Myles Simmons ‏@MylesASimmons
Best part about pads in camp is running plays are now legitimate in team drills. Gurley just ripped off a nice one in 11-on-11.

Myles Simmons ‏@MylesASimmons
Best part about pads in camp is running plays are now legitimate in team drills. Gurley just ripped off a nice one in 11-on-11.

==

Yes, he’s been playing with McDonald at safety. G Williams is doing some interesting things schematically. https://t.co/zXUS2bRsE5

— Myles Simmons (@MylesASimmons) August 3, 2016

==

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter
The two teams the Rams discussed a potential Nick Foles trade with before the draft were Buffalo and Dallas, which now needs a backup QB.

WR vs. DB battle. @Tayaustin01 stops on a dime. #RamsCamp https://t.co/3rqXiPVlF8

— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) August 2, 2016

VIDEO: Troy Hill covering Nelson Spruce in drills. Just like high school and college. Now in the pros. pic.twitter.com/mj91FaesGZ

— Joe Curley (@vcsjoecurley) August 2, 2016

.@_MikeTeee got it done on this play

And he made it look easy: https://t.co/Cp7MfEzXzj #Rams #RamsNation

— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) August 2, 2016

—
Vincent Bonsignore ‏@DailyNewsVinny
First snap under center for #Rams Jared Goff is a fumble. But comes right back with nice throw to Malcolm Brown

Vincent Bonsignore ‏@DailyNewsVinny
From the keeping it real department: #Rams offense looking pretty good on 1st day in pads

Courts Strike Down Voter Restriction Laws That Target African Americans with “Surgical Precision”

http://www.democracynow.org/2016/8/1/courts_strike_down_voter_restriction_laws

Voting rights advocates have won a number of major victories that could reshape the November election. Over the past 10 days, a series of court rulings have struck down new voting restrictions in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Kansas and Texas. In North Carolina, judge Diana Motz wrote, “We cannot ignore the recent evidence that, because of race, the legislature enacted one of the largest restrictions of the franchise in modern North Carolina history.” Meanwhile in Wisconsin, U.S. District Judge James Peterson also struck down a voting rights law, writing that the objective of the law was to “suppress the reliably Democratic vote of Milwaukee’s African Americans.” A week earlier, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down a Texas law which has been described as the nation’s most restrictive voter ID law. For more, we speak with Ari Berman, senior contributing writer for The Nation, where he covers voting rights. Berman’s recent piece for The Nation is called “The Country’s Worst Anti-Voting Law Was Just Struck Down in North Carolina.” https://www.thenation.com/article/the-countrys-worst-anti-voting-law-was-just-struck-down-in-north-carolina/

TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: Voting rights advocates have won a number of major victories that could reshape the November election. Over the past 10 days, a series of court rulings have struck down new voting restrictions in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Kansas and Texas. On Friday, a U.S. appeals court struck down a North Carolina law that required voters to show photo identification, scaled back early voting, ended out-of-precinct voting and prevented residents from registering to vote on Election Day. In a remarkable judgment, the three-judge panel found North Carolina’s law targeted African Americans, quote, “with almost surgical precision,” unquote. The judges found the legislators wrote the law after requesting data that showed African Americans disproportionately used early voting in both 2008 and 2012. Judge Diana Motz wrote, quote, “We cannot ignore the recent evidence that, because of race, the legislature enacted one of the largest restrictions of the franchise in modern North Carolina history.”

Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, a federal judge has struck down a string of Wisconsin voting restrictions passed by the Republican-led Legislature and signed by Governor Scott Walker. U.S. District Judge James Peterson wrote that the objective of the law was to, quote, “suppress the reliably Democratic vote of Milwaukee’s African Americans.” A week earlier, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down a Texas law which has been described as the nation’s most restrictive voter ID law. In a 9-to-6 ruling, the court found the law has, quote, “a discriminatory effect on minorities’ voting rights,” unquote.

Joining us now is Ari Berman, senior contributing writer for The Nation, where he covers voting rights. His book, Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America, will be out in paperback tomorrow. Berman’s recent piece for The Nation is called “The Country’s Worst Anti-Voting Law Was Just Struck Down in North Carolina.”

Ari, welcome back to Democracy Now!

ARI BERMAN: Good morning, Amy.

AMY GOODMAN: Explain what happened there first.

