from Rodrigue, 7/30: https://theathletic.com/2740351/2021/07/29/rams-camp-report-matthew-staffords-disgusting-throw-cooper-kupp-and-robert-woods-slick-snags/?source=emp_shared_article

• Rookie tight end Jacob Harris again was dressed out fully and went through speed ladder drills during the first portion of practice. Harris, as a source told The Athletic earlier this week, is not going to be practicing for the next couple of weeks because he suffered a minor core injury and had a corresponding procedure. All Rams players passed their conditioning tests, and nobody went on PUP, so it’s pretty clear that the team is just exercising extra caution.

• Second-year receiver Trishton Jackson is clearly making the most of the opportunity he has while Tutu Atwell spends substantial time on the COVID/reserve list. He lined up in the four and five spots during individual throwing periods, and worked into the offense at times as well, catching a pass through traffic from backup quarterback John Wolford near the end of the practice. Wolford also was “his quarterback” in individuals.

• DeSean Jackson opened training camp with a gorgeous catch downfield, and did it again Thursday in 7-on-7s, although this time, there didn’t appear to be a coverage bust — just Jackson’s speed being what it is.

• Rookie linebacker Ernest Jones was close on a couple of balls, nearly picking off both Wolford and Stafford at various times. Keep in mind that the Rams rotate first team versus second team in a variety of ways when they are in the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods, so Jones (and all younger or non-starting players) has been getting reps against both levels of offense, just as the offensive players receive the same benefit from the defense.

• Two Woods/Kupp highlights include: A tight sideline catch by Woods, after which he ran it back all the way to the opposite end zone amid loud cheers from the crowd, and Kupp’s red zone score in which he slipped through traffic — and, by the way, also looked to me to be a look-off pass from Stafford (but I don’t have the benefit of the film). Kupp also caught a nice ball at the far sideline with Jalen Ramsey in coverage.

It wasn’t necessarily a specific reference to that play, but after practice, Ramsey complimented Stafford on his ball placement.

“Sometimes, we may have really good coverage and he’ll throw a receiver open,” Ramsey said. “That’s been very impressive.”

• Rookie cornerback Robert Rochell had a great practice, and tipped two passes — the second, a tight contest between him and second-year receiver Van Jefferson, drew the biggest reaction from teammates.

• The Rams’ offense struck first in red-zone drills, with a touchdown pass from Stafford to Jefferson. But the defense had its say, too, with a Darious Williams pick of Stafford on a pass aimed over the middle and to the back of the end zone.

• If it happened Wednesday, I simply didn’t hear it — but if not, Thursday featured the first “Mamba” period of training camp. The Rams installed these periods to pay tribute to the late Kobe Bryant, and they feature a game-like atmosphere with offense on one side and defense on the other. The first-team offense and defense are given a specific high-pressure situation and awarded points for either conversions or stops.

• Punt returners worked with live legs on Thursday. Guys repping through the drill included Kupp, Raymond Calais, D. Jackson, JJ Koski, Jeremiah Haydel and Otis Anderson.

• As previously reported here, the Rams are indeed working their linebackers in complementary tandems and that in turn is predicated by their personnel grouping on the defensive side — so, a guy with certain traits may pair with a guy who possesses complementary traits. A good example was the tandem of Micah Kiser and Kenny Young last season, in which Kiser (and then Troy Reeder) filled the every-down, perhaps a bit more downhill guy, while Young is slighter, perhaps quicker from sideline to sideline and would be used on blitz and certain pressure packages. That might point us to tandems such as Kiser and Young, Reeder and Young, Reeder and Howard, Rozeboom and Howard, Jones and Young or Jones and Howard.

“I think one of the things we try to do defensively is stress people with a lot of personnel groupings,” coach Sean McVay said after practice on Thursday. “Sometimes, if a guy plays well in all of those (personnel groupings) and shows the versatile skill set, he might be on the grass for all of them. … We’ve got guys who have versatile skill sets, but that’s kind of predicated on the personnel, and what the intent is that we’re trying to get out of that personnel grouping.”

Rams training camp: Terrell Burgess has a day, DeSean Jackson’s catch of the day and more

Jourdan Rodrigue

https://theathletic.com/2737924/2021/07/28/rams-training-camp-terrell-burgess-has-a-day-desean-jacksons-catch-of-the-day-and-more/

IRVINE, Calif. — I suppose it still wasn’t real to me that we’d all be able to watch football together in person until I heard a young child screaming, “Matthew! Matthew!” at the Rams’ new quarterback as the Los Angeles Rams opened their 2021 training camp on Wednesday.

