8/18 camp reports

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  • August 19, 2016 at 8:36 am #51104
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    49RH8R

    Watched the Rams in Irvine today 8/18….notes

    i watched the rams practice in irvine today and here is some of what i saw. i’ll admit i was mostly watching the offense because that’s where the problems are.

    *all 3 qb’s looked great and each one of them made some beautiful throws. i may be overly optimistic but i think qb is now a position of strength.

    *the wr corps still had a lot of dropped balls and i think we’ll see some surprising names during the roster cut down. mannion and goff put the ball where only the wr could catch it but they couldn’t seem to come down with it. cooper and thomas had more passes thrown to them but duke williams looked good.

    *brian quick was targeted a lot and it was obvious to me they want to involve him heavily in the offense. i’d go so far as to say they are giving him every opportunity to make the team.

    *goff has a kind of maturity and confidence beyond his years. that’s the best way i can explain it. he seemed very loose and relaxed for the #1 overall pick under the spotlight.

    *almost the entire practice was run out of the shotgun which i thought was odd. the only time i saw them under center was during some running plays. maybe they can get more reps in quicker that way but doesn’t goff need reps under center?

    *kush botched 2 snaps in a row to mannion and the coaches weren’t happy about it.

    *towards the end, rhaney and donnal got reps at center.

    *i saw probably 1 deep ball thrown all day. most of the passing drills were between 10-20 yards. maybe that’s what they were focusing on today and they’ll air it out next practice, i dunno. they ran a lot of slants and quick outs so look for that against the chiefs.

    *keenum is bigger in person than you’d think. he was running the length of the field back and forth with weinke after practice. i asked him later if he was in the dog house and he just laughed and said it was conditioning.

    *tavon made a nice sideline catch and everybody in the stands applauded. cody davis came over and did the “he was out of bounds” sign which made everybody laugh.

    *ogletree put his hand in the dirt and came on a blitz one time and that’s not what you want to see if you’re an opposing qb.

    *after practice, rhaney, goff and quick got some extra work in. they were working exclusively on those quick outs and slants i mentioned earlier. it was pretty cool because most people left so you could really watch and hear what they were doing. it seemed like goff was really trying to help quick and coach him up even though he’s the rookie and quick is going on year 5.

    *i lined the ropes with the autograph hounds after the game and got to shake some hands and wish the players luck for the upcoming season. i had brief words with keenum, quick, mcquaide, chase reynolds, zuerlein, austin hill, marquez, tavon austin. tavon was the last guy out there and was only talking to one other dude so it was easy to talk to him. i regretted not telling him to kick the niner’s ass twice this year. maybe next week when i go back. all the players were very cool, especially zuerlein.

    August 19, 2016 at 9:22 pm #51161
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    Ramzee

    Extensive Ram Camp Report from 8/18/2016 – Pics added!

    When I got to Rams practice the team was done stretching and was starting work out on 11’s. The 11’s started out around the 50 yard line this time.

    Guys NOT dressed that I saw were Nelson Spruce, Aaron Green, Tyler Higbee, and Isaiah Battle.

    First Team Starters:

    QB Jared Goff
    HB Todd Gurley
    WR Kenny Britt
    WR Tavon Austin
    WR Pharoh Cooper
    TE Lance Kendricks
    LT Greg Robinson
    LG Cody Wichmann
    C Tim Barnes
    RG Jamon Brown
    RT Darrell Williams

    DT Aaron Donald
    DT Michael Brockers
    DE Robert Quinn
    DE William Hayes
    MLB Alec Ogletree
    OLB Akeem Ayers
    OLB Cameron Lynch
    FS Cody Davis
    SS TJ McDonald
    CB Trumaine Johnson
    CB Cody Sensabaugh

    Bennie Cunningham and Todd Gurley start off the 11’s with some runs up the middle. No throws by Goff. Horn sounds and the 2’s come out.

