Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › articles: Keenum, Dallas, DL, Donald, Tavon
- This topic has 1 reply, 1 voice, and was last updated 9 years, 9 months ago by
zn.
-
AuthorPosts
-
August 9, 2016 at 1:15 am #50428
znModeratorCase Keenum is OK with being out of the spotlight at Los Angeles Rams camp
By Gary Klein
http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-training-camp-20160808-snap-story.html
It is nearly impossible for starting NFL quarterbacks to remain under the radar during training camp.
Their passes and leadership skills are scrutinized and they’re in constant demand by local and national reporters.
But with backup Jared Goff, the top pick in the NFL draft, commanding attention for the Rams, Case Keenum has largely stayed out of the spotlight so far.
And the fifth-year pro appears comfortable with the situation.
Just type in a Name and select a State.. Then brace yourself for what you might find on you or anyone else!
“Jared’s got people all over him,” Keenum said Monday after practice, adding, “I understand that.
“I’m not sensitive. I’ve got a thick skin and I’m going to be who I am no matter what.”
Keenum initially will be at the forefront Saturday night when the Rams play the Dallas Cowboys at the Coliseum in the first NFL game at the stadium in more than 20 years.
Keenum grew up in Abilene, Texas, and he said he was a Cowboys fan until he went to college at Houston and became a Texans fan.
“It’s really cool to play the Cowboys,” he said. “A lot of my people are from there.”
For the first time in his pro career, Keenum will go into an exhibition opener as a starter.
How long he maintains that status could well be determined by how Goff plays during exhibitions against the Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings.
Coach Jeff Fisher has said that Goff is expected to play about a half against the Cowboys. But Keenum is the starter.
And while Goff has made several passes during camp that appear to validate the Rams’ decision to trade to the top of the draft to select him, Keenum has quietly and efficiently run the offense.
“He knows what to do,” Fisher said of Keenum. “He knows where to go with it.”
The crowds at practice have not screamed his name, as they have for Goff, but Keenum has looked like a quarterback ready to lead the offense if called upon to do so in the Sept. 12 opener against the San Francisco 49ers.
“I’m putting up blinders,” he said. “I’m not worried about anything. I’m in a great spot for myself.
“Whatever happens is going to happen. I understand other people are going to have to do their job but I’m going to go do my job.”
Being the starter has its advantages, some that Keenum never enjoyed during previous training camps with the Texans and Rams.
“Getting a lot more reps now with the ones is really nice to kind of get comfortable with what throws do I feel comfortable making to guys,” he said. “How far can I push the envelope on trying to put things in certain holes or windows.”
Getting prepped
The game against the Cowboys will be the first NFL game at the Coliseum since 1994.
“I’m excited to go out there and give these fans something they haven’t had here for awhile,” defensive tackle Aaron Donald said. “Go out and give them something to watch.”
Fisher said that part of the preparation would include going through the pregame warmup routine, the procedure for the national anthem and other issues.
“We’ll give them a little bit of a head start on the Cowboys,” Fisher said, “probably just a day or so, maybe 20 to 24 reps so they’ll have some familiarity with their systems.”
Moving around
Defensive lineman Quinton Coples signed with the Rams as a free agent after playing linebacker in a 3-4 scheme with the New York Jets and a short stint with the Miami Dolphins.
The 16th pick in the 2012 draft played defensive end through organized team activities and the first week of training camp. On Monday, he also played defensive tackle.
Fisher said the move was made to give Ethan Westbrooks work at end.
“I’ve played inside and I can do both,” Coples said. “Things happen a little faster [at tackle] but overall it was good.”
Coples said that his fellow linemen have embraced him.
“It’s been great,” he said. “I’ve been feeling good and it’s great to be back at D-line.”
August 9, 2016 at 1:19 am #50430znModeratorStronger, leaner Aaron Donald says Rams defensive line can be ‘one of the best in history’
By RICH HAMMOND / STAFF WRITER
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/donald-725094-defensive-last.html
IRVINE – The Rams were in full pads for Monday’s training-camp practice, but with defensive tackle Aaron Donald, sometimes it’s difficult to distinguish.