Or maybe it hit me when receivers coach Eric Yarber took an accidental hit himself, from tight end Tyler Higbee during individuals, and when he hit the ground the crowd yelled, “Oooooooh” in unison and then applauded when Yarber popped back up, shaking it off and laughing at himself a bit (he also got checked out by head athletic trainer Reggie Scott, and seems to be fine). Maybe it was seeing a couple hundred fans lining up outside the gates at U.C. Irvine, decked out in Rams gear and champing to get to their seats.

Maybe it was the first “Coooooooooop” as receiver Cooper Kupp secured a sideline catch. Or even something as simple as watching players pull on post-practice flip-flops, in person, and not in a little box on my computer screen, with the smell of grass and sweat and sunscreen and hope and high expectations filling my nose.

Maybe it doesn’t matter when it hit me, but rather what we all see, hear and feel next. We’re back, we’re back together, and we’re watching football.

Let’s get to observations of the first real day of camp:

• Before practice officially began, second-year undrafted free agent tackles Eric Banks and Michael Hoecht were the first two out on the defensive lineman’s section of the field, joined shortly after by Jonah Williams and Marquise Copeland. All of these players will be ones to watch in a tough position competition, and they drew praise from more veteran teammate A’Shawn Robinson for their efforts to improve and develop this offseason.

• Rookie tight end Jacob Harris, who flashed and impressed with the first team in the spring, did not practice but did go through some stretching and was fully dressed out. He suffered a minor core injury this spring, a source with knowledge of the injury told The Athletic, and had a procedure to get it fixed. He is expected to be fully cleared in a few weeks, and because nobody was put on the PUP list, it’s clear the Rams are just being extra careful with Harris – likely in anticipation of the role he’ll play down the stretch of the season.

• Veteran receiver DeSean Jackson had the catch of the day on a long pass down the far sideline, during which he achieved such separation as to be in his very own space-time continuum. The separation was a little bit of Jackson’s speed, a little bit of the ball-fake from Stafford before the throw and a little bit of a coverage bust (the Rams were working their first-team offense against the second-team defense during this portion). Still, it was gorgeous all-around and got the crowd fired up.

• One thing I had not previously seen in quarterback warmups: Stafford took a series of snaps in which he would spin/reverse in a few different directions before throwing a short pass to a coach/warmup receiver, as if he were avoiding pressure within a very confined space. Obviously, this was work that intended to get him ready for the out-of-structure work that he’s known to be able to do — and it’s little details like this that remind me how quickly things can change in this league.

• Second-year safety Terrell Burgess told me in June that he expected to be 100 percent healthy by training camp, after suffering a nasty ankle injury last season. On Wednesday, he sure proved it. Burgess secured the first interception of the day on a quick pass over the middle from backup quarterback John Wolford, after diagnosing the play and jumping the intended route. Then, he tipped a pretty pass over the seam from Stafford, intended for Jackson, and drew praise from head coach Sean McVay after practice for his stellar day.

• During second team and special teams periods, second-year receiver Van Jefferson got in extra work on the side with the JUGs machine.

• Kupp hauled in an impressive acrobatic catch with cornerback Robert Rochell in tight coverage down the sideline — and appeared at first to be just slightly out of bounds by the back of his right heel. But the referee behind Kupp ruled the play a catch.

• The Rams ended practice with the same “mental stress” period in 11-on-11s that they did in the spring, meaning they repped through most of the play at speed but did not actually throw the ball/extend through the play post-throw. This was by design; McVay and Stafford expanded that the period is supposed to test players’ minds when they’re at their most tired, without subjecting them to a dangerous physical situation from being mentally tired in the first place.

• Long snapper Matt Orzech took the first rep of the live kick/special teams period, snapping to veteran punter Johnny Hekker as the holder, with Matt Gay kicking. However, the period’s intent was also to rotate through various combinations among holders, long snappers and kickers — and the Rams did so, even having three-way specialist Brandon Wright take a turn placekicking. Wright also punted and did kickoff work during the Rams’ live practices at SoFi Stadium this spring, and may be someone the Rams … kick around (sorry) … as a COVID/reserve emergency player, because he could fill three roles in a pinch and that would free space for other players to be protected.

• Offensive line coach Kevin Carberry was absent from Wednesday’s practice as he recovers from COVID-19, McVay confirmed. Carberry is fully vaccinated, so only has to test negative twice with a 24-hour window in between in order to rejoin the team, and may conduct meetings virtually in the meantime.

“I think we’re continuing to learn about this because he’s fully vaccinated. He has done everything the right way,” McVay said. “The good thing is with the parameters around the protocols, if he’s got two negative tests within 24 hours separated, then you can end up returning. And we’re hopeful that that’ll be sooner than later.

“But you have guys like (offensive assistant) Nick Jones, (offensive assistant) Zak Kromer, have done a great job. We always collaborate as a coaching staff, so we’ve got a lot of great coaches that will pick up the slack. The good thing is (from) what we learned from last year, (Carberry) can still run a lot of the meetings from a virtual setting. There’s nothing like being physically present with guys, but he’s done an excellent job being able to adjust accordingly.”

