wv wrote:

First off, you aren’t allowed to post in Blue ;
Only Ag and Miles-Davis-Ram are authorized to do kinda blue posts.

Moreover, I don’t think you are allowed to even post
on a message-board if you aren’t willing to take a dogmatic
and life-or-death set-view of NF.

I say all people who do NOT agree with my view—that although we have an ambiguous past with Foles it’s nonetheless possible to be cautiously optimistic about him in the meanwhile until we get to see him with our own eyes—should be dammed to hell and/or banned from posting. It is the only possible stance. I hope it’s clear I say that precisely because I am NOT being dogmatic.

zn wrote:

12intheBox

My first camp experience.

This is one of the best so far, IMO.

.

jemach

For what it’s worth…friend of mine talked with Chris Long…who said the drafted guys on the OL are going to be more than good. He did not point one of them out. By the way, that conversation was after the first day of camp.

————————–

Havenstein: “It’s going to make me a better player”

Watch rookie offensive tackle Rob Havenstein talk with the media after Tuesday’s Training Camp.

http://www.stlouisrams.com/videos/videos/HavensteinIts-going-to-make-me-a-better-player/60c3b3aa-38d1-4e2f-b1c3-ff7170f450be

from Ranking the NFL’s top 10 defensive lines entering the 2015 season

Doug Farrar

http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/08/04/nfl-defensive-line-rankings-rams-dolphins-seahawks

Ahead of the 2015 season, SI.com is ranking the NFL’s best at every position. After ranking the league’s top 10 offensive lines, wide receivers, running backs and quarterbacks, we turn our attention to the NFL’s 10 best defensive lines.

Note: This top 10 is for defensive lines. So, if you’re looking at this list and wondering where the Chiefs are because Justin Houston is so great (which he is), Justin Houston is an outside linebacker. He’ll be on tomorrow’s list covering the league’s best linebackers.

1. St. Louis Rams: Say what you will about how the Rams have assembled their offensive linemen, receivers and quarterbacks during the Jeff Fisher era; nobody can say Fisher hasn’t put together a formidable, intimidating defensive line. The star here is right defensive end Robert Quinn, who may be the most physically gifted outside pass rusher in the league. Few can match Quinn’s speed around the edge and power when he gets home. Quinn has two 10.5-sack seasons in the last three years, with that amazing 19-sack performance in 2013 in the middle. Left defensive end Chris Long is the leader of the line and the regulator against the run—he’s the strong-side force.

St. Louis selected defensive tackle Aaron Donald out of Pitt with the 13th pick in the 2014 draft, and Donald immediately made himself a force at the NFL level. At 6’1″ and 285 pounds, Donald brings an impressive power/speed combination that makes him very difficult to block. The AP Defensive Rookie of the Year finished his inaugural NFL campaign with nine sacks, 44 total pressures (fifth among all defensive tackles) and he placed fourth overall at his position in Pro Football Focus’s Run Stop Percentage metric. Michael Brockers, a first-round pick in 2012, has the other tackle position sewn up for now, but the depth on this line is pretty special, as well. Former Lions tackle Nick Fairley is now in the rotation, tackles William Hayes and Eugene Sims will get reps, and 2014 undrafted end Ethan Westbrooks has a lot of potential.

One thing I like about Mason. Well there’s several things to like but I especially like this. He makes yards not only for all the other obvious reasons—football smarts, speed, quickness, vision, instincts, burst—but because he has great “contact balance.” He doesn’t run through hits so much as he does not get toppled by them and keeps moving. Nice low center or gravity and toughness. In other words, he adds some “past the LOS” yards not through elusiveness, per se (though he has some of that too) but because he’s harder to bring down than you would think he was if you just saw him in his shorts.

These backs are not exactly equivalent but here’s an analogy. Imagine that after drafting Dickerson the Rams DIDN’T trade Tyler.

Gurley isn’t really Dickerson and Mason is different in many respects from Tyler, but it’s an analogy, and you probably get my point.

.

Just adding to the discussion. I have no set view of NF, myself, though I do have some half-formed ideas. I want to see him in the Rams offense before deciding. So this is just me adding interesting bits from around out yonder to the discussion.