    QB Case Keenum
    HB Malcolm Brown
    WR Brian Quick
    WR Austin Hill
    WR Mike Thomas
    TE Cory Harkey/Justice Cunningham
    LT Brian Folkerts
    LG David Arkin
    C Eric Kush
    RG Garrett Reynolds
    RT Andrew Donnal

    DT Dominique Easley
    DT Cam Thomas
    DE Ethan Westbrooks
    DE Eugene Sims
    MLB Bryce Hager

    OLB Josh Forrest
    FS Rohan Gaines
    SS Christian Bryant
    CB LaMarcus Joyner
    CB EJ Gaines
    CB Troy Hill

    Quick makes a nice jumping high point catch from Keenum on an out route in front of Bryce Hager in zone coverage. Quick follows that up with another catch over the middle that is dislodged by CB Troy Hill who has made lots of plays at camp this year. Keenum throws an out to Quick who looks open but it just misses low out of bounds. Horn sounds. 3rd team comes onto the field.

    Basically the rest of the team is a mix of the 3rd team. You’ll see all the rest of the guys out there switching in and out. Mannion runs the 3’s at QB.

    Things start off with a run by Terrence Magee up the middle. Next play Mannion hits Austin Hill in stride on the post route for a big gain up the middle with plenty of room for RAC. One block or missed tackle and he would have taken it to the house. Terrance Magee with a better run up the middle for a few yards.

    Horn sounds. Back to the 1’s again but this time they reverse fields and work out of their own 20 yard line, back against the end zone. Keenum and Goff switch units, Cae with the 1’s. Pass from Keenum looks to have gotten intercepted by Jabriel Washington on an out route to Pharoh Cooper. Next play is an outside run by Bennie Cunningham who turns up the corner of the field.

    Horn sounds, 2’s come out with Goff leading the charge. Everyone’s favorite TE hopeful Hemingway sees some action. Demoff walks right in front of me, seems to be looking at my camera out of the corner of his eye and I’m completely oblivious lol. Goff hits Marquez Bradley for a 5 yard gain on an in rotue. Goff just misses Mike Thomas on the sideline vs Christian Bryant. Goff checkdown to Chase Reynolds for minimal gain.

    Horn sounds, 3’s come in with Mannion at QB. First pass is a miss to a wide open Austin Hill on the sideline running a 10 yard out. Austin gets vertical and just misses the pass off of his fingertips. Quick pass to TE #49 on the next play. Darreon Herring with the tackle. Minimal gain. Austin Hill makes a diving catch on a quick slant from Mannion on the next play. Roberson on the coverage.

    Horn sounds, Keenum and 1’s are back on the field to do a lil 2 minute drill. First play a big gainer on a crosser to Tavon Austin. Sensabaugh in press coverage. Next play, Play of the Day! Tavon Austin runs a corner route to the sideline and makes the one handed catch off of LaMarcus Joyner’s back. Cody Davis proceeded to tell him he went wide right out of bounds as he came back on the field.

    Keenum then finds Britt on the comeback route with Trumaine Johnson on tight coverage. Trumaine Johnson then stripped the ball to put the ball on the floor. Britt managed to bring the ball out of the ensuing scrum fighting off Aaron Donald who showed great hustle on the play. Scary moment after the play, as Case Keenum trips over Trumaine Johnson. Coach Singletary is there to help his man up. Ogletree blitzed and beat GRob with a spin move on the next play and Tavon caught the pass on a 10 yard sideline route against Trumaine Johnson.

    Horn sounds, Goff rolls in with the 2’s out of shotgun with an empty set starting about the 50 yard line. His first pass is broken up by Troy Hill as Hill blankets Mike Thomas on a slant route. Goff looked at him whole way. Next pass tries to hit Maclolm Brown in the flat but Brown drops it. Pretty nice ball placement by Goff on that throw. Next play Bradley Marquez for the huge gain on the in route across the middle in zone coverage. Goff throws a strike to Quick on a sideline comeback. Roberson in coverage. Roberson in coverage again gives up quick slant for a 10-15 yard gain before contact to Paul McRoberts. #12 (David Richards?) gets a nice catch over the middle working a high low concept over the top of MLB Brandon Chubb for a good 20 yards.

