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July 25, 2014 at 9:00 pm #2519
znModeratorRams camp report: Day 1
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/9879/rams-camp-report-day-1
EARTH CITY, Mo. — A daily review of the highlights from St. Louis Rams training camp:
Quarterback Sam Bradford has been cleared to be a full participant in this camp and took the repetitions with the first-team offense Friday afternoon. Coach Jeff Fisher indicated that Bradford can do everything and actually embarrassed a few players he didn’t want to name in the team’s conditioning test. According to Fisher, Bradford might not do everything in camp and the preseason but they aren’t going to have any hesitation to use him and if they back him off it will be a decision made at the time because of soreness rather than a set schedule.
Fisher said the Rams still expect left tackle Jake Long to be ready to go for the season opener. What’s interesting is the plan in the meantime. Fisher said the offensive line will rotate the linemen to different positions throughout camp to give everybody a look at a different spot. Rodger Saffold told me the Rams gave him a schedule that actually has what position he’ll be playing when at various times during different practices. On Friday, it was a little bit of a surprise to see rookie Greg Robinson at left tackle rather than left guard. Robinson played some left tackle in the rookies-only portion of practice earlier this week but he’s going to get a lot of opportunities to do both during this camp. For what it’s worth, Saffold lined up at left guard with Robinson at left tackle and Davin Joseph at right guard. Tim Barnes took the reps with the first team at center and Joe Barksdale handled his usual spot at right tackle.
Speaking of center, Scott Wells did not participate in practice though he did light running on the side in the warmups and other parts of practice. With Wells not participating, Barnes handled the bulk of the reps in the middle with the first-team offense.
Joining Wells on the did-not-participate list: Long, defensive end William Hayes, safety Christian Bryant, fullback Kadeem Jones, linebacker Johnny Millard, defensive end Sammy Brown and defensive tackle Ethan Westbrooks.
As for the happenings on the practice field, it’s more than fair to say the defense is ahead of the offense at this early stage. That should be no surprise as that’s often the case, but it was tough sledding for most of the day with a few early exceptions in seven on seven when Bradford connected with tight end Lance Kendricks a couple of times. Once team drills began, though, life became even more difficult with the defensive line consistently wreaking havoc on Bradford. When Bradford did get a pass off, it usually came a beat or two after he would have been sacked in normal game speed. Bradford and receiver Stedman Bailey had a clear miscommunication on one deep ball early in practice that fell easily into the waiting hands of cornerback Brandon McGee for an interception. Bradford looked a bit rusty overall and lacked zip on some of his throws (perhaps because of the pressure) but he did move well. He said after practice he believes the added challenge from the top defense should only serve to make the offense better.
Working mostly with the second-team defense, rookie defensive tackle Aaron Donald continues to be a terror. He made life miserable for the second-team offensive line and quarterback Shaun Hill. Hard to tell what’s going to be more difficult: keeping Donald off the field or trying to block him.
Quick roster note: the Rams signed defensive end Kourtnei Brown and released wide receiver Austin Franklin. Brown is wearing No. 93.
July 25, 2014 at 10:24 pm #2527znModeratorRams report: Team opens training camp before a crowd of nearly 1,500
• By Joe Lyons
EARTH CITY • The Rams wrapped up their first full-squad training camp workout before a crowd of 1,484 early Friday evening. They return to the practice field at Rams Park in Earth City for open-to-the-public workouts on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) and Sunday (5:30 p.m.).
Friday’s crowd may have been held down due to storms that moved through the area shortly before the start of practice. While possibly holding down the crowd, the rain helped make for near-perfect weather conditions for the workout.
Not surprisingly, the first practice was a bit sloppy, with the defense ahead of the offense; Sam Bradford and the other quarterbacks did not seem to have a lot of time during the 11-on-11 portion of the workout.
Bradford, coming off knee surgery, was understandably rusty but moved well.
RAM-BLINGS
• With left tackle Jake Long (knee) and center Scott Wells not practicing, No. 2 overall pick Greg Robinson (Auburn) and third-year pro Tim Barnes from Missouri worked with the first unit at left tackle and center, respectively. Fisher said that a number of offensive linemen will be rotated until Long is ready to go.
The rest of the first unit included Joe Barksdale at right tackle, Rodger Saffold at right guard and Davin Joseph at left guard.
Others not practicing on Friday were defensive end William Hayes, fullback Kadeem Jones, linebacker Johnny Millard and defensive end Sammy Brown.
Rookie safety Christian Bryant (ankle) and rookie defensive end Ethan Westbrooks (hamstring) are on the non-football injury list. Bryant worked on his own with trainers during and after practice.
• Receiver Brian Quick and tight end Jared Cook took some extra reps with the JUGS Gun after practice wrapped up. In addition, Hayes stayed late, working on his pass-rush technique.
• The Rams have added defensive end Kortnei Brown, a first-year player from Clemson to replace wide receiver Jamaine Sherman, who was waived/injured due to a hamstring injury. Brown, a 6-4, 253-pounder from Clemson, entered the league in 2012 as an undrafted free agent and has been with several clubs. His last was the Detroit Lions.
• Area footbahll legend Jim Hanifan was on hand Friday, as was legendary sportswriter Rick Telander of the Chicago Sun-Times. Also on hand was Vianney High coaches Paul and Joe Day. Griffins’ head coach Paul coached Rams’ receiver T.J. Moe at Fort Zumwalt West High. Joe, who played at Missouri State, was one of T.J.’s teammates with the Jaguars.
• ESPN’s SportsCenter will be broadcasting live from Rams Park on Saturday morning.[
July 26, 2014 at 10:32 am #2587znModeratorRambill
VID:The Rams stepped onto the fields at Rams Park for the training camp session of 2014. Sam Bradford participated fully coming off of last season’s knee injury. Video includes practice clips, along with Sam Bradford and Jeff Fisher comments.
Watch Day 1 Practice Report
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5 takeaways from the first day of Rams training camp
By Ryan Van Bibber
The Rams are practicing football again, and that means were officially counting down to the start of the 2014 season. Sam Bradford and Jeff Fisher spoke to the media after practice on Friday, offering a few tidbits of news and an assessment of the day’s work.
For practice observations from the fans and media on the scene, head over to our report from yesterday.
1. Young, but experienced
The Rams are a young team, for the third year in a row, but the party line this year is that these are an experienced group of youngsters.
” … because of the fact that we have players now in their third year and guys last year in their second, they’re familiar faces, they’ve matured, they have the playing experience,” Fisher said after practice. “So despite the age on paper the team doesn’t act that way, the team acts much more mature and will be much more prepared.”
2. Greg Robinson is doing “fine”
The second overall pick turned some heads over the summer by admitting he was struggling to adjust to the move inside to guard and a more complex playbook that the one he had at Auburn. On the field Friday, Fisher and Sam Bradford spoke highly of Robinson’s day at practice.
Robinson is also working at two positions.
“I thought Greg did a great job,” Bradford said. “Today he played both tackle and guard and when you’re trying to learn a system, you’d really prefer to have to learn one but we’re asking him to learn two because we think he can handle it. I thought he did a great job playing both inside and outside today. I think he is really going to help us up front.”
3. Bradford doesn’t feel the pressure
Is it or isn’t it a make or break year? Is it or isn’t it the second or third or fourth year in a row we’ve heard that?
“I don’t really pay attention to that,” Bradford said. “Every year is a ‘make it or break it’ year according to someone. I think everyone in our locker room feels really good about where we’re at right now and where this football team is going. I think we have a great chance to be really good …”
Bradford was struggling with his throws yesterday according to folks on the scene. Fisher was more confident in his assessment.
“He was fine. He’s doing good, throwing the ball well … he’s ready to go,” Fisher said.
A rough first day of camp doesn’t mean anything, especially for a QB coming off an ACL tear. It’s just practice.
4. Impressive defense
Bradford’s been in the NFL long enough to know what a good defense looks like. And he was talking up the one he saw on the field Friday.
“I think our defense is going to be extremely good this year,” the quarterback said. “There’s nothing easy against those guys, especially up front. That front seven is really, really tough.”
5. Everyone wants to win!
There’s your breaking news development of the day. Fisher and Bradford were asked about fans’ desire to see the Rams put together their first winning record in 11 years.
“I think everyone here wants to win,” Bradford said. “That’s our goal. That’s why we’re out here to play. No one steps on the field to lose. I think we want just as bad as the city and the fans do.”
Fisher had a little more perspective, a little less canned response to the question.
“Well it’s just been before I got here and the day I arrived and it’s going to continue to be that way,” the coach said. “We’re fortunate to have a fan base that has high expectations and remember the good years and they should.”
July 26, 2014 at 2:18 pm #2596InvaderRamModeratoron greg robinson. i think all the talk about him struggling is coming from himself. he strikes me as the type of guy who is hard on himself. i think he’s gonna be fine. he’s smart. he’s a hard worker. he’s gifted. he’s got it all. at worst, he’ll be a pro bowl guard for his career.
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