanent training complex — oh, and their billion-dollar stadium in Inglewood.
With the players headed off on quick vacations in the final weeks of an epic offseason, the Rams organization appears to be handling the daunting challenges of relocation with aplomb.
“Considering everything we’ve gone through, I think we got a good deal accomplished,” coach Jeff Fisher said.Players and coaches have all spoken warmly of their just-completed workouts at the Ventura County hotel complex where the Dallas Cowboys hold their training camp. Many players and staffers have already moved out of the hotel and settled into permanent housing closer to their regular-season base, 25 miles away on the 101 freeway.
Preparations in Irvine and Thousand Oaks are on schedule as well, leaving the Rams feeling optimistic about their progress in the five months since they received permission to relocate from St. Louis. While they’re far from finished with the “odyssey of 2016,” as Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff dubbed it, the Rams are well on their way.“It’s always great to look above the water and not below the surface and see the crazy legs kicking,” Demoff said. “It’s taken a true team effort to make it, and it’s great to hear that people look back on Oxnard very fondly. It helps set up their confidence that Irvine with be successful and (Thousand Oaks) will be successful. I think they really enjoyed being together and enjoyed bonding out here.”
The Rams are preparing for training camp over the next month by installing the infrastructure necessary to accommodate thousands of visiting fans on the UC Irvine campus in Orange County. Other crews are hard at work transforming a back corner of the Cal Lutheran university campus in Thousand Oaks into the Rams’ home for the next few years.
They’ve graded the lots where the Rams’ practice fields will be installed, and they’re preparing for the arrival of the temporary buildings that will house their operations, Demoff said. Everyone from the equipment managers to the Rams’ information technology staff must create a new home base for the players and coaches in the next two months.General manager Les Snead is confident the Rams are still rolling toward their goal.
“Nobody has told me that we’re off schedule, and that’s a good thing,” Snead said. “There’s a lot of good people that are working really, really hard, and (St. Louis to Oxnard) is the first move of three before the regular season starts.”
With the relocation process under control, the Rams are able to focus on their primary task: Making sure they’re ready to win some games at the Coliseum in their homecoming season after 21 years away from LA.
That process also appears to be going well, at least from the vague conclusions that can be made from offseason workouts.The Rams emerged from Oxnard with no major injury problems. Key contributors appear to be learning their new jobs rapidly, from middle linebacker Alec Ogletree to No. 1 draft pick Jared Goff, who shined in drills with the first-team offense.
With three months to go before their first real game, the Rams believe their outlook is still as sunny as their new Southern California home.
“I feel like we’re light years ahead of where we were at this point last year,” said defensive lineman William Hayes, who is heading into his fifth season with the Rams. “I’m really optimistic to see what happens. This is probably the first year since I’ve been here that I see something special.”[June 16, 2016 at 11:00 pm #46396znModeratorRams News & Notes: Finishing OTAs in Oxnard
Myles Simmons
After three weeks, the Rams’ nine OTA practices have come and gone. The players are now officially on summer vacation before the team gets back together at the end of July for its first training camp back in Southern California. But before everyone took off, head coach Jeff Fisher held one final press conference to wrap up the offseason program. Here are some of the key takeaways from his comments.
GOFF ON THE RIGHT TRACK
Rookie quarterback Jared Goff has made plenty of progress, according to Fisher. The No. 1 overall pick has been working more with the first-team offense in the Rams’ last three sessions, which is something the head coach indicated would happen a few weeks ago.
“I think he’s flourished in that environment,” Fisher said.
Fisher noted Goff’s most significant area of growth has likely been his understanding of the playbook. The tools, according to Fisher, have always been there.
“It’s just learning the system and then applying it to what we would call a fairly sophisticated defensive system. That’s hard,” Fisher said. “If you just line up and play two coverages, things come along quicker. But that’s not our nature. So we may adjust a little bit during camp, but I thought that was the biggest thing as far as he is concerned, was just that he started figuring some of the stuff out we were doing faster.”
While there are obvious expectations that come with being the No. 1 overall pick, Fisher maintained Thursday his usual stance with highly drafted players: Goff will play when he’s ready. He may start Week 1 or he may not.
“He can start anywhere from the opener to whenever,” Fisher said. “And we haven’t changed our philosophy on that. We’re going to coach him to be successful. We’re not going to put him in with a chance to fail. That’s the most important thing in developing a young quarterback.”
And the QB reps will continue to vary as the Rams begin training camp after summer break.
“Case is our starter right now, so Case needs first-team reps,” Fisher said. “And to give Jared an opportunity — and Sean for that matter — to run with the first team, it’s easier to evaluate them. So we’ll change things up. And once we get in there, we’ll make some decisions as to who plays when and how much in the preseason.”
INJURY UPDATES
Last week, cornerback Trumaine Johnson left practice after a collision with a wide receiver. While he hasn’t participated in an OTA session since, Fisher provided good news on him Thursday afternoon.
“If we were going to practice tomorrow, he’d practice tomorrow. That gives you a sense,” Fisher said.
Fisher added Johnson had a laceration on his chin and his “jaw got rocked a little bit,” which made putting on a helmet a challenge. But the cornerback has been running and training to stay in shape.
“He’ll be fine,” Fisher said.
Otherwise on the injury front, Fisher had more encouraging news on the rest of the roster.