==============

gqscholar

I live in the Philly area and seen nearly every Foles game. Foles strength is stretching the field, throwing a catchable ball even in tight coverage and pulling himself together late in games to win.

The weakness of Foles is getting the ball out fast when the first read isn’t there. Sometimes he holds the ball too long. IMO this was the reason why the Eagles traded him.

With that said, Foles is still young (could still improve his weaknesses), talented, a leader and has shown a knack for winning games. In this offense (built around a good defense and strong running game) Foles IMO will shine.

.

Special Teams Coordinator John Fassel – August 3, 2015

(On how he thinks today’s practice went)
“Well, today, you know, we got after it pretty good. We came out here for a little special teams practice and for about the first 30 minutes, we worked a little bit of drill work. We know their brains is what’s on the last 20 minutes, so we try to be…you know, real technique, good fundamentals and then we kind of liven it up the last 20 minutes. We see who can bang and battle.”

(On what he did on his summer vacation)
“I went to Southern California for three, four weeks. I have a wife and I have two little babies. We spent a lot of time in the water. Is that what you’re getting at?”

(On him saving a man from the riptide on his vacation)
“Are you asking about the deal? Okay. So long story short, I was out boogie boarding. It was my last day and I had the little kids out there, but I thought I’d go out there and ride some big waves. I was out on the boogie board and a couple of surfers were maybe 30 yards to my right and there wasn’t really anybody else out there until a couple minutes later, a guy came kind of floating out, maybe 30 yards to my left. He just kept getting moved out into the sea and there was some brown water around so obviously I’m pretty good in open water swimmer so I recognized that he’s in a riptide. He didn’t have equipment. He didn’t have a boogie board, fins, surfboard and he didn’t look like he could swim. So me and another surfer kind of teamed up and we saw him really struggling and getting pulled out and he was splashing. He was under the water and back up and he was just barely head above water, so we jammed over to him as fast as we could on our boards. When we got to him, he was unresponsive, but he was head above water. He was choking and gasping and obviously panicked. So me and the surfer dude, we picked him up and put him on a surfboard. And we had to hold him on the surfboard because he had no power, so he couldn’t even hold on to it on his own. So all three of us were kind of dangling out in the water for a little bit. We kicked ourselves out of the riptide and started to head back to shore and by then the lifeguards came out. So that was my last day. It was quite an open water experience.”

(On his reaction time getting to the man drowning)
“Yeah, I don’t even know if it was three minutes or ten minutes. It was just… we saw the guy and we looked at him for a second, didn’t look right. So we got to him pretty quick and it happened fast.”

(On if he has heard from the man since the incident)
“No. We brought him to the shore and the paramedics took over. There were probably 15 of them. They kind of blocked the area off and they moved everybody out of the way. They worked on him for about an hour before they took him in an ambulance. So I didn’t know his name. I think he’s okay from whatever somebody read me the story. But he didn’t speak English, so they had to bring an interpreter in. So there was no way to communicate with him.”

(On if the man was responsive)
“No. So when we had him on the surfboard, he was totally unresponsive. He wasn’t talking. He obviously couldn’t speak English, but he couldn’t speak anything, whatever his language was. So he was dead weight. He was obviously live and semi-alert but no communication.”

(On the location of the incident)
“Manhattan Beach.”

(On if he competes in triathlons)
“I do. Yes, every spring and summer, I’ll compete in three or four and I think the open water and swimming in the triathlons helped me out a little bit.”

(On if he still competes in marathons)
“As part of triathlons. I like to swim and bike, not run as much anymore.”

(On if he is in ridiculously good shape)
“Thanks. I don’t know. After running out here with these guys, I have a lot of work to do.”

