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Hammer 7/29
BPOT
Braford looked very good again..lot of roll outs, jump throws ect..looked very accurate
just the D looked very out of sync...just a weird feel at practice. Not sure what to make out of it...
thanks for the comments....IMO Bradford been stuck with too many Gibson/Salas/Pettus type players...check downs were often his only option
coacho pointed out to me today Bradford is really throwing ball farther down the field...agree 100%
think Schotty/Bradford are enjoying the new team speed/talent
Other guy dhsux:
Made my first camp yesterday and couldn't agree more about NOT being able to take a lot of stuff in due to poor sight lines! Had to move a lot and wondered why the middle field??
Saw Robinson at LG on most reps. Seemed to hold his own well, very quick off the snap.
Bradford looked great, totally comfortable and effective under these conditions. Really impressed with Quick. This HAS to be his year!
Just guessing but I think Long will be ready for game one, they will do what they can to hold him back in practice until absolutely necessary.
JT chat:
—Robinson looks pretty good; has had some blips on pass-blocking, especially working at LT. As for keeping everyone at the same position, I remember that from OTAs, and that’s basically what happened in OTAs. I think they’re just getting GRob some reps at LT, and giving Saffold a refresher course there as well in case Long isn’t ready. As for Barrett Jones, he’s been getting reps with the first_ and second unit at center.
—I don’t think Jenkins looks as bad as some apparently have indicated. In fact, from what I’ve seen _ and I’m not watching him every play _ he looks average to me. Not bad. But I think the entire secondary as a whole remains a big question mark.
Hammer:
today they played on the 2nd field 40 yards from the hill..did move over bUT left watching from a brutal ground level location with players often standing in front of you...trying to watch the oline vs dline battles is next to impossible.
do know Robinson wins his running play battles just not sure against whom
McDonald and McCleod had very few pd last year and Dunbar was dead last in thr nfl coverage last year as a lber. Also just not much depth at either lber, cb or safety... still early but so far a real concern
Brian Quick 4th straight practice where he has been bpot....started 11v11 catching a quick slant on a blitz from Bradford that would of gone all the way..followed it up with a 40+ yard reception...caught a deep in late in practice where he easily went down to snare a deliberately thrown low ball...just dominating
he obviously has gained Bradford's trust because he's his 1st option on blitzes and has keeps throwing the ball up to Quick expecting him to win contested balls...which he is...added a real strut to his demeanor
Quick, Britt and Cook get ALL the reps with the ones with Austin and Kendricks added in depending on the package
KNIVES TO A GUNFIGHT
the defense today...beaten early and often in passing drills. Will say Williams showcased a lot of blitzes even sending both safeties so some passes would of been sacks in live action BUT the cb's/safeties where mia in coverage..7v7 ended with 4/5 straight td's by the offense...got so bad I was barely watching...
Mcgee started with the ones again...with brutal results...ditto Woodard when he played..Gaines even gave up a long td pass to Givens who seems to enjoy playing with the 3's..Jenkins was solid and Joyner and Cody Davis each intercepted a pass but not a good day for the lb/db's in coverage....
also really expected a lot of emotion 1st real day in pads and all but looked more like a Quaker convention... Friday Fisher got after Britt for mouthing off to the db's every time after making a play since then crickets by all the players..did have a slight pushing match by Givens and unknown db towards the end of practice...seen more pushing/anger at a Babtist revival meeting then by rams players since then..just weird
random thoughts
Jones has the skinniest ankles and weakest hands of all our olinemen
1st team oline seems to be doing a very solid job of opening running lanes...simply love Saffold and Robinson in the middle...
Saffold did get one rep at LT on a passsing play with the expected results....Quinn was past him before he got out his stance.
Wells mia again..heard him ask the trainer if he could play and was greeted with a 2 thumps down motion.
like Rhaney..smaller c/g but has very fast feet with some power
didn't see Robeson playing at all today and Moe barely saw the field..looks to be dead last on the wr depth chart...
don't understand the Armstrong hype..never flashes
Gilbert has obviously passed Austin as the 3rd qb...live arm...crashed and burned during the end of the 1st 11v11 drills but finished strong in 7v7
Matt Daniels is gettings lot of reps...flashes a little..did correctly pick up Austin on a blitz BUT a quck move left him in Austins wake as Austin exploded past him for what would of been a long td....the pass rush, well timed blitzes and a healthy Johnson/Jenkins are are only hope with this group..unless they been instructed to play slow and let the offensive players beat them
saw Washington, Westbrooks and Sammy Brown in uniforms today..must be team photo day
weird feel at practice today only got weirder when team broke off to finish cool down stretches which they do at the end of a practice BEFORE doing their 7v7 and hurry offense drills...was half way out the door when practice resumed.
I was at Rams Park today and from what I saw Bradford looked great! He was the most accurate of the 4 QB's in camp today, with Hill being the 2nd best.
Mason impressed me with his quick feet and the ability to follow blocks. I think he will definitely be a key part this year in the running game.
Britt was very impressive, as was Quick.
I thought Tavon Austin looked like a man possessed today. He looks so comfortable now, compared to last season. He may break out this year.
Janoris Jenkins got schooled all day long. I hope it was just a bad day in camp.
The secondary as a whole looked weak. Lamarcus Joyner was the only DB that stood out today.
Coach O
7 on 7 & 11 on 11 Drills:
Highlights:
First play of 11 on 11: CB Blitz & Bradfod hits Quick on sight adjustment (Quick slant) with no one in seam he goes untouched for big play
Very NEXT play: Play Action: Bradford to Quick double move (turns McGee around) for a 40 yard completion
2nd Unit Offense: Play Action Rollout: Gilbert to Givens for 18 yard sliding completion (out route)
Gilbert to Quick another double move beats Gaines to corner (30 yard completion)
Austin had a good day catching the ball. Ran a crossing route which Daniels read perfectly, only to have Austin blow by him like he was a standing pylon
Bradford to Britt ( 9 route) in the back of the EndZone over McGee and with McGee finishing the play with a shove to the face of Britt. Britt spikes the ball at McGee’s feet and gets mobbed by teammates
In 2 minute drill at end of practice: Bradford connect with quick on deep post route, (single coverage by McLeod) Quick uses his body like going up for a rebound, McLeod had NO chance to make a play on the ball
Chris Givens showed he is still on the team: while relegated to mostly 3rd unit reps, he made a few nice catches to show he can still contribute
Cody Davis had a nice interception in 2 minute drill
Lamarcus Joyner nice INT in RedZone drill stepping in front of Pettis at back of End Zone
Cory Harkey lowers the boom on Armstrong after a catch and long run. Lowers his shoulder and delivers the blow.
Lowlights:
Chris Givens running reps with the 3rd unit. He got some 2nd unit reps when paired with Pettis, but was also running with 3rd unit guys like Veltung and Blake.
Austin Pettis was almost invisible today
Depth at CB beyond Jenkins, Johnson and Gaines is worrisome. McGee and Woodard continue to struggle; Reid and Roberson very limited reps
Expected Defense to have a “bounce back” day and offer some push back….. didn’t happen!!!
· DISCLAIMER: there were plenty of blitzes which would have resulted in sacks that ended in completions due to the “no tackle rule”
CAMP OBSERVATIONS:
· The WR rotation appears to be for the 2nd unit moving forward. It’s not by accident that Brian Quick and Kenny Britt are getting at least twice as many 1st unit reps than any of the other WRs. Austin mixes in as 3rd WR.
· Right now, the rotation seems to be settled in: Quick and Britt at the WR. Cook at TE. And either Kendricks, Austin or Harkey, depending on which personnel grouping they go with. Pretty consistent the last 2 practices.
· Alexander just hasn’t shown that he is comfortable yet in the scheme. Continually needing help in lining up from C. Davis
· Benny Cunningham had a nice blitz pickup. First time I’ve seen that from any of the RBs not named Pead.
· Mason shows quick feet and instincts, but tends to want to bounce everything outside
· Things got a little chippy towards the end of practice in the 2 minute drill, a couple of shoving including one incident with Chris Givens after the Cody Davis INT
Until they went to the 2 minute drill at the end of practice, only ONE pass of Bradford's hit the ground, and that was a 50/50 in the end zone (30 yard pass to Quick) that just went off his hands as he jumped with McGee.
Bradford looks very comfortable, and there is absolutely no signs of any issues with his knee. Rollouts, stepping up and sliding in the pocket. All evident.
