camp week 2: the reporters

Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
Rams player you haven’t heard of, but maybe you should keep an eye on: Ryan Davis. They signed the sixth-year pro as a free agent. He’s played in Jax, Buffalo and Dallas and Sean McVay said Wednesday that he’s really “shown up” at OLB.

Ryan Davis
Position: DE originally, LB
6-2, 260lb
College: Bethune-Cookman

from the wiki

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

2012

Davis signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars following the 2012 NFL Draft as an undrafted free agent. He was signed to the team’s practice squad at the end of the preseason.
He was promoted from the practice squad to the active roster on October 5. He was released on October 23 and re-signed to the practice squad the next day. He was again released from the practice squad on November 21 and re-signed to the practice squad four days later. He was signed to the active roster at the conclusion of the season.

2013

Davis was released on August 30, 2013 and signed to the team’s practice squad on September 1. He was promoted to the active roster on November 15.

During the season, Davis had two game ending plays against the Houston Texans. When the Jaguars played the Texans in Houston in November, Davis made a game ending interception. In a December victory in Jacksonville, Davis sacked Houston quarterback Matt Schaub while the Texans did not have any timeouts remaining and the clock ran out.

2014

Davis was active for all 16 games as part of the defensive line rotation and had a career high 6.5 sacks on the year.

2015

He played in 14 games as a backup at defensive end and finished with 3.5 sacks.
2016

On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Jaguars, who were going younger at the defensive end position with the additions of Dante Fowler Jr. and Yannick Ngakoue.

Dallas Cowboys

On September 13, 2016, Davis was signed as a free agent by the Dallas Cowboys, who were looking to improve their depth at the defensive end position with the suspensions to DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory.

He was declared inactive for the second game of the season and missed two additional contests with a strained hamstring. Against the Cincinnati Bengals, his role in the defensive line rotation increased after passing defensive end Benson Mayowa on the depth chart, but because he didn’t have an impact pressuring the quarterback, Mayowa regained his spot against the Minnesota Vikings. Davis was declared inactive in three games, before being activated against the Detroit Lions, but suffered a knee injury and did not play many snaps. He was placed on the injured reserve list on December 28. He finished the season with 3 tackles and 6 quarterback pressures.

Buffalo Bills

On March 13, 2017, Davis signed with the Buffalo Bills, who were changing to a 4-3 defense under new head coach Sean McDermott.

On March 26, 2018, Davis was released by the Bills.

Los Angeles Rams

On July 24, 2018, Davis signed with the Los Angeles Rams.

Quotes & Notes 8/4/18: Jared Goff Goes Off, Suh Ready for Ravens

Clarence Dennis

https://www.therams.com/_mobileview/news/quotes-notes-8-4-18-jared-goff-goes-off-suh-ready-for-ravens
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“He [quarterback Jared Goff] was sharp today. I thought he had really good command — everything we did today was kind of unscripted — different situations forcing these guys to think, work on a play clock, and work with the noise. I thought there was a couple times where I got the play in really late and he did a good job recognizing — kind of speeding up the tempo huddle, how we broke it and got up and got set. But that was impressive — it’s about stringing those days together, but it is practice, we got a lot of good work in, and there’s still going to be stuff that we can always clean up. You definitely felt that he was in total command and he was really sharp today.”
-HEAD COACH SEAN McVAY

Goff seemed to be firing on all cylinders on Saturday. In a two-minute drill, Goff executed near perfectly with rapper Jay Rock’s, ‘WIN’ blaring over the large speakers surrounding the UC Irvine practice field. Goff hit wide receiver Robert Woods essentially three consecutive times (with a non-contact “sack” mixed in) on the sideline, stopping the clock. Goff also hit second-year wideout Cooper Kupp with an absolutely perfect deep ball up down the left sideline for a touchdown, placing the ball out of surrounding defenders’ reach.

“Just connecting on those timing routes is huge for us. For me catching it from him — for me running the actual route, just getting on the same page — knowing where he likes to put the ball and me really just adjusting to that.”
-WR BRANDIN COOKS

Quarterback Jared Goff and Cooks seem to be getting used to one another. On Saturday, Goff and Cooks connected several times throughout practice, most notably when Cooks got the best of corner Marcus Peters in consecutive reps during 1-on-1 drills.