(On what he looks for in the player that sets himself a part on special teams)
“Yeah, it’s a good question and for an easy answer, guys like (Daren) Bates and (Chase) Reynolds and (Cody) Davis and Benny (Cunningham) and (Cory) Harkey, they have…there’s something about them where they each have their own unique traits. Whether it’s really fast, if they’re not really fast, they’re tough as hell, maybe a little bit of combination of both. You know, a little bit of smarts is good. Not necessarily for the schematics but just for understanding football. They show the ability to block and tackle and be able to do both well. You know, Maurice (Alexander) really improved last year. You know I could name quite a few more guys, but that’s what today was about to see who could run, scrap, get off the ground when they get knocked down. We didn’t do any scheme work, so it’s just all just running around and trying to keep everybody on two feet by the end of the day, which I think we did.”

(On if the guys that play special teams are a little different)
“They’re a little different. Yeah. And probably like their coach, really all kind of crazy, a little whack. They’re a little different, which is good. If you’re not, then it’s probably not for you.”

(On if today’s special teams practice is like the Super Bowl to players trying to make the team, since LB Daren Bates was noticed that way a few years ago)
“Yeah, we showed that film yesterday, just so that everybody knew. And even in 2012, (DE) Eugene Sims, and (FS) Rodney McCloud, (TE) Cory Harkey in 2012. 2013 was Bates, and (S) Cody (Davis), and (RB) Chase (Reynolds) and (RB) Benny (Cunningham). Last year, (CB) Lamarcus (Joyner), and (CB) Marcus Roberson and guys that kind of stand out in these very high competition, high speed, tons of space drills. You can kind of see who might project well to doing it on gameday, because it’s tough.

(On how far Bates has come as a core special teams guy)
“It’s so fun to watch him as a really quiet rookie. Quiet as far as, maybe not while the play is going on, because he’s a little yapper. But, guys obviously have seen two years of tape and have tons of respect for him because he played some really tough positions. Understanding the game- special teams- which is different. Then obviously just being a guy that everybody can see on tape in practice and in games, doing the right thing. He’s come a long way and he’s got a long ways to go, really.”

(On whether he knew Bates had that in him when watching him in practice a few years ago)
“Not really, because up until that day we had never had pads on in OTAs or in training camp up to that point. So, you think, ‘This guy might have something to him. He may be scrappy and he may be tough.’ But you don’t know until you can go out there and bang with the pads on. Obviously that day kind of woke everybody up as far as the coaches and said, ‘Let’s keep an eye on this guy. Let’s see what happens in the games.’ And he did it in the games.”

(On being ranked in the Dallas Morning News Top 10 special teams unit last year and if they can improve on that)
“Sure. I can’t remember where we finished in it, but I think we finished pretty good. Yeah, especially if we can return our core guys. Last year, the core guys, they were only in their first or second year. Another year under their belt, if we can return the main group, like those guys I mentioned earlier. There’s a lot of tricks to the trade of special teams that I think are unique to the game that we see on tape that the fans don’t see. So we practice those little things. The more reps and experience we have doing it, the better we get. So, we’re only going into, really to me our third year as a group. And we play against teams that have more experience than that. So, hopefully in year three, four, five, six, we’ll really take off.”

(On the challenge of getting guys interested in playing special teams)
“It’s a good question. I love that challenge of trying to get the guys who maybe seem disinterested or are starters, and kind of find a little bit of a role for them because we kind of need some starters to kind of spot play. You’ve got your core, but you don’t have 11 core guys, so you need some guys to step in. The core guys, not hard at all to get them going. There’s not a lot of motivation that takes place. But, my fun challenge is to get the kind of outside looking in guys interested and kind of perfecting a role in maybe one or two phases.”

(On if the kickers did anything different in the offseason to prepare)
“(K) Greg (Zuerlein) and (P) Johnny (Hekker), as far as the volume, not much. We kept it pretty limited for a couple of months until we got into April, we started to ramp it up. We tweaked very little on their technique because I think they’re pretty darn good, so we didn’t mess with them too much. They’re going into their fourth year, so honing their steps, their drops, their feet. They’ll be better too.”

(On if he ever envisions RB Todd Gurley being a return guy)
“You’ll have to ask probably (Head) Coach (Jeff Fisher) that one. The guy we have now, Benny, I think he’s super. Hopefully ‘Peady’ (RB Isaiah Pead) comes back. I was really looking forward to him returning kicks last year. I don’t know, it’s a good question. If he did it, I know he’s good at it. But, I really like the guys we have right now, if it’s not him.”

