FanFest camp reports (5 so far)

DrKingSchultz

Fanfest/Practice Report 8.2.14\
Rev’s pics: http://www.realramsfans.com/viewtopic.php?t=82504

Okay…My observations….

1. Kevin Demoff stated the Rams have never said they’re looking to move and everything they have done shows they plan on staying in St. Louis….he pointed to the new sound system and beautiful replay boards as well as the fanfest event. The replay boards are awesome and the sound is so very much improved.

2. Les Snead said when the season is over they will look to lock up SB8 long-term…and that the advantage they have over the Whiners and Hags is that they already have a high QB salary built into their budget, whereas, the rivals will have to cut players and make huge adjustments when new deals occur for their QB’s.

3. Snead expects the Rams to compete for SB THIS year. Sam is not a distraction and a great addition to the locker room.

4. Team is high on E.J. Gaines…the scout (don’t remember his name) talked how he was in attendance to scout Mike Evans and instead ending up loving Gaines. Team also high on Joyner…I think it was Snead that said, some guys are just football players without the off the chart measurables.

OKay….now to the football….

1. Joyner, Jenkins, and Quick didn’t practice….JL in a walking boot. Brockers tweaked a foot but appeared okay.

2. Bradford’s main man and go to guy is clearly Stedman Bailey. And Jared Cook plays a huge role in the offense. Kendricks is invisible in the passing game; Rams are still high on #84 Cunningham…he gets a ton of balls his way. Something wrong with Givens….as it stands….he’s behind Quick, Britt, Bailey, Austin, and probably Pettis.

3. Bradford is fine; moving around very well and he looks bigger in the upper body…has definitely filled out some. Threw the ball well today…some real darts…and…he appears confident throwing the ball down the field to Britt, Bailey, Austin, and Cook.

4. Robinson played LT at times and was up against Quinn at times….not bad…this idea that he’s lost out there is just not true….like most rookies, he may struggle at times at LT (especially against Robert Quinn), but his talent level is obvious…he’s going to be a great, great player.

5. Oh…they expect Long back for the first game….coach told a story how when Long took his first team snaps, he came off the field crying and hugged Reggie Scott saying “We did it”! The point was ….he has made remarkable progress and cares deeply about football.

6. Oh…one other thing….Demoff stated Kroenke cares deeply….when walking off the practice field the other day, Kroenke was on the phone instantly with Demoff to get an update on Saffold.

7. Back to football….Pead returned some kicks, but got no action at RB….running backs were Stacey, Mason, Cunningham, and Reynolds…and Tavon Austin had a bunch of snaps early at RB….he’s so dang quick after taking the hand-off.

8. Corners were Tru and McGee….Gaines got in a lot of work and so did Alexander from Eureka High (at safety, mostly in the box).

9. Pass rush will be devastating…on one running play, Donald must have hit Mason 4 yards in the backfield, a split-second after Mason took the hand-off.

10. Gilbert has potential but is so very raw…he’s light-years away from playing…and Austin Davis is a joke…NOT an NFL caliber QB. Period.

11. Michael Sam is clearly a fan favorite, but not sure if he can make THIS team. Moe is buried on the depth chart and gets very few reps, but he was on both kick off and kick return teams at times.

12. Most dissapointing player to me is Givens….and not sure what the deal with Kendricks is….

13. Tavon Austin…if he can stay healthy…is going to have some monster plays this year…..playing with a lot of confidence and they’re getting him the ball a lot…although…Sam threw a couple of end zone fades to him that didn’t work and I’m not sure what that was all about….

if I think of more, I’ll add later. One note: EVERYONE is the Rams organization that spoke is ultra-excited about this season and i don’t think it’s an act…they BELIEVE this is a playoff-bound team…..

Ciao!

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KnowBody

my camp reports are supposed to be fun.. not informative, well, there is information there, and if you want to do anything with it, fine, but you sure don’t have to on my account..

the Everything has an Atmosphere Moment: the energy in the dome was different today, it definitely felt like a collectively more excited group of people than last year’s crowd

Divine Moment of Defensive Victory- I’m sorry, I was trying to ease my way into this season without getting too one way or the other about any single player, you know, keep my jets cool about the whole thing, try to play it off like no big deal… hahahaha, talk about misery, try being something you are not. how can i be lukewarm when I am not .. anyways, Aaron Donald penetrating on running plays will change games constant with our United Team Will of Domination.. the Defensive Line is Beyond Beastly, I am telling you, on our D’s goaline stand, Donald was in the backfield on both running plays, creating chaos…

