some tweets & articles from mini-camp, 6/13

Joe Curley‏ @vcsjoecurley

Goff says Mike Thomas “has found a role for himself. He’s one of our fastest receivers.”

Goff says he’ll have a camp at his high school and play golf in Tahoe and will be training locally besides that.

Up to 220, Goff has he’s “gained 10 pound every year of my life.” Says he hopes that slows down in a year or to. Laugh line.

Gurley says the team feels a lot more comfortable this year than a year ago, having grown accustomed to the area.

Gurley is asked about 2016: “4-12 is definitely not the season no one wants… It really doesn’t matter what I do… The past is the past.”

Todd Gurley says McVay is “taking it day by day” implementing the new offense, compliments his teaching skills.

First chance this offseason to talk with Mo Alexander today

McVay said Robert Quinn had a procedure on a hand. Said it was precautionary, isn’t expected to affect his training camp.

Cooper Kupp went down in practice after going airborne to catch a TD in goal line. Looked like he landed on his back. Was on feet after.

Nelson Spruce getting an in-house interview today after a nice practice. Caught another TD from Mannion in goal line –

“He’s a guy who’s such a natural football player, the game comes simple to him.” – McVay isn’t worried about Donald missing time

“It’s great to have Aaron here. There’s no more news, as far as the contract situation.” – Coach McVay on Donald

http://www.espn.com/espn/now?nowId=21-0666407608248179509-4

Rams DE Robert Quinn had his right hand bandaged today and did not participate in practice. Sean McVay said he had “a minor procedure” and that he should be ready to go for the start of training camp. LB Mark Barron, RB Lance Dunbar, WR Tavon Austin and CB EJ Gaines also did not practice. SS Maurice Alexander (hip) did, but not in 11-on-11 drills.

Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Write

Rams Begin Three-Day Minicamp

Myles Simmons

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Rams-Begin-Three-Day-Minicamp/c8c9bcd0-9e2d-461c-a00a-9025f9ae6cfc#content-tools-share

Los Angeles began its mandatory minicamp on Tuesday afternoon, a wrap-up of Sean McVay’s first offseason program as the Rams’ head coach.

“I think when you really look at it, [minicamp is] very similar to the OTA structure other than the fact that it’s mandated and we get a little more time with the walk-thru and then we’ll come out for practice,” McVay said. “But getting through the OTAs and kind of Phase I and Phase II, now this kind of represents the culmination of our offseason program.”

While the earlier portions of the Rams’ offseason program were voluntary, as McVay said, this three-day session is not. And the list of attendees includes defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who was not present for the 10 Rams OTAs the past three weeks. Donald, however, did attend earlier portions of Los Angeles’ offseason program, including the voluntary minicamp at the end of April.

“It’s great to have Aaron here,” McVay said. “He’s really kept up with what’s going on mentally — such a sharp, natural football player. Kind of made a seamless transition with the walk-thru. And it’s great to have him back here around his teammates.”

McVay said there is no update on Donald’s contract status, though it remains clear that the team would like to get a deal done.

“I think we all want to come to a resolution, and we feel great about what Aaron’s done for this organization. And we’re optimistic about what’s to come,” McVay said.

Donald did not participate in practice, though McVay mentioned he was a part of the team’s walk-thru earlier in the day. The defensive tackle did some conditioning work on the side during practice.

“With him not being here, wanted to just make sure that he’s in great shape — like we know he is — but be smart about the way we give him those reps,” McVay said. “And he’s done a nice job so far today.”

There is a possibility Donald could become a full participant in subsequent practices this week, which McVay said the club will likely determine Tuesday evening.

Still, the team is not concerned about Donald being behind when it comes to learning the new scheme. McVay sounded like he knew Donald had been studying film and working out while he was away in order to stay in shape mentally and physically.

“I think certainly you want your guys here and there’s a lot of information that’s given,” McVay said. “But with some of the resources we do have at our disposal where you’re able to do some things away and still access some of the film, he’s such a conscientious player that I think he’s one of the players that you do feel good about his ability to be able to get up to speed in a quick manner.