(On what makes Benny Cunningham a good fit for the kick returner)
“He’s a running back, he’s got really good vision, he’s got great feet. He’s a real strong looking, stout guy, where you think he might be a bit stiff, but he’s not. He’s fluid, he’s got great feet, he’s a tackle-breaker. He can see a little hole and if the return is designed to go here but there’s a pocket of air here, he’ll hit it. He’s got great ball skills, so I was very proud of Benny last year, he did a great job.”

(On how much Hekker tries to angle trick plays)
“Yeah, we probably won’t do any of that this year though. But he’s always asking for it.”

Gordon: It’s been a winding road of camps for Rams

By Jeff Gordon

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/jeff-gordon/gordon-it-s-been-a-winding-road-of-camps-for/article_e3e14525-c388-54d5-8538-4e5cef14cda3.html

The Rams have been all over the map since arriving in 1995. Sometimes thrilling, often terrible and occasionally ridiculous, they have taken us for quite a ride.

Now owner Stan Kroenke wants to move the franchise back to the greener pavement of greater Los Angeles, leaving fans here clinging to fleeting hopes of NFL intervention.

At the far end of the practice field, John Romanchuk held up a “Don’t Do It Stan” sign as training camp opened.

“You have to be positive and try to have the good outlook on things,” Romanchuk said. “If they stay, it will be awesome. If they leave, it’s going to be, in my perspective, brutal. I love this team.”

This potential lame-duck scenario generates mixed emotions for all involved. This is the best Rams team in ages with its punishing defense and (potentially) powerful run game.

And yet the Rams seem halfway gone, as their looming practices in Oxnard, Calif., underscore. Long-suffering Rams fans in Southern California will give them a heroes’ welcome when they work there with the Dallas Cowboys. The circle is nearing completion.

What a long, strange journey it’s been. The Rams’ 21-year training camp travelogue tells the story.

The team debuted on the fields at Parkway Central, arriving with a police escort to their first practice at the high school. They were there because a previously scheduled soccer camp displaced them from their opening camp sessions at Maryville University.

So what if the team worked in makeshift facilities, featured a mish-mash roster and struggled with mismatched coach Rich “Big Daddy” Brooks at the helm?

The NFL was back and the city was agog.

When the Rams moved their training camp to Western Illinois University for a nine-year run, the three-hour trek through cornfields and farming towns became ritual for thousands of diehards.

They witnessed much suffering in 1997 as coach Dick Vermeil staged grueling practices in the unrelenting Macomb heat. The rattling air conditioners at the Amerihost Inn offered refuge for fans, media types and at least one cagy Rams veteran who kept guests and party supplies there in his hideaway.

Vermeil finally eased up on his punitive “Junction Boys” training regimen, but progress was halting until fresh talent (especially Marshall Faulk) and offensive innovator Mike Martz arrived in 1999.

But who was this Kurt Warner fellow? The former grocery stock boy looked especially clumsy playing quarterback.

During a scrimmage against Indianapolis at the University of Illinois, Warner sailed a duck into pass coverage. Two Colts defenders converged on the wobbly pass and collided while fighting for the interception. The ball caromed past them for a 45-yard TD pass.

“We’ve got a safety sitting right in the middle of the field,” Colts coach Jim Mora complained afterward. “Some guys make plays, some don’t.”

As it turned out, Warner could make plays. He stepped in for the injured Trent Green and, improbably, the “Greatest Show on Turf” was born.

Unfortunately Martz unraveled after succeeding Vermeil as head coach. Among his many quirks: falling in love with marginal prospects, only to turn on them once they bungled drills.

Former Mizzou quarterback Kirk Farmer endured this love/hate experience during the 2003 camp. Twice he threw Farmer out of the huddle in the first three days in Macomb.

“You stink!” Mad Mike barked during one of the ejections.

In 2005 an increasingly edgy Martz moved camp back to Rams Park, where he could keep a wrap on things. This pleased his players.

