Jason_OTC@Jason_OTC
The teams that have done the best job of having drafted players stick in the league through this summer are the colts (67% more than expected), Falcons (52%), Bears (39%). Rams (37%), Chargers (28%)

quibi@boneysoups
remember that woman who got mauled by a bear and had to drive to get help with half her face ripped off saying the most traumatic thing about the experience was dealing with her health insurance company

Countdown to Camp: For first time since arriving in Los Angeles, safeties coach Ejiro Evero has group hand-picked by current staff

Stu Jackson

https://www.therams.com/news/countdown-to-camp-safeties

Safeties coach Ejiro Evero is entering his fourth training camp and season with the Rams this fall, but it’s the first time since he arrived in Los Angeles that the collection of talent in his position room was either drafted or acquired by the current coaching staff.

Having a chance to work with a group that he helped construct and knows so well is what makes him excited for Rams Training Camp presented by UNIFY Financial Credit Union.

“It’s fun to have a group of guys that we did a lot of research on, we really liked them coming out,” Evero told theRams.com in a phone interview this week. “The best part is, we’ve got two guys that have played a lot of good football in the league and are experienced and ready to take another bigger step in their careers, and we’ve got two young guys that have a very, very promising future.”

Fourth-year pro John Johnson III and second-year pro Taylor Rapp are the “established” members of the safeties room. The former suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against the 49ers in Week 6 last year but told reporters this spring that he was “100 percent” healthy, while the latter emerged as a starter in his place and finished with the third-most tackles on the team (100 total).

In that same April video conference in which he provided an update on his health, Johnson also said he thinks his and Rapp’s skillsets will complement each other well. Evero can also see it, saying they are both “really similar players.”

“First of all, they’re both just extremely, extremely bright and smart,” Evero said. “They’re both good communicators. They both have a passion for football. They’re both tough guys. And so I think it’s exciting because from a mental standpoint and a communication standpoint, they’re very aligned. They both are up to the high level part of football in terms of making checks and adjustments and recognizing offensive formations and all that jazz. So we’re going to be good in terms of communication, in terms of guys that can play really smart.”

Johnson and Rapp not only can process what’s happening in front of them on the field at a high level, but also translate it through execution.

“They’re both elite tacklers from that safety position, they’re both guys that can go find the ball, and they’re guys that just have a sense of getting to the ball, too,” Evero said. “It’s very, very exciting to have two guys that are just very complementary.”

Beyond that duo, the group also includes second-year pro Nick Scott, rookies Terrell Burgess (Utah) and Jordan Fuller (Ohio State), and undrafted free agent signee JuJu Hughes (Fresno State).

When asked specifically about third-round pick Burgess and sixth-round pick Fuller, Evero said both fit the mold of the safeties the Rams already have, in terms of being “really smart, cerebral football players that can translate it to the field.” Echoing defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s comments earlier this spring, Evero also sees versatility in each that L.A. will be able to take advantage of.

“Terrell has a different specific skillset, in terms of, he’s a guy that has really good movement ability and he has corner-type skills. He’s a guy that we’re going to give a little sniff at nickel (defensive back) as well as safety, so he’s got that kind of dynamic,” Evero said. “And then Jordan Fuller’s a big-body guy, he moves around really well but he’s got a build almost like a damn linebacker.”

Like other members of their rookie class, the biggest challenge will be getting up to speed after not having traditional on-field work during the offseason program. However, according to Evero, going full-speed against a Rams offense that stresses a defense with different looks and tempos during training camp will help make the transition go smoother.

Regardless, Evero is confident in what his group will contribute to Los Angeles’ defense.

“There’s enough talent in our room to be very, very productive,” Evero said.

.@ChennedyCarter is a problem 🎯

🏀 35 Pts
🏀 3-4 from 3-PT range
🏀 Youngest player in WNBA history to score 30+ points in a game pic.twitter.com/0QEtcBpMCg

— espnW (@espnW) August 7, 2020

3rd and Kupp https://t.co/fTKDoMM8TL

— HoldenCantor (@HoldenCantor) August 8, 2020

Countdown to Camp: Rams TEs coach Wes Phillips says group’s receiving, blocking skills give team “a lot of options”

Stu Jackson

https://www.therams.com/news/countdown-to-camp-tight-ends

Countdown to Camp is a series breaking down the Rams roster by position group heading into training camp. The seventh installment examines the tight ends.