ARI BERMAN: So, the decision in North Carolina, in my opinion, was the biggest victory for voting rights since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013. And it was so significant because North Carolina passed the country’s worst voting restrictions. As you mentioned, they didn’t just require strict voter ID. They cut back on early voting. They eliminated same-day voter registration. They eliminated out-of-precinct voting. They eliminated pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds. And they did so just a month after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act and John Roberts said that voting discrimination was largely a thing of the past. So both what North Carolina did and when they did it made this ruling so significant. And it was really remarkable to see the Fourth Circuit use such blunt language in describing what North Carolina did, that they did target black voters with almost surgical precision. This wasn’t about stopping voter fraud. This was about voter suppression. It was about suppressing black votes.

AMY GOODMAN: Explain exactly how it worked.

ARI BERMAN: So—how the decision worked or how the law worked?

AMY GOODMAN: How the law worked.

ARI BERMAN: So, the law worked in a bunch of different ways. First off, the law said that you had to show strict forms of government-issued ID to cast a ballot. They excluded IDs like student IDs. They excluded municipal government IDs that African Americans were most likely to have. Then they cut back on same-day voter registration, the ability to show up and register to vote before the election, which is critically important in a state like North Carolina, which has a very diverse demographics. They eliminated the ability to vote anywhere in your county. So, people, for example, who work a long shift, they can go and vote after their job as opposed to having to go back to their home area. They eliminated pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds, which was taught in high school civics classes to encourage young people to register to vote. So, all of these reforms that North Carolina implemented, the state got rid of.

And what was fascinating is the court laid out a very coherent narrative. They said that, beginning in 2000, North Carolina adopted these reforms, like early voting and same-day registration. As a result, voter participation increased dramatically. North Carolina went from 37th in voter turnout in 2000 to 12th in voter turnout by 2012. And most importantly, the disparities between black and white voters were eliminated, that black registration, it turned out, actually increased over white registration and turnout in 2008 and in 2012. And it was at that very moment that the North Carolina Legislature decided to go after all of the different voting methods that were used by African Americans. And the Fourth Circuit basically said this was not a coincidence: The Legislature knew what had increased political participation, they knew what had increased black turnout, and those were the very voting methods that the Legislature decided to eliminate.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you explain more about Sunday voting?

ARI BERMAN: Yeah. So, Sunday voting is historically called “souls to the polls,” when African-American churches tell their constituents to go vote. And it’s a very important day in the African-American community. And North Carolina eliminated one of two days of Sunday voting. And the Legislature said that the North Carolina—the Fourth Circuit said that the Legislature had data showing that Sunday voting was used more in African-American communities by Democratic voters, and that’s why they eliminated this. And the Fourth Circuit said that the elimination of Sunday voting was the closest thing to a smoking gun that you will ever find in modern times. This is amazing language for a court to use. This is not language that’s from 1865. This is not language that’s from 1965. This is the fact that voter suppression is going on right now in the United States in the year 2016.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you move from North Carolina to Wisconsin?

ARI BERMAN: Well, it was remarkable to see the fact that there were two decisions striking down voter suppression laws within hours of each other, describing very similar things. Wisconsin, like North Carolina, didn’t just past a voter ID law, they passed a bunch of other under-the-radar voting restrictions. For example, they eliminated early voting on nights and weekends, when it’s most convenient to be able to vote. They made it harder to register to vote. They made it harder to cast an absentee ballot. And the court in Wisconsin struck down these restrictions, as well, and they said, like in North Carolina, that these restrictions were not about stopping, quote, “phantom instances of voter fraud,” they were about trying to suppress the African-American vote in heavily Democratic cities like Milwaukee. So, the fact that we saw decisions in North Carolina and Wisconsin just hours apart striking down very similar laws and decisions, using very similar language, was a huge victory for voting rights.

AMY GOODMAN: Talk about the next decision. We’ve got Wisconsin. We’ve got North Carolina. What about Texas?

ARI BERMAN: So, in Texas, they struck down that state’s voter ID law, the strictest voter ID law in the country, because in Texas you can vote with a gun permit, but not a student ID, under their voter ID law. And the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals said this discriminated against black and Hispanic voters. Now, unlike North Carolina, even though they ruled that the law was discriminatory, they left the law in place, but said that those people without IDs still need to be able to vote, which is about 5 percent of Texas’s electorate. And that means that they either will be able to show their voter registration card or they’ll be able to vote with an affidavit if they don’t have these strict forms of ID. So, this is a major victory. But at the same time, people have to know that they still have the ability to vote in Texas. The word needs to get out to these voters that can’t comply with the law that they’re able to vote in November. And that’s going to require a major education campaign, because Texas has done nothing to make it easier for people to vote in that state.