    Horn sounds, Mannion gets set to run with the 3’s again. First snap is super high and Mannion jumps to save it. As he gathers his feet and sets to throw, he fumbles the ball out of the back of his hand as he starts his throwing motion. LT Pace Murphy with the heads up recovery before rookie Ian Seau got it. 10 yard IN route by Cunningham on the next play, Michael Caputo in tight coverage.

    The Rams switched to Special Teams punt coverage drills next. Tavon fielded some Hekker punts. Hekker actually shanked a few out of bounds, including one that went off the field and bounced into the crowd. Tavon made a really nice catch on a punt with the sun right in his face. Dropped all the way to the ground to ensure the grab.

    Rams then moved into red zone drills from the 20 yard line, starting with the 1’s. Tavon scores to open up the drills. Not sure if it was a swing pass or a reverse or what but he was all alone after putting the moves on Tru. Missed the next play but there was a big play in the end azone. Either a pass breakup or an INT by LaMarcus Joyner vs Tavon Austin. Next play is a busted play and Keenum scrambles for a short gain. Next play is a quick screen to Kenny Britt who breaks Tru’s ankles on the goal line for an easy score even though Tru was in position.

    Rams 2’s start red zone drills with a bubble screen from Goff to Bradley Marquez who gets the edge and picks up a nice 10 yard gain. Next play is a run by Malcolm Brown and he gets stuffed by big old NT Cam Thomas. Then Goff completes a Quick slant to Brian vs EJ Gaines inside the 5. Chase Reynolds gets the edge and turns up field for the score on an inside zone. Goff fields the very high Rhaney snap and bounces a dirt ball to Hemingway on a quick out. NT Cam Thomas swallows up another run, this time by Terrence Magee.

    Switch fields, the 1’s head back to their own 20 yard line and run some plays going into the sun. Gurley starts off the session with a huge run to the left side behind GRob. We should be used to this by now. It’ll be a staple all season long. Next play a short gain to Benny Cunningham. He spells Gurley a LOT with the ones.

    Switch to the 2’s and Goff landed a home run deep that I missed to one of the Rams receivers. I want to say it was Austin Hill but no way for me to verify that. He went over the top of Caputo deep. Then a short run to Malcolm Brown. Goff then throws the INT to Nic Grigsby instead of Chase Reynolds. Reynolds then burnt Ayers on the Texas route over the middle for a big gain. BTW Aaron Donald isn’t the only Rams DT to drop back into zone coverage. Easley has been doing that some too.

    Mannion comes in with a mix of guys. Duke Williams makes a nice grab on a hook route in front of EJ Gaines. Dylan Thompson then filled in for the rest of the drill and had a lot of trouble finding open targets. He either lacked the anticipation skills to find a target or nobody was open. Leaning more towards the former. Had a few opportunities, all turned into scrambles aftert pocket collapsed.

    Rams switch fields again and this time it looks like they’re simulating a 2 minute drill with the 2’s. Quick out to Pharoh Cooper complete out of bounds. Another similar play to Cooper but this time he falls down well short of the out of bounds marker. Next play a quick out to the other side to Cooper who would have had to break a tackle to reach the sideline. Next play a big toss downfield to Bradley Marquez running up the seam, the pass hits his fingertips and its almost intercepted by EJ Gaines. Gaines is DOWN! Thankfully he stands right back up immediately. He then clutched his ankle, in obvious pain and walked off the field with a trainer. Seems to be ok, in some pain though. Next play was a nice reception by Mike Thomas on the sideline in front of LaMarcus Joyner to end the day.

    I also brought my family. Today was Linebackers and Special Teams for the kids autograph tent. They got to meet all those guys and had a blast by the looks of the pics! Now they’re lil Rams Camp addicts, just like daddy! lol

    For those of you who are familiar with RRF and camp reports from the Rev over the years… GT Ball met up with a new friend at Rams Camp on Thursday. It’s HOFer Kevin GT Ball!

    BTW I met up with an old RRF and new RFU member at Rams Camp named PhoenixRising. Ed was really cool and we got to see Tavon Austin sign his Austin jersey while at camp. Tavon lived up to the name awesome! Stayed WAAAAAY after dark and everybody else left to sign every single last autograph and talk to fans.