What does Rams tight ends coach Wes Phillips like about his group?

“What don’t I like is really the better question,” Phillips said with a laugh.

With the official start of Rams Training Camp presented by UNIFY Financial Credit Union on the horizon, it’s easy to see why Phillips sees few, if any flaws in his group.

The tight end room currently consists of fifth-year pro Tyler Higbee, fourth-year pros Gerald Everett and Johnny Mundt, second-year pro Kendall Blanton and a “steal” of a draft pick in fourth-round rookie Brycen Hopkins from Purdue. Collectively, it’s a unit regarded by scouting service Pro Football Focus as the fifth-best in the NFL.

Phillips, who is in his third season overseeing the Rams tight ends, saw Higbee, Everett and Mundt each play critical roles for Los Angeles in his second.

Both Higbee and Everett had career seasons in 2019. In Higbee’s case, it set franchise single-season records for receptions (69) and receiving yards (734) for the position. Though Everett missed three games due to injury, he still produced career-bests for receptions (37) and receiving yards (408) in a single season. Meanwhile, with Everett out, Mundt ascended into a bigger role that helped him become a key contributor as a run-blocker.

“We’ve got just an excellent group that is not only talented as far as they’ve all shown what they can do, obviously, particularly Tyler and Gerald in the pass game, but also their attention to detail and their physicality in the run game,” Phillips said. “So they really give us a lot of options.”

For Phillips, Higbee’s breakout play last season didn’t come as as a surprise.

“Everyone who has been around our football team, players and coaches included, I think we all knew that he was capable of doing those types of things,” Phillips said. “It was just about getting the opportunity and, you know, in this league, someone goes down with injury and someone’s role increases, and Tyler was more than ready to step up what his number was called, for sure.”

The opportunity, of course, came when Everett was unfortunately dealing with a knee injury. Now that he’s healthy, Phillips is eager to have Everett back in the fold.

One might assume it’s because of how valuable Everett is as a receiver, but Phillips reminded that Everett is also a capable blocker. When Higbee missed the Rams’ Week 3 game against the Browns, Everett was tasked with blocking players like Pro Bowl defensive ends Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon and “did a great job,” according to Phillips.

“He’s a smart player, he’s instinctive, but extremely explosive,” Phillips said. “One of the best athletes, maybe as far as raw, athletic talent – maybe the best athlete that I’ve coached. From a tight end standpoint, he can run. He’s great with the ball after the catch. The first guy never brings him down. He’s strong. He’s explosive, from that standpoint running, but what a lot of people don’t always realize either is that in the run game, that same explosion, it applies, and he’s a tough, tough, tough man.”

Just because the Rams tight end room already returns a lot of experience entering training camp doesn’t mean Hopkins won’t be able to contribute to the rotation. However, Like any rookie entering the upcoming NFL season, getting acclimated will take a little bit longer than normal due to the absence of on-field work during the offseason program – valuable time used for honing footwork technique, for example.

“He’s been very studious, he’s been studying everything, but it’s still a lot for a young guy,” Phillips said. “So right now, his job is just to make sure he knows his assignments. We’re trying to work with the technique on the fly here and make sure he catches up to those other guys, because right now, he’s behind. But, when you see him out there and you see him move, and when he does do a technique correctly, you see what he brings to the table. He’s very athletic, he’s strong, he’s physical.”

Like fellow rookie Terrell Lewis, though, that gradual transition for Hopkins should be smooth based on how well his college duties translate to the Rams.

“One of the reasons we liked him is that we could see him on tape at Purdue doing all the things we’re really going to ask him to do,” Phillips said. “He’s just got to switch over that terminology and then kind of learn our technique the way we do it.”

It can’t be underestimated how much of a challenge this season will be for players that have changed teams/systems, even the great Tom Brady. It will give a significant advantage to teams with continuity and familiarity. https://t.co/TXNHRlRaWh

— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) August 7, 2020

Show me a better throw. I dare you. #Dailydimes pic.twitter.com/wj2J1y1Y6v

— Wes (@Sleyson80) August 7, 2020

In Portland, some Black activists frustrated with white protesters

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-race-protests-portland-activis/in-portland-some-black-activists-frustrated-with-white-protesters-idUSKCN24W2QD

PORTLAND (Reuters) – A small group of Black teenage girls carrying megaphones stood in front of the federal courthouse in downtown Portland near midnight on Thursday facing a largely white band of protesters.