AMY GOODMAN: Ari, talk about Elizabeth Gholar.

ARI BERMAN: So, Elizabeth Gholar is someone I wrote about. She’s an elderly woman who was born in Jim Crow North Carolina, and then she moved to Texas. She had a Louisiana driver’s license, which was not accepted as valid voter ID in Texas. And her birth certificate was not accepted as a valid form of ID to be able to get a government-issued ID in Texas. And because she was born at home to a midwife, she basically had to retain a lawyer to be able to get all her documentation in Louisiana. And this was incredibly emotional. She testified in federal court and basically said, “I was born in Jim Crow before African Americans were able to vote in Louisiana, and now I can’t vote again. For the first time in 60 years, I am not able to vote in the state of Texas, and this breaks my heart.”

And so, to be able to see people like Elizabeth Gholar have the right to vote again, to be able to see people in North Carolina who battled Jim Crow laws be able to vote, this is remarkable. And I think this transcends partisanship. A lot of times we’ve been talking about these restrictions hurting Democratic constituencies, being passed by Republicans, but we have to step back and think that this is not just about party. This is about the fact that people who had been voting all their lives lost their right to vote, and now they’re able to get their right to vote back.

AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to turn to a comment of Donald Trump. Speaking at a rally earlier this year in New Hampshire, Donald Trump said the voting system is out of control.

DONALD TRUMP: Look, you’ve got to have real security with the voting system. This voting system is out of control. You have people, in my opinion, that are voting many, many times. They don’t want security. They don’t want cards.

AMY GOODMAN: That was Donald Trump.

ARI BERMAN: Well, like with many Donald Trump statements, it’s not exactly clear that he knew what he was talking about. But I think what he was trying to suggest was that there is lots of fraud in American elections, and there needs to be more security in terms of how elections are run. I should say that the type of voter fraud that people say is most prevalent, voter impersonation, is incredibly rare. You’re more likely to be struck by lightning than you are to impersonate another voter. Since 2000, there have been a billion votes cast and only 31 cases of voter impersonation. So this is incredibly rare.

But I already see Donald Trump now fanning the flames of voter fraud. He retweeted something from the actor James Woods, a very conservative actor, saying if Hillary wins, it’ll be because of voter fraud. So, it’s not surprising that the country’s leading birther, who questioned President Obama’s citizenship, is now crying wolf about voter fraud and already trying to say that if he loses in November, it will be because of nefarious behavior, even though this kind of fraud is incredibly rare and even though states in—courts in North Carolina and Wisconsin recently have basically said voter fraud is not a problem. This has been a pretext that Republicans have used to try to disenfranchise Democratic voters.

AMY GOODMAN: So, Ari, go to the overall picture right now. Talk about who is going to be able to vote in this election. Are there other judgments that we are waiting for in courts around the country?

ARI BERMAN: Yeah, it’s still a very uncertain situation. We’re less than 100 days from the election now, and this is the first presidential election in 50 years without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act. Seventeen states have new restrictions in place for the first time. In some states, these restrictions have been struck down, like in North Carolina, but they’re on appeal. In other states, the laws have been softened, like in Texas and Wisconsin, but they’re still in effect. There are new restrictions that are being challenged in court in places like Ohio and Virginia.

So, there’s a lot of activity still going on in the courts. This is by no means settled. And even once the court decisions happen, people need to know what the laws are in these states. So, we still have millions of voters that are impacted by new voting restrictions, that need to be helped. People need to be registered to vote. They need to know what the law is. They need to be ready to vote in November. And so, this is still a very unsettled issue that needs a lot more national attention.

AMY GOODMAN: Ari Berman, I want to thank you for being with us. Ari Berman, senior contributing writer for The Nation, where he covers voting rights. His book, Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America, the paperback is out this week. And we’ll link to your article in The Nation, “The Country’s Worst Anti-Voting Law Was Just Struck Down in North Carolina.”

Some August entries.

Yes I am taking this all the way to October.

ramsman34

notes from training camp 7/30 & 7/3131

7/30

D-line – individual and one on one drills
Coach Waffle – all business, cool dude too

Quinn – looks very quick and very flexible. His first step explosion is second to none, not even Donald was a quick in these drills. Could not tell he was coming of major back surgery at all. Then again, no pads, no real hitting. but, players had to engage the acting O-lineman, lock out with their inside arm, then either club, rip, or swim move to get around to the QB.

