articles on special teams practice day (Wagoner, Thomas, etc.)

Rams looking for tough guys on special teams
• By Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/rams-looking-for-tough-guys-at-special-teams-practice/article_3398e420-193b-5483-b207-013064e45f32.html

It was last year at this point in Rams camp when linebacker Daren Bates, then a long-shot undrafted rookie, sent out a tweet that will live in infamy. OK, slight exaggeration, but it proved prophetic. The tweet read: “Time to go get a job today.”

Bates then went out and, uh, roughed up veteran linebacker Josh Hull, who at that point had been considered one of the team’s core special teams players.

Hull ended up getting released; Bates became one of the sparkplugs on a special-teams unit that played with reckless abandon. (At times too reckless, given the number of early-season special teams penalties.)

So here we are again. Day four of training camp, which by NFL rule is the first day players can be in pads. It is no coincidence that Jeff Fisher annually makes it the first special teams-only practice of training camp.

Almost two-thirds of the 90-man roster took part in the short but intense session Monday morning.

For young players scrapping to make the roster, it might be the single most important practice at camp.

“This special-teams practice helped me out a lot last year, (earning) my role on the team,” said linebacker Ray Ray Armstrong, a k a the Boom King. “I know other guys that were in my position last year, they were trying to fight just like I was. So this day right here, this special-team practice, is very important.”

Or as special teams coordinator John Fassel put it: “Last year, there were some veteran guys that got beat out on a day like today by Ray Ray and Daren and Chase (Reynolds). That’s where they made the team.

“The rookies and new guys this year are trying to do to them what they did last year to the guys that didn’t make the team. That’s kind of the way it works, and it’s a great way to see guys compete.”

It was the same way for safety Rodney McLeod two years ago.

“This is a day that you put a stamp on what you stand for and what type of guy you are,” McLeod said. “You see what type of guys you have on days like this, where guys just come out and compete and battle. Who wants it more? That’s what it comes down to.”

McLeod led the Rams in special-teams tackles in 2012, then started all 16 games at safety last year.

On this day above all others, Fassel doesn’t worry about technique as much as he does competitiveness, especially in a couple of drills featuring “gunners” — the guys who try to chase down kicks — against blockers.

“We let a few things go, just ’cause we want it to be physical and see if (these guys) are willing to kind of fight,” Fassel said. “But we’ll clean up some of the things that obviously couldn’t fly in a real game.”

Usually, the drills are one-on-one and frequently take place with a steady current of trash-talking, hoots and hollers serving as background music.

The last drill is the best, in which the race is to touch the tackling dummy — which represents the return man. Or prevent the tackling dummy from being touched.

It gets intense, as in:

• Cornerback Brandon McGee ripping off the helmet of wide receiver Emory Blake. (It didn’t look intentional.)

• Missouri wide receiver T.J. Moe basically using a takedown move on a teammate. (This isn’t wrestling.)

• Feisty rookie defensive back Lamarcus Joyner fighting through an attempted double-team block by McGee and wide receiver Stedman Bailey.

“It was definitely Joyner vs. the Miami Heat,” Joyner said, laughing. “And all I could think about is what I’d seen on film — what those guys did to people (in 2013). And I was like: Let’s go.”

What was the key for Joyner?

“Don’t get destroyed, ’cause those guys are gonna get a hand on you,” Joyner said. “So just show some toughness.”

Nicknames seem to run rampant on special teams.

You’ve got Armstrong as the ‘Boom King,’ a name he borrowed from the late Sean Taylor, a former Pro Bowl safety whom Armstrong idolized growing up.

Bailey and McGee are the Miami Heat because of their South Florida roots and their aggressive style.

Together, Armstrong and Bates are the Bash Brothers. They’re the two snarling dogs, who dance to the stadium music before kickoffs and are emerging young leaders of Rams special teams.

And they’re both a little crazy.

“Two tough guys,” Joyner said. “Those guys always are barking at each other in meetings.”

It was no surprise that one of the two was involved in the first scuffle of camp. This year it was Armstrong getting into it with Lawrence Wilson, who joined the squad early last week.

“It’s all competing,” Armstrong said. “It’s football. Some tempers flare up here and there. You know, we’ve got our pads on. It was the first day (in pads). So it’s all fun and games.”

Well, that’s one way to put it.

Sam impresses

For defensive end Michael Sam, it was all business Monday.

The trimmed-down Sam caught Fassel’s eye with his blocking during the drills.

“I think he’s dropped probably 15 pounds and you can tell the difference running like we did today— 30 to 50 to 70 yards,” Fassel said. “I can see him being a good guy on punt return, on kickoff return, as a blocker.

“We continue to groom him covering kicks, which requires long speed — which is something that he’ll develop.”