Our other first round pick, Robinson, is the easily the most athletically gifted offensive lineman we have right now… he cleans holes where he goes, and where he goes, he goes with quickness, mighty power, and one could even say stunning speed, especially for someone of his stature, but one better not make such superlative driven statements…I was never one with the idea of drafting an OL in the Top 5, because there were a lot of guys being pushed into those slots, when their talent, and character didn’t match that falsely set standard. He is not falsely set, I do not believe that he is, at least. I am very happy we drafted him… so happy

Missouri Tigers Section

Yes, today I was blessed to have the opportunity to see three Missouri Tigers on the field at the same time… I never thought I’d see the day.. back when we picked up Danario, I was living the dream… having just one lone Tiger on this Rams team.. but now, we have at least three, possibly four, if Moe makes the club, and he just might, given the sad situation with Stedman

Gaines had another solid day.. he just makes plays, he is a sure tackler, he took Mason down along the sidelines in the late scrimmage period, that was nice, he would have also had a sack had we been playing for real, which would have probably provided the D our ball

Moe can get open… he had a drop today, that hurt, but he was finding openings pretty much all day

Sam can rush the passer… he did it in the best conference in college, and he is doing it here.. deal with it

Barnes, if he isn’t the game one starter, will provide quality depth

Our cornerback situation is going to be fine, so will safety… our DLine is sick.. and the backend isn’t bad either… they are only getting better, as they learn how to communicate more effortlessly.

this is a playoff team that I am seeing… one game at a time, though
Our DLine is just incredible… waves of destruction.. organized masters of mayhem… I just don’t want to get into it here, it’s too terrifying.. Quinn tried to put the moves on Mr. Robinson to no avail a few times… still, when he tries to rush the passer with all his will, it is truly an art form that gives me a thrill.. Langford and Brockers are my favorite inner beasts.. just behemoths doing mosh work, but with such finesse, technique, and quickness… Sims is still good against the run.. looking forward to getting Hayes back

Our Oline’s and Dline’s, collectively, look fairly deep, for the first time since I can remember

Stedman Bailey and Bradford continue to find the rhythm of timing movements in space with intricate precision

Britt had another Monster Td Reception..no big deal, it happens often, but interestingly I have never seen anything like this at camp before

My friend asked me how the team looked, and the one word that came to mind was Togetherness

TJ McDonald would have had a say on that first Jared Cook Td catch..

Maurice Alexander and the Local Linebacker Aaron Hill both had big days
Ray Ray made me laugh really hard, and I needed to laugh today.. I woke up feeling sick of it all

The offense is bound to look good in situations like today, where the defense doesn’t will harmful intent during the collision.. that said, Tre Mason is better than I thought, and he was my favorite back in the draft…the pundits questioning his blocking were fools… surprised, I’m not.. his spin is electrifying on turf.. his cuts, unreal, this guy could really be a lightning bolt for us on this turf.. Electrocute them, and then steamroll them into ashes with Stacy and Cunningham

I like Pead, but his path seems more uphill than he might wish… while I’m wishing, I wish all of them the best…

Marcus Robinson and McLeod made a few nice deflections, as did Phillip Steward to end practice.. all in all, once again, there were big plays on both sides… we are really making some plays, it has been as much fun as any camp that I’ve ever been to

Back to some bad news, or actually, this might be the first somewhat negative thing I have written…I cannot trust Cook to catch the football if I’m Bradford, sorry… he is way too unreliable for me, he is like Kendricks, only he can’t block as well, and he has a few more inches on him… he needs to catch the football.. I hate seeing professionals drop passes that hit them in the hands.. I want to see less Cook, and more Britt, Bailey, Austin, Quick.. those are the go to guys that I have confidence in right now, Givens is there on the cusp too, he is definitely still flashing

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RamGal

The announced attendance of 15,000+ surprised me because I thought the crowd in the lower bowl was lighter than last year’s crowd of 13,000. Still, it was a nice showing of fan support.

There was a lot of work for the back-ups today. The theme for this practice/scrimmage was: Who’s that guy? My son and I frequently had to refer to our programs to look up a player by his number.

I don’t think this team is going to be a much “ground and pound” as advertised. The offense has improved much since the first practice this season. The timing is there now and from the three practices I’ve attended, it looks like there are going to be plenty of passes to tight-ends. The Bradford to Cook, Bradford to Kendricks connections are there all day. The tight-ends will be: Cook, Kendricks, and Harkey. Justice Cunningham again got a workout today.

IF he stays out of trouble and stays healthy, Kenny Britt will be the NFL steal of the off-season. Bradford finished his practice today by throwing a beautiful bomb to Britt — 60+ yards that excited the crowd. When Britt, Quick (who did not practice today), and Cook are on the field together (and they often will be) this offense is just too B-I-G to run the ball. You’re going to see formations of Britt, Quick, Cook, and Kendricks a lot these season.