Donald – Wore a GoPro and the footage is up on the Rams website. He looks leaner but more muscular. His leverage is ridiculous.

The Rest – No one really stood out but almost all looked very good, including Easley. Cam thomas (#92) is a camp body as either/both Fox (#72) and sadly Seau (#72) – things might change for these last two once the pads come on but without these three we have 9 DL who are all vets.

WRs, TEs, and one Todd Gurley stayed after practice and worked the Juggs machine. Each caught at least one full 44-gallon garbage can full of balls. All looked good. The standout for me was Harkey, and here is why; after half a bucket, he started moving closer and closer to the Juggs machine until he was practically on top of it. The ball would scream out and a nano second later Harkey would snatch it and put it away – Impressive!

QBs – limited view, more on them in the 7/31 report.

Mannion – He looked really good actually. His delivery is quicker and more compact and he can put some heat on his throws.
Keenum – God forbid he has to throw a deep out from the far hash. His deeper throws all wobble and have simply no zip on them at all. I will be shocked if he is the starter day 1. His short throw are money, but we already knew that about him.
Goff – As noted by many, a lot of check down and underneath stuff by design. He had one bad exchange under center that came after his only deep shot was thrown late on a post route, picked by C. Davis. But, this kid can rip the ball, was incredibly accurate, and his footwork is something to marvel at – effortless.

==

7/31

B. Quick started his pre practice warm ups on the Juggs machine with Coach Groh hitting him and his arms, bodying him up and just messing with his concentration and timing. Quick caught every ball – not wearing gloves. Let’s see how this translates when the pads come on Tuesday 8/2. Quick looks leaner, even more ripped and faster than last year.

Team Defense – interception and return drill. I have never seen a team actually work on interception return blocking assignments like this before. The LBs and Dl would set up a return wall for the D backs to flow behind. It was coordinated beautifully every time.

O-line – one side inside run game drill. A lot of emphasis by Coach Bou on technique including, hand placement, sinking hips and driving, and bringing your feet. Isaiah Battle looked very good in this drill. All the o-line did pretty well.

The D-line once again worked on pass rush drills against each other, one on one. A lot of emphasis was put on proper hand placement, strike, and creating separation. All the guys did well with Quinn, Brokers, Donald, and Sims looking particularly strong and quick. Coach Waffle emphasizes a quick 1-2 strike technique with the hands then a one armed lock out of the offensive lineman to create space while bending and dipping around that side of the lineman. Trying to block any of our DL one on one is going to be a challenge for most opposing o-line men, especially OGs.

QB Individual Drills – Both Goff and Mannion can flat out spin the ball. It jumps out of their hands. Keenum, well, I truly think I can throw harder and farther than he can, with a tighter spiral. They do a lot of footwork, on the move within the pocket drills. I think these drills will pay off this season.

WR tennis ball drill. what a great eye-hand coordination drill Groh uses – and the WRs do it every single day. Him and Tay were moving two balls lightening fast to each other until Tay dropped one. We gave Tay a loud cheer and Groh says, “what, no love for coach.” Coach actually looked damn impressive.

TEAM 11 v 11 almost every snap was out of 11-personell
2 minute drill – Goff at QB – second team

3rd & 3/+42 yd line/11 personnel/shotgun – short hook route to Duke Williams – drop/inc. – well placed ball
1st & 10/+45/11 personnel/Gun, intermediate fade to McRoberts – incomplete – catchable ball

Keenum a QB – 1st team

1st & 10/+45/ Run
3rd & 5/+45/11/gun -TE crossing route/Kendricks – complete for a 1st down – this is where T. Austin pulled up lame with the cramping
3rd & 7/+44/11/ gun – TE crosser – incomplete, forgot to write player # down

Goff in – 1st team with WR/TEs rotating

3rd & 3/+44/11/under center – hook/inc. to Higbee – catchable ball, tight window
3rd & 7/+47/11/gun – 3-step, speed out to Higbee, caught for a 1st down
3rd & 7/+47/11/gun – 5-step intermediate in-route to #3 Marquez North, nice ball, nice catch, big gain
3rd & 7/+47/11/gun – 5-step intermediate comeback to #13 Michael Thomas, tight coverage, great ball placement with heat on it, big gain
3rd & 7/+47/11/gun – 3-step, Sack by Brockers
3rd & 7/+47/11/gun – 7 step, double move/stutter go, great ball, maybe a tad long but if #81, Duke Williams lays out, thats a TD, ends up inc. Williams left the DB looking stupid, did not get the DBs #

Mannion got like 2 or 3 reps and i didn’t pay attention, TBH.