Not sure what is going on with Givens, but it seems to be a carry over from the OTA I attended. The other thing, be it Givens or Pettis, who have been paired up, and even to a lesser extent with the Bailey and Austin pairing, they have simply been out played by Britt and Quick recently. Whether than changes, remains to be seen.
Other guy: adkins
I made my annual pilgrimage to attend camp today. Don't want to detract from what Hammer and Coach O bring each day, so I'll share a few shotgun bursts of what I saw.
*Dline began practice over by the fans. Coach Wauf was relaxed and talking to some fans while the players were stretching. Then, Greg Williams comes over and is laughing with some of the fans as well. They all looked very relaxed and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Once the Dline drill work began, they worked on the 4-man sled and a tackling dummy. William Hayes seemed to be the personality of the group, belowing out an introduction of each player to the fans as they approached the sled near the fans.
*Two guys stood out to me: Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers. When I coach middle and high school kids, I always preach "hitting on the rise." Granted, Donald's shape more naturally acclimates him to this, but that guy has great "hit on the rise" form. He was also the first Dlineman out today working with an assistant on hand placement during pass rush. Brockers stood out by how easy and consistent he was in getting his arms extended upon contact. It carried over from the 4-man sled to the scrimage, as well. No one seemed to ever get within an arms length of him, and thus, no one is able to get into his body and lock him up. I loved watching how smooth this big man so quickly extended out and struck the sled, like a cobra uncoiling. Robert Quinn honestly kind of loafed through the 4-man sled, but really, what does he have to prove? Chris Long looked to be cramping up, and had a trainer stretching him midway through the drill.
*Greg Reid does not impress me at all. Don't know if he is confused or just lazy, but he didn't seem to have much intensity or urgency at all.
*As Hammer said and I concur, Mo Alexander certainly looks the part. Of course, I remember Jacoby Shepherd "looking" the part, but then he moved and his stiffness was obvious.
*Maybe it is just me, but Janoris Jenkins looks bigger this year. He had a nice fill where he swept Harkey off his feet in the flat for no gain.
*Speaking of Harkey, he had an amazing 1-handed catch going over the middle and regained his feet and scampered for another 30 yards before lowering the boom on Ray Ray.
*Coach Boo had the lineman come over and work on blocking a guy across from them (giving little resistance) up a steep hill that the fans were sitting on. My kids and I could have touched them. Very neat. Jake Long seemed to be moving just fine in this drill. For the last rep, Couch Boo yells out, "Auburn verses Bama... who you fans got?" Then, Greg Robinson and Barrett Jones squared off in a race up the hill to see who could get their man up the hill first. Robinson won. And he is a mountain of a man in person.
*Isaiah Pead looked like a ball boy walking around with a cast on his arm. I saw him last year without his pads on, and I thought he looks smaller now.
*Benny Cunningham impresses me with his power and cutback instincts.
*I also concur with what you've read from Hammer and Coach O, Brian Quick looked like a man among boys today. I saw him connect on a couple of what appeared to be flag routes where McCloud didn't have a chance. I realize this is just practice, but the guy looked like Terrell Owens out there catching the ball and powering through the secondary. Our safety play has me worried.
*Kenny Britt also looked very good. He used his big body well to make some leaping catches over the middle. He quasi-taunted over the DB after doing so, as well.
*Garrett Gilbert made a perfect strike to Givens who beat EJ Gaines by a half-step for a TD in the corner of the end zone. Good rope of a throw. However, he came back on the next play and threw a pick to Lamarcus Joyner. Joyner looks so small out there, but looks extremely confident and does not look lost or reluctant.
*Undrafted rookie WR Jordan Harris made a nice play.
*CB Darren Woodard seemed pretty aggressive and had some quick twitch to him. Was not afraid to hit.
I conclude by emphasizing that this is just one fan's observations, and they are worth little and certainly not "professional." (Sorry for any typos, I'm in a hurry.) I appreciate anything I can read by the guys that sacrifice their time daily with reports, and thus, wanted to share what I saw with fellow Rams' fans who have similar insatiable appetites for camp gleanings.
It should be a fun season.
7/29 Fletch
1. Quinn and Hayes just looked lazy, Long cramped up early but kept playing, Sims looked like he tweaked something. Brockers is a monster.
2. Conrath is going to get cut, you can tell Sam is giving evreything hes got but just plays to high.
3. Britt and Quick both had nice days, Britt is the clear leader of that group and is constantly talking to anyone that wants to ask him something. Givens is in jail, Austin is so quick, its a shame Bailey is out four games because he catches evreything, lots of good adjustments on crossing routes by the group.
4. Outside of Jenkins the secondary was brutal. Saftey play was hard to watch.
5. It was hard to see the RB's from where I was but Mason broke for a couple of long runs, faster than advertised.
6. D still dominating the los qb are either holding the ball to long or just dont have enough time to get the ball out. Shaun Hill really looked like he was struggling.
7. It was chippy today at least three scrums.
8. Boo was in Robison hip all day.
9. Lots of talking by the team then in years past.
10. My highlight of the day was watching Donald, it got to the point where all you could do is smile. His hand use and speed is unreal, it's over before it begins.
Overall thought it was productive day but came away underwhelmed
7/29 MIke Franke
RamObstructedView, July 29, 2014 Report from Rams Park, by Mike Franke
So, did anybody manage to go to Rams Park and actually see anything today? The Rams took the View away from RamView by doing everything interesting on the far field, leaving me no good angle to see what was going on very well, and leaving a frustratingly-short report for this training camp's first practice in pads...
All observations are very much subject to error. I'm saying that here so I don't have to say “I think it was” in every sentence. I spent way too much of the day trying to look over players' shoulders to see the field.
* Passing: Sam Bradford led the first-string offense to a TD in the two-minute drill, spearing Jared Cook with a pass at the goal line from a few yards out. Whistled it between a couple of defenders. Shaun Hill also scored a 2:00 TD, with a 25-30 yard pass into the left corner of the end zone I understand was caught by Kenny Britt. Bradford got the defense again with the hard count. Hill and Garrett Gilbert made some convincing play-fakes. Cory Harkey was one of the stars of the 2:00 drills, with three catches, including one long catch-and-run I'm assuming was against a busted defense. Brian Quick's train continues to gain steam; he may have been the star of the day, with two big plays in 11-on-11, beating Rodney McLeod deep 11-on-11 and beating Brandon McGee pretty badly and making an excellent overhead pluck on a deep corner route. Britt, they last guy I would have picked coming in to be a worthwhile mentor, got fired up with Quick after both of those big plays. Tavon Austin and Justin Veltung made difficult catches in the corner of the end zone in 7-on-7 red zone drills. Big Mason Brodine finished things off with a short TD catch-and-run of his own with the threes, to the enthusiasm of everyone on the field. Jordan Harris got his first action at WR. Nice size. I saw very little at RB other than more quickness from Trey Watts and Isaiah Pead sitting the day out. If HE makes the club from the tub, I am writing someone a very stern e-mail. Watts is a much more instinctive runner than Chase Reynolds, so Chase better make sure he makes his mark on special teams. Lamarcus Joyner had ANOTHER interception; Rodney McLeod blew one off a deflection off one of the Rams' small WRs. T.J. McDonald had another pass breakup, and I believe Ray Ray Armstrong batted one down at the line. I don't doubt that Ray Ray has the athleticism to give Jo-Lonn Dunbar a challenge as the starter, but I still need a decent look at him in team drills. I'm pretty sure I heard Maurice Alexander calling out audibles. If I'm right, a very good sign that he's catching on.
* Line play: Barrett Jones worked with the ones at center, Tim Barnes with the twos, as Scott Wells remains out for reasons I have never heard. The hill drill appears to be a daily fixture, though today, it was one lineman getting pushed up the hill by two other linemen. Auburn and Alabama went at it again for the last rep, and this time it was War Eagle, with Greg Robinson pushing his man up the hill a bit faster than Jones. Jones got powered into the backfield on one rep by a blitzing Alec Ogletree. Robinson worked at left guard, with Rodger Saffold at left tackle. There wasn't a lot of one-on-one work; when the two lines got together, it was to let the o-line practice switching off against crossing d-linemen. There was some interesting one-on-one work very late in practice. Off on the side, Jake Long and William Hayes worked against each other. It wasn't all-out by any means, but Hayes looked like he's about full-go in his first action in camp. Long passed him off to Joseph Barksdale, so, though he didn't look impeded by his knee to me, they're still on a cautious schedule with him. The main one-on-one work was for the bottom of the depth chart players. Demetrius Rhaney still has a lot of work to do. Michael Sam also did not thrive today. He did not have anything approaching the success he had Saturday, though it looked to me like he was lined up as a traditional 4-3 DE, when on Saturday he had done more out of a wide-9. It was easy for his blocker, I think R.J. Dill, (the roster handout hasn't been updated since the day before camp) to get his hands on him and completely control him. That's not a good situation for Sam, who also looked like the least powerful of the d-linemen hitting the sleds. They're getting a lot of reps for Aaron Donald, who's all-but toying with the backup o-line, especially with his instant get-off. A blocker has a chance when they get their hands on him, but Donald also showed more than enough strength at times to take care of that. In 11-on-11 I believe I even saw Donald taking reps at end. Alex Carrington might be getting overlooked in all the d-line excitement. He has got some nice quickness and pass-rushing moves himself. He looked very difficult to block on switches. Deantre “The Bacone-ater” Harlan even flashed in the third-string 1-on-1s. He hit one spin move so well, he stopped with a clear path to the QB, like he didn't expect the move to work THAT well, and then made a late charge. Who ya gonna double-team?