Donald hardly needs them. Layer upon layer of muscle shelters his bones, and during the offseason, Donald only got stronger. In an attempt to build off his first two stellar NFL seasons, Donald didn’t drop any weight but added bulk and said he hoped to keep his body fat under 10 percent.
Already considered one of the NFL’s top defensive tackles, Donald enters his third NFL season poised to lead a Rams defensive line that underachieved last year, in part because of injuries, but could be fierce.
“I’ve been working on my technique, trying to split double teams a lot better and holding double teams,” Donald said Monday at UC Irvine. “I’m just trying to clean up little things, and just working.”
Donald totaled 11 sacks last season, tied for most in the NFL among defensive tackles, and followed his 2014 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year effort with a second consecutive Pro Bowl selection.
There’s no slowing down. Donald, listed at 6-foot-1, 285 pounds, has a rock-solid physique but joked that he had “a little gut” last season. Donald said that offseason work had lowered his body fat to 10 percent in June but that he hoped it would be lower by the start of the season.
If so, opponents could be in trouble. Donald lines up next to end William Hayes, who took over as a starter seven weeks into last season and played well. The other end is Robert Quinn, who missed half of last season with a back injury but seemingly will be at 100 percent for the start of training camp.
Donald said he carefully watched last year’s Denver Broncos, who won the Super Bowl largely thanks to a talented defensive front, and said he drew motivation and encouragement.
“We can go down as one of the best in history,” Donald said. “With the talent we’ve got on this defensive line and the way they play, we can be one of those (top) defensive lines for sure.”
That’s important, because Donald increasingly will draw attention from opposing offensive lines. Multiple times Monday, he spoke of his need to occupy, if not split and beat, multiple defenders at the line of scrimmage.
Teammates also have talked about their need to support Donald, who recorded 11 of the Rams’ 41 sacks last season.
“I don’t think it’s just me making plays on the defensive line. It’s so many of us,” Donald said. “All of those guys have been making plays before I even got here. We just work good together and we all make plays.”
HAIL MARY
Rams receiver Tavon Austin, never one to lack flash, practiced wearing a pair of socks that featured images of the Virgin Mary.
Asked where the socks came from, Austin shrugged and said, “They were in my locker.”
Divine intervention, perhaps, and Austin’s footwear typically isn’t the only loud thing about him. Listed at 5-foot-8, 176 pounds, Austin is small but fierce, even when it comes to trash-talking teammates.
“He’s got two speeds,” Coach Jeff Fisher said. “One is ‘fast’ and the other is ‘sleep.’ When he’s not sleeping, he’s going fast, and that’s how his personality is also. He’s just going fast all the time. He’s a really smart player and a really exciting, special player. He loves to play.”
Fisher said he hadn’t yet decided how much Austin, the Rams’ leader in receptions last season (52) will play in Saturday’s preseason opener against Dallas. Last season, Austin had only three catches in four preseason games but said he’s looking forward to facing the Cowboys.
“It’s definitely going to be a big game,” Austin said. “Last year we kind of got into it (physically) in Oxnard (during camp). We’ve got to bring it. I know our side is definitely going to bring it. We’ll see from them.”
CAMP NOTES
Cornerback E.J. Gaines, out with a hamstring injury, was on the field in uniform with his helmet but did not practice. Offensive tackle Rob Havenstein also remains out with a foot injury. … The Rams had their first training-camp fight when offensive and defensive linemen got in a short but fierce scrap, with Garrett Reynolds and Quinton Coples in the middle of things. “It was spirited, just because of the nature of the practice,” Fisher said, “when you’re practicing short yardage and those kind of things.” … The Rams will practice in full pads again Tuesday, then hold only a special-teams practice Wednesday morning, Fisher said
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