“You certainly would love to have those guys here, but with Aaron, he’s such a natural football player, I think the game comes simple to him,” McVay added. “So that’s not something we’re too concerned about.”

Elsewhere along the defensive front seven, outside linebacker Robert Quinn has been sidelined for minicamp by what McVay termed a minor procedure on his hand.

“When you look at it, what he’s done this offseason, the way he’s competed, it was a situation where we were able to get it addressed so that it’s going to be fixed,” McVay said. “He’s going to be fully ready to roll for camp.”

As for what happened on the field, the Rams were able to get in solid work for their first practice of the week. Quarterback Jared Goff delivered a number of strong throws, particularly when the offense was in the red zone. McVay said he’s seen the quarterback come along well in the last few weeks since starting the offseason program.

And so these three days of practice will be important to leave a lasting positive impression for the club’s time off before training camp.

“We get a chance to hit all our situations. The majority of our offensive and defensive systems are in place,” McVay said. “And I think [minicamp] gives us a chance to really get a good evaluation before we get on break and kind of see where we’re at and what we need to really address going forward into training camp.”

from Rams hope exploiting mismatches springs Todd Gurley in 2017

By Gregg Rosenthal

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000815007/article/rams-hope-revamped-offense-springs-todd-gurley-jared-goff

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Todd Gurley was easy to find last season: usually buried under the opposition a few yards ahead of the line of scrimmage. New Rams head coach Sean McVay is on a mission to make Gurley more difficult to locate.

The third-year running back moved around the offensive formation throughout the first day of Rams minicamp Tuesday. Occasionally, he lined up wide outside two receivers. On another snap, he motioned from out wide into the backfield before running a route in the other direction. He saw a lot of targets from quarterback Jared Goff in the passing game, often appearing to be the primary read.

A talented running back making noise as a receiver isn’t revolutionary in the year 2017, but the Rams did not run a modern offense last season, when Gurley picked up a paltry 3.2 yards per carry. McVay spoke Tuesday about defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ standout ability to create mismatches, a trait that McVay shares. He wants to put his Rams players in better matchups than they were in a year ago. Gurley is doing his best to put last season behind him, even if the personal struggles of the former Offensive Rookie of the Year remain a sore spot.

“4-12 is definitely not the season anyone wants. I don’t really care about what I do individually,” Gurley said.

While that’s not necessarily what Gurley’s prospective fantasy football owners want to hear, he should be in a better position to succeed with a more flexible offense. The hope is that the Rams’ young cornerstones have grown up. Goff said that he and Gurley now have a better understanding about their roles and responsibilities on the team. Goff stressed the importance of being able to get past a bad play in practice or in games.

“The faster you can get over something like that, the better you are,” Goff said.

He may as well have been talking about the entire Rams 2016 season.

Happy returns

The best player in a Rams uniform Tuesday didn’t take a snap, yet he made the biggest news. Defensive tackle Aaron Donald, who had skipped all of OTAs, showed up for mandatory minicamp. He spent most of the session doing individual work and then sprinting under the California sun with a hoodie on. It appears unlikely that Donald will fully practice this week, but his presence signals there won’t be an acrimonious contract standoff. Donald’s big deal getting done is likely a matter of when, not if.

So what else mattered Tuesday?

Former No. 2 overall pick Greg Robinson appears to be an afterthought with this new Rams coaching staff. He was not taking snaps with the first or second team during minicamp Tuesday. Due $3.2 million this season, Robinson is a strong candidate to be released before the season.

1 little “fwiw” bit

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Fedail @frank_fedail
heard a lot about the WR’s in camp except Pharoh Cooper. It seems pretty quiet with him. Have you seen him much?

Vincent Bonsignore‏ @DailyNewsVinny
He’s definitely out there. But from what I’ve seen, other WR’s getting more targetsVincent