camp reports for 7/30 & 7/31

rams24/7

Day 1 First Team Offense:
QB: Keenum
RB: Gurley
FB: Harkey
WR: Britt/Austin/Cooper (slot)
TE: Kendricks
LT: Robinson
LG: Wichmann
C: Barnes
RG: Brown
RT: Saffold

Day 1 First Team Defense:
RE: Sims
RDT: Donald
LDT: Brockers
LE: Hayes
LB: Ayers/Ogletree
WS: Barron
CB: Johnson/Sensabaugh/Joyner (nickel)
FS: Alexander
SS: McDonald

Day 1 Second Team Offense:
QB: Goff
RB: B. Cunningham
FB: J. Cunningham
WR: Quick/Marquez
TE: Higbee
LT: Williams
LG: Donnal
C: Kush
RG: Reynolds
RT: Battle

Day 1 Second Team Defense:
RE: Longacre
RDT: Westbrooks
LDT: Easley
LE: Coples
WLB: Lynch
MLB: Hager
SLB: Forrest
CB: Roberson/Gaines
S: Davis/Bryant

of note:

1) Quinn dressed, but had minimal work. I can only remember him getting a handful of snaps with the 2s, although he did have a nice play where he blew by Williams and turned the corner chasing Goff as he rolled to the right.
2) Gaines got a solid amount of work, albeit with the 2s. He split time between outside and nickel with the 2s and played well in both spots.
3) TMac is back, and started at SS.
4) Havenstein was wearing his jersey, but did not participate in any activities. This comes as little surprise to you folk as we all heard he hit the preseason PUP list a few days back. I’m no doctor, but I did see him walking with no visible limp, so I’m optimistic as many are that this is precautionary and Rob should be back before too long.

I know it’s only one day but…

STOCK UP:

1) Mike Thomas

Thomas made the only notable play during the Rams short 7 on 7 period (the day was mainly 11 on 11) when he took a short slant from the left side of the field to the right side of the field, turning the corner, and finding the sideline before being pushed out of bounds for a 30+ yard gain. He doesn’t have jets, but he isn’t slow. He also made a nice grab in WR drills and looked like a man among boys with the 3s.

2) EJ Gaines

Gaines is arguably the most forgotten man on the Rams D. He showed up to play today covering the slot and outside with no notable completions and came up in run support (albeit w/o pads).

3) Mo Alexander

Has no physical limitations to play free, lets just hope he can progress mentally. There weren’t many downfield throws, so I don’t want to give the impression he’s locked up a starting spot or anything. But he didn’t do anything to hurt his case today and filled up nicely in run support, giving Todd a nice pop in the hole coming all the way from his safety position.

STOCK DOWN:

1) Temmarick Hemmingway

As I’ve said its only day 1, but Hemmingway showed today why he fell in the draft. He is a raw project, who if developed has the physical gifts to be a great TE. That’s a big IF however (see Fendi Onobun). He had a ball ripped from his hands by a DB in 7 on 7 and had a CB hit him from behind on a short curl, causing him to drop the ball as well. Hemmingway will need to shine on ST, because he doesn’t provide much else currently that the Rams lack at TE.

2) Eric Kush

Had 2 bad snaps to Goff in 11 on 11 in the span of a few plays. The first was a shotgun snap that hit Goff in the feet and the second looked like a bad exchange from under center, however it looked like Kush didn’t get the ball all the way to Goff.

Fun Tidbit: I loved how after 11 on 11 (practice was over) Goff was seen taking multiple reps with Kush from both under center and in the shotgun to work on perfecting their exchange.

If you already started this thread earlier, I just now subbed out the first post with a new one.

…

8to12

Some positional drills were done on this side of the field but all of the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 were on the far field. And, with the crowd being so large, it made it difficult to get up & move. I waited patiently for some of the scrimmaging to be moved back to the near field but it never happened.