* Special teams: Work today was on punt coverage, with live punting and Veltung doing all of the catching. My guess is Veltung will be the one keeping Stedman Bailey's roster spot warm in September. There's no actual competition, obviously, but the difference between Johnny Hekker's punts and Bobby Cowan's isn't even funny. It's a cannon vs. that rubber-band slingshot Fredbird uses to hurl t-shirts into the crowd at Cardinal games. Since I haven't mentioned Aaron Donald in about 15 seconds, could I propose that he play on the punt coverage unit? Aaron Donald vs. your typical special teams blocker: what's the league record for blocked punts in a season?
* Strategery: Gregg Williams and Mike Waufle bantered with the crowd a bit while waiting for the d-linemen to come over and hit the sleds. Williams said he's been trying his whole career to get on Waufle's team. I expect that pairing to work together very well. A little more blitzing today, I think, and a lot of it looked like it would have been successful. About the only offensive wrinkle (I could see) was a 90-flip to Austin that got blown up badly. I think they tried to run it at Ogletree.
* Cheers: Why even have an open practice when almost nothing is going to be done on the near field? I'm guessing around 1,200 fans in attendance – great crowd for a Tuesday, but I'm also guessing very few of us saw much of anything. Especially the half that stayed on the hill the whole time hoping the Rams would come back into view. At least we had a beautiful day for it, I guess.
* What's next?: I shouldn't have any problem seeing the next, and likely last, practice I attend this summer, the open session at the Dome on Saturday.
-- Mike
Here's jimitroutboy...
New
QB-They went to 11 on 11 very quickly today. The first string got extended reps all day. They worked on play action rolls and waggles during this time and Sam had no issues.
Later on he threw the prettiest pass of the three days on a long post to Cook down the middle for what would have been a TD....Britt ran down loudly to pound on Cook and talk yet more trash.
Austin Davis was used as the stationary target during the linemen drills during the first half of practice. While this was going on the rest of the squad was doing red zone drills at the other end....I think that says it all.
Shaun Hill has that back up QB check it down mentality down pat.
Gilbert got quite a few reps with the second string today.
RB-Tre Mason has more jets to the edge than Stacy does, and he also has quite a bit of Stacy's style in between the tackles....hides like Frank Gore and then slashes to the crease when it opens.
There is a fullback in camp named Kadeem Jones but he has not been doing very much. Harkey still seems to play that role in the base offense.
Pead got a lot more work with the run game today.......I don't know if there is anything to expect from him at this stage. I have heard some of the defensive players.....one in particular can't stand him and want him off the team.
The kid from Tulsa Trey Watts was rolling to the end zone on a sweep and allowed a DB to get behind him and punch the ball out. I think that was his last rep of the day. He did look good yesterday.
WR/TE-Just to echo what I said about Britt on twitter....he is a professional, bonafide NFL caliber starting wide receiver....seems so long ago doesn't it.
Quick follows him everywhere and Britt slaps hands or his back everytime Brian does something well. There was a really nice out early on in the second half where he reached, brought the ball back in and broke the play down the sideline. Early on in red zone drills he caught everything with people draped on him. Quick did let Joyner get under his skin in the second half. Joyner is a tough, tough corner back he gets right on the line and even in shells knocks the crap out of the receivers. Quick was the only one to beat him jam but Joyner scrambled back and knocked the pass loose. Quick gave him a shove after the play....they already look like they need to hit another team and their own.
Local boy TJ Moe doesn't look the part to me....
Givens was a different player today....he would come back to meet the ball and competed very hard. He had a really nice reverse, cut to the middle and floored it straight up the pipe..
Of all the also rans on the roster the two that stick out to me are Emory Blake who was on the practice squad and Justin Veltung who was returning punts after Austin got hurt. They seem to have the best chance to make some roster moves if there is room.
The kid I liked from the first two days Justice Cunningham had a couple of drops early but came back in the second half.
OLine-Brandon Washington was out today and the reserve tackles got demolished almost all day long.
Barrett Jones got abused in the match up drills.
Demtrius Rhaney had all kinds of trouble the first day with Donald but came back to play pretty well today.
Saffold played LT with the ones.
DLine-Donald had his way once again with most of the second string Oline....he already has more moves and technique than a five year veteran.
I watch Michael Sam quite a bit and he still tends to get washed out and pushed past the QB. But on one of his last reps he knocked the tackles hands down and kept him from getting steered clear of the pocket. It seems he is learning.
Carrington had a pass knocked down when Shaun Hill waited way too long to get rid of it.
Linebackers-I spent most of the day focusing on the DBacks when I watched the defense.
DBacks-Joyner is a revelation...had the receivers frustrated all day long.
EJ Gaines had looked consistently good the three days so far. McGee is in and out, but he is much better than last year when he didn't look he belonged most of the time.
Johnson did not practice.
I don't think Cody Davis has a shot to make the team this year, Alexander is much more athletic. I am pulling for Matt Daniels still who did get on the field today for 11 on 11.
Greg Reid is giving up the Walton style cushion and still getting beat. He looks lost most of the time. I had hopes he would resurrect his career here.
Greg the Leg has not kicked in two days. They don't have a camp kicker this go around. Tomorrow is supposed to be special teams
Message
Camp Report - 7.28.14
Posted:28 Jul 2014 06:35 am
Some observations for those that want info....
1. big crowd; Kurt Warner is so very gracious....signed autographs, chatted with fans, threw passes to Ram receivers....He still has IT!
2. SB8. Don't worry about his mobility; he's back 110%...moves around very well for such a big QB. Threw the ball really well today...
in the face of tremendous pressure.
3. Okay....it was shorts and helmets, but the pass rush is relentless. This front four is going to be something special under Greg Williams....
they are almost instantly in the QB's face on every passing play.
4. Speaking of D-Line...Michael Sam is not a distraction...just a football player out there...and....with Hayes still out, he's working with the
second team and you can see why he was the SEC Defensive player of the year. Very quick off the ball and he plays with tremendous knee bend
and leverage. Still a long-shot on this roster, but he is will make it somewhere for sure as a pass-rusher...he has THAT much talent.
5. OKay...early....but Rams appear to want to go with the Twin Towers are receiver...Quick and Britt..with Cook at tight end they are big, big
targets....Austin was the starting slot guy....FYI....
6. Let's talk receiver....Quick was great yesterday....diving catch in the end zone for a TD...got deep for a Bradford Bomb
down the sideline.
Very impressive...but...it's PRACTICE. Tavon Austin was all over the place...took a couple of hand-offs from a tailback
spot and was GONE..
..People...if he stays healthy he's going to have a huge year....Rams had no one that can match up with this guy when they
were moving him
around. Now, for what it's worth....TJ Moe is buried on this depth chart...got very little work in the team passing work.
He will need to make
his mark on special teams and in preseason games to have any chance to crack the roster. Givens did nothing. Bailey
looks good and Pettis is Pettis.
7. #84 Cunningham was getting a lot of reps at tight end...don't know much about him, but he flashed and the Rams seem to like him...
.Not sure what this says about Kendricks who was pretty much invisible during practice.
8. Don't sleep on Cunningham at RB...he's big, quick, explosive, and plays with passion. It's going to be a battle between Stacy,
Cunningham, and Mason at RB. They all looked very good, although it's clear Mason is a rookie and probably behind the top two
at this point. Pead is absolutely nothing more than a special teams player at this point.
9. Secondary is still weak....rookies and young guys need to step up...Joyner is tiny...hope he can hold up.
10. Offensive line had Robinson at LT and Tim Barnes at Center. Jake Long looks good working out and doing some drills,
but he's not in the team stuff yet. Offensive line looks overwhelmed at times by the Defensive Line...but...I think we'll see a
lot of that around the NFL this year. Robinson had one big false start penalty and the defense whooped it up.