“There’s nothing I like about Macomb,” safety Adam Archuleta sniffed. “I don’t think there’s anything good about it. It’s just a pain for everybody.”

Alas, the change of scenery did not stem the team’s steady decline into the NFL’s cellar.

The most picturesque Rams camp came in 2008, at Concordia University in Mequon, Wis. — located north of Milwaukee on the banks of Lake Michigan. Finding this scenic getaway was one of coach Scott Linehan’s few bright ideas.

Players stayed in new dormitories on the pristine campus. During lulls in the action, visitors could stroll down to the sky-blue water and relish the cool breeze.

“I think I’m at the Ritz Carlton compared to Macomb,” Vermeil told the Rams’ website during a camp visit that year. “Macomb was great for us but this place is unbelievable.”

Alas, things got ugly once the Rams broke camp. They finished 2-14.

Camp shifted back to Rams Park in 2009, with the hapless Steve Spagnuolo coaching. That preseason belonged to Kyle Boller — and his conspicuous girlfriend, former Miss California Carrie Prejean — after quarterback Marc Bulger suffered a broken finger.

More than 10,000 fans attended camp sessions that summer, hoping to witness a turning point that never came. The Rams remained brutal.

Kroenke energized the fan base by hiring coach Jeff Fisher, who quickly molded a competitive team. Each of his camps at Rams Park brought fresh hope, but each season brought debilitating injuries and daunting schedules in the merciless NFC West.

Today the Rams finally look ready for liftoff, with quarterback Nick Foles stretching the practice field with accurate deep throws and running back Todd Gurley racing back from knee surgery.

Scott Ess, who held up a “Keep the Rams In STL” sign as camp opened, said he has been a season-ticket holder for about 11 years.

“This is the best we’ve looked and we’re only going to get better,” he said. “Playoffs, Super Bowl. Probably Super Bowl.”

But then what?

Winning and then leaving would be so Rams-like, creating euphoria and anguish all at once. Such is the twisted road this franchise travels.

Practice Report 8/3: Special Teams Day

Austin Lankford

http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-practicereport/Practice-Report-83-Special-Teams-Day/a3a17036-ef15-41e8-ab26-f278ff5fef35

The Rams dedicated day four of training camp to special teams and after practice, coordinator John Fassel addressed questions about more than just football.

During the period between the OTAs and the start of camp, Fassel, known around Rams Park as “Bones,” vacationed with his family in Southern California. As was reported a couple weeks ago, Fassel played an instrumental role in the saving of a man’s life off the shore of Manhattan Beach.

While boogie boarding he noticed a man caught in a riptide, struggling and gasping for air about 30 yards to his right. He and a fellow surfer swam to assist the man, putting him on top of a surfboard and swimming to safety.

“We had to hold him on the surfboard because he had no power,” Fassel said. “He couldn’t even hold onto it on his own and all three of us were dangling out in the water for a little bit. We kicked ourselves out of the riptide and started to head back to shore and by then the lifeguards came out. It was quite the open-water experience.”

Fassel said when they made it to shore, paramedics took over and worked on the man for about an hour before taking him away in an ambulance. He added that the man did not speak English so there was no way to communicate during the rescue.

After Monday’s practice, a few of the players spoke of Fassel’s bravery and the type of person he is.

“I wasn’t surprised at all,” linebacker Daren Bates said. “I saw it actually on my ESPN app, and when it popped up, I just started laughing and said, ‘That’s something Bones would do. I’m not surprised.’ If he would’ve done it by himself, I still wouldn’t have been surprised.”

“The guy just has a genuine, genuine heart for people,” punter Johnny Hekker said. “And, of course, he was out there enjoying the water like he always does, staying active, staying fit. And he saw someone who needed help and just jumped into immediate action. That’s the kind of guy he is. He’s not the kind of guy who waits around and waits for someone else to take the reins. He’s going to be proactive and go find a solution immediately.”

While an ocean rescue might seem out of the ordinary, open water swimming isn’t unusual for Fassel, who competes in triathlons during the off season.

“Every spring and summer I’ll compete in three or four and I think the open water swimming in a triathlon helped me out a little bit,” Fassel said.