Rams OL coach Kevin Carberry is absent from practice with COVID, despite being fully vaccinated. https://t.co/kP0gIFSoDj

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) July 29, 2021

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
I saw a green dot on Jordan Fuller’s helmet Eyes And Aaron Donald confirmed it when I asked him just now – Fuller is calling signals so far this year.

Tyler Higbee just ran into WRs coach Eric Yarber by accident during drills and it was a big one Flushed face Huge reaction from the crowd and applause when Yarbs walked it off. He’s back out there after a brief checkup from Reggie Scott.

Stu Jackson@StuJRams
Max Pircher said he was impressed with how patient the Rams veterans are with the rookies, and if they see something a younger player could do better, they teach them immediately.

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
So far behind coverage he was in his own space-time continuum, DeSean Jackson has the catch of the day so far on a long burn from Stafford. Big cheers after that one.

Another long pass, aimed for Jackson over the top – this time Terrell Burgess gets vertical and stretches to tip it away. He told me he’d be 100% healthy by camp – seems about right. Great first day so far and it’s early yet.

Rams Brothers@RamsBrothers
Terrell Burgess apparently wants to go to the pro-bowl this year. Exactly what we need from him.

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Wondered if they would bring this back – Rams are doing that quick mental stress 11/11 work w no throw, ones vs ones, that they did in the spring with good results. Point is to make it tough for Stafford within the structured stuff pre and post snap (as well as everyone else)

Rams24/7@Rams24_7
Noteboom/Brewer/Allen/Shelton/Anchrum 2nd team OL

Matthew Stafford to Robert Woods pic.twitter.com/lP9oADzXG5

— Stu Jackson (@StuJRams) July 28, 2021

Pastors are leaving their congregations after losing their churchgoers to QAnon

Pastors are trying to fight conspiracy theories and misinformation that have gripped churches.
Insider spoke with two pastors who left their congregations after seeing members become radicalized.
Some research has found outsize support among white evangelicals for the QAnon conspiracy theory.
https://www.businessinsider.com/pastors-quit-after-qanon-radicalize-congregation-2021-3

On the morning of the Capitol riot, Vern Swieringa told his wife during a walk with their dogs: “Something is going to happen today. I don’t know what, but something’s going to happen today.”

The Christian Reformed Church pastor from Michigan had been watching for months as some members of his congregation grew captivated by videos about the QAnon conspiracy theory on social media, openly discussing sex trafficking and Satan-worshipping pedophiles.

He had watched as other spiritual advisors, including the self-proclaimed “Trump Prophet” Mark Taylor, incorporated wild and dangerous QAnon beliefs into their sermons on YouTube and as organizers of the Christian Jericho March gathered in Washington, DC, days before the insurrection, urging followers to “pray, march, fast, and rally for election integrity.”

So when hundreds of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol hours after his premonition, Swieringa was shocked, but not surprised.

The pastor said he had been worried about so-called Christian nationalism since Trump was elected in 2016. (Neither Swieringa nor any of the other pastors interviewed for this story say who they voted for in 2016 or 2020.)

He became even more concerned when, in 2018, some older members in his own congregation started sending him what he described as “disturbing” QAnon videos. When Swieringa brought these to the attention of his superiors, he said, they were mostly dismissive, telling him they didn’t know what QAnon was.

But when the coronavirus pandemic hit last year, the problem grew larger and a lot more personal.

Swieringa felt increasingly uncomfortable when a large part of his congregation dismissed the pandemic as a hoax.

The 61-year-old pastor had been taking the pandemic very seriously, he said, partly because his wife was considered at risk. A bout of pneumonia in 2019 had left her with permanent scarring in the lungs.

“It was at that point when I put my foot down and said, ‘I’m not going to preach in front of a congregation that wants to sing and not wear masks,'” Swieringa said. “But they still wanted me to preach in front of them without wearing a mask.”

He said the church offered to him a plexiglass barrier to preach behind, but he felt it wouldn’t make much of a difference in an enclosed space.

“We agreed to separate at that point, and so it felt pretty cordial at the time,” Swieringa said. “But I found out later that there were really hard feelings amongst the congregation, and many of them felt like I abandoned them. It was heartbreaking.”

Swieringa left the church in December after eight years of service.

He now works part time at the Kibbie Christian Reformed Church in South Haven, 30 miles away from his original job. His new church has a mandatory mask rule.

Outsize belief in QAnon among white evangelicals

Swieringa is not the only pastor to struggle with the rapid spread of conspiracy theories and misinformation in his congregation.

A poll released in January by the Christian research organization Lifeway Research found that more than 45% of protestant pastors said they had often heard congregants repeating conspiracy theories about national news events.