A short list of things I noticed in no particular order:

– Quentin Coples is a big DE. However, I was surprised that he did not move gracefully like the other DE’s. He kind of lumbers as he moves across the LOS. It made me understand better why maybe the Jets had him playing DE in their 3-4 system. But, this only a few positional drills. I will get to see go him against the O-line this coming week (Tues & Wed)

– DB positional drills happened in front of me. Lamarcus Joyner looks very quick in the drills compared to his teammates. Also, Mike Jordan is 6’0″, 200lbs, good size and he has good hands.

– Punt returns: Bradley Marquez, Nelson Spruce and Pharoh Cooper showed really good technique in catching punts. Tavon dropped one of his first attempts, but the wind had picked up and caused most of the issue.

During the following week I hope to see more 11-on-11 to see the offense operate. I want to be to specualte on the personnel groupings, formations, and tendancies for each as they work against the defense. I find this to be the most helpful while watching games during the regular season.

Ramsfan1971

Day 2 starts with much better weather. It was about 81 degrees with a slight breeze. It was much more comfortable than yesterday. As with day one, no pads and Chase Reynolds was first man out for practice. He was soon joined by others to work on the ball machine. Today, I focused on our Wr corp. Yesterday, there was not much to see due to all the short check downs. I watched individual drills and took some pics to share. My observations on our WRs.
Bad News– Austin was carted off the field. Looks like a hamstring pull or cramp. He was not able to bend his leg. Hoping it will heal quickly.

WR

Rookies
#3 North- R—Good size, fast and made some good catches over both days
#8 McRoberts-R—Good size, fast and also made some good catches today
#10 Cooper-R— Quick – got behind Db in one on ones, but dropped a bomb in the endzone.
#13 Thomas- R– Good size and speed. He had some catches, but also had some drops today.
#81 Williams-R— He is big, not as fast as others, but uses his size to create space. He made some catches but also dropped a couple.
#86 Spruce- R– not a lot of speed, but does get descent separation. Good hands.

Vets
#18- Britt– He did not practice today
#11 Austin- Caught a deep pass behind Trumaine for a TD. Later was carted off field.
#15 Marquez- So far has looked the best of Wr in practice. Making contested catches and fighting for the ball.
#83 Quick- Looks thinner this year and looked faster than last year. He made some catches, but also made some mental errors near the sideline. He looks healthy.

Qbs

Goff looked much better today. Again- almost all of the Wr patterns were short. Almost all passes were short inside 10 yds. He did make a nice completion-18 yds in 11 on 11. He did throw another int to #41 Washington. That is 2 in two days against Goff. Waiting for the coaches to allow him to push it down field.
Keenum made a good throw to Austin against T. Johnson for a td.
Mannion continues to look to throw deep first and short second. His reps are very limited.

DL

First team dominated the line again without pads. It is very hard for qb to look downfield without one or two of the DL in his face.

OL

Did open up one or two holes for Gurley against the first team DL. Robinson on L side and Saffold on R side. Can’t say much til I see them in pads.

Dbs and Linebackers

In 7 on 7- they stuck with receivers like glue. Either our Db and Lb are going to be great this year, or our Wr can not create separation.

ST

Hekker was kicking 50-60 yds in the air today.

Zuerlein- big leg, but continued to push right. He better be careful or Bertolet will beat him out in camp.

Critiques

Practice is only 2 hours. I notice while skill positions are warming up, that both DL and OL are standing around doing nothing. Our OL should be working hard for the full two hours. I would say a good 15-20 minutes if standing around talking to each other while others are warming up with skills and stretching. Our Offense will never improve if the OL does not improve and gel as a unit.

Elvis

2 comments:

First shot shows how the Rams are going to blue and white.

Mike Groh has a new thing with the receivers where they play catch with tennis balls. He and Tavon got into it pretty heavy with Steadman watching. It got pretty intense and the crowd went a little wild whooping it up for Tavon. Groh shouted, “what, no love for the coach?”