11. Side note...Kenny Britt is physically imposing and the team jokester. I know he's had issues, but he appears to be a great guy,
chatting with fans and keeping everyone on the team loose.
12. Ogletree stood out at LB, but the play of the day was by Matt Daniels who put a huge pop on Pead in the backfield on a running play
....the hit drew lots of oooohs and ahhhs from the fans and team alike.
That's it....fun day....great weather....huge crowd....fans have a reason to be excited about the Rams again.....
_________________
Blitz pickup still looks to be a concern.
Still too many dead ball penalties… today Bradford did a good job drawing the D-line offsides with a hard count
CAMP OBSERVATIONS:
• Kenny Britt continues to show is leadership. He is VERY vocal and has shown to be very supportive of his fellow WRs.
When someone makes a play, he is usually the first to acknowledge it. He just has the “look” of a NFL WR.
Something that has been missing from this roster.
• Aaron Donald took his share of reps with the 1st & 2nd units. Showed flashes, but was not nearly as “unblockable” vs. Joseph
• Janoris Jenkins looks like he is refocused and has made some nice plays in coverage.
• Joyner continues to show why they are so high on him. The kid can PLAY.
Lance Kendricks continues to catch everything thrown his way.
Brian Quick had a good day. Catching a nice intermediate pass thrown from Bradford (his best throw of the practice)
after coming out of his break vs, Zone coverage
Bailey, Quick and Britt were the best WRs on the field.
Tre Mason sighting. Made a nice catch and run on a route to the sideline, turned it up and showed his burst.
Zac Stacy had a few break thru runs.
Lowlights:
Defense still having its way vs. the O-Line.
Secondary still having some issues with communication.
7 0n 7 & 11 on 11 Drills:
Highlights:
Bradford looked much better with his timing. Completions to Bailey Britt and Quick which drew plenty of attention from the crowd
Bailey turned Brandon McGee inside out on a couple of corner routes
Lamarcus Joyner made a nice interception off a pass from S. Hill
EJ Gaines had his 2nd pick in two days, peeling off his man and reacting to an errant throw
Kenny Britt out muscles an underthrow ball from Roberson, adjusting to the ball in the air, and using his size and strength to win the ball… then let the DBs know about it. To the point that Coach Fisher had a brief “conversation” with Mr. Britt.
won't bother with a specific report about yesterdays practice but rather give my 1st impressions of the team
QB
thought Bradford looked uncomfortable in the pocket and missed some easy passes..evidently he looked much worse Friday...not sure if he is mentally over the knee operation yet
Austin Davis is Austin Austin...Hill looked ok...sure more fun watching him actually throwing the ball down the field then watching Clemons scrambling every other play in 7 v 7
Gilbert brought back some memories of Keith Null "deer caught in the headlights" look...way too quick with his dumpoffs...something to watch for in the preseason games..hopefully the game slows down for him
RB
Pead and Cunningham most physically impressive(especially Pead) Mason and Stacy look very average athletically who rely on vision/instincts..Mason has almost zero experience as a pass blocker and is maybe 5'9 205 lbs...he might have a steep hill to climb this year learning pass pro...how quickly he learns might determine Pead's future on this team
TE
Cook still looks fast, Kendricks is still looks small and Harkey still big..players to watch are Bayer and Cunningham...Paid Bayer top money to sign him and sure looks the part..soft hands, big body, smooth...looks like a lock to make the ps(or more) Cunningham has the look of a 3rd te..thick trunk/body road grader type..dropped one pass that I noticed yesterday
WR
Bailey was the best yesterday on the field..not sure if that's a good thing...weakest group on paper and might just be the tallest midget in the room. Will say for someone with below avg size/speed he beat both Jenkins and Johnson deep and is a natural zone type wr...
Britt is the physically most imposing..almost as tall as Quick but leaner/faster. The offense's new cheerleader...Coacho said maybe all he needed was to reunited with Fisher, a great players coach. I sure loved his positive spirit on an offensive team lacking a leader...Fisher did get into his face late in the practice about his antics...fun to watch
Quick..is this the year? pushed Jenkins 5 yards off the play on one reception showing the physicality that's been sorely lacking in his 1st 2 years in the league and coacho caught Bradford making eye contact with Quick on a checkdown on another play..
Austin looks even smaller this year..have zero idea how someone that size will survive but the good news looks even faster more assertive on the field..a woosh!! player. Pettis, Moe and Veiltung will fight it out for the scraps...Moe might have the softest hands of all the wr's and also has very quick feet..Givens gave his Claude Rains impression yesterday playing on the 3rd team
OL
Robinson looks 2 inches taller and 20 lbs lighter then Saffold...Saffold with his new girth/muscle might struggle ever to play OT again. Robinson is a WOW player to me..watching his body control when he pulls, bending his knees and lowering his body like a snake getting ready to strike is special..
Coacho rightly pointed out we need Wells to stay healthy(at least for 1/2 a season) to help Robinson adjust in his rookie season. Having Long on one side and Wells on the other will help the very young and raw Robinson adjust..Barnes is Barnes..thought Jones looked slightly bigger...2 players to watch in preseason games are Hooey who looks noticeably bigger/stronger and Bond who definately passes the eyeball test...oline needs more depth
DL
scary..simply scary..Rams front 7 might ber the most dominating in the nfl since the Ditka/Ryan Bears teams
Sam is a natural pass rusher with the ability to sink his hips and get small..Donald has that elite 1st step and strong hands of a future all pro..scary good as a group
LB
IMO most physically impressive athlete on the field yesterday was Ogletree playing Sam...a WOW player...easily runs with Cook or Kendricks..just needs experience to become special...will say after Laurenaitis and Ogletree rest are nothing special.. will try to watch Armstrong and Steward today..
CB
when Darren Woodard is getting major 1st team reps you have problems..Jenkins is a top nfl cb even if he will lose some battles because of his size..rest of the unit has major question marks...will say Gaines and Joyner both made interceptions yesterday showing off the genius football IQ's...good news Williams allows his players to read plays and adjust the coverage which are made for heady players like Gaines and Joyner..bad news is neither are anything special athletically and Joyner is very small. Reid looked lost and was on the 3rd team only because we don't have a 4th team. Robinson passes the eyeball test and ran step for step with Britt on a deep out...my scouting report on him was "covers like Tarzan and tackles like Jane" so he should do well in 7v7 drills
S
any unit starting the bad tackling McCleod is still a work in progress.Good news McCleod looked very good in coverage yesterday(we often used a one safety deep scheme leaving McCleod to range from sideline to sidelne) On one play down the sideline McCleod easily got over and could off killed Austin ona dep ball if he wanted to...McDonald is solid...Cody Davis is bland and dAlexander is a strong safety only type..my scouting report on him was "poor mans Pryor"..thought he looked 1/2 slow in college in reading plays and yesterday Williams cussed him out for not knowing the defense..not sure if he will be anything other then a special teams player as a rookie..
not sure how many practices I'll attend but will say team might be special...adding Gregg Williams, Aaron Donald, Greg Robinson and Britt will make a big difference
thanks...Cecil and Williams will have their hands full coaching up this group
McDonald had 5 pd in 10 games and McLeod only 7 in 16..not sure you can find worse production from any other pair of starting nfl safeties...Davis and Mo Alexander are their backups...don't know if Matt Daniels has any ps eligibility left. doubt we carry 3 ss on 53. Fingers are crossed that Cody Davis makes a move..best combo of brains/tackling among the safeties
likely carry 6 cb...if Robeson can tackle and learn the playbook(9? on wonderlic) he might stick as well as Jenkins Johnson, Joyner, Gaines and Woodward...McGee didn't show much yesterday but is a key st player..
Woodard was beaten like a rented mule in 7v7(man to man) but looked very solid in 11v11(zone) where he showed very solid awareness
slightly impresssed with Joyner's quickness yesterday..guess Williams drafted him for a specific role where he can hide his deficiencies while maximizing his strengths..Gaines was a 6th rd steal his 2 interceptions in 2 games speaks about his vision/awareness..as a player Gaines reminds me of Verner, another athletically average cb who had his career year last year playing in Williams system
overall a bad group unless Joyner, Robeson or Gaines really surprise
doubt it...at least this season
looking forward to seeing Joyner cb blitz and McDonald coming on ss blitzes...I had wondered if they might consider moving McDonald back to fs after they drafted Alexander..just think it will take time for Alexander time to learn the playbook.
from watching Alexander play can't ever imagine seeing in a single safety role but might be a decent starting ss...maybe next year they tinker with the idea of a McDonald/Alexander tandem
_________________
Theme of the day: Offense turns up the heat
o Best practice thus far for the offense. Worked a lot on Red Zone packages.
o Bradford looked like Bradford of old. By far the best he has looked. Passes were crisp and out on time.
o Brian Quick was the “go to guy” all day. He had more receptions than the rest of the WRs combined.