Austin Pettis will make this team as he’ll sub for Bailey in the first four games. It’s too bad Bailey got the four game suspension. He catches everything around him, and makes nice adjustments to the ball. Bradford trusts him. The WRS will be: Britt and Quick on the outside, with Austin and Bailey as the 3 and 4. Pettis is #5. Emory Blake and Justin Veltung are fighting for the 6th spot. TJ Moe got some work today, but where he fits in is a question.

This is the best and deepest group of running backs I’ve seen the Rams have since they’ve been in St. Louis. The only issue here is: How will they get enough work for everyone, plus add in Tavon Austin? Austin again ran out of the backfield today. He just scoots between the tackles. I was surprised the by Tre Mason pick, but he’s going to be a real asset to the running game and should fill in nicely if Stacy goes down.

Some people said Shaun Hill is an upgrade over Clemens. I haven’t seen it. He was woefully inadequate today. IF Bradford goes down again we’re in trouble. Austin Davis looked terrible today and is the 4th camp arm only. Garrett Gilbert continues to get a lot of work and you can expect to see much of him in the pre-season games.

Most of the talk this season has been about the defense and there’s really nothing new to say other than watch out for the secondary. This is the REAL weak spot for the team. IF JJ and Trumaine Johnson go down, we have EJ Gaines and that’s it for dbs. TJ MacDonald will patrol the backfield from his safety position, but if he goes down it will change everything for the worse.

Michael Brockers scared everybody in the Dome by going down again today with a tweak of some kind. He walked off the field however, so hopefully, he’ll be fine by the end of preseason. Ray Ray Armstrong and Alex Olgetree are on fire, with Armstrong being some kind of combustible force. If Ray Ray keeps his head, and doesn’t get thrown out of a game, he’ll be the enforcer on the defense.

The range for this team is 10-6 on the high end — if everybody plays to their potential and stays healthy, and 6-10 if there are injuries and other bad breaks. I expect some calls to go to the Rams’ way this season, for the simple fact the team is just more credible in terms of talent, stability, and experienced players/ coaches.

The only real questions on this team are who the back-ups will be. This is key, because this team will only go as far as the back-ups take it.

That’s it or me this preseason. I hope you all have a great year and GO RAMS!

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hokahey

Observations from Fan Fest (Scrimmage/Demoff Q&A)

I’ll preface this by saying that due to the vast amount of things to do today around the dome I spent most of my day on non scrimmage related things. As such, most of what I post will be non scrimmage related, although I’ll share my thoughts on that as well.

Keep in mind, I’m not an Xs and Os expert, and because my old man enjoys talking as much as football, it was tough to concentrate. Wink

Season ticket holders and other guests were permitted to enter at 9:30AM, which is when doors opened and we entered the dome.

As we entered the concourses I immediately noticed that a LOT of banners and signs had been added to the spacious walk ways. These seemed to be honoring various players and moments from the ’99 season. I wish I’d snagged a pic, but I forgot to. They looked really nice and certainly added more atmosphere to admittedly somewhat sterile dome.

Which brings me to what for me, is an interesting point. As we entered the seating area I felt for the first time that the Ed seemed a little old. The chairs were fading a bit, the concrete was worn, and the ceiling continues to look dingier each year.

I say this not to disparage my beloved home away from home, and it is FAR from a dump, but it was odd that I finally felt like “maybe it really is time for nicer digs.”

On a related note – when we hung around the club suites later and Bud Light Party Zone, I was still impressed with just how beautiful and swanky these area still are.

We then walked on to the field, where I was eager to check out the new speaker system installed in the offseason. They looked really nice, and later in the day when we heard music and commentary from them, it was a world of difference from years past. It will really help with atmosphere and getting the crowd going now that the music has some “oomph” to it.

The tour of the locker room was of course very interesting. When you first enter, it doesn’t seem too impressive. As you progress you eventually realize there are TWO locker rooms, and the first is for staff and trainers. The player locker room was much nicer. They had set up a few of the lockers with gear from some of the more popular players. Wearing my JL55 jersey, I made sure I stopped by his for a pic. All of the below are from the locker room.

After the locker room we hightailed it to the Bud Light Party Zone for a Q&A session with Kevin Demoff.

The first question asked was, “After we win a superbowl this season, is Mr. Kroenke going to commit to St. Louis?” The crowd of course roared.

