With Aaron Donald already out, Rams lose starting defensive lineman Dominique Easley to injury

RICH HAMMOND

link: http://www.ocregister.com/2017/08/01/with-aaron-donald-already-out-rams-lose-starting-defensive-lineman-dominique-easley-to-injury/

IRVINE — The Rams’ situation at defensive line, already tenuous because of the holdout of star Aaron Donald, took an ominous turn Tuesday when Dominique Easley had to be carted off the field.

Easley apparently hurt his knee during an 11-on-11 drill during training-camp practice at UC Irvine and never put weight on the leg. Easley needed help as he hobbled a couple steps to an electric cart, and both Coach Sean McVay and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips came over to check on him.

McVay said he didn’t have an update on Easley immediately after practice, but Easley was scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday evening. Easley suffered two ACL tears while in college, most recently in 2013. A team source on Tuesday called Easley’s previous knee issues “worrisome.”

The Rams already have been somewhat thin on the line, as Donald’s contract holdout reached its fourth day, and now the Rams could be without two of their three starting defensive linemen in coordinator Wade Phillips’ new 3-4 scheme.

Easley, signed as a free agent before the 2016 season, played all 16 games last season as a reserve and had 35 tackles, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Easley had been expected to move into a starting role this season after former end Robert Quinn moved to linebacker.

Louis Trinca-Pasat took Easley’s first-team reps for the second half of Tuesday’s practice. Trinca-Pasat’s 2016 season ended during OTA practices, when he tore his ACL and MCL and missed the entire season.

The Rams also lost receiver Tavon Austin during practice Tuesday, to a leg injury of unknown severity. McVay said he believed Austin’s problem might only have been a “minor tissue issue.”

Rams24/7‏ @ngalarreta
Red zone 7 on 7 now #RamsCamp

Defense owning RZ rn. No completions yet.

Rain starting at #RamsCamp lol

Todd reverses field on a run designed right. Nice cut #RamsCamp

Goff throws a dime in RZ, Higbee drops it #RamsCamp

Barron with a nice breakup in front of Higbee #RamsCamp

Everett with a nice fade in the RZ on Isaiah Johnson #RamsCamp

Goff with a nice slide up in the pocket to let the rush pass him #RamsCamp

Goff rolls right to avoid Quinn from blindside. Hits Gurley on a swing for a TD

Orlovsky to Travis a Wilson in the back of the end zone to end practice

Guess we’ve been rained/thundered out. Players leaving the field. Tampa Bay deja vu? #RamsCamp

@Andy_Benoit

#Rams Notes: 3rd round rookie WR @CooperKupp a critical piece already for #Rams. They need a sturdy possession target.

#Rams Notes: Tavon Austin a quality gadget player. Question is does he have the patience to run slower developing routes from the slot?

#Rams Notes: Tavon Austin lazy on too many deep routes. Can’t afford that as an undersized speedster.

#Rams Notes: McVay’s most important weapon in DC was TE Jordan Reed. Hoping Gerald Everett can become a version of that.

#Rams Notes: @TG3II excellent football IQ. He’ll do well in LA’s expansive offense.

#Rams Notes: @TG3II (Todd Gurley’s) change-of-direction ability is the most subtle of any runner in football.

Blaine Gabbert similar style of QB as Goff, but Gabbert played scared in the pocket and couldn’t function. Goff has been strong.

When young QB plays in a bad O (like Goff did in ’16) you want to see how willing he is to hang in the pocket. That sheds light on future.

Sean McVay has said there are 2 vital traits for a QB: arm talent and pocket toughness. @JaredGoff16 checks out in both areas.

#Rams Notes: Will be interesting to see how much man coverage Wade Phillips plays. Doesn’t have the stud CBs here that he had in DEN.

#Rams Notes: DE Matt Longacre one of the worst bodies in the NFL…..and he’s a hell of a player.

DL not as deep as last yr, but still excellent depth overall.

#Rams believe they stumbled into a secret treasure moving @NFLBOUND_jBrown from guard to RT. Love his hand strength and feet.

this is one of the 4 or 5 fastest all-around defenses in football.

@robhavenstein78 also expected to benefit from position change. Moving from RT to RG, where his balance should be better.

Rams Will Hold First Padded Practice on Tuesday

Myles Simmons

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Rams-Will-Hold-First-Padded-Practice-on-Tuesday/1f58ad00-046e-4820-8c69-060f1c25f7a3

For as many times as the words “Football is back” have been said, written, and tweeted going back to April, you’d think we might be in Week 7 by now. Of course, in reality players have only been in helmets, jerseys, and shorts since the start of Phase III in the offseason program.

That’s why upon saying Tuesday will mark the Rams’ first practice in pads, head coach Sean McVay declared, “Now it’s real football.”

“I think a lot of the things that occur, especially at the line of scrimmage, are definitely different based on just being able to get your hands inside and some of the fits and things that occur,” McVay said. “That’s how we play the game and that’s where really us as coaches get the best evaluation for what type of players that we do have and how they play when we put the pads on. And there’s a little bit more physicality, while also being smart protecting each other. So, we’re looking forward to it and I think the players are as well.”

McVay alluded to it there, but part of the reason padded practices are closer to “real football” is because of how it affects both both the offensive and defensive lines. Without pads, players can improve their technique with their hands and feet. But there’s no substitute for those padded reps — both for player improvement as well as evaluation.

But McVay mentioned on Saturday that skill-position players also have to make adjustments when the pads come on.

“Being able to do some different things and carrying those pads especially when you’re throwing the football or catching it — it creates a different reaction and guys have to get comfortable doing that because that’s how we play on Sundays,” McVay said.

And so that’s what they will begin to do on Tuesday. But McVay said he and the rest of the coaching staff will be aware of players being amped up to put on pads for the first time in about eight months.

“Part of being a pro is knowing how to practice smart and be able to practice fast, but also still protecting your teammates and being mindful that we’re all on the same team,” McVay said. “Certain periods we’ll pick and choose where we turn it up a little bit, but our guys have done a nice job of competing without the pads and we expect the same tomorrow when we put them on.”

McVay said L.A. will not do anything that’s fully “live” with tackling during Tuesday’s practice. But even when they do, getting in good work while making sure players stay as safe as possible.

“I think it’s that ‘thud’ and being able to fit guys up and things like that and protecting your teammates, but you want to try to keep guys off the ground where, some of those piles and things like that can occur where guys get rolled up on,” McVay said. “So, we want to try to avoid that, but still get it as much as a game like atmosphere as we can.”

VeteranRamFan camp report Day 3 …

I will say I didn’t pay that close of attention to practice as I am a sociable person and like to engage in conversation with friends. There wasn’t very many fans there which was fine by me. We hung out on the railing in the beer garden, real close to the field.

One of the staff equipment guys confirmed that the 11×11 would take place on this field so we were all set. He also stated how different this coaching staff is compared to last year (yes, he was employed by the Rams last year too). He said that last year the coaches and assistant coaches would not help at all with picking up equipment used during the practice. This year, they all help out. Validation about the change in culture and the “We, not me” attitude.

During the mid-practice break, Ogletree came over to get out of the sun and kneeled down right in front of us. Of course, everyone engaged him in conversation and photo ops. Someone did ask him if he liked the new coaching staff better than the last one. He was silent, thinking of his response, very cautious of what he would say next. His reply, a simple “It’s different”. So, without saying much, his reaction to the question spoke volumes.

As far as the action on the field, we had the defense standing right in front of us which was cool to see them engage each other but our views were blocked significantly (those are some big guys!). I will say that as crisp and sharp practice was yesterday, today was just the opposite. Lots of missed passes, sacks, short gains or no gains on the ground. Heck, E.J. Gaines picked one off and returned it for a TD. He was covering Pharaoh Cooper. Some drops and some good catches also. Deep balls were a problem for the QBs.

We tried to focus on the O line. Seemed like there was a lot of rotation on the O line. Whitworth was given the day off and Andrew Donnal took over LT for some of the reps. Quinn exposed him. Donnal didn’t look too good. When the 2s took the field Daryl Williams manned the RT position at times. He was beat badly by #66 A.J. Jefferson on a couple of plays that would have resulted in a sack. He held up better against #56 Carlos Thompson. Pace Murphy had a shot at left tackle with the 2s and wasn’t much better than Donnal.

Some of the biggest news happened after practice when a few players stayed afterwards for some extra work. Mark Barron was coaching up #56 Folarin Orimolade. C. Kupp was throwing and catching passes with Gurley and Sam Rogers. Kupp was doing something different, when a pass was thrown to him, he had one of the assistant coach’s hanging on him with hands to his face and across his body. You just can’t teach that kind of dedication to your craft. Gurley and Rogers took their cue from Kupp and started doing the same thing.

Sorry I don’t have much more to report. Tomorrow is supposed to full contact with pads so I’ll make a point to get out there and I promise I’ll focus more on the field than on the bottle.

A fit and healthy E.J. Gaines makes big plays in Rams training camp

Gary Klein

http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-training-camp-20170731-story.html

A foot injury that required surgery and sidelined him the entire season two years ago is completely healed. So are the hamstring issues and other problems that slowed him in 2016.

Rams cornerback E.J. Gaines is finally unencumbered and free to make plays.

Gaines showed his fitness Monday when he intercepted a Jared Goff pass that tipped off the hands of receiver Pharoh Cooper during a seven-on-seven drill. Gaines grabbed the ball and sprinted toward the end zone.

It was exactly the kind of play new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips expects, Gaines said. Phillips ran the Denver Broncos’ defense the last two seasons and helped them win a Super Bowl.

“When you go back and watch a lot of the Broncos film and Wade’s defense, man, it’s full of tipped passes and tipped balls for the secondary,” Gaines said. “I think it’s part of the defensive scheme and I’m excited about it.”

Phillips was not at practice Monday because he was attending to a family situation, coach Sean McVay said. But upon review of the practice tape, he will no doubt be pleased to see Gaines’ play.

Gaines, a sixth-round draft pick from Missouri in 2014, started 15 games as a rookie and appeared on track for a valuable role in 2015.

But he suffered a foot injury during the first week of training camp and underwent surgery. Last season, the training and coaching staffs brought Gaines along slowly. He started 10 games but never appeared physically sound.

Now he is competing with Kayvon Webster — who played as a backup under Phillips in Denver — and others to start opposite Trumaine Johnson.

“This is the best I’ve felt since probably my rookie year,” Gaines said. “So I’m just trying to get back into it and not do everything at one time. I think that’s been my problem the last couple years.”

Gaines said he was enjoying the competition and the energetic environment that McVay and his staff have created.

McVay, the NFL’s youngest coach, occasionally jumps into drills to cover receivers.

Asked to rate McVay’s coverage skills, Gaines laughed.

“Man, about a 3, honestly,” he said. “You can tell him I said that too.”

Rams Head Coach Sean McVay – – July 31, 2017

(On players that took the day off)

“Going into training camp, (Director/Sports Medicine and Performance) Reggie Scott and (Head Strength Conditioning Coach) Ted Rath, our strength and conditioning coach and then obviously our head athletic trainer, they did a great job setting up the plan where, we had targeted some guys just being mindful of their workload. Ultimately, what’s important for these guys is getting them at their optimum health by September 10th when we open the season. So, there’s a handful of guys that we want to be careful with and some of those guys, mostly it’s just exclusive to some of the veteran players. Especially with going into pads tomorrow, I wanted to be smart. We’re kind of in the three-day progression, so this was really our third day and then the fourth day, we’ll ramp it back up getting into the pads for the first time tomorrow.”

(On what changes when the pads go on)

“Now it’s real football. I think a lot of the things that occur especially at the line of scrimmage are definitely different based on just being able to get your hands inside and some of the fits and things that occur. That’s how we play the game and that’s where really us as coaches get the best evaluation for what type of players that we do have and how they play when we put the pads on and there’s a little bit more physicality, while also being smart protecting each other. So, we’re looking forward to it and I think the players are as well.”

(On informing the players about practicing smart when the pads go on)

“Yeah. We talk about that all the time. Part of being a pro is knowing how to practice smart and be able to practice fast, but also still protecting your teammates and being mindful that we’re all on the same team. Certain periods we’ll pick and choose where we turn it up a little bit, but our guys have done a nice job of competing without the pads and we expect the same tomorrow when we put them on.”

(On what the fine line is for the physicality when practicing in pads)

“I think you want to be mindful of going live. I think it’s that ‘thud’ and being able to fit guys up and things like that and protecting your teammates, but you want to try to keep guys off the ground where, some of those piles and things like that can occur where guys get rolled up on. So, we want to try to avoid that, but still get it as much as a game like atmosphere as we can.”

(On him seeing this team for the first time in full pads)

“It will. And we won’t do anything that’s actually live tomorrow, but in full pads, playing in that. This will be the first time – excited to see how these guys compete.”

(On Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips’ absence from practice)

“So, (Defensive Coordinator) Wade (Phillips) had an issue. He’s going back to be with his family. Everything is okay with him, but, there was a situation that occurred and needed to be there for his family and he’s going to be back tonight. So, everything is okay with him. He was just taking care of a family matter.”

(On LB Mark Barron)

“Well, I think he’s a guy that I’ve always had a lot of respect for watching him from afar and then seeing just because he wasn’t available on the offseason program. You certainly feel him. When you look at he and Alec (Ogletree) at the inside linebacker positions, definitely have some good speed, very smart player. You can tell the game’s important to him. I think in these first three days he’s done a great job. We just want to be mindful of being smart with him getting him back on the field, but I think he’s an excellent competitor, physical. Obviously, when you’re a top 10 pick as a safety I think it demonstrates the athleticism and the physicality to be able to transition seamlessly to that linebacker position and he’s going to be extremely important to what we do on the defense moving forward.”

(On the young receiving group coming together and adapting to the new offense)

“They are doing good. I think the challenge for us right now, really as a whole offensively is stringing together consecutive days. It’s, can you find a way to have a good day and then string another one together. Consistency we all always talk about, is the truest measure of performance and once you are able to do that consistently, that is when you feel like you’ve got the chance to be pretty good. But we’ve got a lot of young players, they are eager to learn – I think they have done a nice job. We’ve got a lot of room to grow and we need to do it fast if we are going to be up to the level that we expect to be by the time the season starts.”

(On how he would rate his performance thus far with covering receivers in practice)

“Well, smart exit angles. That is about it. If I know the route beforehand I can run to the spot, so it’s very clear why I am a coach.”

(On him looking good in the pass rush)

“(Laughs) That’s right, forcing the guys to move a little bit. It is just fun to move around out here with the guys and kind of be interactive and try to give them a look to where you are just trying to match and have somebody just running with you, but the guys have fun with it.”

(On how much of an emphasis there has been on RB Todd Gurley improving as a pass blocker)

“I think any time as a back it’s very important to be great in pass protection, especially when you are dropping back and throwing the football. We will ask different things with him and our backs in general from protection and I think like we talked about a little bit earlier, with putting the pads on you can do a little bit more physicality drills, in terms of some of the one-on-one linebacker, running back pass rush and continue to work those fits. But just with any other back and Todd is no different – we will definitely have pass protection as an emphasis for those guys. Like I have mentioned to you guys, I feel like Todd is a complete back and that is how we feel as a coaching staff.”

(On who has stepped up in RB Lance Dunbar’s absence)

“Yeah, I think that clearly Todd has done a great job kind of leading that group, but I have been pleasantly surprised with (RB) Malcolm Brown. He’s kind of got a quiet confidence about himself, where he just goes about his business, very reliable, knows exactly what to do and how to do it and he is a guy that we can depend on. I think we are looking to find who some of those other guys are that will be able to compliment that room and that is something that is ongoing. That is why you are excited about the competition. You’ve got guys like (RB) Aaron Green and (RB Justin) Davis – they have shown some flashes. We will continue to monitor that and evaluate that moving forward, but I think that those two guys have really stood out in terms of Todd being the lead dog, being the epitome of what we want it to look like from that leader in that group and I think Malcolm has done a nice job establishing himself as that secondary role.”

Malcolm Brown impressing Sean McVay at Rams camp

By Tyler Horka NFL.com

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000823659/article/malcolm-brown-impressing-sean-mcvay-at-rams-camp

IRVINE, Calif. — The Rams’ running back situation looks incredibly thin on paper.

But don’t tell that to head coach Sean McVay.

Third-year starter Todd Gurley is one of the future faces of the franchise and remains the clear starter in Los Angeles despite a severe drop in production in 2016. Gurley backed up his sensational rookie campaign with only 885 yards on a mere 3.2 yards per carry last season. Much of his struggles can be attributed to an offensive line that struggled to find its footing.

By signing veteran offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth and adding veteran center John Sullivan, the Rams’ front office is clearly looking out for the young running back. But other than Gurley, to whom will former first-overall draft choice Jared Goff hand the ball this season? McVay has an idea.

“I think clearly Todd has done a great job kind of leading that group, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with Malcolm Brown,” McVay said after Monday’s practice. “He’s kind of got a quiet confidence about himself where [he] just goes about his business. [He’s] really reliable, knows what to do and what not to do. And he’s a guy that we can depend on.”

Brown has spent two seasons with the organization since entering the league as an undrafted free agent out of Texas in 2015. He’s only compiled 22 carries in those two seasons, but could be slated for a big year given the team’s current outlook at the position.

Lance Dunbar, a solid No. 2 RB when healthy, landed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list heading into training camp. Given Dunbar’s history of injuries — he missed 26 games in his five seasons with the Cowboys — expect Brown to see an increased role as camp goes on.

Until Dunbar gets back, Brown appears to be able to shoulder the load when Gurley needs a breather. McVay said second-year runner Aaron Green and rookie rusher Justin Davis have also gotten looks in camp, but Gurley and Brown currently pack the one-two punch.

“I think we’re looking to find who some of the other guys are that will be able to complement that room, and that’s something that’s ongoing,” McVay said. “So we’ll continue to monitor that and evaluate it moving forward. I think those two guys have really stood out in terms of Todd being the lead dog, being the epitome of what we want it to look like from that leader in that group. And I think Malcolm has done a nice job of establishing himself as that secondary role.”