The last two plays were a check down over the middle on 2nd and 12, and a jail-break screen, both worthless but the rush and coverage took everything else away, and the pursuit on the screen was so fast the WR couldn’t make more than a 4 yd gain.

7 v 7 was the last thing of the day and thoroughly disappointing from the offensive point of view. This drill is slanted toward the offense and they are supposed to win most of the time. Didn’t happen. The D was in man coverage exclusively and shut all three QBs down consistently. Gave them nothing accept a nice grab by Duke Williams on an intermediate incut. NOTE – I really hope the Duke makes this team – at least the practice squad. There is just something about him and he is a freakish athlete with excellent size/play speed/strength. Needs to sharpen his focus and concentration to eliminate the drops.

Now, keep in mind – especially with Goff at QB, the Defense is disguising coverages and shifting fronts constantly. They rolled out of cover-2 into cover-3 and then made cover -1 look like cover-3 pre snap quite a bit. They also ran zone to one side with off-man on the other. That is a lot for a rookie QB in his second practice to absorb and it showed occasionally. But, Goff held up well and looked better day 2 than day 1. THAT is called progress and I expect to see more all through camp.

More from camp tomorrow, 8/2 when the pads come on!

VeteranRamFan

Day two training camp report

First let me say that I am in awe of those who have come before me with these camp reports. So much going on it’s hard to stay focused on one single group and well, I know we all need more info on every aspect of training camp. I will try my best to summarize what I saw and by no means do I want anyone here to take my word as the gospel truth. It’s just one fan’s view and I must admit, I may be biased to one or two players.

Wide Receivers:

Easier to watch this group than most others. Especially when they run routes to your sideline.

Nelson Spruce – I am very high on this guy. Not fast but crisp routes and gets separation. His hands are amazing. Everything, and I mean everything I saw thrown to him he caught, not only effortlessly but with authority. He won’t last on the practice squad. He would be our new Amendola. Need to find a spot for him.

Mike Thomas – What body control and great hands. He plays bigger than he really is. Always seemed to get open for that brief moment and if the QB finds him, sure catch and moving the chains. Must find a spot for him too.

Pharroh Cooper – just love his name! I can hear “COOOOOOOOP” coming from the crowds. Seems very quick and makes clean cuts. How can we not keep him?

Bradley Marquez – Dude is flat out ballin on the field. 100% effort 100% of the time. Love guys like that. He’ll make the team. More fast than quick (?) but fights for the ball. Good size, sure hands.

Marquez North – Sorry, didn’t catch my eye. Didn’t do badly, just didn’t see him all that much. Not that he didn’t have his opportunities, I just missed them. Must have been sending an update to the ROD board at those times.

Paul McRoberts – Oh boy, this guy has an uphill climb. He got yelled at during the first phase of passing drills by whomever was throwing the balls. All I could hear was F&*$in this and what the F… was that? Mind you, this was the first pass thrown to him as all the receivers were doing a simple slant from the left side, catch and turn up field. He’s JAG in my eye.

Tavon Austin – Full speed or no speed. Love this kid. He gets it and tries hard every play. During punt drills, he is fielding them and one is coming over to his left, our sideline where we are sitting. You can tell it is going out of bounds and may actually hit someone who wasn’t looking. I yelled a heads up and Tavon is as cool and calm as can be is waving this one off, just like in a game. I yelled at him afterwards “Good call, Tavon.” He acknowledged with a couple of nodes of his helmet as if to say, “I know, I know.” Just my take. Cool dude. Need not say anymore, we know what we got in him. OH! He did beat Tru off the line by about 3 steps for a TD from Keenum for 40 yards. His injury looked like cramps/spasm. That’s been confirmed.

Brian Quick – Was it the QB who threw it to the wrong shoulder or was it Quick who ran the wrong route? Happened more than once. Unless he takes a more aggressive approach to running his routes, how can they keep him? I sure hope it was on the QB.

Duke Williams – taking up space. No motivation, lazy routes. He can catch and his size is a plus but when all the other guys run through the play after catching the ball and he just gives up like “I did my part, I caught the ball”, why waist a roster spot.

Tight Ends;

Higbee – BEAST! Clean, fresh, crisp routes. Got separation numerous times. Not fast but sharp. I’d want him watching my back at the night club. He will become Goff’s best friend soon.

Hemmingway – He can catch the ball, that’s for sure. Not as crisp of a route runner as Higbee and that may put him on the PS. Not as much separation but used his body well to shield the defender.

Kendricks – Best part of him I saw was his blocking. AND I like the guy a lot! Missed some, had some batted away that I thought he could have used his size advantage but then again, no pads, second practice.

Benson Browne – JAG, sorry no disrespect but didn’t see anything to make him shine.

Harkey – Missed seeing much of him. We know what we have in him.

Justice Cunningham – Flat out gave it his all on every snap, play, drill. Of course you would too if your team just drafted two more tight ends. Loved his effort. Don’t know if he’ll make it with Lance and Higbee and Harkey in the mix.

Oline:

Saffold at RT. Did well. Just like we knew he could. Havenstien did not practice.

J. Brown at RG. Again, did well considering the D always has the upper hand during the first two weeks of camp.

Center – Couldn’t get the number. I’m sure it was Baron and at times Rhaney but maybe a little Kush too. Couldn’t tell. Sorry.

Donnel at LG. Seemed solid enough at this phase of camp.

Williams LT on second team. Guy is good. Nice to have on the team. One of those solid lineman you need for spot duty.

Robinson LT. Now here I paid some closer attention. Good use of hands, arms and feet. Kept Quinn in front of him or pushed him out wide away from the pocket. Quinn looked fine too. I really think GR is going to be who we want him to be this season, an All Pro.

Isaiah Battle – This guy will be a big plus as a swing tackle. He held his own at RT against Coples more than once.

Goff – He can thread a needle! Quick, sharp throws where only the receiver can catch it. Not so good yet on the 20+ yard deep ones. That will come in time once he gets that rhythm with his receivers.

Keenum – He is better than Goff right now but that is to be expected. Still not able to connect on deep throws but reads the field well. Except for that time Higbee was open for 7+ yards and it was 3rd and 6 per Coach Fisher. You’ll see Higbee’s route on that play in my pictures.

Mannion – Sorry, didn’t watch him too much.

Hekker – 60+ yards in the air. Direction was a little off. He was wearing #3 and really confused me. Thought it was North punting.

Gurley – He will do just fine. Arron Donald chased him down after the whistle one play and accidently stepped on Gurley’s heal. I admonished 99, told him not to hurt his teammate.

That’s all I can remember and I didn’t even get a real look at the defense.

I’ll be going back on Tuesday, let me know what position group you all would like me to focus on and I’ll try my best. No camera this time, just a pen and notepad.

Take care my Ram’s Brothers!

Hacksaw_64

Goff was the best QB on the field today. made a few mistakes and still looks lost at times. He made 2 exceptional throws that were real nice reads that he drilled over the middle. He completed a nice 20 yard out route to Mike Thomas where he threw the ball well before Thomas went into his break and was caught by Thomas showing of his area of catch by making a last second (surge/burst/lean/lunge/snatch/drag feet in bounds). Coming out of his break it looked like the ball was for sure going to be incomplete a little early, slightly high and out of bounds (all of which are textbook on how you throw that dangerous route). This ball was actually complete thanks to some nice WR skills by Thomas. Great catch, but most good NFL WR’s make that catch. The throw Goff made on the other hand was special. It is the benchmark throw for QB’s in the NFL. A lot of guys just don’t have the arm to throw it, let alone the timing(quick release, footwork, pocket presence) and accuracy( delivering the ball before the receiver goes into his break to “the spot” that only he can catch it and stay in bounds). Its an extremely nuanced throw that plays well to Goff’s natural gifts. This was one of his best throws I watched him make in college as well. He threw one perfect deep ball where he beat the DB and dropped in the bucket perfectly in the end zone that was dropped by I think Pharoah Cooper. Clearly the best arm talent. He missed on another deep throw to a streaking WR that had a step on the DB with a slight overthrow that went out of bounds at least. He also threw a couple dimes over the middle of the field in tight windows for completions to both North and McRoberts. Haven’t seen that in awhile eh? He did throw two picks, one at the start of practice and one at the very end. Both picks looked to be on Goff. The first one looked horrible looked like he was totally confused and lobbed the ball up over the middle of the field right to two defenders. The second one it looked like he stared down his receiver and got jumped easily by the DB. Make no mistake he looks like a confused, spinning rookie at times, but more often than not on Sunday he was the best QB on the field.