Special Teams:
Punt Coverage; Worked on coverage drills, interior line and backs (no gunners)
1st Unit:
Cunningham Armstrong Steward McQuaide Sims Bates Harkey C. Davis
2nd Unit:
Alexander Ogletree Harkey Hus A. Hill Sabino Mason Stacy
· Some player observations: That Phillip Steward has made his way to the 1st unit on the punt coverage team says a lot about what they think of him.
· That Chase Reynolds is absent from either 1st or 2nd unit team is worth noting
· Johnny Hekker just kicks the stuffing out of the ball. 65 yards in the air, with 4.9 – 5.0 seconds hang time
7 0n 7 & 11 on 11 Drills:
Highlights:
Bradford to Brian Quick early and often
First play was a crossing route, with Quick making a one handed reception on a throw slightly behind him
1st unit on offense throughout the entire Red Zone period had Britt and Quick, Cook and either Kendricks or Austin (the WR rotation was not part of this package; with Stacy in the backfield
Bradford to Britt in the back of the End Zone over Jenkins
Britt and Quick worked exclusively with the 1st unit in all 11 on 11 drills
Bradford showed a ton of confidence in Quick. Was actually looking for him as primary, instead of as a bail out last option as in previous practices
Bradford to Cook down the seam for a 30 yard gain. Great throw and contested catch between McLeod and McDonald who had pretty good coverage
Britt, Quick and Cook on the field together is intimidating for defenses. Add Kendricks OR Austin and it looks scary.
Zack Stacy showed his 2013 form for the first time today.
Brian Quick takes exception to extra contact after pass break up from Joyner, shoves him back. Some will say so what, but it is just another example of Quick showing more confidence and not just tucking his tail between his legs and going to back to the huddle defeated. Next play Joyner tried to bump Quick who leaned on Joyner and back him off 2-3 yards. Physicality that hasn’t been present in his game.
Tavon Austin gets a few carries out of backfield. Jump cut to the outside and GOODBYE. 30 + yard gain.
Tre Mason also with a nice jump cut in the hole in Red Zone drill. Nice run.
Greg Williams is to defense what Mike Martz is to offense. Mad scientist. Different blitzes, formations (fronts) and coverages.
Lowlights:
Chris Givens running reps with the 3rd unit. He got some 2nd unit reps when paired with Pettis, but was also running with 3rd unit guys like Veltung and Blake.
Shawn Hill had a rough day with accuracy. Lots of passes under thrown.
Blitz pickup still looks to be a concern.
Once again, It appears that the hard count is a very effective tool in slowing down the pass rush. At least 3 more offsides by the d-line again today.
CAMP OBSERVATIONS:
· Biggest crowd in the Fisher era. Place was packed, and electric
· Offense pulled out the stops today and pushed the ball downfield more
o Ran a couple of reverses…. To Austin who ran into the waiting arms of Robert Quinn for a huge loss
o Used Kenny Britt on a reverse for a nice gain
· Jo-Lonn Dunbar was part of Nickel package with the 2nd unit, replacing Bates as MLB. So Armstrong and Dunbar as 2nd unit LBs in Nickel
o Nice pass break up in RedZone
· New look O-Line seemed to hold up better than in previous days.
· Isaiah Pead and Tre Mason rotated with the 2nd unit
· Marcus Roberson can cover, but doesn’t seem to want to stick his nose it when it comes to contact
· EJ Gaines just “gets it” always in position, and was helping others get lined up in secondary
· Cody Davis was frequently directing Alexander in where to line up.
· With the absence of Tru Johnson, the CB looks frightfully thin
o McGee and Woodard are not ready
I think Joyner has a chance to be a good player in the Nickel CB role. Have not liked his cover skills at outside CB. He struggled with Pettis in 1 on 1 drills, and let him get behind him in 7 on 7. It'd be one thing if it were Austin or Givens blowing by him, but it was Pettis.
The one thing I do like about him, he seems to be one of those guys who understands how to play the game. And inside, he might be exactly the type of player who thrives in G. Williams scheme.
Its too early to get any kind of a read on Rhaney. They had him at RG today, which he actually has more experience at, as opposed to Center.
Theme of the day: Offense turns up the heat
o Best practice thus far for the offense. Worked a lot on Red Zone packages.
o Bradford looked like Bradford of old. By far the best he has looked. Passes were crisp and out on time.
o Brian Quick was the “go to guy” all day. He had more receptions than the rest of the WRs combined.
Special Teams:
Punt Coverage; Worked on coverage drills, interior line and backs (no gunners)
1st Unit:
Cunningham Armstrong Steward McQuaide Sims Bates Harkey C. Davis
2nd Unit:
Alexander Ogletree Harkey Hus A. Hill Sabino Mason Stacy
· Some player observations: That Phillip Steward has made his way to the 1st unit on the punt coverage team says a lot about what they think of him.
· That Chase Reynolds is absent from either 1st or 2nd unit team is worth noting
· Johnny Hekker just kicks the stuffing out of the ball. 65 yards in the air, with 4.9 – 5.0 seconds hang time
7 0n 7 & 11 on 11 Drills:
Highlights:
Bradford to Brian Quick early and often
First play was a crossing route, with Quick making a one handed reception on a throw slightly behind him
1st unit on offense throughout the entire Red Zone period had Britt and Quick, Cook and either Kendricks or Austin (the WR rotation was not part of this package; with Stacy in the backfield
Bradford to Britt in the back of the End Zone over Jenkins
Britt and Quick worked exclusively with the 1st unit in all 11 on 11 drills
Bradford showed a ton of confidence in Quick. Was actually looking for him as primary, instead of as a bail out last option as in previous practices
Bradford to Cook down the seam for a 30 yard gain. Great throw and contested catch between McLeod and McDonald who had pretty good coverage
Britt, Quick and Cook on the field together is intimidating for defenses. Add Kendricks OR Austin and it looks scary.
Zack Stacy showed his 2013 form for the first time today.
Brian Quick takes exception to extra contact after pass break up from Joyner, shoves him back. Some will say so what, but it is just another example of Quick showing more confidence and not just tucking his tail between his legs and going to back to the huddle defeated. Next play Joyner tried to bump Quick who leaned on Joyner and back him off 2-3 yards. Physicality that hasn’t been present in his game.
Tavon Austin gets a few carries out of backfield. Jump cut to the outside and GOODBYE. 30 + yard gain.
Tre Mason also with a nice jump cut in the hole in Red Zone drill. Nice run.
Greg Williams is to defense what Mike Martz is to offense. Mad scientist. Different blitzes, formations (fronts) and coverages.
Lowlights:
Chris Givens running reps with the 3rd unit. He got some 2nd unit reps when paired with Pettis, but was also running with 3rd unit guys like Veltung and Blake.
Shawn Hill had a rough day with accuracy. Lots of passes under thrown.
Blitz pickup still looks to be a concern.
Once again, It appears that the hard count is a very effective tool in slowing down the pass rush. At least 3 more offsides by the d-line again today.
CAMP OBSERVATIONS:
· Biggest crowd in the Fisher era. Place was packed, and electric
· Offense pulled out the stops today and pushed the ball downfield more
o Ran a couple of reverses…. To Austin who ran into the waiting arms of Robert Quinn for a huge loss
o Used Kenny Britt on a reverse for a nice gain
· Jo-Lonn Dunbar was part of Nickel package with the 2nd unit, replacing Bates as MLB. So Armstrong and Dunbar as 2nd unit LBs in Nickel
o Nice pass break up in RedZone
· New look O-Line seemed to hold up better than in previous days.
· Isaiah Pead and Tre Mason rotated with the 2nd unit
· Marcus Roberson can cover, but doesn’t seem to want to stick his nose it when it comes to contact
· EJ Gaines just “gets it” always in position, and was helping others get lined up in secondary
· Cody Davis was frequently directing Alexander in where to line up.
· With the absence of Tru Johnson, the CB looks frightfully thin
o McGee and Woodard are not ready
Hammer 7/29
BPOT
Braford looked very good again..lot of roll outs, jump throws ect..looked very accurate
just the D looked very out of sync...just a weird feel at practice. Not sure what to make out of it...
thanks for the comments....IMO Bradford been stuck with too many Gibson/Salas/Pettus type players...check downs were often his only option
coacho pointed out to me today Bradford is really throwing ball farther down the field...agree 100%
think Schotty/Bradford are enjoying the new team speed/talent
Other guy dhsux:
Made my first camp yesterday and couldn't agree more about NOT being able to take a lot of stuff in due to poor sight lines! Had to move a lot and wondered why the middle field??
Saw Robinson at LG on most reps. Seemed to hold his own well, very quick off the snap.
Bradford looked great, totally comfortable and effective under these conditions. Really impressed with Quick. This HAS to be his year!
Just guessing but I think Long will be ready for game one, they will do what they can to hold him back in practice until absolutely necessary.
JT chat:
—Robinson looks pretty good; has had some blips on pass-blocking, especially working at LT. As for keeping everyone at the same position, I remember that from OTAs, and that’s basically what happened in OTAs. I think they’re just getting GRob some reps at LT, and giving Saffold a refresher course there as well in case Long isn’t ready. As for Barrett Jones, he’s been getting reps with the first_ and second unit at center.
—I don’t think Jenkins looks as bad as some apparently have indicated. In fact, from what I’ve seen _ and I’m not watching him every play _ he looks average to me. Not bad. But I think the entire secondary as a whole remains a big question mark.
Hammer:
today they played on the 2nd field 40 yards from the hill..did move over bUT left watching from a brutal ground level location with players often standing in front of you...trying to watch the oline vs dline battles is next to impossible.
do know Robinson wins his running play battles just not sure against whom
McDonald and McCleod had very few pd last year and Dunbar was dead last in thr nfl coverage last year as a lber. Also just not much depth at either lber, cb or safety... still early but so far a real concern
Brian Quick 4th straight practice where he has been bpot....started 11v11 catching a quick slant on a blitz from Bradford that would of gone all the way..followed it up with a 40+ yard reception...caught a deep in late in practice where he easily went down to snare a deliberately thrown low ball...just dominating
he obviously has gained Bradford's trust because he's his 1st option on blitzes and has keeps throwing the ball up to Quick expecting him to win contested balls...which he is...added a real strut to his demeanor
Quick, Britt and Cook get ALL the reps with the ones with Austin and Kendricks added in depending on the package
KNIVES TO A GUNFIGHT
the defense today...beaten early and often in passing drills. Will say Williams showcased a lot of blitzes even sending both safeties so some passes would of been sacks in live action BUT the cb's/safeties where mia in coverage..7v7 ended with 4/5 straight td's by the offense...got so bad I was barely watching...
Mcgee started with the ones again...with brutal results...ditto Woodard when he played..Gaines even gave up a long td pass to Givens who seems to enjoy playing with the 3's..Jenkins was solid and Joyner and Cody Davis each intercepted a pass but not a good day for the lb/db's in coverage....
also really expected a lot of emotion 1st real day in pads and all but looked more like a Quaker convention... Friday Fisher got after Britt for mouthing off to the db's every time after making a play since then crickets by all the players..did have a slight pushing match by Givens and unknown db towards the end of practice...seen more pushing/anger at a Babtist revival meeting then by rams players since then..just weird
random thoughts
Jones has the skinniest ankles and weakest hands of all our olinemen
1st team oline seems to be doing a very solid job of opening running lanes...simply love Saffold and Robinson in the middle...
Saffold did get one rep at LT on a passsing play with the expected results....Quinn was past him before he got out his stance.
Wells mia again..heard him ask the trainer if he could play and was greeted with a 2 thumps down motion.
like Rhaney..smaller c/g but has very fast feet with some power
didn't see Robeson playing at all today and Moe barely saw the field..looks to be dead last on the wr depth chart...
don't understand the Armstrong hype..never flashes
Gilbert has obviously passed Austin as the 3rd qb...live arm...crashed and burned during the end of the 1st 11v11 drills but finished strong in 7v7
Matt Daniels is gettings lot of reps...flashes a little..did correctly pick up Austin on a blitz BUT a quck move left him in Austins wake as Austin exploded past him for what would of been a long td....the pass rush, well timed blitzes and a healthy Johnson/Jenkins are are only hope with this group..unless they been instructed to play slow and let the offensive players beat them
saw Washington, Westbrooks and Sammy Brown in uniforms today..must be team photo day
weird feel at practice today only got weirder when team broke off to finish cool down stretches which they do at the end of a practice BEFORE doing their 7v7 and hurry offense drills...was half way out the door when practice resumed.
I was at Rams Park today and from what I saw Bradford looked great! He was the most accurate of the 4 QB's in camp today, with Hill being the 2nd best.
Mason impressed me with his quick feet and the ability to follow blocks. I think he will definitely be a key part this year in the running game.
Britt was very impressive, as was Quick.
I thought Tavon Austin looked like a man possessed today. He looks so comfortable now, compared to last season. He may break out this year.
Janoris Jenkins got schooled all day long. I hope it was just a bad day in camp.
The secondary as a whole looked weak. Lamarcus Joyner was the only DB that stood out today.
Coach O
7 on 7 & 11 on 11 Drills:
Highlights:
First play of 11 on 11: CB Blitz & Bradfod hits Quick on sight adjustment (Quick slant) with no one in seam he goes untouched for big play
Very NEXT play: Play Action: Bradford to Quick double move (turns McGee around) for a 40 yard completion
2nd Unit Offense: Play Action Rollout: Gilbert to Givens for 18 yard sliding completion (out route)
Gilbert to Quick another double move beats Gaines to corner (30 yard completion)
Austin had a good day catching the ball. Ran a crossing route which Daniels read perfectly, only to have Austin blow by him like he was a standing pylon
Bradford to Britt ( 9 route) in the back of the EndZone over McGee and with McGee finishing the play with a shove to the face of Britt. Britt spikes the ball at McGee’s feet and gets mobbed by teammates
In 2 minute drill at end of practice: Bradford connect with quick on deep post route, (single coverage by McLeod) Quick uses his body like going up for a rebound, McLeod had NO chance to make a play on the ball
Chris Givens showed he is still on the team: while relegated to mostly 3rd unit reps, he made a few nice catches to show he can still contribute
Cody Davis had a nice interception in 2 minute drill
Lamarcus Joyner nice INT in RedZone drill stepping in front of Pettis at back of End Zone
Cory Harkey lowers the boom on Armstrong after a catch and long run. Lowers his shoulder and delivers the blow.
Lowlights:
Chris Givens running reps with the 3rd unit. He got some 2nd unit reps when paired with Pettis, but was also running with 3rd unit guys like Veltung and Blake.
Austin Pettis was almost invisible today
Depth at CB beyond Jenkins, Johnson and Gaines is worrisome. McGee and Woodard continue to struggle; Reid and Roberson very limited reps
Expected Defense to have a “bounce back” day and offer some push back….. didn’t happen!!!
· DISCLAIMER: there were plenty of blitzes which would have resulted in sacks that ended in completions due to the “no tackle rule”
CAMP OBSERVATIONS:
· The WR rotation appears to be for the 2nd unit moving forward. It’s not by accident that Brian Quick and Kenny Britt are getting at least twice as many 1st unit reps than any of the other WRs. Austin mixes in as 3rd WR.
· Right now, the rotation seems to be settled in: Quick and Britt at the WR. Cook at TE. And either Kendricks, Austin or Harkey, depending on which personnel grouping they go with. Pretty consistent the last 2 practices.
· Alexander just hasn’t shown that he is comfortable yet in the scheme. Continually needing help in lining up from C. Davis
· Benny Cunningham had a nice blitz pickup. First time I’ve seen that from any of the RBs not named Pead.
· Mason shows quick feet and instincts, but tends to want to bounce everything outside
· Things got a little chippy towards the end of practice in the 2 minute drill, a couple of shoving including one incident with Chris Givens after the Cody Davis INT
Until they went to the 2 minute drill at the end of practice, only ONE pass of Bradford's hit the ground, and that was a 50/50 in the end zone (30 yard pass to Quick) that just went off his hands as he jumped with McGee.
Bradford looks very comfortable, and there is absolutely no signs of any issues with his knee. Rollouts, stepping up and sliding in the pocket. All evident.
Not sure what is going on with Givens, but it seems to be a carry over from the OTA I attended. The other thing, be it Givens or Pettis, who have been paired up, and even to a lesser extent with the Bailey and Austin pairing, they have simply been out played by Britt and Quick recently. Whether than changes, remains to be seen.
Other guy: adkins
I made my annual pilgrimage to attend camp today. Don't want to detract from what Hammer and Coach O bring each day, so I'll share a few shotgun bursts of what I saw.
*Dline began practice over by the fans. Coach Wauf was relaxed and talking to some fans while the players were stretching. Then, Greg Williams comes over and is laughing with some of the fans as well. They all looked very relaxed and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Once the Dline drill work began, they worked on the 4-man sled and a tackling dummy. William Hayes seemed to be the personality of the group, belowing out an introduction of each player to the fans as they approached the sled near the fans.
*Two guys stood out to me: Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers. When I coach middle and high school kids, I always preach "hitting on the rise." Granted, Donald's shape more naturally acclimates him to this, but that guy has great "hit on the rise" form. He was also the first Dlineman out today working with an assistant on hand placement during pass rush. Brockers stood out by how easy and consistent he was in getting his arms extended upon contact. It carried over from the 4-man sled to the scrimage, as well. No one seemed to ever get within an arms length of him, and thus, no one is able to get into his body and lock him up. I loved watching how smooth this big man so quickly extended out and struck the sled, like a cobra uncoiling. Robert Quinn honestly kind of loafed through the 4-man sled, but really, what does he have to prove? Chris Long looked to be cramping up, and had a trainer stretching him midway through the drill.
*Greg Reid does not impress me at all. Don't know if he is confused or just lazy, but he didn't seem to have much intensity or urgency at all.
*As Hammer said and I concur, Mo Alexander certainly looks the part. Of course, I remember Jacoby Shepherd "looking" the part, but then he moved and his stiffness was obvious.
*Maybe it is just me, but Janoris Jenkins looks bigger this year. He had a nice fill where he swept Harkey off his feet in the flat for no gain.
*Speaking of Harkey, he had an amazing 1-handed catch going over the middle and regained his feet and scampered for another 30 yards before lowering the boom on Ray Ray.
*Coach Boo had the lineman come over and work on blocking a guy across from them (giving little resistance) up a steep hill that the fans were sitting on. My kids and I could have touched them. Very neat. Jake Long seemed to be moving just fine in this drill. For the last rep, Couch Boo yells out, "Auburn verses Bama... who you fans got?" Then, Greg Robinson and Barrett Jones squared off in a race up the hill to see who could get their man up the hill first. Robinson won. And he is a mountain of a man in person.
*Isaiah Pead looked like a ball boy walking around with a cast on his arm. I saw him last year without his pads on, and I thought he looks smaller now.
*Benny Cunningham impresses me with his power and cutback instincts.
*I also concur with what you've read from Hammer and Coach O, Brian Quick looked like a man among boys today. I saw him connect on a couple of what appeared to be flag routes where McCloud didn't have a chance. I realize this is just practice, but the guy looked like Terrell Owens out there catching the ball and powering through the secondary. Our safety play has me worried.
*Kenny Britt also looked very good. He used his big body well to make some leaping catches over the middle. He quasi-taunted over the DB after doing so, as well.
*Garrett Gilbert made a perfect strike to Givens who beat EJ Gaines by a half-step for a TD in the corner of the end zone. Good rope of a throw. However, he came back on the next play and threw a pick to Lamarcus Joyner. Joyner looks so small out there, but looks extremely confident and does not look lost or reluctant.
*Undrafted rookie WR Jordan Harris made a nice play.
*CB Darren Woodard seemed pretty aggressive and had some quick twitch to him. Was not afraid to hit.
I conclude by emphasizing that this is just one fan's observations, and they are worth little and certainly not "professional." (Sorry for any typos, I'm in a hurry.) I appreciate anything I can read by the guys that sacrifice their time daily with reports, and thus, wanted to share what I saw with fellow Rams' fans who have similar insatiable appetites for camp gleanings.
It should be a fun season.
7/29 Fletch
1. Quinn and Hayes just looked lazy, Long cramped up early but kept playing, Sims looked like he tweaked something. Brockers is a monster.
2. Conrath is going to get cut, you can tell Sam is giving evreything hes got but just plays to high.
3. Britt and Quick both had nice days, Britt is the clear leader of that group and is constantly talking to anyone that wants to ask him something. Givens is in jail, Austin is so quick, its a shame Bailey is out four games because he catches evreything, lots of good adjustments on crossing routes by the group.
4. Outside of Jenkins the secondary was brutal. Saftey play was hard to watch.
5. It was hard to see the RB's from where I was but Mason broke for a couple of long runs, faster than advertised.
6. D still dominating the los qb are either holding the ball to long or just dont have enough time to get the ball out. Shaun Hill really looked like he was struggling.
7. It was chippy today at least three scrums.
8. Boo was in Robison hip all day.
9. Lots of talking by the team then in years past.
10. My highlight of the day was watching Donald, it got to the point where all you could do is smile. His hand use and speed is unreal, it's over before it begins.
Overall thought it was productive day but came away underwhelmed
7/29 MIke Franke
RamObstructedView, July 29, 2014 Report from Rams Park, by Mike Franke
So, did anybody manage to go to Rams Park and actually see anything today? The Rams took the View away from RamView by doing everything interesting on the far field, leaving me no good angle to see what was going on very well, and leaving a frustratingly-short report for this training camp's first practice in pads...
All observations are very much subject to error. I'm saying that here so I don't have to say “I think it was” in every sentence. I spent way too much of the day trying to look over players' shoulders to see the field.
* Passing: Sam Bradford led the first-string offense to a TD in the two-minute drill, spearing Jared Cook with a pass at the goal line from a few yards out. Whistled it between a couple of defenders. Shaun Hill also scored a 2:00 TD, with a 25-30 yard pass into the left corner of the end zone I understand was caught by Kenny Britt. Bradford got the defense again with the hard count. Hill and Garrett Gilbert made some convincing play-fakes. Cory Harkey was one of the stars of the 2:00 drills, with three catches, including one long catch-and-run I'm assuming was against a busted defense. Brian Quick's train continues to gain steam; he may have been the star of the day, with two big plays in 11-on-11, beating Rodney McLeod deep 11-on-11 and beating Brandon McGee pretty badly and making an excellent overhead pluck on a deep corner route. Britt, they last guy I would have picked coming in to be a worthwhile mentor, got fired up with Quick after both of those big plays. Tavon Austin and Justin Veltung made difficult catches in the corner of the end zone in 7-on-7 red zone drills. Big Mason Brodine finished things off with a short TD catch-and-run of his own with the threes, to the enthusiasm of everyone on the field. Jordan Harris got his first action at WR. Nice size. I saw very little at RB other than more quickness from Trey Watts and Isaiah Pead sitting the day out. If HE makes the club from the tub, I am writing someone a very stern e-mail. Watts is a much more instinctive runner than Chase Reynolds, so Chase better make sure he makes his mark on special teams. Lamarcus Joyner had ANOTHER interception; Rodney McLeod blew one off a deflection off one of the Rams' small WRs. T.J. McDonald had another pass breakup, and I believe Ray Ray Armstrong batted one down at the line. I don't doubt that Ray Ray has the athleticism to give Jo-Lonn Dunbar a challenge as the starter, but I still need a decent look at him in team drills. I'm pretty sure I heard Maurice Alexander calling out audibles. If I'm right, a very good sign that he's catching on.
* Line play: Barrett Jones worked with the ones at center, Tim Barnes with the twos, as Scott Wells remains out for reasons I have never heard. The hill drill appears to be a daily fixture, though today, it was one lineman getting pushed up the hill by two other linemen. Auburn and Alabama went at it again for the last rep, and this time it was War Eagle, with Greg Robinson pushing his man up the hill a bit faster than Jones. Jones got powered into the backfield on one rep by a blitzing Alec Ogletree. Robinson worked at left guard, with Rodger Saffold at left tackle. There wasn't a lot of one-on-one work; when the two lines got together, it was to let the o-line practice switching off against crossing d-linemen. There was some interesting one-on-one work very late in practice. Off on the side, Jake Long and William Hayes worked against each other. It wasn't all-out by any means, but Hayes looked like he's about full-go in his first action in camp. Long passed him off to Joseph Barksdale, so, though he didn't look impeded by his knee to me, they're still on a cautious schedule with him. The main one-on-one work was for the bottom of the depth chart players. Demetrius Rhaney still has a lot of work to do. Michael Sam also did not thrive today. He did not have anything approaching the success he had Saturday, though it looked to me like he was lined up as a traditional 4-3 DE, when on Saturday he had done more out of a wide-9. It was easy for his blocker, I think R.J. Dill, (the roster handout hasn't been updated since the day before camp) to get his hands on him and completely control him. That's not a good situation for Sam, who also looked like the least powerful of the d-linemen hitting the sleds. They're getting a lot of reps for Aaron Donald, who's all-but toying with the backup o-line, especially with his instant get-off. A blocker has a chance when they get their hands on him, but Donald also showed more than enough strength at times to take care of that. In 11-on-11 I believe I even saw Donald taking reps at end. Alex Carrington might be getting overlooked in all the d-line excitement. He has got some nice quickness and pass-rushing moves himself. He looked very difficult to block on switches. Deantre “The Bacone-ater” Harlan even flashed in the third-string 1-on-1s. He hit one spin move so well, he stopped with a clear path to the QB, like he didn't expect the move to work THAT well, and then made a late charge. Who ya gonna double-team?