“I’m pleased with the progress with respect to some of the injured players,” Fisher said. “I don’t think there will be anybody that’s going to be unable to participate in camp, which is good.”
WRAPPING UP IN OXNARD
As some have said over this offseason, the Rams are in some ways nomads. With the offseason program complete, the club will be moving out of Oxnard before heading south for training camp. Fisher said the team was able to get what it needed to accomplished in large part because of the hospitality it received at the temporary facility.
“It was much better than what we expected,” Fisher said. “Everybody here that’s associated with this football team — and we’re talking about the food preparation, and the housekeeping, and the security — everything was outstanding. And I can’t appreciate that any more. I thought they did a great job.”
Fisher said he was particularly pleased with the way the players adapted to what could have been tough circumstances with the relocation process.
“I just complimented them on No. 1 their participation, attendance, and commitment because it was the best since we’ve been here,” Fisher said. “We had a couple minor little issues here and there, and you guys are familiar with that. But by and large, everybody relocated out here and they committed to this offseason program, and they did an amazing job.
“The next step, as they know, is off time — as is the case for 31 other teams,” Fisher continued. “They’re going to be out there for four or five weeks, however long that is. So their responsibility now is to take care of themselves, continue to train, and get ready for training camp. And we’re going to bring our rookies in a few days earlier than the vets will come in and we’ll hit the ground running at camp.
June 17, 2016 at 12:13 am #46398znModeratorRams rave about their stay in Oxnard
By Joe Curley of the Ventura County Star
Eric Kush tracked the flight of the ball high above River Ridge fields.
The 313-pound center stepped to his left and cushioned the punt into his hands before raising his arms aloft in glory.
Then, with a massive celebratory spike of the football, the Los Angeles Rams bid Oxnard adieu Thursday.
The 79-year-old NFL franchise had arrived in April as the former St. Louis Rams. They leave the Residence Inn Oxnard River Ridge this month as the Los Angeles Rams reborn.
“I don’t know if you can really design it any better,” Rams general manager Les Snead said.
Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff said using River Ridge as a way station between St. Louis and Thousand Oaks allowed the team to have a “normal offseason.”
“This provided a normal football environment and helped bring our team together in a unique way,” Demoff said.
If the Rams, against all odds, are able to end their 12-year playoff drought this fall, River Ridge will have played a significant role.
“I think it was a fantastic set-up,” Demoff said. “This was a site and a group that knows how to host NFL teams. They’ve proved that this offseason. Not that anybody will go through this process anytime soon, but everybody will tell you what a success this site was.
“From an organization perspective, that’s the most important take away that I have, we got good work done.”
Rams head coach Jeff Fisher called the three-month offseason camp in Oxnard “much better than what we expected.”
“Everybody here that’s associated with this football team — we’re talking about the food preparation, the housekeeping and the security — everything was outstanding,” Fisher said. “You can’t appreciate that any more, I thought they did a great job. As far as the football is concerned — the weather is perfect, (player) attendance was great and it was a great experience for us.”
The Rams held a private autograph session with the Residence Inn staff on Tuesday.
“Obviously, when you come here and you spend as much time as we have, they become a little bit like family,” Snead said. “They treat you like family. First class, it’s been a smooth transition. We’ve been able to check off our task. It’s just been in a different location. That alone, with weather like today, you can’t beat it.”
MOVING DAYS
Although some veterans left for the airport as soon as practice ended Thursday, rookies and some staff will remain in Oxnard through the end of the month.
The next stop for what Demoff labeled “the odyssey of 2016,” is Irvine. Training camp begins in late July.
Bruce Warwick, the team’s director of operations, and his staff will spend at least the next week packing up. The locker room, weight room, information technology and all sorts of other equipment are headed back into the tractor trailers which trucked it all from Missouri earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys will be in town preparing for another training camp at River Ridge next month.
“Nobody has told me that we’re off schedule,” Snead said. “That’s a good thing. There’s a lot of good people that are really, really working hard.”
Work on the Rams’ in-season training home at Cal Lutheran University is also progressing. The modular units that will be assembled into the Rams’ football operations home begin arriving Friday. The sod on which the team will prepare for 16 NFL regular-season games over the next two to five seasons will be delivered Monday.
“There’s never a dull moment in this process,” Demoff said.
TRUE TO FORM
Fisher proclaimed the roster healthy, saying “I don’t think there’s going to be anybody who’s not going to able to participate in camp, which is good.”
That includes cornerback Trumaine Johnson, who hadn’t been seen on the field since colliding with receiver Brian Quick during 11-on-11 drills last Friday.
Johnson was present Thursday, although he didn’t do much besides some stretching.
“If we were going to practice tomorrow, he’d practice tomorrow,” Fisher said. “He had a laceration. His jaw got rocked a little bit, but he’ll be fine.”
FUN SIZE
The Rams ended their final practice of OTAs with a slice of tradition. The offensive and defensive lines battled in a punt-catching competition.
“Most of the time, you’ve got to focus, you’ve got to work,” Fisher said. “But it’s always good to have light moments like that.”
Although Kush was successful, catches by Aaron Donald, William Hayes and Ethan Westbrooks and Alec Ogletree led the defense to victory. Again.
“It’s been a while since the offense has won,” Fisher said. “They struggle with the punts.”
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