8/9 – 8/10 … tweets, vids, articles from camp

http://www.rotoworld.com/playernews/nfl/football%5B
Tyler Higbee – TE – Rams
Sports Illustrated’s Greg Bedard reports Rams fourth-round TE Tyler Higbee is having a “great” training camp.
Bedard went as far to attach a Travis Kelce comparison to Higbee, noting the rookie’s “swagger, playing style, and the defense wanting to punch him in the face.” Kelce plays with a noticeable edge, and Higbee seems to be in the same mold. Higbee (6’6/249) would have come off the board before the fourth round if not for some serious off-field concerns. In a Rams offense devoid of playmaking pass catchers, Higbee has a chance to play a ton of snaps right out of the gate. But it’s worth noting, rookie tight ends face one of the steepest learning curves in the sport. Higbee is someone to target in Dynasty with an eye toward 2017.
Source: Greg Bedard on Twitter Aug 9 – 9:40 PM

Practice Report 8/9: Running with the 1s

Myles Simmons

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Practice-Report-89-Running-with-the-1s/74afd8d0-8bbf-4b7f-8267-eb1a7c84f319

There are plenty of benchmarks for a rookie quarterback. The first time he straps on the helmet, his first OTA practice, his first training camp, his first preseason game — the list goes on.

It’s one checkpoint, but on Tuesday Jared Goff took some of his first live snaps with the first-team offense for a two-minute drill.

“It was designed to give him a chance to work with the ones in two-minute,” head coach Jeff Fisher said. “It’s always good to get him working with the other offensive linemen and get him a chance to work with

Tim [Barnes] from a communications standpoint, because Tim is so smart up front. Tim can take some of that load off him and let him play.”

Goff excelled at the two-minute drill on Saturday at the Coliseum when he led a drive that finished in the end zone, and Tuesday displayed many of the same skills. For the situation, the quarterback’s objective was to put the offense in position to kick a game-winning field goal after taking over with under a minute left on the clock and two timeouts. It’s not particularly easy to accomplish that against Los Angeles’ vaunted defense, but Goff and the offense was able to just the same.

“He took the ball right down the field and got points and that was good,” Fisher said.

Fisher has maintained since the draft that Goff will move into the starting quarterback role when he’s ready. But the natural progression will see Goff taking more snaps with the first-team offense as the preseason goes on.

“That’s part of the process,” Fisher said. “As I mentioned, he’s getting walk-thru reps with the ones. This is one of the first or second times he’s gotten live reps with the ones, but that will increase.”

Overall, offensive coordinator Rob Boras said he’s been pleased with Goff’s progress throughout the two weeks of camp.

“Jared is getting better — just like we hope everybody is getting better,” Boras said. “It takes guys two or three times running the play before they really feel comfortable with it, and you saw that across the offense today. So, Jared is handling everything well.”

As for Goff’s upcoming first preseason action against the Cowboys, Boras said he just doesn’t want Goff to try and do too much.

“We want him just to relax Saturday night,” Boras said. “It’s just kind of like when we started OTAs and we started training camp — everybody gets on edge. There’s a lot of expectations. The more that he can go out there and just settle in, like we saw him settle in at the Coliseum during the Family Day, he’s going to play confident.

“We know he’s talented, so [it’s a matter of] him just doing what he does,” Boras added. “And, obviously, everyone else just playing football around him.”

ON THE ROOKIES

Aside from Goff, two rookies who have been impressing throughout training camp have been the Rams’ fourth-round draft picks wide receiver Pharoh Cooper and tight end Tyler Higbee.

Both have taken significant snaps with the first-team offense, and Fisher has labeled the pair as players who should be able to contribute sooner than later.

“Coop is handling everything really well,” Boras said. “We love what Pharoh can do. It’s great to get him back out.”

The offensive coordinator had similar glowing remarks for Higbee.

“Tyler really has handled everything well. It started fast, and I don’t know why, but you get to that point where you’re kind of waiting for that rookie slump,” Boras said. “It hasn’t happened.

“We’re putting him in some situations that he wasn’t asked to do in college, and handling it very well,” Boras added, saying Higbee has never had to block a player like defensive end Will Hayes. “There’s not many Will Hayes. When you’re asked to block that, that’s different than what he’s had to do. You do that enough times, you better learn how to drop your pads and play a little stronger.”

Much like the approach with Goff, Boras said he wants both players to be able to relax against the Cowboys this weekend and just go play football.

“Obviously, Saturday night we’re going to try and get those guys going and just feeling comfortable, and not trying to overthink anything,” Boras said.

AUTOMATED TACKLING DUMMIES

It’s rare for teams to run through tackling to the ground in practice for a number of reasons — player safety chief among them. But with the help of some clever folks at Dartmouth, there’s an alternative method that’s been spreading around the game.