SPECIAL TEAMS PRACTICE

As it relates to football, the players participating in Monday morning’s practice were in full pads for the first time and running drills simulating various special teams scenarios.

“That’s what today was about,” Fassel said. “We wanted to see who can run, scrap and get off the ground when they get knocked down. We didn’t do any scheme work so it was just all running around and trying to keep everybody on two feet by the end of the day, which I think we did.”

As is common on any team, there is a certain amount of crossover of starters and full-time special teams players comprising the unit, which is something that Fassel enjoys piecing together.

“I love that challenge of trying to get the guys who may seem disinterested or are our starters and kind of find a role for them because we need some starters to spot play,” Fassel said. “You have your core, but you don’t have 11 core guys, so you need some guys to step in.”

The Rams’ special teams unit ranks highly in the NFL and Fassel hopes to see the trend continue with the core group he’s put together over the last couple years with players like Bates and Chase Reynolds.

“There’s something’s about them where they each have their own unique traits,” Fassel said. “Whether it’s that they’re really fast, tough, or maybe a combination of both, they show the ability to block and tackle and are able to do both well.”

LEFTOVERS

…Fassel spoke about Benny Cunningham, who led the NFC in kick return average last year.

“He’s got really good vision and great feet,” Fassel said. “He is a really strong looking and stout guy where you think he might be a little bit stiff, but he’s not. He’s got great feet and he is a tackle breaker.”

“If the return is designed to go here, but there’s a pocket of air over there, he’ll hit it,” Fassel added. “He has great ball skills and I was very proud of Benny last year he did a great job.”

…Finally, entering his fourth season with the Rams, Fassel believes the best days with regards to special teams are still to come.

“There’s a lot of tricks of the trade in special teams that I think are unique to the game that we see on tape that the fans don’t see,” Fassel said. “So we practice those little things and the more reps and experience we have doing it the better we get. To me, we are only really going into our third year as a group. We play against teams that have more experience than that, so hopefully in years three, four, five, and six we’ll really take off.”

Bates still bringing the heat for Rams special teams, hopes to inspire others

Norm Sanders

http://www.bnd.com/sports/nfl/st-louis-rams/article29898355.html

EARTH CITY, Mo.

As an undrafted free agent in 2013, linebacker Daren Bates was looking for a way to earn a job with the St. Louis Rams.

He found that opportunity as a special teams demon, using his speed and aggression to force his way onto the roster. Bates, now in his third NFL season, even predicted he was going to win a spot the night before the first day of special teams practice on his Twitter account.

“I said I was going to try to come out here and get me a job,” Bates said Monday after the Rams’ broke out shoulder pads for the first day of special teams practice. “When I put it out there, I felt that I had to go out there and do it.”

Bates used his first practice in shoulder pads two years ago to begin doing the type of damage that fired up some teammates and caught the attention of the coaching staff.

What kind of impact did Bates make? On Sunday, Rams coaches showed film of Bates from that practice to the team.

“Up until that day we had never had pads on in OTAs (organized team activities) or in training camp to that point, so you think this guy might have a little something to him,” said John Fassel, the Rams’ special teams coordinator. “He may be scrappy, he may be tough, but you don’t know until you can go out there and bang with the pads on.

“Obviously that day kind of woke everybody up as far as the coaches (were concerned) and we said let’s keep an eye and see what happens in the games. Then he did it in the games.”

The 5-foot-11, 225-pounds Bates has been proving people wrong since his days at Olive Branch (Miss.) High School. He had only one real scholarship offer, from Arkansas State, until Auburn coaches who came to watch another Olive Branch player during a basketball game liked Bates as well and decided to make an offer.

He led Auburn with 94 tackles as a senior in 2012 and has played in 29 games with the Rams, primarily on special teams.

On Monday, Bates was encouraging younger players to bring everything they could on the field. The final 20 minutes of practice featured a “gunner” drill, a one-on-one contest in open space with one player trying to reach a target and the other doing everything he can to keep him from getting there.

