Whitworth: this "makes you proud, when you get a chance to experience this team"

Rams players earn some early R&R after Sean McVay cancels practice

Vincent Bonsignore

https://theathletic.com/521736/2018/09/13/rams-players-earn-some-early-rr-after-sean-mcvay-cancels-practice/

THOUSAND​ OAKS, Calif. —​ Upon further review,​ the​ Rams canceled​ their​ regularly scheduled​ practice​ on​ Wednesday.​ The late start​ and physical​​ nature of their season-opening 33-13 victory against the Oakland Raiders on Monday night — coupled with the quick-turnaround for Sunday’s home opener against the Arizona Cardinals — prompted head coach Sean McVay to determine that rest and recovery was more beneficial than a normal midweek practice.
The Rams did get on the field on Wednesday, albeit lightly, during a late-afternoon walkthrough that was almost an exclusive mental exercise. They will go through a normal Thursday practice and then participate in their usual light practice on Friday.
The trading of physical work for mental preparation is part of the Rams’ long-range plan of getting their players through the grueling 16-game regular season. They were liberal with days off last year for certain players and diligent in mapping out player-specific workloads and diets. The Rams were one of the least-injured teams in the NFL, partially due to their proactive approach to practice and work.
The players appreciate it.
“They seem to have an exact plan and one that makes a ton of sense,” said 37-year-old left tackle Andrew Whitworth. “And there’s always an explanation. There’s the why. There’s a lot of teams or franchises, or really companies in general, that can kind of tell you what they do or how they do it. But you know, the why is usually what separates your upper-echelon, efficient companies.”
“One of the things that makes you proud, when you get a chance to experience this football team and this organization, is that the why is exceptionally laid out,” Whitworth added. “And it makes it where guys buy in fully and are all about it.”
It’s a collaborative effort among the coaching staff and training and medical staffs and even the players themselves. Considering the stake they have in the outcome, Rams head coach Sean McVay gives his team a voice in the process. In doing so, he is expressing a level of trust that they’ll handle themselves accordingly. For this week, that means staying on top of their film and playbook study, getting proper rest and eating right.
“He understands what this team can handle and putting us in good situations,” Ndamukong Suh said. “Just focus on what’s most important: being prepared to play on Sunday. You don’t have to be fast and a full head of steam on a Wednesday versus being full steam on a Sunday.”
That might not work with some locker rooms around the NFL. But McVay believes the Rams are equipped to manage the leeway appropriately rather than take advantage of it.
“That’s a big part of it,” McVay said. “I think these guys appreciate and understand how to get work in even though we’re not pushing them physically. That’s a credit to these players, to the right leaders that we’ve got in place in that locker room.”
Whitworth, one of those leaders, agrees.
“When you have standards, and really everyone (here) is on the same page, no one’s different,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if I’ve played 13 years in the league or Aaron Donald’s the Defensive Player of the Year or Todd Gurley is the Offensive Player of the Year. Everyone lives by the same standard here. And you have the same responsibilities.
“And so, you treat people like grown men and give them the opportunity to be grown men and handle their jobs as they should. And when they can’t, they can’t be a part of this. That’s something to me that’s simple. It doesn’t have to be really a difficult thing unless you make it that way.”
Or, as Suh put it: “This is a good example of us all being professionals and a good team that understands how to prepare for a game.”