Demoff hit on all of the usual points in response. Key points being, there will be no promises made, because that’s not how business works. But, regardless of anything you hear in the media about the lease or any other city wanting the Rams, the team has shown their commitment to the city with actions and not words. He mentioned the new signage added to the concourses, the new speakers, all of the various frills that costs “millions” of dollars. He made the point I’ve made here many times, “why would we spend millions of dollars somewhere we didn’t intend on staying for a long time? That makes no sense” He also pointed out that the Rams organization now invests more yearly in community service hours/dollars etc. in the city of St. Louis than either the Cardinals or Blues for the purpose of further developing a relationship with St. Louis.

I asked him if he was aware of the Keep the Rams in St. Louis movement, and mentioned some of our events and accomplishments. He said he of course was, and that he didn’t necessarily understand it because the team has never mentioned they might move. He said that the organization themselves are the Keep the Rams in St. Louis movement, and have to become a winning franchise in order to do so.

Uniform changes have not been decided on, and the earliest they could officially request for a change would be January, then there would be a 2 year waiting period. No new unis until 2017 at earliest.

Seemed very amused by the Saffold saga. Had his “right hand cap guy” with him. He and cap guy kept looking at each other smiling trying to determine what they felt they could share and what they couldn’t.

Said that the entire organization was told to treat Saffold with utmost respect on his way out the door, and that they did. Said that is difference between this regime and previous one. Said previous regime probably would’ve been too prideful to take him back, and that Saffold wouldn’t have wanted to come back because he would’ve been treated poorly on the way out.

Interesting.

On to scrimmage (I’m tired of typing):

– Bam Bam Cunningham looked like a beast as a blocker. He and Ray Ray got in to it when he blew Ray Ray up and knocked him 5 feet away from the QB.

– JL55 in a boot and noticeably thinner. Much thinner. Kind of strange. He dropped weight in the off season. He’s said he has. The media has commented on it. I was just surprised how much. I’ve stood near James several times over the years. I didn’t expect him to look as slim as he did.

– Bradford looked comfortable. His accuracy wasn’t 100% but he made his reads, stood strong in the pocket, and pushed the ball downfield. Very encouraging, even if the receivers weren’t being hit in the numbers.

– Kenny Britt looks legit. He is just a pure athlete. Watching him run routes is unlike anything I’ve seen from a Rams WR in many, many years.

– Stedman Bailey and Bradford have a great chemistry developing. Too bad he’ll be out 4 games! Idiot.

– Stacey looked to be running as low and elusive as ever. Bounced around a lot.

– Tre Mason is FAST and elusive. He will be a perfect compliment to Stacey. I got really excited watching him run around.

– The running game looks great, and the receivers look to have really stepped up. I felt the same way watching this team as I did Seattle last year at the dome. Crushing defense, with just enough talent in all of the right other areas to look competent and competitive. Which was a breath of fresh air. This looked like a freaking NFL football team. A REAL one. It’s been too long.

This was what stood out that I can remember. Shaun Hill’s little tumble was funny.

Oh, and Austin Davis has good feet. Looked like the most natural scrambler of the bunch.

All for now, let me know if you have any questions.

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RevFarrakhan

Snapshots From Camp – Fan Fest

Seemed like a lighter turnout for the Fan Fest than last year, whereas I’d say that attendance at the camp has been above average in general.

– The passing offense really clicked a little better. A lot of that was a lot about Bailey, with a pretty Britt end zone catch and clear outs to tight ends.

– The rushing offense was a mixed bag. Started off strong but fizzled as the session ran on.

– Running the ball, Mason looks like he has a lot of promise. He and Cunningham both have a similar style, with Mason being a little quicker but having less power.

– Don’t look now, but Austin between the tackles doesn’t seem to be going well so far, I hope we decide to call it a day on that one for awhile as ‘looks good on paper only’.

– We saw some flip flopping of Robinson and Mike Person between left guard and left tackle. To be honest, I thought in this case, Robinson looked more comfortable on the outside.

– the defense shut down the run in the red zone across both units.

– I’ve seen fewer reps for the third string in this camp than I have in 10 years.

– 1st String 2 minute drill: Ogletree gets an easy sack in real life but in practice its an 8 yard throw to Austin; Bailey grabs the ball down the left side line for 25 yards; quick curl to Austin to the 18; Bailey splits coverage in the left corner of the end zone for a touchdown.

– 2nd String 2 minute drill: Davis throws for 5 to the TE in the flat; overthrows a corner route; misses an open cunningham; find cunningham squatting in the short zone just enough for a 1st down; dumps to Cunningham for 7; overthrows Moe on an out; overthrows Harris on the same route 10 yards deeper; screen to Mason is intercepted by Aaron Hill and returned for a TD.

Donald continues the shutting down of our running game: