I’ve said something like this before, but Jenkins could be smoothing his game out and Johnson could be stepping up. They get Gaines back next year. There’s good buzz about Roberson, and even Claiborne too. Plus next year is a good draft for CBs.

Compare that to 2000-2011. In that span the Rams drafted these CBs: Shepherd, Butler, Fisher, Garrett, Groce, Bartell, Hill, Wade, King, Fletcher, Johnson, Murphy, and Baker.

That list not only includes some of the Rams worst CBs of all time, it also includes some of their worst 1st and 2nd round picks of all time.

Govane

I was there. Both days. Couldn’t really hangout since I was with my 5 year old son.

Two hour drive to get there. Stayed at the Hyatt on Westlake Village about 30 min away. My kid showed up with his backpack smiled and talked to people at the front desk. Got us a free suite upgrade, movie and snacks.

Some notes from memory…

Parking was $10 per day. Another $20 to gets you to field level for all of training camp and access to autographs. Got there around 45 min early and all the space at the low fence was already taken. The low fence was about two feet from where the players are standing. Was able to find a spot on the right side around the 40 yard line. Inglewood Mayor was talking to crowd at the fence. Crowd chanting “bring them back!”

Team bus arrives. Cowboys and Rams huddle in between the two football fields. Hekker is one of the first to get on the Rams field. The crowd goes wild. Hekker acknowledges the crowd. GZ joins him and smiles waves to crowd. Britt is the only one walking around without a shirt. Puts his jersey on and goes over to high five the crowd at the low fence and signed some autographs.

During team stretches, Tavon is stretching right in front of us. Rock Gullickson comes over to Tavon and conversation goes something like this…

Fan – “Coach, Tavon is not lifting up his foot during the stretches.”
Rock – “Are you the coach?”
Tavon gets up after the stretches smiling, “Why you gotta rat me out?”

DB’s start doing footwork and ball handling right in front of us. Tru looks huge. Joyner looks like a lil kid next to him. Jenkins has the best feet and hips out of all of them. Makes the drills look easy. Fan yelling, “Hollywood Jenkins!” Gurley getting reps mid field on 7 on 7. Thought I saw him get tackled once. They started leaving him alone after that.

Rams WR’s vs. Cowboy DB’s right in front of us around 30 yard line going in. Press coverage. They must have been running option routes because some receivers ran an in while others ran a comeback. Timing looks good on the comebacks. Ball was out before break.

Haven’t been this close to a pro QB throwing the ball, and man I was surprised the WR’s were able to hold on because those passes had some pepper on it. Especially Foles’. Britt schools Claiborne. Fan yells to Claiborne, “Glad we didn’t draft you!” He would hear that throughout the drill. Austin’s turn. Shoves the DB, does a sweet foot move, DB just froze in his tracks and Austin is wide open for the slant/in. Crowd goes wild, and fan yells, “Tavon, this is not basketball!” Quick’s turn. Wearing a yellow beanie on top of his helmet. Looks huge. Cowboy DB coach tells his guy. “Give him room. Don’t touch him!”

Same drill, but 20 yards going in this time. Still press coverage. Austin just runs through his guy, and catches a sweet pass from Foles at the side of the EZ. Not much room to spare. Tyler Slavin’s turn wearing #8. Fan yells, “Let’s go Bradford!” Then poor guy drops a pass. Some things I noticed, Marquez looks like a keeper. That guy can plant his foot and go. He kept getting a ton of space on those slant/in routes. Also, our receivers played really physical. I’ve never seen them play this close, but I saw them shoving the DB’s to get open. I also saw a ton of backshoulder passes completed.

11v11. Rams O vs. Cowboys D going right to left 80 yards from EZ. Tre Mason is walking around with blonde dreds and a half jersey showing off his six pack. Fan behind me yells, “Tre are you a diva!?” Tre follows that by gashing the Cowboys on Robinson’s side for a long gain. Thought I saw Barne’s playing Saffold’s spot and had good interference on the second level. Next play, PA right. Cowboy DL gets a good push, but Foles stands in there. Throws a beaute that Austin just runs under. TD! Barnes was right at Foles ankles on his release.

Same drill, but from other side of field going left to right. Few unsuccessful runs, then pass play with Bailey running a 7 route right at us wide open. Foles doesn’t see him because the rush is in his face. Next play, Foles drops back to pass, but DL gets good push again. Throw is behind Bailey for a pick.

That’s all I remember from day 1. Had to leave early because my kid was at the end of his rope. I’ll try to do one for day 2.

Agamemnon wrote:

I hope that is all true. It is what I expect.

Hard to say isn’t it. I don’t think we’ll honestly know for a while.

Titans vs. Rams: Previewing St. Louis’ Preseason Week 2 Matchup

By Steven Gerwel

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2551769-titans-vs-rams-previewing-st-louis-preseason-week-2-matchup

The St. Louis Rams will face off with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, Aug. 23, for Week 2 of the NFL preseason.

The team is coming off an 18-3 loss to the Oakland Raiders, so fans are eager to see it bounce back and correct many of the mistakes from last week.

Indeed, the preseason opener was an undisciplined mess. The game ended with 10 penalties and just a single scoring drive. It’s the same old problems that have been weighing down the team for years. If these problems are not squashed soon, St. Louis will be in trouble when Week 1 arrives.

The Rams will attempt to win back the fans with a stellar effort against the Titans. If St. Louis can get the offense rolling and cut back on penalties, the optimism will suddenly make a comeback.

This article will break down St. Louis’ matchup with the Titans, including the latest headlines, key matchups, predictions and more.

Location: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN

Time: 8 p.m. ET

TV: KTVI Fox (St. Louis Local)

Latest Injury News

CB E.J. Gaines (Foot)

Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com confirmed on Sunday, Aug. 16, that second-year cornerback E.J. Gaines will miss the 2015 season with a foot injury. Gaines started 15 games in 2014 and was considered one of the more reliable members of the secondary.

RB Todd Gurley (Knee)

Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on Twitter this past Tuesday that rookie running back Todd Gurley is still being limited to individual drills.

OL Rodger Saffold (Shoulder)

Rodger Saffold left Saturday’s game against the Raiders with a shoulder injury. Thomas reported on Twitter this week that he’s being held out of practice.

LB Daren Bates (Knee)

According to the Associated Press (via Fox Sports), Daren Bates sprained his MCL in last week’s game against the Raiders.

OL Cody Wichmann

Rookie offensive lineman Cody Wichmann was held out of practice on Tuesday, according to Thomas. He didn’t specify the details of Wichmann’s injury.

Key Matchups

Front Seven vs. Marcus Mariota

The Rams play in the NFC West, which means the front seven has to be comfortable shutting down scrambling quarterbacks. The team will face both Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick twice this season, so the group must work hard at containing dual-threat passers.

This week’s matchup with Marcus Mariota will be a great opportunity for practice.

Mariota did not acquire any rushing yards in his preseason debut, but we know he’s perfectly capable of torching a defense with his legs based on his college career.

Containing Mariota and providing relentless pressure should be a top priority.

Rams Secondary vs. Tennessee Receivers

Last week, when Tennessee took on the Atlanta Falcons, the Titans quarterbacks had a combined total of just four incompletions, and 12 different receivers caught passes.

Few people view the Titans as an aerial powerhouse, but there’s no doubt their passing attack was in sync last week. It will be a great challenge for the St. Louis defensive backs.

The Titans have big, physical receivers in Chase Coffman (6’6″, 250 lbs) and Dorial Green-Beckham (6’5″, 237 lbs) as well as speedy receivers in Jacoby Ford and Kendall Wright. It’s a diverse group capable of attacking opponents in a variety of ways.

If the Rams hold the Titans to a 60 percent combined completion rate with no backbreaking plays over 20 yards, it should be considered a major success.

Matchup X-Factors

The Ground Game

Last week’s ground production was abysmal. Four of the six St. Louis backs averaged three yards per carry or fewer. The top two backs on the depth chart—Tre Mason and Benny Cunningham—were held to 18 yards on five carries.

That’s not what you’d expect from a team that’s been hyped all offseason long as a ground-and-pound offense.

In fact, it’s safe to say that the lack of a run game is a big reason why the Rams were held to just one scoring drive against the Raiders. It constantly put the offense in 3rd-and-long situations.

The Rams just spent four draft picks on road-paving linemen, not to mention last year’s No. 2 overall selection, Greg Robinson, who earned his lofty draft status for his ferocious run blocking.

The line is built to open run lanes, so there’s no excuse for last week’s lack of push from the front five. It was just a lazy, uninspiring effort, and it needs to end this week.

If the Rams want the offense to pick it up, the five blockers up front have to wake up.

Nick Foles and the Passing Game

Even though Nick Foles took a couple of hits under center last week, there were still some inspiring moments between him and his receivers.

He hit Lance Kendricks for a 26-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage. On the very next play, he hit Tavon Austin with a quick pass, and Austin took it for a 35-yard gain. The drive nearly ended with a Foles touchdown pass to Jared Cook, but Cook came just shy of securing the tough catch.

It’s understandable that the coaching staff does not want Foles exposed too long, especially behind St. Louis’ brutal offensive line, but it’d still be nice to see more from him in this game.

Foles had a nice debut, going 3-of-5 with 69 yards. If the coaches decide to give him a full quarter, it’ll really give us a chance to see what this offense is made of.

Prediction: Titans 20, Rams 13

Rams fans want to see more out of the offense, but it’s likely that the coaches will keep it vanilla until the regular season. With that said, expect another dry performance on the offensive side of the ball.

The game might have more excitement if the coaches decide to keep Foles and the starters in for over a quarter, but don’t count on it. After last year’s season-ending injury to Sam Bradford in the preseason, Fisher is likely terrified of a potential repeat. He’ll understandably keep Foles around for just two or three drives.

As for the defense, expect the starters to shut down the Tennessee offense completely. Then, after the starting St. Louis defense is yanked from the game, the Titans will slowly but surely acquire points against St. Louis’ undisciplined backups.

However, the final score is meaningless in the preseason. As long as the starting offense produces a pair of scoring drives, including at least one touchdown, Rams fans should be happy with that result.

Cowboys sessions beneficial for road-weary Rams

Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/cowboys-sessions-beneficial-for-road-weary-rams/article_d1dff8da-5120-5683-b1ca-c6d388c129f4.html

OXNARD, CALIF. • It may fall into the category of oh, by the way. But before the brawl that ended it all, and beyond the “LA Rams” pep rally aspects of the practices with Dallas, the Rams did get good work with the Cowboys for two days.

“That’s a good football team over there,” coach Jeff Fisher said at the conclusion of Tuesday’s practice. “They won 12 games (in 2014). We’re a young team. We matched up and we got some things done. There were some great 1-on-1 battles and some great team efforts and great special teams work.”

There was also one great brawl that brought an early end to the proceedings Tuesday evening. This wasn’t a case of just a couple of players losing their temper, flailing at each other until teammates came to break it up.

It spread like a California wildfire, spilling over to a new area just when peace was restored in one spot. But there will be no NFL investigation and no player fines from league headquarters as a result of the melee.

On-field player conduct at practice is considered a club matter by the NFL, because training camp and team practices are team operated. Judging from his comments Tuesday, it doesn’t sound like Fisher is contemplating fines or discipline.

“There were probably a number of things that happened out there,” Fisher said. “Some not intentional; some intentional. We had a practice tempo that we had agreed upon, and for the most part we were OK.

“Both teams have young players that are trying to make the team, and sometimes they go beyond what’s expected or what the rest of the guys are doing. So we’ll look at it, but we’ll move on. I’m glad nobody got hurt.”

Even with the wild way the joint practices ended, Fisher said he would love to come back and practice against the Cowboys again. Because the practices were intense, Fisher told his players and told reporters it was like squeezing a fifth preseason game into the team’s camp schedule.

“I believe we got better these last two days,” linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “I really do. I think we got some really good work in against obviously a playoff team.”

A couple of the Cowboys’ big names – wide receiver Dez Bryant and left tackle Tyron Smith – didn’t take part in the joint practices because of injuries. (Although Bryant did make himself, uh, available for the brawl.) But there was still plenty of star power on the field for the Cowboys working against the Rams.

“We were just star-struck to be on the field with them,” defensive end Chris Long joked.

Well, Tony Romo is one of the game’s elite quarterbacks, tight end Jason Witten probably is a future Hall of Famer, and even without Smith the Cowboys have a talented offensive line.

But no matter who was on the other side of the line of scrimmage, the fact that it was somebody different was beneficial for the Rams.

“When you do for instance things like one-on-ones and all that, when you do it against your own team you start to learn the tendencies of your own guys,” Laurinaitis said. “You know what routes they’re really good at, and what they’re not good at.

“When you go out here blind against guys that you don’t see every day, it makes you get that much better at what you’re doing.”

Beyond that, as quarterback Nick Foles pointed out at the start of the trip, being on the road together can be a team-bonding experience. The Rams, who were scheduled to arrive back in St. Louis on Wednesday night, have been out of town for a week.

Even with the work accomplished against the Cowboys, the Rams haven’t practiced much in the last week and a half. They had a scheduled players’ day off Aug. 12. Then came a travel day to Oakland, followed by the Friday preseason opener against the Raiders. Last Saturday was a players’ day off; Sunday was a walk-through and film review.

Then came the Monday and Tuesday practices with Dallas. So it came as a surprise that Fisher called off Wednesday’s practice in Oxnard, which was supposed to be a Rams-only session. After a Wednesday walk-through in Oxnard, followed by a visit to nearby Point Mugu Naval Air Station, the team flew back to St. Louis.

When they take the field Thursday evening at Rams Park, it will mark only their third practice in nine days. That will be followed by a scheduled day off Friday, and then a travel day Saturday to Nashville for Sunday night’s preseason contest with the Tennessee Titans.

“We’ve got a tired team,” Fisher said, explaining his decision to cancel Wednesday’s work. “We’re gonna emphasize recovery.”

Perhaps it’s as much recovery from being road weary, as being practice weary. Even the trip to Oxnard was an hour commute for the team each day.

But Laurinaitis wasn’t complaining about the infrequency of practices.

“I mean, that’s what Coach does best,” Laurinaitis said. “He always finds a way to kind of get us our legs back. He always says you come into camp in the best shape of your life, and then you kind of break down. How can we get back up to that? So that’s just kind of one of those things — he’s trying to get our legs back to where we were.”

ramsrams34

On Havenstein; he IS a technician more so than a mauler. He uses his hands well and waits to set up his blocks most of the time, or when the scheme/play call allows. When he does have to engage quickly, he lacks balance which probably comes from his weak base and that fact that he plays too high too often.

He is light in the a** which make his anchor in pass-pro a liability, but he shouldn’t be facing team’s elite pass rushers on that side which should help. He will need help for TEs/RBs in obvious passing downs, IMO.

If I were a DC, I would attack him in pass pro for sure as I feel he is the weak link in pass pro.

I am not so sure about B. Jones at center and will be watching him closely against Tenn. He did help open some nice holes in practice yesterday but got worked over against Oakland.

I also liked Rhaney.

Pead, yes Pead impressed me – much less tentative than he was against Oakland. He had a number of nice runs against the Dallas and looked fast if not explosive. I hope things pan out for this kid and with Watts suspended for the first 4 game, Pead might just make the team once again.

We didn’t get to see the D as they were on the other field but I am simply not worried about that side of the ball.

Here’s is my overarching though on this team:

If they get caught in too many obvious passing situation, the O-line simply isn’t good/experienced enough yet to win in those situations and keep our D off the field.

The addition of Gurley is SO obvious to me now, especially looking at our other backs. Yes, Mason is good and can be electrifying. But he is small, smaller in person than what he looks like on TV. Gurley looks like he will be able to create yards with power when daylight simply isn’t there.

Bennie Cunningham is a nasty football player..Period. He looks to punish LB’s. While not a feature back, he is the best in pass pro, can catch and can get tough yards. We are really set at RB as soon as Gurley gets in the mix.

Special Teams play and returns changing field position and generating points will be the biggest reason this team has a winning record or doesn’t IMO. This is simply because we cannot get into a pass heavy shootout with anyone. The O-line just isn’t ready for that yet. But if we can tilt field position with both D and ST’s and get scores from those two areas, this team will have a chance to beat some teams that are better than us: (AFC north, GB, AZ, DET). Other teams that are not dynamic (Sea, SF, TB, Wash, Cle, Chi, Minn to a degree) we should be able to play straight-up and not worry about getting into a one-dimensional, shoot out type game with.

My review of our team is more global but really hinges on our o-line and creating field position victories and hidden points, so to speak, with ST’s and defensive returns.

I also feel that this is EXACTLY how Fisher sees it. the great thing is, our St’s are awesome and our D has a knack for creating To’s and can win on third down more often than not.

But, our schedule is no joke.

Lastly,

Too many dropped passes yesterday. Although, in 1 on 1’s we tore Dallas up. But, they probably did the same to our D as that drill is heavily slanted toward the offense, as is 7 on 7.

GO RAMS, regardless of future location Smile But, I do have an opinion on that as well, lol – for another time.

Reports from the NFL’s settlement hearing with Tom Brady are out, and it sounds like the NFL got crushed

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/reports-nfls-settlement-hearing-tom-175716170.html

Judge Richard Berman was hard on Roger Goodell and the NFL in court.

The NFL and NFL Players Association had its second settlement hearing in court on Wednesday, and it sounds like it went horribly for the NFL.

Since the NFLPA took the NFL to court over Tom Brady’s four-game suspension, the two sides haven’t made any progress on a settlement.

While Judge Richard Berman, who is overseeing the case, can’t force either side to come to a settlement, he can push in one direction to encourage a settlement, perhaps hinting that he favors one side’s argument.

Based on the reports from Wednesday’s hearing, it sounds like Berman may be pushing the NFL to come to a settlement.

Berman was apparently very critical of the NFL’s argument:

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter

If Judge Berman was critical of NFL last week, he was even more critical today. Questions of fundamental fairness and evident impartiality.
12:30 PM – 19 Aug 2015

Ben Volin @BenVolin

UPDATE: Hearing over after 2:15. No settlement. Judge Berman was very, very critical of NFL. Brady/NFLPA are making a good case
12:23 PM – 19 Aug 2015

Berman was reportedly critical of the Wells Report saying Brady was “generally aware” as a way for the NFL to argue Brady was part of the scheme.

Stephen Brown @PPVSRB

Berman: “There is a bit of a quantum leap from the finding of Mr. Wells to the finding of Mr. Goodell.” (from general awareness to scheme)

Berman also questioned why the Wells Report didn’t specifically mention January 18, the day of the AFC Championship game against the Colts, when referees found the balls were deflated under regulation:

Andrew Brandt @adbrandt

Berman wondered why Wells Report was not more specific to January 18th, why Wells didn’t specify. “He’s a smart guy, right?”
12:33 PM – 19 Aug 2015

Though, in fairness, the NFL had a good counterargument:

Stephen Brown @PPVSRB

Berman: Brady’s “general awareness” described by Wells didn’t refer specifically to AFC championship. Said that was “conspicuously absent.”

Stephen Brown @PPVSRB

Nash, for NFL, countered that entire Wells Report revolved around that game, so that should be assumed. Berman seemed skeptical.
12:31 PM – 19 Aug 2015 · Manhattan, NY, United States

As has been commonly argued against the NFL, Berman was curious as to how and why the NFL chose a four-game suspension for Brady:

Stephen Brown @PPVSRB

Berman also wanted to know how Goodell settled on four game suspension.
12:39 PM – 19 Aug 2015 ·

Stephen Brown @PPVSRB

Berman: “Which of the four games were for ball tampering and which were for non cooperation?”
12:39 PM – 19 Aug 2015

When league lawyer Daniel Nash said he would defer to Roger Goodell on that, saying Goodell weighed all evidence and made a decision, Berman responded:

Stephen Brown @PPVSRB

Nash again deferred to Goodell’s judgement on that.

Stephen Brown @PPVSRB

To which Berman said “I have a little trouble with that.”

Berman was also unhappy with Goodell comparing the situation to a player being on steroids:

Andrew Brandt @adbrandt

Berman uncomfortable with Goodell’s comparison to steroid suspension “to secure competitive advantage.” Wondered why that comparison used.
12:38 PM – 19 Aug 2015

Stephen Brown @PPVSRB

Berman: How did he pick steroid use to explain he suspended Mr. Brady four games?”

Stephen Brown @PPVSRB

Berman: “I don’t see how four games (for deflation, non cooperation) is comparable to using steroids and a masking agent.”

Andrew Brandt @adbrandt

Questions re apportioning 4 games between deflation and non-cooperation. “What if there was deflation and cooperation? How many games?”
12:35 PM – 19 Aug 2015

Berman ultimately didn’t side too heavily with Brady, however:

Max Stendahl @MaxLaw360

Judge: “There are enough strengths and weaknesses on both sides..all the more reason why a settlement seems a logical and rational outcome.

As Andrew Brandt mentioned, this could be Berman’s way of pushing the NFL closer to a settlement. Berman doesn’t want to make a decision; he wants to push the sides to come to a settlement. So by grilling the NFL today, he may be pointing out the biggest flaws in their arguments in hopes that they’ll bend a little bit toward Brady and the NFLPA’s side.

Unless the two sides come to a settlement out of court, the next settlement hearing will be August 31 — just two weeks before the regular season begins.

rfl wrote:

Over 800 words.

And not one word on how our guys did competing with theirs.

I’m interested why you complain about the coverage so much this year (to the point where every post is a complaint), when the simple fact is, it’s no different from any summer before. I mean, tell me for example, in 99, where were the detailed breakdowns comparing how the 3 competitors were doing at MLB? I don’t mean to come across as countering you in any way—it’s an honest question from one friend and board mate to another.

So why weren’t you complaining all the previous years? Because nothing is different in terms of the coverage this year, I promise. So from what I see, the difference this year isn’t the coverage itself. It’s what we’re asking of it.

In terms of the centers, this is what I have gathered so far from watching and reading around. They have a competition in the first place because (as per Boudreau) the decision will be based on how they perform as leaders and captains of the offense in the heat of battle. We can’t tell about that, but we can make some observations about the physical stuff. In terms of that, Barnes is holding his own, Jones has struggled, and Rhaney has surprised. My guess is that since they’re trying Rhaney at guard too, they are trying to judge how much versatility he gives them, so it’s probably not Rhaney’s job—it looks to me, at this early date, like it’s Rhaney as the #2 and either Barnes or Jones as the #1, with Barnes in the lead so far.

Personally? I have seen Boudreau field good OLs with the Rams with centers who were not better than Barnes (the details get boring as to what I base that on). So I am not worried about center, myself, though I get that me personally not being worried is not news from olympus for everyone else.

…

The Rams Are Ready to Fight

Greg Bishop

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2015/08/19/st-louis-rams-training-camp-report

Greg Bishop’s, reporting from an intense Rams/Cowboys joint practice in Oxnard, Calif., says the St. Louis defensive line is among the best in the league, which leaves playoff hopes on the shoulders of new quarterback Nick Foles

Site: Oxnard, Calif.

What I saw: Tuesday, Aug. 18, 75 degrees and sunny, for an afternoon scrimmage between the Rams and the Cowboys. That and three brawls between two teams that are as sick of training camp as everybody in the NFL is at this point in the summer.

What I heard, post-fisticuffs: From a Rams’ employee, after both teams called an early end to the scrimmage: “That’s the worst one I’ve seen in 18 years.” From the former baseball manager Tommy Lasorda, to Cowboys coach Jason Garrett: “Sometimes, a team needs to get fired up.”

Three things you need to know about the Rams:

1. Nick Foles looks like more than a serviceable starter. He looks like he just might be the reason the Rams can make the playoffs. That’s why St. Louis with Philadelphia this offseason, sending Sam Bradford and his litany of injuries to the Eagles in exchange for Foles. By all accounts, Foles is healthy after a broken collarbone sidelined him for the second half of last season. To that end, the Rams have already inked Foles to a two-year extension before he’s taken a single regular-season snap. On Tuesday he followed his worst throw (an interception by cornerback Tyler Patmon) with a touchdown pass to tight end Jared Cook. Throughout the scrimmage, Foles looked comfortable in the West Coast scheme of offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti, who was previously the team’s quarterbacks’ coach. Where the Rams offense held the team back in recent seasons, perhaps Foles will give them enough to contend in the NFC West.

2. The Rams’ choice to spend two days practicing at a site an hour or so (or longer, depending on traffic) outside Los Angeles seemed to hit a little too close to home. Or, too close to their potential future home, anyway. Much of the offseason NFL chatter centered on one or two of three teams—the Rams, Raiders and Chargers—moving to L.A. Then the Rams showed up in Oxnard, and fans wore the throwback jerseys of the best Rams from their late L.A. period—Eric Dickerson, Henry Ellard. On Monday, Rams owner Stan Kroenke came to practice, as did a fathead poster of Kroenke that someone waved in the stands. Anyway, it all seemed to point to a future where the Rams don’t just train occasionally in this area, but play here, too.

3. For a team that last made the playoffs after the 2004 season—the longest drought in the NFC—the Rams showed on Tuesday that they’re willing to fight.

And fight.

And fight.

It got ugly. There were players fighting without helmets, players throwing other players on the ground and players running between practice fields once the teams were separated to start the skirmishes anew. At one point, one kerfuffle nearly spilled into the stands. You could see guard Brandon Washington mixing it up, along with running back Tre Mason and tackle Greg Robinson and Cook. At one point, Mason knocked the helmet off a Cowboy, and one of his teammates handed the helmet to a fan in the stands. Anyway, the Rams won’t dethrone the Seahawks without, well, without a fight. If this was a harbinger for the season that lies ahead, they’ll take it.

Five dot-dot-dot observations: Last season’s 6-10 record marked the 10th straight year that the Rams failed to a) make the playoffs or b) finish above .500. You can see there’s an urgency to end that streak (maybe a little too much urgency, or too much urgency to end practice, anyway) … The Rams are still expected to field a team among the youngest, if not the youngest, in the NFL. Their longest-tenured veteran is defensive end Chris Long, now in his eighth season … Speaking of, the St. Louis offensive line will feature a first-time starter at center—either Tim Barnes, Barrett Jones, or Demetrius Rhaney—and two draft picks on the right side in right tackle Rob Havenstein and right guard Jamon Brown … One player the Rams likely didn’t want to see headed toward the brawl was Todd Gurley, their first-round pick – their recovering-from-serious-injury first-round pick. He had his left knee wrapped in ice as the scrimmage neared its conclusion, then twice ran toward the fracas, not away from it. The Rams don’t expect Gurley to play this preseason, and they want to take the time to make sure he fully recovers … Keep an eye on Kenny Britt, who recorded 48 catches, 748 receiving yards and three touchdowns last season. He’s only 26.

What will determine success or failure for the Rams: Scoring enough points to win. It sounds simple, right? But the Rams scored fewer than 10 points in four games last season and fewer than 20 in half their contests, some of which they even won. With a defensive line that looks like one of the best in football, all they need is for Foles and the offense to be steady and score enough in order to, at minimum, contend.

The one name on the roster I’d forgotten about: Jeff Garcia, a four-time Pro Bowl quarterback now in his first season as an offensive assistant, after a stint in the CFL with Montreal. Garcia looks like he can still play, but maybe this season, with Foles, he won’t be needed.

Player I saw and really liked: Robinson. The second-year tackle out of Auburn shed roughly 15 pounds this offseason, according to his teammates. He also had surgery on a toe. Those factors combined to make him lighter and faster and more nimble, which is good for Foles and Gurley and Mason and an offense on the rise toward respectability.

The thing I’ll remember about Oxnard: Seeing the Cowboys set up at a Residence Inn, which is part of the Marriott hotel chain and a favorite spot for journalists, not football players. No frills here. Just the kind of mini-apartments that lend themselves perfectly to the modest expense accounts for out-of-town writers—and a football team intent on marching toward the playoffs. The Rams, it should be noted, stayed nearby for the scrimmage—in a Four Seasons.

Gut feeling as I left camp: The Rams do not wrestle the NFC West away from the Seahawks. But they do make the playoffs as a Wild Card team behind a Top 5 defense.

Cornelius

I made the hour and a half drive up to Oxnard yesterday with my son, to watch the Rams/Cowboys practice yesterday – and we had a blast. The facility was packed with Rams fans, and the Rams chants dominated the afternoon.

The Rams receivers were working out against the cowboys DB’s right in front of us, and even though it was a basic one on one drill, the Rams receivers seemed to get the best of the Cowboys. Stedman Bailey was VERY impressive. His route running was by far the best (IMHO) and he caught everything thrown his way. They need to make him a bigger part of the offense this year.

Throughout the day, Kenny Britt really stood out for me. Besides being a large, cut human being, he was the most animated player on the field. He was the first to congratulate a fellow receiver when they made a big play, and he was constantly jawing with the cowboys players – mostly in fun. When the 11 on 11 started, he again was full of energy on the sideline, getting his teammates pumped up and interacting with the crowd. At one point, he worked his way down the fence and high fived 20 yards worth of fans, saying “I love you guys, I love you guys”. My 9 year old was one of the fans to get a high five and it made his day. When the many fights broke out, Britt was always in there defending his teammates and not afraid to mix it up. While he is not for everybody – and I imagine he could be the type of player that gets under the skin of opposing teams/fans, I am glad he is on the Rams. I hope he has a great season.

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher– 8/18/15

(Opening statement)
“We got through a day and three quarters and we had really good work and then unfortunately things got out of hand and we shut it down. It’s unfortunate. There’s no excuse for it. You can’t blame it on anybody. It just happened. One thing led to another and it happened. It’s unfortunate. Fortunately, nobody got hurt. I think both teams came out of two good practice sessions healthy. We got a lot of good work and it’s unfortunate about the end. I’m not going to minimize it because we’re not going to focus on it. We’ll get it corrected. There’s no place for that in our game. There’s no place for that from the standpoint of being role models in this game and representing this game for kids. There’s no place. That’s not how this game goes, so we’re sorry about that and I know (Cowboys Head Coach) Jason (Garrett) will echo the same thing. I’ll talk about what we got done: we got some really good work. It was very, very competitive. We got to play a lot of people. Now we’ve got to move on.

“We had originally planned on coming back out here tomorrow. The Cowboys had a day off and we were going to use the facility. We’ve decided against that. We’ve got a tired team. We’re going to emphasize recovery. We’re going to go over to Point Mugu Naval Base and visit with the soldiers and get out a little bit early so we can get out and get some rest and go back on the practice field in St. Louis on Thursday and prepare to get ready for the Titans.”

(On what he took away from the Oxnard practices)
“That’s a good football team over there. They won 12 games. We’re a young team. We matched-up and we got some things done. There were some great 1-on-1 battles and some great team efforts and great special teams work. It was extremely valuable. I’d be the first one to say I’d love to come back and practice against the Cowboys again because they’re a talented team. It’s a class organization.”

(On if he was disappointed that they couldn’t get the fight under control)
“I had it under control and (Cowboys QB) Tony (Romo) wanted to go to a two-minute drive but we didn’t want to let it go any more. Once the emotions started out here, in game situations it’s different. Once the emotions got going, I didn’t trust that. We got enough good work in.”

(On if you have a moment where you hope nobody is hurt)
“Yeah, I mean guys swinging with helmets on, there’s no good, it makes no sense. The only thing that happens is you’re going to hurt yourself.”

(On if he could understand why his players were upset)
“There were probably a number of things that happened out there today. Some not intentional. Some intentional. We had a practice tempo that we had agreed upon and for the most part we were okay. Both teams have young players that are trying to make the team and sometimes they go beyond what’s expected or what the rest of the guys are doing. So, we’ll look at it, but we’ll move on. I’m glad nobody got hurt.”

(On CB Trumaine Johnson’s progress)
“It all goes back to what he’s done this offseason. He was there every day, he’s worked, he’s taken care of his body and he’s determined. If you get in that third and fourth year and play like he has, you should start making those plays when you have that kind of ability.”

(On what they will do tomorrow)
“We’re going to have a walk-thru and we’re going to emphasize recovery. Then we’re going to go over to Point (Mugu) Naval Base and we’re going to visit with soldiers for 45 minutes to an hour before we head back.”

(On visiting with the soldiers)
“Yeah, it’s something that was part of this trip. Once we agreed to come here, we kind of looked around and said, ‘Where are they?’ and found them, so we’re going to spend some time with the tomorrow.”

(On if the schedule will change this week)
“No, nothing’s going to change. We’ll go 5:30 (p.m.) on Thursday. Friday is a player day off and then we’ll come in and have a walk-thru and then travel down to Nashville.”

Rams LB James Laurinaitis– 8/18/15

(On his takeaway from the brawl)
“I don’t know. I was over there playing, trying to get our defensive calls and could see it over here. I’m sure some of our defensive guys went over to kind of stick up for each other. But that’s never the intention when you come out here. There’s a fine line between defending yourself, so to speak, versus instigating it. You want to defend your teammates, but you never want it to turn into that, so I’m just glad nobody got hurt.”