Keenum made one real nice deep throw, he was able to drop in. He was pretty crisp at the underneath stuff. Then for the love of god, he tried to throw that 20 yd out pattern to the wide side of the field……Can you say pick six? The ball just floated like a slow hanging curve. That’s pretty much the defining throw for a pro QB arm. Keenum just doesn’t have the arm.

Mannion looked horrible. And trust me I’m one of his biggest supporters. First, I just can’t get over his funky overhand delivery. Combined with his slow footwork and setup in the pocket it looks like a recipe for sack/stripsack. Along with that his was just terribly innacurrate, even against no defenders. He had probably the most wide open gift of a TD pass we saw all day on a fly route with a streaking receiver that had his man beat by 10 steps and he overthrew him by 15 yards out of bounds. There were about 4 other really bad throws I won’t go into detail about.

Duke Williams shockingly got a bunch of reps with the 1st team. Someone must really like him. He looks the part. He’s a big tall frame with long arms.
He had a decent day. He made a couple catches. He had a drop over the middle that wasn’t his fault, he was open but Keenum threw the ball way behind him. He reached back and still almost caught it. They lined him up wide after Tavon went down, and he beat the cb deep down the sideline by a couple steps and Keenum threw a ball that dropped just out of reach of his outstreached hands. A little more speed and he walks into the endzone.

Paul McRoberts looks really good. He kept jumping out to me in warmup drills. I kept asking myself “damn who’s this #8?”. I finally had to look him up. With all the new rookie receivers, there are quite a few unfamiliar numbers. he had the “wow” route of the day. i couldn’t see who was covering him but he absolutely broke the CB’s ankles on his cut over the middle and made a great hands snatch of a bullet by Goff.

Marquez North like McRoberts caught my eye in warmups. He’s explosive, quick twitch in and out of breaks. He ended up making two of the better catches over the middle of the day. They had him in the slot.

Mike Thomas also looks good. He doesn’t look like he has quite the quick twitch athleticism as North or McRoberts, but shows real nice ability to go get the ball once its in the air. He looks pretty smooth running routes.

Nelson Spruce isn’t tall, long armed, quick twitch athlete, or rather explosive. He does go all out on every play. He doesn’t drop anything. He plays with a chip on his shoulder and is physically imposing for his size. He has a deceptive playing speed on the field. He doesn’t waste any extra motion in routes or translating catch to run after catch. He managed to fake me and the DB out with his secret “ninja” ability to get create space on a speedier defender.

Bradley Marquez got a lot of time with the 1’s. My take on him is he is a high floor low ceiling guy. He looks better in drills than he plays. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He doesn’t do anything exceptional as a WR. The buzz is that the Rams are really high on him .I’m not sure I get it.

Brian Quick made a couple catches. Now this is just my impression. But I’m sorry, I don’t get it. While some of these guys jump out to my eye as natural WR’s, Quick jumps out as a dog. He looks tentative. Never looks like he’s going full speed.

Tyler Higbee is going to be good, if he stays healthy. He huge, runs like an antelope and can catch. He was already getting time with the 1’s. I didn’t see him drop anything thrown in his vacinity all day, including drills.

Temarrick Hemmingway might have been the biggest shocker to me all day. I wasn’t a fan of the pick. Someone reported he sucked first day. According to his draft profile he was raw, tall athletic guy that needed to fill out frame and become more physical. Well, you can uncheck that box. This dude looks like Karl Malone. I think he’s bigger than Higbee and he runs like a WR. He has extremely long arms. He ended running two real nice routes over the middle and made a couple nice catches. One was exceptional. I actually see why they drafted him now. With some development he’s going to be almost impossible to cover down the seam. Hopefully he has the hands. I know they were questioned on day 1. Looked Ok today. One thing in his favor is this kid has what it takes upstairs as opposed to Jared Cook, Hemmingway is mature for his years and was recognized for his exceptional character and scholasticism in college.

Gurley looks like he is at a lighter weight, but is no doubt the best player on the field other than Aaron Donald. Looks like he is going to be a bigger threat in the passing attack.

Aaron Green flashed some ability in the open field.