Hacksaw_64

Goff was the best QB on the field today. made a few mistakes and still looks lost at times. He made 2 exceptional throws that were real nice reads that he drilled over the middle. He completed a nice 20 yard out route to Mike Thomas where he threw the ball well before Thomas went into his break and was caught by Thomas showing of his area of catch by making a last second (surge/burst/lean/lunge/snatch/drag feet in bounds). Coming out of his break it looked like the ball was for sure going to be incomplete a little early, slightly high and out of bounds (all of which are textbook on how you throw that dangerous route). This ball was actually complete thanks to some nice WR skills by Thomas. Great catch, but most good NFL WR’s make that catch. The throw Goff made on the other hand was special. It is the benchmark throw for QB’s in the NFL. A lot of guys just don’t have the arm to throw it, let alone the timing(quick release, footwork, pocket presence) and accuracy( delivering the ball before the receiver goes into his break to “the spot” that only he can catch it and stay in bounds). Its an extremely nuanced throw that plays well to Goff’s natural gifts. This was one of his best throws I watched him make in college as well. He threw one perfect deep ball where he beat the DB and dropped in the bucket perfectly in the end zone that was dropped by I think Pharoah Cooper. Clearly the best arm talent. He missed on another deep throw to a streaking WR that had a step on the DB with a slight overthrow that went out of bounds at least. He also threw a couple dimes over the middle of the field in tight windows for completions to both North and McRoberts. Haven’t seen that in awhile eh? He did throw two picks, one at the start of practice and one at the very end. Both picks looked to be on Goff. The first one looked horrible looked like he was totally confused and lobbed the ball up over the middle of the field right to two defenders. The second one it looked like he stared down his receiver and got jumped easily by the DB. Make no mistake he looks like a confused, spinning rookie at times, but more often than not on Sunday he was the best QB on the field.

Keenum made one real nice deep throw, he was able to drop in. He was pretty crisp at the underneath stuff. Then for the love of god, he tried to throw that 20 yd out pattern to the wide side of the field……Can you say pick six? The ball just floated like a slow hanging curve. That’s pretty much the defining throw for a pro QB arm. Keenum just doesn’t have the arm.

Mannion looked horrible. And trust me I’m one of his biggest supporters. First, I just can’t get over his funky overhand delivery. Combined with his slow footwork and setup in the pocket it looks like a recipe for sack/stripsack. Along with that his was just terribly innacurrate, even against no defenders. He had probably the most wide open gift of a TD pass we saw all day on a fly route with a streaking receiver that had his man beat by 10 steps and he overthrew him by 15 yards out of bounds. There were about 4 other really bad throws I won’t go into detail about.

Duke Williams shockingly got a bunch of reps with the 1st team. Someone must really like him. He looks the part. He’s a big tall frame with long arms.
He had a decent day. He made a couple catches. He had a drop over the middle that wasn’t his fault, he was open but Keenum threw the ball way behind him. He reached back and still almost caught it. They lined him up wide after Tavon went down, and he beat the cb deep down the sideline by a couple steps and Keenum threw a ball that dropped just out of reach of his outstreached hands. A little more speed and he walks into the endzone.

Paul McRoberts looks really good. He kept jumping out to me in warmup drills. I kept asking myself “damn who’s this #8?”. I finally had to look him up. With all the new rookie receivers, there are quite a few unfamiliar numbers. he had the “wow” route of the day. i couldn’t see who was covering him but he absolutely broke the CB’s ankles on his cut over the middle and made a great hands snatch of a bullet by Goff.

Marquez North like McRoberts caught my eye in warmups. He’s explosive, quick twitch in and out of breaks. He ended up making two of the better catches over the middle of the day. They had him in the slot.

Mike Thomas also looks good. He doesn’t look like he has quite the quick twitch athleticism as North or McRoberts, but shows real nice ability to go get the ball once its in the air. He looks pretty smooth running routes.

Nelson Spruce isn’t tall, long armed, quick twitch athlete, or rather explosive. He does go all out on every play. He doesn’t drop anything. He plays with a chip on his shoulder and is physically imposing for his size. He has a deceptive playing speed on the field. He doesn’t waste any extra motion in routes or translating catch to run after catch. He managed to fake me and the DB out with his secret “ninja” ability to get create space on a speedier defender.