“It speaks wonders now to now just go out there and play football. I think a lot of guys when you get that [contract extension], you go out there and play harder. You know you have that security — your health and whatnot, so you just lay it all out there because the team believes so high in you.”
-WR BRANDIN COOKS

The Rams extended Cooks’ contract the week before players reported to training camp in Irvine — well before Cooks will play a single down in Los Angeles. It is clear general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay saw promise in Cooks. Immediately following Cooks signing the extension, McVay called Cooks a “class act on and off the field.”

“He’s a proven professional in this league and signing him to a long-term contract was always our goal. We’re excited to keep Brandin in a Rams uniform through 2023,” McVay said.

“Ultimately, knowing the Ravens and playing them umpteen amount of times — and we had some terrible losses against them the last two years when I was in Miami. But more importantly, I look forward to the ability and pleasure to go against a guy named [Ravens’ guard] Marshall Yanda, a guy that I have the ultimate respect for and love going against each and every opportunity that I get a chance to go against him.”
-DL NDAMUKONG SUH

Suh has lost to the Ravens in back-to-back seasons from 2016-17. In those two regular-season games, Suh recorded four total tackles and did not record a sack.

Suh and many of the Rams’ top guys are not expected to play much —if at all — in next Thursday’s matchup in Baltimore. However the entire team is set to participate in combined practices with the Ravens from Monday to Wednesday.

“So with [tight end] Gerald [Everett] — he’s got a shoulder sprain. You guys see him out here, he’s got a little splint — we’re going to be smart with him. He’ll probably be doing rehab and different things like that for the next week or so — and then as far as with [safety] Lamarcus [Joyner], his achilles is just sore. We are being smart with him, but we expect him to be ready to go in practice against Baltimore.”
-HEAD COACH SEAN McVAY

While camp has been, for the most part, a healthy one, McVay addressed his short list of injured players following Saturday afternoon’s practice. McVay indicated that Everett will not be ready to go against Baltimore, but Joyner will make the trip and is expected to practice on Monday. Joyner is expected to be a critical piece of the Rams’ deep secondary this season. In 2017, Joyner tallied three interceptions and 39 tackles at safety in 12 games.

McVay said outside linebacker Matt Longacre will not travel next week, to continue rehabbing his injured bicep.

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10 Observations from Day 8 of Training Camp