Isaiah Battle is huge this year. He put in some work in the offseason to fill out that frame. He was splitting time with the 1’s at RT with Saffold.

Wichmann was starting next to Robinson at LG with the 1’s with Reynolds splitting time.

Reynolds is a lot more imposing than I thought. He looked like he got injured toward the end of practice

Darrell Williams was backing up GR at LT.

Ramsblood

Quinn looked quick as heck today. Bet he has a big year. Quinn was getting some cheering during the D- line drills running and hitting the bags. Donald looks quick too with power and a bounce in his movements. I also like the effort from Longacre. He looked good as did Sims although a bit of a dropoff from Quinn. Brockers OK as was Hayes. A couple looked sloppy like Cam Thomas.

Coples and Westbrook were decent. Westbrook looks bigger this year. He’s bigger than I thought.

Goff has a nice spiral. Spins the ball well for someone with average size hands. Small for NFL standards. He looked good until that last INT. Not sure what he was looking at.

Alec Ogletree has been the man in the middle of a lot of activity

Gary Klein

http://www.latimes.com/sports/rams/la-sp-rams-training-camp-20160731-snap-story.html

Alec Ogletree spent the off-season preparing for his new role as the Rams’ middle linebacker, studying tape and getting into the best shape of his pro career.

He did it while moving with the franchise from St. Louis to Southern California and while readying for an even more important transition:

Ogletree became a father a week ago, he and his wife welcoming a son they named Austin.

“It’s definitely a lot,” he said after Sunday’s workout at UC Irvine. “With moving, changing positions to having a baby. It’s a lot.”

Ogletree, 24, thus far appears to have made a smooth move from weakside linebacker to the middle, where he has been entrusted with replacing veteran James Laurinaitis.

During off-season training, teammates and coaches lauded Ogletree for the work he put in to learn the entire defense and assume the main leadership role.

“It’s been seamless,” Coach Jeff Fisher said Sunday when asked about Ogletree’s transition.

Fisher added that despite a busy off-season, Ogletree posted the best overall times for defensive players in conditioning tests.

Of course, there is no way of knowing whether the Rams made a wise decision to turn the defense over to Ogletree until they start playing games. That’s when Ogletree will be forced to recognize other teams’ schemes, line up teammates and make plays.

Gary Klein and Lindsey Thiry recap Rams training camp Day 2
Gary Klein and Lindsey Thiry update Day 2 of Rams training camp: Tavon Austin leaves early, Alec Ogletree adjusts to new position, Jared Goff is a fan favorite and special teams practice starts Monday.
The Rams open the exhibition season Aug. 13 against the Dallas Cowboys at the Coliseum. They have three other exhibitions before the Sept. 12 opener against the San Francisco 49ers on “Monday Night Football.”

Ogletree, the 30th pick in the 2013 draft, appeared to be on his way to a breakout season in 2015 before he suffered a season-ending ankle injury against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4.

The Rams released Laurinaitis and defensive end Chris Long to clear salary-cap space and make room for younger leaders to emerge.

“A lot of people are just going to have to make a lot more plays to make up for those guys,” defensive tackle Aaron Donald said last week.

The 6-foot-2, 245-pound Ogletree will be flanked by Akeem Ayers on the strong side and Mark Barron on the weakside.

Ogletree credited teammates for easing his transition to the middle.

“It helps me out a lot that most of the guys have been here,” he said, adding, “so you don’t have to harp on learning the playbook all day and learning positions.”

But Ogletree sounded most excited about embracing fatherhood.

He has lately been limited to Facetime updates, and said his infant son already was outfitted with plenty of Rams and University of Georgia gear.

“It’s a life-changing experience,” he said of becoming a father. “It’s something that you really can’t explain until you have your own kids and go through the feeling.”

Notes

Receiver Tavon Austin was carted from the field after suffering what Fisher described as dehydration and cramps. Austin is not expected to miss any practices. “I heard for some reason he didn’t eat lunch,” Fisher said. … Receiver Kenny Britt was excused from practice but will return Monday, Fisher said. … The Rams released receiver Deon Long. … The Rams will hold a special-teams practice Monday, the first time players will be in shoulder pads. … Quarterback Case Keenum connected with receiver Bradley Marquez on a long pass play during a team drill. Quarterback Jared Goff avoided interceptions until the final portion of practice set aside for rookies. Jabriel Washington, who played at Alabama, picked off a Goff pass.