(On if he’s ever called plays for a three man defense)
“It was. They were about to snap the ball and I was the only guy over there, so I just kept kicking it. I’ll keep taking the penalty over and over until I could get my guys back, so that was a first.”

(On if the tone changed from yesterday’s workout)
“No, I mean yesterday we had a good day against them. We expected some push back. Anytime you have the same team back-to-back, there’s always going to be trash talk. There’s trash talk when we go against each other. But it never should escalate to that. But, I believe we got better these last two days, I really do. I think we got some really good work in against obviously a playoff team. What an awesome opportunity.”

(On if he was glad they called off practice)
“Anytime you can get some time off practice in training camp, you enjoy it. So, I don’t know, maybe that was the scheme of some of our veteran guys, get this thing called off, no. I would’ve like to at least finish because we were getting such good work. It’s challenging going against them and so I would’ve liked to finish, but I’m not complaining that I have a few less reps on these legs.”

(On if it’s fun to line up against the Cowboys)
“Yeah I mean, talk about a challenge for us. You’re guarding running backs that you don’t see every single day. So when you do for instance, one-on-ones, when you do it against your own team, you start to learn the tendencies of your own guys. You know what routes they’re really good at and what they’re not good at. When you go out here blind against guys that you don’t see every day, it makes you get that much better at what you’re doing. And then gosh, to go against guys like (Cowboys TE Jason) Witten, who’s going to be a Hall of Famer, it’s an awesome challenge and an awesome experience.”

(On if it’s weird to be a player in the middle of fan bases with all of the LA fans)
“You know what, to be honest with you, I don’t really think about it. I really just relish this trip as a way for us to get better. Coach spoke to about it to us and said, ‘Hey, with the limited amount of hits we get in practice now and you don’t really get a whole lot of time in a lot of the preseason games, so when you practice against another team like this, it’s like trying to sneak in a fifth preseason game.’ This camp already, we’ve already had the pads on more than usual. I think that’s really good for our football team. I think we need that, because we’ve started slow the last three years. So, what better way to try to teach us to start fast against the NFC Champs coming to our place than to put the pads on and go on.”

(On having the day off tomorrow)
“Yeah, I mean, that’s what coach does best. He always kind of finds a way to get us our legs back. He always says you come into camp in the best shape of your life and then you kind of break down, break down. How can we get you back up to that? That’s just kind of one of those things that he is just trying to get our legs back to where we were.”

(On what it means to go to the base tomorrow)
“It’s awesome. To be able to be with the military, any time we do it, when we do it back in St. Louis, it’s one of my favorite things at the end of camp when we go over there. To be there and to sign autographs for our troops, I mean, it just puts life in perspective. We’re out here playing a game that we love and they’re the ones that are defending our country, so I wish that it was kind of flipped around and we could be getting their autographs in a way to kind of really salute them.”

Rams DE Chris Long– 8/18/15

(On how he thinks the match-up went against the Cowboys’ offensive line)
“I thought it was a great battle. You know, they’re really at the top of their game. They have one of the best young players in (G) Zack (Martin). I hope he’s alright. I don’t know what happened with him. They have (T) Tyron (Smith) over there at left tackle, who’s a lead at his position. Certainly, we have two of the best guys in the league at their positions in (DT) Aaron (Donald) and (DE) Rob (Quinn) and we’re very deep and they’re deep as well, so it was a good match-up.”

(On what his vantage point was when things got out of hand)
“Everybody was right in the middle of it. So I mean…listen we didn’t come here to do that, but you know, they’re very competitive. We’re very competitive. There’s a lot riding on everything for all of us. When you’re out here for two days, I’m not going to say it’s inevitable, but things happen.”

(On if he has ever witnessed a continuous fight)
“I don’t know. I’ll watch NFL Network later and see how long it looked. It seemed like it went on for a while because we were in it, but maybe it was pretty quick. I don’t know.”

(On if the main concern is safety)
“That is the main thing. As far as we know, no one got hurt, so it’s…these things happen. Got out of hand, we wish it didn’t. It’s a violent sport and it’s a very competitive sport, and these are a bunch of competitive grown men.”

(On Coach Fisher’s message to the team before coming to play against the Cowboys)
“Fish was very adamant about that. You know, we’re here to compete and get better, and we’re here to prepare for Seattle. We’re not here to fight. We’re not here to do the things that we see on TV. Some things are really tough. You know, all it takes is one real, bad scuffle and everybody’s involved. So it happens. We have respect for them. They have respect for us. It happened.”

(On his summary of how the two days in Oxnard went)
“Competitive. Productive. It was unique. I haven’t done that in seven years. You know, it was good for me as a player. Well for one, I haven’t practiced in a while, but you practice against different guys than you see all camp and that’s what you’re going to see every week is different guys. Having to come here, hit the ground running and play different guys that have different sets and play things differently, it’s good for you.”

(On if he thinks these practices were a distraction with the fans yelling LA)
“No distraction. I mean we are appreciative of our fans wherever they are. Obviously they did a great job of coming to support us. We have great fans in St. Louis too. We’re not here to choose sides. We’re here to play football. We’re appreciative of all of our fans.”

(On if he was trying to break up the fight or make sure none of his teammates got hurt)
“It’s a fine line between breaking things up and getting in on it. So you know.”

(On him looking physically equipped today)
“Thank you. Put that in the paper. You know, I feel good. I dropped some weight this year to try to be quicker. I’m not 23(-years old) anymore, so it’s helped me a lot. I feel like playing at that weight, I can be destructive and really get off the ball and cause problems.”

(On if he had the chance to meet Rosey Grier)
“Yeah, I’ve met him before. You know, he just had a really good message for us. You know, cherish the time. He really enjoyed his time with the Fearsome Foursome, and him being the last one left is pretty special to get to meet a guy like that who’s a big part of our history.”