Another survey by the conservative American Enterprise Institute found that more than a quarter of white evangelical respondents believed in QAnon and that three in five believed that President Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 election was “not legitimate.” Those rates were the highest in any religious group.

The trend has prompted hundreds of evangelical pastors and faith leaders to speak out. In February, more than 1,400 of them published an open letter condemning “radicalized Christian nationalism” and the “rise of violent acts by radicalized extremists using the name of Christ,” The Washington Post reported.

trump capitol religion

Among them is Jared Stacey, a Southern Baptist youth pastor from Virginia who ended up leaving the church altogether after QAnon and other conspiracy theories began to divide his congregation.

He moved to Scotland in December, where he now studies theology at the University of Aberdeen.

He told Insider he left to “create some space,” adding that pastoring in 2020 was “a struggle” for many faith leaders.

“I do think that a lot of pastors are burdened right now and need a friend,” Stacey said. “It’s not easy watching people that you’ve invested time in becoming radicalized so quickly right in front of you.”

He said that while some people might say politics shouldn’t be discussed in churches, there comes “a point where refusing to talk politics is a false front for protecting the political sensibilities of your stakeholders.”

“That is why there is a theological need to address what the Bible would describe as telling lies or having a false God,” he added.

But keeping up with the information online is not always easy, and Stacey worries that the church is falling behind in the race to bring Christian messages to a world that spends most of its time online.

“The church is going through the biggest information shift since the printing press,” Stacey said.

The road to recovery from QAnon

One person trying to use technology to reach more Christians who have become affected by QAnon is Derek Kubilus, the senior pastor of Uniontown United Methodist Church in Ohio.

Kubilus runs the “Cross Over Q” podcast, which offers “healing for QAnon followers and family members from a Christian perspective.”

The pastor started the podcast after the Capitol riot and has received a wide range of listeners, including former QAnon believers who have told him that the podcast has been part of their recovery.

“When I saw crosses being carried alongside QAnon banners and a noose as those folks marched on the Capitol I just knew I had to do something, but from a Christian perspective,” Kubilus told Insider.

While some pastors, including Stacey and Swieringa, opted for private conversations with their congregants to warn against the dangers of misinformation, Kubilus does it publicly.

In his podcasts, he debunks theories, speaks about how they’re dangerous, and preaches about the importance of unity.

“Members of the clergy are expected to maintain a certain kind of distance from secular politics … both in order to preserve the unity of our congregation, and to make sure that we don’t unduly influence elections,” Kubilus said.

“But I don’t believe that QAnon is inherently political. It starts with politics, but these are people’s lives, in relationships, that we’re talking about.”

Kubilus is aware that the recovery from QAnon radicalization is by no means a short one, but he’s hopeful that his efforts will bring Christians back home eventually.

“It takes a lot of courage, time, and patience,” he said. “But when you hear the stories of people who are being hurt, in the families that are falling apart, you recognize that it is absolutely necessary.”

from https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2021/07/28/rams-robert-rochell-darious-williams-elite-corner/

Darious Williams thinks [highly] of Rochell, saying he has everything it takes to not just be great, but an elite cornerback.

“Scooter, he’s going to be a player,” Williams said Tuesday. “He’s explosive. He’s got everything in his body to become an elite corner. If I can help him, just like anybody else, as much as I can, knowledge, I can give it to him and that’s going to increase their level, their game, that’s what I’m going to try to do. He’s real eager–him, Brontae Harris, those younger guys are real eager to learn. They’re really eager to get better. I just try to give them all the techniques I know and let them take off.”

Sam Monson@PFF_Sam
Colts OL is going to be phenomenally expensive once they get that Quenton Nelson contract done.

They’re incredibly committed to ensuring that whoever plays QB has a hell of a platform to work from.

This is also somewhat ironic given when they actually had Andrew Luck almost the entirety of his career felt like “Eh, the OL will be fine, Andrew will make it work”

This pass changed the game for us https://t.co/oTgCEaICYn

— Torrey Rodriguez (@RodriguezTorrey) July 28, 2021

How good can the Rams be with Matthew Stafford?

Check out today’s episode of the PFF NFL Daily podcast w/ @PFF_Sam & @PFF_Steve

🎧⤵️https://t.co/VXAUSIEtjm

— PFF (@PFF) July 28, 2021

They're calling Officer Fanone a "crisis actor." pic.twitter.com/OGPDykQhJ1

— Christian Vanderbrouk (@UrbanAchievr) July 27, 2021

Lindsey Thiry@LindseyThiry
Rams DL A’Shawn Robinson says he physically feels great. He’s down to his goal weight of 308 pounds after changing his diet and committing to new workout regimen.

Stu Jackson@StuJRams
Rams DL A’Shawn Robinson said he’s right at his weight goal (308 pounds). It’s made a noticeable difference – he said he feels lighter, faster, more explosive, more fluid.