The Rams brought in automated tackling dummies on Monday and began implementing them into practice on Tuesday. Defensive backs used the bags in their individual drills and they were also used for special teams drills. Plus, middle linebacker Alec Ogletree went through some of his warm ups with the dummy, getting a feel for how it can be utilized to help the team improve.

“They’re pretty cool,” Ogletree said. “Doing linebacker drills, I can kind of read the dummy and just kind of go do what I’ve got to do and actually hit it, too. You’re actually hitting a moving target instead of something that’s sitting still. The game of football — there’s nothing sitting still.”

The dummies have are steered by a remote control that gets them to where they need to be on the field and in drills.

“We were aware of the concept and the prototypes a long time ago and they just got the first two out, so we invited them out,” Fisher said. “There’s a place for it at our level and there’s a place for these things at all levels. In this day and age when we’re so concussion-conscious and contact-conscious, live contact between players — you want to reduce as much as you can, but you still have to have the contact. This is an opportunity to hit a bag that’s moving and a bag that moves around pretty fast.

Practice Report 8/10: Drilling Special Teams

Myles Simmons

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Practice-Report-89-Running-with-the-1s/74afd8d0-8bbf-4b7f-8267-eb1a7c84f319

With the usual camp battles brewing on offense and defense, it’s sometimes easy to overlook the competition for the the Rams’ third unit — special teams.

The club puts a high priority on finding players who can contribute there at a high level, which is why sessions like Wednesday’s special-teams only practice are important. Last week, the club used the same type of time period to take a basic look at how players competed. For Aug. 10, Los Angeles went without pads to work more on skill development in anticipation of the first preseason game on Saturday night.

Special teams coordinator John Fassel — better known around the team as ‘Coach Bones’ — put the players through a few circuits of drills, and also had them work through kickoffs and punts.

“We like to see on tape, individual guys moving, reacting, bending, twisting, turning — all of the stuff that shows up when you start doing 11-on-11,” Fassel said. “Plus it’s fun to kind of compact some things and do some different drills.”

Aside from performing well on the field, one of the best ways to make a good impression with Fassel is to hang around the coach in his office. The way linebacker Cameron Lynch described it is reminiscent of students going to office hours with a college professor, saying he, Bryce Hager, and Bradley Marquez were constantly around.

“When I was a rookie, I was in Bones’ office every single day,” Lynch said. “Every day after practice, we sit now — nine, 10 o’clock — ‘Hey Bones, can we get some extra work in?’ So that was our mentality last year — me, Brad, Bryce — was just to make sure we’re in Bones’ ear and face at all times. And we just went all out during practice and the games and it showed.”

“They just can’t get enough,” Fassel said. “We just watch film, we watch them in the drill, we watch other NFL players who we think are really good on special teams, the similar positions. Something about a football player that just can’t get enough football that seems to always have the edge.”

Because the first preseason game is now just a few days away, Lynch said it’s important for players to make sure they know exactly what they need to do for the different units in order to make the best impression.

“That determines whether you make the team or not, whether or not you can learn the counting system when it comes to punt. Or kickoff return, knowing who to block so they won’t bust through your coverage,” Lynch said. “It’s a transition. And as long as you’re open to trying new things and trying your hardest, Bones will give you praise. If you just try your best, Bones will appreciate it.”

According to Fassel, there are elements of the game that are more apparent in the preseason matchups, which makes them essential for determining roster spots. There are a few specific attributes he’s looking for during the game on on film.

“I think guys that are willing to collide and be open-field tacklers,” Fassel said. “Out here, we can simulate the movements and the techniques, but when you get in the game, and you’ve got a live runner and you’ve got to square him up and collide and block, or two-gap and tackle — those things really stand out that is different from what we get on the practice field.”

KICKING AT THE COLISEUM

One among the many adjustments Rams players will have to make playing at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum this year has to do with sight lines and the kicking game.

“There’s a depth perception at either end with the field goals. One side where it’s the torch and it’s kind of an arch with a hole in it, so there’s some depth perception. Then, the other side is just a huge grandstand, bowl,” Fassel said. “There’s things we worked on in the Coliseum, targets, because there is some weird sighting depending on which way you kick.”

While place kicking is one thing, punter Johnny Hekker said he’s not too worried about how his job will be affected.

“Definitely being in a big bowl where the stands are kind of set back from the field is a little different — getting mental pictures. But the wind is the same for every punter and every kicker that comes in there,” Hekker said. “That’s what pregame is for. You get used to what you’re doing. You go in there with a game plan.”

“We’re going to hopefully get in the Coliseum a couple more times before the regular season starts and try to figure it out, because it definitely swirls a little bit,” Hekker continued. “But it’s the same for everybody. The field’s 100 yards long. We’ve all got to play the same game.”