(On getting to play against stars like WR Dez Bryant and QB Tony Romo and TE Jason Witten)
“We were just starstruck to be on the field with them.”

(On the level of competition being different)
“Oh no. Anytime, you know those guys as far as a one, two, three are as good as pretty much any one-two-three. I don’t know. I haven’t sat down and thought about it. Dez is at the top of his position group. Tony is too, and Jason is a Hall of Famer. So that’s tough. Yeah.”

Brawl brings early end to Rams-Cowboys practice

Jim Thomas

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/brawl-brings-early-end-to-rams-cowboys-practice/article_417b3cd3-4d83-5193-b06a-225daf433843.html

OXNARD, CALIF. • The Rams’ starting defense was backed up near the goal line during a red zone drill against the Dallas starting offense Tuesday when linebacker James Laurinaitis started calling out the defensive signals.

Suddenly, Laurinaitis noticed he was the only member of the Rams’ front seven still on the field. In fact, Laurinaitis and cornerback Janoris Jenkins were the only Rams defenders there.

“They were about to snap the ball, and I was the only guy over there,” Laurinaitis said. “That’s why I kept kicking the ball — keep taking the penalty over and over until I get my guys back. That was a first.”

Where did everybody else go?

Over to the adjacent field at the Cowboys’ practice field where a mega-brawl was breaking out between members of the Rams’ offense and the Dallas defense.

So was the defense running to break up the brawl, or join in?

“There’s a fine line between breaking things up and getting in on it,” defensive end Chris Long said. “So, you know …”

Call it a little bit of both. Before all was said and done, there were about four or five spinoff brawls. Much, but not all, of the scuffling took place by the fence and bleachers filled with “Los Angeles” Rams fans.

Including Cowboys backers, there were 5,843 fans in attendance Tuesday, down 2,000 from Monday.

(So perhaps interest in the LA Rams here already is waning.)

Things simmered down just long enough for the Cowboys to finish the final 20 minutes of practice by themselves, working on the 2-minute drill, on one field. Meanwhile, the Rams sat on turf on the other field, cooling off.

The Rams assembled in a team huddle for a while, and then were hustled onto their team busses. Their team hotel here is about 25 minutes away from the Cowboys’ training camp site. The Rams were scheduled to practice on their own here Wednesday (the Cowboys have a day off).

But saying his team was tired, coach Jeff Fisher canceled Wednesday’s practice. The Rams will have a walk-through Wednesday here, visit troops at the Point Mugua Naval Air Station, and then fly back to St. Louis.

“Well, we got through a day and three-quarters and we had really good work,” Fisher said afterwards. “And then unfortunately, things got out of hand and we shut it down. It’s unfortunate, there’s no excuse for it. We can’t blame it on anybody, it just happened. One thing led to another and it happened.

“Fortunately nobody got hurt. … There’s no place for that in our game. There’s no place for that from a standpoint of being role models in this game and representing this game for kids. That’s not how this game goes. So we’re sorry about that.”

If there was going to be a brawl it figured to be on the other field where the Rams’ defense worked against the Dallas offense on Monday and Tuesday. That’s where Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson engaged in almost non-stop trash-talking for two days with the Dallas offense.

During a one-on-one red zone drill, Johnson’s jaw-jacking intensified with Cowboys receivers and even quarterback Tony Romo. It reached the point at which Cowboys star Dez Bryant, who sat out these practices because of a hamstring injury, lined up over Johnson ready to run a pass pattern.

Cowboys offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, a former Rams head coach, had to step in to get Bryant off the line of scrimmage.

Instead, the brawling took place maybe half an hour later on the other field. It looked as if the first scrum started when first Randy Gregory and then Jeff Heath of the Cowboys’ defense took down Rams running back Tre Mason — and took him down hard.

Tempers flared. And just when it looked like things had calmed down from that scuffle, Rams offensive tackle Greg Robinson and Mason went after Gregory. That led to brawl No. 2. And the players just kept brawling. Before it was over, Jared Cook and Eugene Sims took blindside shots at Dallas players.

Rams first-round draft pick Todd Gurley, who remains limited to individual drills as he finishes off his rehab from knee surgery, was right in the middle of the fracas, attempting to pull down a Dallas player. Rookie corner Imoan Claiborne punched Bryant with a right jab to the face.

Even Afghanistan war hero Daniel Rodriguez of the Rams was seen tossing the helmet of Cowboys defensive back J.J. Wilcox into the stands.

“We didn’t come here to do that,” Long said. “They’re very competitive; we’re very competitive. There’s a lot riding on everything for all of us. And when you’re out here for two days, I’m not gonna say it’s inevitable, but things happen.”

Things certainly “happened” Tuesday.

RAM-BLINGS

Not practicing for the Rams Tuesday were offensive linemen Rodger Saffold and Cody Wichmann; linebacker Korey Toomer; cornerback Brandon McGee; defensive tackle Doug Worthington; wide receiver Isiah Ferguson, and of course, linebacker Daren Bates and cornerback E.J. Gaines.• Rams staff members will distribute lunches to senior citizens at the Clyde C. Jordan Center in East St. Louis on Wednesday, Friday, and Aug. 26.• Wearing a cast on his left hand, tight end Brad Smelley has returned to practice.

• Craig and Laura Ebel of Victorville, Calif., celebrated their 24th wedding anniversary Monday by watching the Rams practice with the Cowboys in Oxnard.

This takedown of Tre Mason by Randy Gregory is what started the brawl. Thx sharpie2626 pic.twitter.com/mKO2pbtW6F

— Jim Thomas (@jthom1) August 19, 2015