Before the drill began, the camp DJ played the “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble” theme, quickly followed by the George Thorogood guitar anthem “Bad to the Bone.” Players loved it and got fired up..

“When it comes inside these line, you have to turn a switch and have a different mentality,” Bates said. “You can’t bring the basketball game out here on the football field. It won’t work.”

Bates’ toughness and execution is an inspiration to everyone on the special teams units, including All-Pro punter Johnny Hekker.

“He just does an amazing job using his body and his leverage and just dominating people on the special teams arena,” Hekker said. “Every play he’s out there either locking somebody down or getting past someone or influencing tackles or making the tackle himself

“That’s the kind of guy you want on special teams. When you see a guy dominating like that so often, then it gives everybody else energy and the want-to to dominant as well.”

Bates trained with former U.S. Olympian sprinter Michael Johnson in the Dallas area during the offseason.

“They worked on my vertical, my speed, everything,” Bates said. “Hopefully y’all can see a little vertical jump here soon.”

Johnson, who won four gold medals, was known for some flashy gold track spikes he wore during the Olympics.

“He doesn’t wear the fancy shoes,” Bates said, “but he drives fancy cars though.”

Bates knows he still has to work hard to keep a spot on the 53-man roster, but his hard work had made him a core part of one of the NFL’s most improved special teams units. He racked up 10 special teams tackles a year ago.

“You always want to play your position,” Bates said, “so I do want to get out there and make some tackles on defense, get some interceptions, make some big plays for the defense. But I know where my home is and special teams is where it’s at.

“That’s where I can make plays. I can go out and be myself and get to show my athleticism, just get to play free.”

Bates tries to encourage players who rarely fell below first team on their collegiate depth charts that special teams might be their only hope of making an NFL roster.

“I don’t try to tell them ‘I did this,’ everybody’s different,”’ Bates said. “Do what you can do, use your strengths when you’re out there because that’s going to keep you alive, keep you going through the drills. If you don’t think too much and play ball, you’re be all right.”

Rams Camp Notes

It was strictly a special teams workout Monday at training camp as the players enjoyed being able to hit on the first day with shoulder pads after three days without them.

“That’s what today was about, to see who could run, scrap, get off the ground when they get knocked down,” Fassel said. “We didn’t do any scheme work, it was all running around and trying to keep everybody on two feet by the end of the day, which I think we did.”

One player singled out for praise recently is safety Maurice Alexander, a fourth round pick in 2014 who played primarily on special teams last season.

“You know he is playing really fast right now and that implies that he knows what to do,” Rams coach Jeff Fisher said. “I mean he’s sure He’s decisive. He makes good decisions. He is reacting, he’s very athletic and he’s playing fast. He’s going to make a lot of plays for us.”

#RamsCamp Day 3 Hype Highlights

Watch the best highlights from the third day at Training Camp.

http://www.stlouisrams.com/videos/videos/RamsCamp-Day-3-Hype-Highlights/1ca3bb53-7687-4b4d-8317-31e62491da98

rfl wrote:

rfl wrote:

I gotta say, I don’t like what I am reading about the OL competition.

If Barnes is the best we can do … oooh boy!

Oooops. Meant to say OC competition–the centers!

FWIW, right now, of all the camp reporters, CoachO is the only one ranking Barnes as the frontrunner at center.

.

I get your argument, but honestly, it is true that Foles is far less effective when he holds the ball longer.

To repeat something I already posted,

Foles is actually a good rhythm/short game passer. Last year Foles, as everyone knows, was not as stellar overall as he was in 2013, but where he did do well was throwing the ball in under 2.6 seconds. He had a 73.5% completion percentage when he threw quickly, which was 6th out of 39 qbs, and a qb rating of 103.5, which was 11th.

Everyone talks about Foles being able to get out of trouble and look downfield, but actually, he is generally a worse qb overall when he does that. When he has the ball for more than 2.6 seconds, his completion percentage in 2014 was 46.4%, which was 38th out of 39. His qb rating fell to 59.4, which was 37th out of 39. Only Blake Bortles and Josh McCown were
worse.

He was also sacked at a higher rate on passes that took more time.