General Camp Stuff

First the Rams have done a great job on the accommodations of camp. The music provided by my friend Todd’s DJ service, the beer sales, the general friendliness and all the activities for kids. I see staffers and Demoff circulating through the crowds….its a great experience.

Gregg Williams definitely has a voice, from the way he drives the linebackers in pass coverage to every rep in 11 on 11 you can hear him all over camp. Its hasn’t been as profane as I expected save when he told a rookie in pass coverage to not give him “that bullshit” when the rookie didn’t get a deep enough drop. Its been my thought from the start that they aren’t showing as much of the blitz packages in open practice as we will see in games. Usually it seems that they emphasize one area or the other. They started coming off the edge all the time and this week its almost all been up the gut or the A gaps.

Other than a couple of special teams drills and especially a fake kick I have not seen Coach Fisher taking as much charge of drills and reps as he did before…he is standing behind the offense more than anything else. He and Dave McGinnis are attached at the hip most of the time.

Coach Fassel gets the same effect without a bullhorn that Crash Gansz used to get with his portable speaker system. He is really exuberant and enthusiastic and there has been a lot of emphasis on coverage and staying in lanes so far.

Coach Sherman of the wide receivers is really driving his crew this time around, a lot louder than I remember him.

Kenan Smith the assistant wide receivers coach has taken Chris Givens under his wing and they are out earlier than the rest almost everyday working on route running. Givens has dropped way down on the depth chart and takes a lot of reps with the third string. After having a desultory first couple of days he has been working harder and they seem to have his attention.

The Rams have introduced this drill where one or two offensive linemen push another one up one of the hills. Its an amazing sight and I got several pictures and watching Greg Robinson drive people up the hill gives you a close up look at his size and power.

Robinson has had more than his share of rookie moments. The take away I have is he gets some correction in technique from one of the Boudreau’s and then nails it the next time. Jake Long and he on one side of the line will clear a lot of holes for Stacy and company. Scott Wells and Joe Barksdale had great days on Tuesday both in 11 on 11 and match up competition. Wells got out to the edge and the second level on one play with Stacy right behind him…..looked great.

Bradford started out very rusty and looked pretty bad the first day of camp….he quickly rallied and even got kicked in his injured yesterday without missing a beat.

My four things I take away from the Quarterbacks is that Bradford has developed a trust factor with Quick that was not there before. I remember last year Sam checking off in a drill and Quick totally missing and running the route wrong. I don’t think he ever looked his way again that day. This go around has been totally different.

All that said what will really tell is the first Sam gets sacked and how he reacts after that. It doesn’t appear to be this Friday.

Shaun Hill is competent and is probably a better option than Clemens…he does not drive the ball and appears to have trouble if he has to put it on a line deep or mid range down the middle.

Garrett Gilbert has a live arm, some ability and is worth keeping on 53 instead of stashing on the practice squad. His footwork was shaky at the top of his drop at first and I am anxious to see how he looks Friday night.

Kenny Britt is a bona fide NFL caliber starting wide receiver. He really knows how to fight back for the ball and shield defenders off. His health will always be the questions but his competitive spirit, and trash talking is very welcome on the field.

Emory Blake out of Auburn and last year”s practice squad is someone to both look for and possibly make the squad if they decide to be down with Pettis.

I was expecting Aaron Donald to be quick and fast but not this strong……..he has a bull rush that looks every bit as effective as Brockers or Conrath.

Carrington doesn’t get talked about very much but they use him together with Conrath a lot of times and I think I clearly see why they signed him…its the anti-Wilson line up. If those two can get up the middle against Seattle and into the passing lanes there is no way he is gonna be able to get a pass off.

The corners are of concern….McGee is much improved but still gets turned..he at least is competitive in this camp and not lost.

Greg Reid has some really bad moments early but this week started to make some plays and look more like he belongs.

Woodward has done very little.

Trumaine Johnson was playing yesterday but several times pulled and worked on his quad.