Myles Simmons

https://www.therams.com/news/10-observations-from-day-8-of-training-camp

1) Los Angeles began Saturday’s practice with special teams drills, particularly working on kickoffs and kick returns. While it’s hard to tell exactly how different the play will look watching from the sideline, it is noticeable when the kickoff team doesn’t move until the ball is hit off the tee. And for the return team, having only three players back — usually two to block, one to return — is unfamiliar as well.
2) The Rams’ offense began practice working on misdirection plays. There was play action, jet sweeps, reverses — anything you can probably think of, the offense was likely running it. The plays weren’t done against air, as offensive players were lined up on the other side of the line of scrimmage.
3) During individual drills, Los Angeles’ offensive linemen and tight ends were partnered up working one-on-one for certain techniques. Run game coordinator/offensive line coach Aaron Kromer would work down the line to indicate each duo should act as if the ball was just snapped to run a certain play/blocking technique. It was an efficient way of making sure each lineman received significant practice reps.
4) Also during individual drills, at one point head coach Sean McVay went up to wide receiver Robert Woods to demonstrate a top on technique for exactly how he wanted a route to be run. That’s not uncommon for McVay, who also spends plenty of time covering routes during individual drills in practice. He also is a former collegiate wide receiver.
5) As you may or may not have heard, quarterback Jared Goff had one of his best practices in a Rams uniform on Saturday. The third-year signal-caller began to shine during one-on-one drills with wide receivers and cornerbacks. He connected with Brandin Cooks, Cooper Kupp, and Woods on three consecutive passes against Marcus Peters, Nickell Robey-Coleman, and Aqib Talib, respectively. On the second go-round of reps, Cooks used his considerable speed to get off the line and past Peters — who is not easy to shake at all.
6) At the start of 11-on-11 drills, Los Angeles turned up the music on the field in order to mimic crowd noise. The first-team defense was first up against the scout-team offense. With strong fan support anticipated at the Coliseum in 2018, the Rams’ defense will likely often have to communicate through a lot of noise to be successful. That’s a good problem to have.
JL8_2481
7) The music stayed fairly loud for the offense’s first turn in 11-on-11, where Goff continued to spin it quite well. He began the period with two strong passes to Cooks — the first an anticipation throw on a skinny post in a tight window. Goff then connected with Woods with a laser on 3rd-and-long, putting it over the second-level defenders and right into the wideout’s hands. And he finished the drive with a long pass down the left sideline to Kupp for what would’ve been a touchdown. That throw was particularly impressive, going right into the bread basket.
8) As a subsequent 11-on-11 period began, Goff repeatedly pointed to the sky to indicate he wanted the music to be louder before he entered the huddle. It became hard for even reporters to speak to one another on the sidelines. But Goff wanted the challenge and delivered more strong throws, connecting with Woods, Gurley, and Kupp for touchdown passes. The offense was using a silent snap count as well.
9) Goff began a two-minute drill with a pair of passes to Woods, easily moving into opponent territory. The quarterback would connect with Woods on the right sideline two more times, before delivering a strike in stride to Kupp on a crossing route. The accurate ball placement allowed the Eastern Washington product to run into the end zone for six.
HU005373-2
HIRO UENO
10A) Los Angeles practiced two end-of-game scenarios toward the end of practice. On offense, the objective was to gain a first down in order to salt the clock an ostensibly win the game. The unit was able to do so with two Gurley runs, and then a bootleg pass from Goff to tight end Johnny Mundt for a first down.
The defense had to prevent a two-minute drill from ending up in the end zone. Coordinator Wade Phillips’ side of the ball was able to do so when safety Blake Countess intercepted a Sean Mansion pass in the back of the end zone on 4th-and-goal from the 10.
10B) The Rams ended Saturday’s session with a compete period, with the first-team offense and first-team defense going in 11-on-11. Though the offense had a pair of negative plays to start, Goff sidestepped the rush collapsing the pocket to fire off a pass to Cooks as he was going into the end zone for a touchdown. It was a fitting end to a fine passing day for Goff.

Joe Curley@vcsjoecurley
Asked if the Rams are the team to beat in the NFL, Goff responds “That’s up for you guys to decide. I don’t know. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re 0-0 right now and haven’t even played our first preseason game.”

Goff says he hasn’t spoken to Aaron Donald recently. “We love Aaron. Aaron’s a great part of our team and a good piece of our team. We hope to get him back soon….

“We don’t hate if offensively during practice when he’s not here. We don’t hate it. We get some good work in and don’t get any plays ruined.”

“We’d love for him to be here. At the same time, that’s part of the business that he has to deal with and our team is dealing with with him.

Goff on his expectations for Year 3 after a big improvement last year: “I just want to continue to keep getting better and continue to keep understanding everything we that we’re doing offensively…

“But right now I feel like we’re in a good spot, feel like I’m in a good spot, continue to gel with Sean and continue to get better.”

“I felt like I had a grasp on it last year and then where I’m at now, I look back to last year and go ‘You know I really didn’t know that much.’ And I’m sure that’ll happen as time goes on, year to year…

Goff on the Rams improving offensively after scoring 29.9 points per game last year: “We’re going to have to continue to evolve and be creative and come up with new things. At the same time, be good at our base stuff, be really good at it and continue to get sharper at it.”

Goff on Todd Gurley’s contract: “It’s awesome. It’s great to see a guy like Todd get that reward with all he did last year and what he’s done his whole career… especially last year coming in and working… and having the year he had.”

Jared Goff just told @nflnetwork that today’s joint practice with the Ravens was the hottest practice of his life. “I’ve never really been practicing in a humid environment like this, just growing up in California and getting a chance to play college and pro ball in California.” It was 101 degrees and humid. “It’s a little bit different,” Goff said.

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Gary Klein@LATimesklein
McVay said he spoke with Talib about Crabtree in advance of practices: “Aqib is a smart player, he’sa leader. I think he knew that there would be a lot of eyes on that specific situation and trusted that based on our conversations he’s be smart about it and he certainly was.

McVay on whether he has a plan re Jared Goff for Thursday night: “There’s a good chance a handful of guys, if we feel like we get the work that we want, will sit out on Thursday.” Goff said he was fine with whatever McVay decides.

McVay on the Ravens facility: “You feel like you’re pulling up to a country club, so pretty nice.”

McVay continued: “But I don’t think there’s any realistic deal to kind of that Aug. 7 being a date that changes really anything. But you never know. And things remain the same. I’m looking forward to trying to connect with him later today and we’ll see where we’re at.”

McVay on Donald situation:” I don’t think anything’s going to change with that in the near future. I’ve had a little bit of dialogue with Aaron and we’re hopeful that we’ll get something done.”

Jared Goff said it would be no problem if he was among starters who don’t play Thursday against Ravens.

Sean McVay said he’d be surprised if Aaron Donald reported by Tuesday.

Rams Aqib Talib lined up opposite Ravens receiver Michael Crabtree 10 times during various drills. No incidents. Talib broke up only pass that came his way.

Vincent Bonsignore@VinnyBonsignore
Doesn’t look like #Rams Jared Goff will play Thursday in preseason opener. At least that’s where Sean McVay is leaning. But considering Goff of getting full practice reps against Ravens 1st team defense two days in a row, not a big deal

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Rich Hammond@Rich_Hammond
The first practice period is over between Rams’ defense and Ravens’ offense. All chains intact.

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Baltimore Beatdown@BMoreBeatdown
Justin Davis scores a 5-yard touchdown against the starters. McVay’s play calling at work confused the defense

Goff with some real zip on the ball.

The first- and second- team defense of the Rams collapses the Ravens respective O-lines for sacks. Getting great pressure.

Mike Preston@MikePrestonSun
Today wasn’t a good day for the Ravens offense. The Rams got after them early and often.

Rams And Ravens Benefit From Productive, Fight-Free Practice

Rams And Ravens Benefit From Productive, Fight-Free Practice

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay took his team across the country in an effort to escape the typically mundane NFL training camp practice that’s all too commonplace in August.

He got exactly what he wanted Monday during a two-hour joint session with the Baltimore Ravens.

“It was a good first day,” McVay said. “Guys practiced smart, we were able to get a lot out of it.”

It was hot. It was humid. There was hard hitting.

And not a single scuffle.

“That was definitely the message,” McVay said. “We don’t need any of that, especially because some of the things that can happen injury-wise. We always talk about what the intent of practice is out here, and it’s to get better and go against another really good football team.”

The Rams and Ravens got all the benefits of competition, with less risk of injury because tackling was not allowed.

“I felt like the two teams cooperated very well,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “Quite a bit of physicality and just a good, strong football practice.”

The teams will do it again Tuesday, then take a break on Wednesday before getting together for a preseason game on Thursday night.

A joint practice provides a welcome relief for players who are tired of banging helmets or throwing passes against their teammates during the dog days of summer.

“It’s tough really, what to make of it, but I think it is a good test,” Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco said. “You get used to going up against your defense, seeing what they do every day, so it’s good to see something else.”

McVay knew he was in for something different when he got his first glimpse of the Ravens recently expanded training facility.

“I love it. It’s really impressive,” he said. “You feel like you’re pulling up to a country club.”

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti poured plenty of money into the complex, and he was on hand Monday to watch the practice. So was Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who wore shorts but made the mistake of pairing that with a black shirt under a sizzling sun in 90 degree temperatures.

“It’s definitely sticky,” McVay said. “You feel the difference coming out here. We get spoiled in that California weather where there’s no humidity, but I think it’s great work for us. The fields are in great condition; today was a good day for us all.”

After both teams dressed, the Rams and Ravens warmed up on adjacent fields before pairing off — Rams offense vs. Ravens defense, Baltimore offense vs. Los Angeles defense.

Special teams got some work, too.

It was so comprehensive, that McVay may change the way he uses his personnel on Thursday night.

Asked if quarterback Jared Goff would see action, the coach replied, “There’s a good chance a handful of guys, if we feel like we get the work that we want, will sit out on Thursday. That’s a big part of being able to get good work in here and kind of limit the risk of injuries.”

Defensive end Aaron Donald remained a no-show at camp, and McVay said there was no progress on the holdout.

“I don’t think anything is going to change with that in the near future,” McVay said. “I’ve had a little bit of dialogue with Aaron, and we’re hopeful to get something done. But things remain the same.”

Ravens guard Marshal Yanda, however, practiced for the first time since last September, going through individual drills over the first section of practice. He missed the last 14 games of the 2017 season with a fractured ankle and sat out the early part of training camp following shoulder surgery.