Bradley Marquez got a lot of time with the 1’s. My take on him is he is a high floor low ceiling guy. He looks better in drills than he plays. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He doesn’t do anything exceptional as a WR. The buzz is that the Rams are really high on him .I’m not sure I get it.

Brian Quick made a couple catches. Now this is just my impression. But I’m sorry, I don’t get it. While some of these guys jump out to my eye as natural WR’s, Quick jumps out as a dog. He looks tentative. Never looks like he’s going full speed.

Tyler Higbee is going to be good, if he stays healthy. He huge, runs like an antelope and can catch. He was already getting time with the 1’s. I didn’t see him drop anything thrown in his vacinity all day, including drills.

Temarrick Hemmingway might have been the biggest shocker to me all day. I wasn’t a fan of the pick. Someone reported he sucked first day. According to his draft profile he was raw, tall athletic guy that needed to fill out frame and become more physical. Well, you can uncheck that box. This dude looks like Karl Malone. I think he’s bigger than Higbee and he runs like a WR. He has extremely long arms. He ended running two real nice routes over the middle and made a couple nice catches. One was exceptional. I actually see why they drafted him now. With some development he’s going to be almost impossible to cover down the seam. Hopefully he has the hands. I know they were questioned on day 1. Looked Ok today. One thing in his favor is this kid has what it takes upstairs as opposed to Jared Cook, Hemmingway is mature for his years and was recognized for his exceptional character and scholasticism in college.

Gurley looks like he is at a lighter weight, but is no doubt the best player on the field other than Aaron Donald. Looks like he is going to be a bigger threat in the passing attack.

Aaron Green flashed some ability in the open field.

Isaiah Battle is huge this year. He put in some work in the offseason to fill out that frame. He was splitting time with the 1’s at RT with Saffold.

Wichmann was starting next to Robinson at LG with the 1’s with Reynolds splitting time.

Reynolds is a lot more imposing than I thought. He looked like he got injured toward the end of practice

Darrell Williams was backing up GR at LT.

ramsman34

notes from training camp 7/30 & 7/3131

7/30

D-line – individual and one on one drills
Coach Waffle – all business, cool dude too

Quinn – looks very quick and very flexible. His first step explosion is second to none, not even Donald was a quick in these drills. Could not tell he was coming of major back surgery at all. Then again, no pads, no real hitting. but, players had to engage the acting O-lineman, lock out with their inside arm, then either club, rip, or swim move to get around to the QB.

Donald – Wore a GoPro and the footage is up on the Rams website. He looks leaner but more muscular. His leverage is ridiculous.

The Rest – No one really stood out but almost all looked very good, including Easley. Cam thomas (#92) is a camp body as either/both Fox (#72) and sadly Seau (#72) – things might change for these last two once the pads come on but without these three we have 9 DL who are all vets.

WRs, TEs, and one Todd Gurley stayed after practice and worked the Juggs machine. Each caught at least one full 44-gallon garbage can full of balls. All looked good. The standout for me was Harkey, and here is why; after half a bucket, he started moving closer and closer to the Juggs machine until he was practically on top of it. The ball would scream out and a nano second later Harkey would snatch it and put it away – Impressive!

QBs – limited view, more on them in the 7/31 report.

Mannion – He looked really good actually. His delivery is quicker and more compact and he can put some heat on his throws.
Keenum – God forbid he has to throw a deep out from the far hash. His deeper throws all wobble and have simply no zip on them at all. I will be shocked if he is the starter day 1. His short throw are money, but we already knew that about him.
Goff – As noted by many, a lot of check down and underneath stuff by design. He had one bad exchange under center that came after his only deep shot was thrown late on a post route, picked by C. Davis. But, this kid can rip the ball, was incredibly accurate, and his footwork is something to marvel at – effortless.

==

7/31

B. Quick started his pre practice warm ups on the Juggs machine with Coach Groh hitting him and his arms, bodying him up and just messing with his concentration and timing. Quick caught every ball – not wearing gloves. Let’s see how this translates when the pads come on Tuesday 8/2. Quick looks leaner, even more ripped and faster than last year.

Team Defense – interception and return drill. I have never seen a team actually work on interception return blocking assignments like this before. The LBs and Dl would set up a return wall for the D backs to flow behind. It was coordinated beautifully every time.

O-line – one side inside run game drill. A lot of emphasis by Coach Bou on technique including, hand placement, sinking hips and driving, and bringing your feet. Isaiah Battle looked very good in this drill. All the o-line did pretty well.

The D-line once again worked on pass rush drills against each other, one on one. A lot of emphasis was put on proper hand placement, strike, and creating separation. All the guys did well with Quinn, Brokers, Donald, and Sims looking particularly strong and quick. Coach Waffle emphasizes a quick 1-2 strike technique with the hands then a one armed lock out of the offensive lineman to create space while bending and dipping around that side of the lineman. Trying to block any of our DL one on one is going to be a challenge for most opposing o-line men, especially OGs.

QB Individual Drills – Both Goff and Mannion can flat out spin the ball. It jumps out of their hands. Keenum, well, I truly think I can throw harder and farther than he can, with a tighter spiral. They do a lot of footwork, on the move within the pocket drills. I think these drills will pay off this season.

WR tennis ball drill. what a great eye-hand coordination drill Groh uses – and the WRs do it every single day. Him and Tay were moving two balls lightening fast to each other until Tay dropped one. We gave Tay a loud cheer and Groh says, “what, no love for coach.” Coach actually looked damn impressive.

TEAM 11 v 11 almost every snap was out of 11-personell
2 minute drill – Goff at QB – second team

3rd & 3/+42 yd line/11 personnel/shotgun – short hook route to Duke Williams – drop/inc. – well placed ball
1st & 10/+45/11 personnel/Gun, intermediate fade to McRoberts – incomplete – catchable ball

Keenum a QB – 1st team

1st & 10/+45/ Run
3rd & 5/+45/11/gun -TE crossing route/Kendricks – complete for a 1st down – this is where T. Austin pulled up lame with the cramping
3rd & 7/+44/11/ gun – TE crosser – incomplete, forgot to write player # down

Goff in – 1st team with WR/TEs rotating

3rd & 3/+44/11/under center – hook/inc. to Higbee – catchable ball, tight window
3rd & 7/+47/11/gun – 3-step, speed out to Higbee, caught for a 1st down
3rd & 7/+47/11/gun – 5-step intermediate in-route to #3 Marquez North, nice ball, nice catch, big gain
3rd & 7/+47/11/gun – 5-step intermediate comeback to #13 Michael Thomas, tight coverage, great ball placement with heat on it, big gain
3rd & 7/+47/11/gun – 3-step, Sack by Brockers
3rd & 7/+47/11/gun – 7 step, double move/stutter go, great ball, maybe a tad long but if #81, Duke Williams lays out, thats a TD, ends up inc. Williams left the DB looking stupid, did not get the DBs #

Mannion got like 2 or 3 reps and i didn’t pay attention, TBH.

The last two plays were a check down over the middle on 2nd and 12, and a jail-break screen, both worthless but the rush and coverage took everything else away, and the pursuit on the screen was so fast the WR couldn’t make more than a 4 yd gain.

7 v 7 was the last thing of the day and thoroughly disappointing from the offensive point of view. This drill is slanted toward the offense and they are supposed to win most of the time. Didn’t happen. The D was in man coverage exclusively and shut all three QBs down consistently. Gave them nothing accept a nice grab by Duke Williams on an intermediate incut. NOTE – I really hope the Duke makes this team – at least the practice squad. There is just something about him and he is a freakish athlete with excellent size/play speed/strength. Needs to sharpen his focus and concentration to eliminate the drops.

Now, keep in mind – especially with Goff at QB, the Defense is disguising coverages and shifting fronts constantly. They rolled out of cover-2 into cover-3 and then made cover -1 look like cover-3 pre snap quite a bit. They also ran zone to one side with off-man on the other. That is a lot for a rookie QB in his second practice to absorb and it showed occasionally. But, Goff held up well and looked better day 2 than day 1. THAT is called progress and I expect to see more all through camp.

More from camp tomorrow, 8/2 when the pads come on!