“I’m done with y’all focusing on all these white folk,” said 17-year-old Erandi, who asked to be identified only by her first name. “This is a Black Lives Matter movement.”

And as it happened, Portland had its first night in weeks without tear gas here after state police took over from federal agents guarding a courthouse that has been the focal point of violence between protesters and those agents.[nL2N2F20XI]

For over two months, the nightly Black Lives Matter protests have followed a familiar pattern.

A peaceful demonstration against racial injustice and police brutality begins at nightfall at the central police precinct.

They are more organic than organized. Protesters chant: “George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Black Lives Matter.” A microphone is passed around to whoever wants to speak. The scenes feel festive at times, with drumbeats and tambourines, and a grill that serves food at all hours. On one night, a man holding a microphone raps to the crowd: “On the Portland streets/We’re taking it back/Wearing a mask ‘cuz they shoot me with gas.”

President Donald Trump at a White House news conference on Thursday called the protesters “professional agitators, professional anarchists” and said the federal agents deployed there would “clean out this beehive of terrorists.” Portland has become a prime target of Trump’s “law and order” re-election campaign.

But the reality on the ground is as murky as the nightly clouds of tear gas had been. There are no clear leaders or structure to these demonstrations, and as midnight looms the focus moves to a small band of mainly white people trying to attack the courthouse throwing fireworks and objects at police and agents over a fence guarding the building.

The New York Times this week said an internal Department of Homeland Security memo indicated the federal agents didn’t understand the nature of the protests, particularly those attacking the courthouse.

“We lack insight into the motives for the most recent attacks,” the memo said.

“There are two different protests. This is beautiful,” said Ngee Gow, 22, pointing to the main body of demonstrators at the central police precinct. “This is destruction,” he said, nodding to those waiting to confront federal agents outside the courthouse.

Suburban mothers, veterans and healthcare workers joined anti-racism demonstrations in early July to oppose the federal intervention and to try to tone down the violence. The Black demonstrators initially welcomed the moms – and dads who came with leaf blowers to disperse the tear gas – but are now frustrated with the band of midnight provocateurs at the courthouse.

Portland is one of the whitest cities in the United States, with only three percent of residents identifying as African-American. Though residents there are overwhelmingly progressive, the city itself is still very segregated, a legacy of Oregon’s racist past as the only state to ban Black people when it was founded.

“We’re fighting with our hearts here,” Erandi, the Black teenager told Reuters. “We need these white people to acknowledge that this isn’t a bonfire. This isn’t just a party.”

Huddled with Erandi and a few other Black demonstrators, Gow looked on disappointedly at the boisterous crowd in front of the courthouse, chanting “Feds go home.”

“It’s about Black lives. Period,” Gow said. “If you really want to respect Black lives, and if you really want to respect Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, then you’d be listening to the movement instead of antagonizing police.”

A rookie Geno Smith went 8-8 with Jeremy Kerley as his WR1 and a defense that was not very good.

— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) August 7, 2020

==

'74 Rams only forced 7 fumbles—-years around that, 1973-76 they averaged about 16 forces and 16 recoveries

and in 1974 playoffs, had same luck—could fall on an loose ball to save their lives

— 𝐏𝐫𝐨 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐉𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥🏈 (@NFL_Journal) August 7, 2020

from ‘Most believe that it was an accident’: Pentagon chief contradicts Trump on Beirut explosion

https://news.yahoo.com/most-believe-that-it-was-an-accident-pentagon-chief-contradicts-trump-on-beirut-explosion-201501633.html

…

Less than 24 hours after President Trump said some “great generals” told him they thought that Tuesday’s massive explosion in Beirut was an “attack” involving “a bomb of some kind,” Defense Secretary Mark Esper seemed less than convinced by that explanation.

Speaking to an online audience Wednesday as part of the Aspen Security Forum, Esper said he was “still getting information” on the blast in the Lebanese capital, but that “most believe that it was an accident, as reported