    August 23, 2016 at 9:58 am #51452
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    phoenixrising

    I caught the last half of Wed. practice and all of Thur practice. These are random observations based on what I happened to be watching at the time.

    WR: Spent much of my time watching this group. Britt is clearly the best WR we have and it’s not that close. Make what you want of that. Austin is running more routes downfield. Even saw a crossing pattern that I’ve been looking for two years now. Since that one where he got a step and took it to the house if you recall. There was a play on a long pass to the sideline where Goff made a great pass and he bobbled it slightly going out of bounds. Got a nice response from the crowd, but Cody Davis made it a point to come over to the crowd and wave “Out of bounds!” Funny. Don’t know if he was in or out, but it pointed out to me how the margin for error is small throwing to TA due to his stature. Brian Quick, I get the feeling, is on the bubble and needs to come up with some plays to stick. He seems to realize it and is trying hard though I don’t think he’s a high energy guy by nature. I saw him drop a couple, saw him make a couple nice catches where he had to extend to catch it. When I compare him to M. Thomas it’s not apparent which one is the 2nd rd. pick and which one is the 6th. I think Thomas runs crisper routes. If Thomas could catch the darn ball I think it might be over for Quick. But Thomas dropped a couple more that I saw. P. Cooper looks like he will be a big contributor. He’s got a short area burst that you just don’t see from any WR outside of TA. And you see the YAC ability. That Austin Hill kid from ‘Zona caught my eye, but he’s a longshot to put it mildly. Saw very little of Duke Williams–same for the games. Makes me wonder if they are hiding him for the practice squad.

    TE: No Higbee 🙁 Kendrick is a solid combo TE. Got quite a few touches. Rookie Hemmingway is interesting. I thought he looked lost in the first game, but was more comfortable in practice and got a lot of looks. Used more like a WR, lined up often in the slot. Curious what they have in store for him.

    QB: Watched Goff a lot of course. Best arm, no surprise. More impressive in person than TV. The quick release and easy motion makes it seem stronger than it is. He’s just got too much going through his head right now. Not yet seeing the abilities I saw in college that I believe will make him special: the quick progressions and recognition and the ability to extend plays. Mannion’s accuracy is a little more erratic I think. But he had one play where he stepped up in the pocket to elude a rush and fired a laser about 20 yds downfield on a comeback route. I don’t think Goff could have matched that velocity. Keenum is Keenum, though his confidence is way up from where it was when he got thrown into the fire last year.

    RB: Not much to say as its hard to gauge with no live tackling, but Gurley’s speed is something to behold. And Chase Reynolds is one tough SOB, I hadn’t realized that. Guess you have to be to excel on special teams.

    OL: Hard to see much from where I was sitting, but saw GRob pancake Longacre. Of course I was only watching because the previous play Longacre had broke through cleanly. Seems that’s what we may have for a while yet. I tried to get a look at Jamon Brown. He didn’t seem to move as well as last year, maybe not surprising since I think he is coming off a broken leg. But after seeing him plow people in the KC game I’m not worried. Barnes always concerned me, but he got stronger last year and seems stronger again this year and ready to make another step up. Seems to be a leader too.

    DL: It’s plain to see that the OL’s have had enough of Aaron Donald, tempers were flaring. One guy that caught my eye was D. Easley, the DT from NE. Man he’s quick off the ball. Dude’s got talent, he can help the team. Sometimes a little too quick, tends to jump offside.

    LB: Didn’t really focus there.

    DB: Man, it was good to see EJ Gaines back out there. Looked like the old EJ. Complete football player. Then he was carried off. Crap. Apparently he’s OK. His health is a key to the season IMO.

    So I met up with Ramzee and his wonderful family after practice. Have him to thank for getting my Tavon jersey signed. Tavon stayed out a half hour after practice signing autographs. What a great guy!

    Also, if anyone is going to camp looking for a place to stay and is a cheapskate like me, there is a campground in Irvine(don’t laugh) that is pretty nice and seems to always have spots available on weeknights. $20/nite with flush toilets and hot showers. It’s called O’Neill Regional Park. About 30 mins from campus with moderate traffic.

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