* Special teams: Work today was on punt coverage, with live punting and Veltung doing all of the catching. My guess is Veltung will be the one keeping Stedman Bailey's roster spot warm in September. There's no actual competition, obviously, but the difference between Johnny Hekker's punts and Bobby Cowan's isn't even funny. It's a cannon vs. that rubber-band slingshot Fredbird uses to hurl t-shirts into the crowd at Cardinal games. Since I haven't mentioned Aaron Donald in about 15 seconds, could I propose that he play on the punt coverage unit? Aaron Donald vs. your typical special teams blocker: what's the league record for blocked punts in a season?
* Strategery: Gregg Williams and Mike Waufle bantered with the crowd a bit while waiting for the d-linemen to come over and hit the sleds. Williams said he's been trying his whole career to get on Waufle's team. I expect that pairing to work together very well. A little more blitzing today, I think, and a lot of it looked like it would have been successful. About the only offensive wrinkle (I could see) was a 90-flip to Austin that got blown up badly. I think they tried to run it at Ogletree.
* Cheers: Why even have an open practice when almost nothing is going to be done on the near field? I'm guessing around 1,200 fans in attendance – great crowd for a Tuesday, but I'm also guessing very few of us saw much of anything. Especially the half that stayed on the hill the whole time hoping the Rams would come back into view. At least we had a beautiful day for it, I guess.
* What's next?: I shouldn't have any problem seeing the next, and likely last, practice I attend this summer, the open session at the Dome on Saturday.
-- Mike
Here's jimitroutboy...
New
QB-They went to 11 on 11 very quickly today. The first string got extended reps all day. They worked on play action rolls and waggles during this time and Sam had no issues.
Later on he threw the prettiest pass of the three days on a long post to Cook down the middle for what would have been a TD....Britt ran down loudly to pound on Cook and talk yet more trash.
Austin Davis was used as the stationary target during the linemen drills during the first half of practice. While this was going on the rest of the squad was doing red zone drills at the other end....I think that says it all.
Shaun Hill has that back up QB check it down mentality down pat.
Gilbert got quite a few reps with the second string today.
RB-Tre Mason has more jets to the edge than Stacy does, and he also has quite a bit of Stacy's style in between the tackles....hides like Frank Gore and then slashes to the crease when it opens.
There is a fullback in camp named Kadeem Jones but he has not been doing very much. Harkey still seems to play that role in the base offense.
Pead got a lot more work with the run game today.......I don't know if there is anything to expect from him at this stage. I have heard some of the defensive players.....one in particular can't stand him and want him off the team.
The kid from Tulsa Trey Watts was rolling to the end zone on a sweep and allowed a DB to get behind him and punch the ball out. I think that was his last rep of the day. He did look good yesterday.
WR/TE-Just to echo what I said about Britt on twitter....he is a professional, bonafide NFL caliber starting wide receiver....seems so long ago doesn't it.
Quick follows him everywhere and Britt slaps hands or his back everytime Brian does something well. There was a really nice out early on in the second half where he reached, brought the ball back in and broke the play down the sideline. Early on in red zone drills he caught everything with people draped on him. Quick did let Joyner get under his skin in the second half. Joyner is a tough, tough corner back he gets right on the line and even in shells knocks the crap out of the receivers. Quick was the only one to beat him jam but Joyner scrambled back and knocked the pass loose. Quick gave him a shove after the play....they already look like they need to hit another team and their own.
Local boy TJ Moe doesn't look the part to me....
Givens was a different player today....he would come back to meet the ball and competed very hard. He had a really nice reverse, cut to the middle and floored it straight up the pipe..
Of all the also rans on the roster the two that stick out to me are Emory Blake who was on the practice squad and Justin Veltung who was returning punts after Austin got hurt. They seem to have the best chance to make some roster moves if there is room.
The kid I liked from the first two days Justice Cunningham had a couple of drops early but came back in the second half.
OLine-Brandon Washington was out today and the reserve tackles got demolished almost all day long.
Barrett Jones got abused in the match up drills.
Demtrius Rhaney had all kinds of trouble the first day with Donald but came back to play pretty well today.
Saffold played LT with the ones.
DLine-Donald had his way once again with most of the second string Oline....he already has more moves and technique than a five year veteran.
I watch Michael Sam quite a bit and he still tends to get washed out and pushed past the QB. But on one of his last reps he knocked the tackles hands down and kept him from getting steered clear of the pocket. It seems he is learning.
Carrington had a pass knocked down when Shaun Hill waited way too long to get rid of it.
Linebackers-I spent most of the day focusing on the DBacks when I watched the defense.
DBacks-Joyner is a revelation...had the receivers frustrated all day long.
EJ Gaines had looked consistently good the three days so far. McGee is in and out, but he is much better than last year when he didn't look he belonged most of the time.
Johnson did not practice.
I don't think Cody Davis has a shot to make the team this year, Alexander is much more athletic. I am pulling for Matt Daniels still who did get on the field today for 11 on 11.
Greg Reid is giving up the Walton style cushion and still getting beat. He looks lost most of the time. I had hopes he would resurrect his career here.
Greg the Leg has not kicked in two days. They don't have a camp kicker this go around. Tomorrow is supposed to be special teams
Message
Camp Report - 7.28.14
Posted:28 Jul 2014 06:35 am
Some observations for those that want info....
1. big crowd; Kurt Warner is so very gracious....signed autographs, chatted with fans, threw passes to Ram receivers....He still has IT!
2. SB8. Don't worry about his mobility; he's back 110%...moves around very well for such a big QB. Threw the ball really well today...
in the face of tremendous pressure.
3. Okay....it was shorts and helmets, but the pass rush is relentless. This front four is going to be something special under Greg Williams....
they are almost instantly in the QB's face on every passing play.
4. Speaking of D-Line...Michael Sam is not a distraction...just a football player out there...and....with Hayes still out, he's working with the
second team and you can see why he was the SEC Defensive player of the year. Very quick off the ball and he plays with tremendous knee bend
and leverage. Still a long-shot on this roster, but he is will make it somewhere for sure as a pass-rusher...he has THAT much talent.
5. OKay...early....but Rams appear to want to go with the Twin Towers are receiver...Quick and Britt..with Cook at tight end they are big, big
targets....Austin was the starting slot guy....FYI....
6. Let's talk receiver....Quick was great yesterday....diving catch in the end zone for a TD...got deep for a Bradford Bomb
down the sideline.
Very impressive...but...it's PRACTICE. Tavon Austin was all over the place...took a couple of hand-offs from a tailback
spot and was GONE..
..People...if he stays healthy he's going to have a huge year....Rams had no one that can match up with this guy when they
were moving him
around. Now, for what it's worth....TJ Moe is buried on this depth chart...got very little work in the team passing work.
He will need to make
his mark on special teams and in preseason games to have any chance to crack the roster. Givens did nothing. Bailey
looks good and Pettis is Pettis.
7. #84 Cunningham was getting a lot of reps at tight end...don't know much about him, but he flashed and the Rams seem to like him...
.Not sure what this says about Kendricks who was pretty much invisible during practice.
8. Don't sleep on Cunningham at RB...he's big, quick, explosive, and plays with passion. It's going to be a battle between Stacy,
Cunningham, and Mason at RB. They all looked very good, although it's clear Mason is a rookie and probably behind the top two
at this point. Pead is absolutely nothing more than a special teams player at this point.
9. Secondary is still weak....rookies and young guys need to step up...Joyner is tiny...hope he can hold up.
10. Offensive line had Robinson at LT and Tim Barnes at Center. Jake Long looks good working out and doing some drills,
but he's not in the team stuff yet. Offensive line looks overwhelmed at times by the Defensive Line...but...I think we'll see a
lot of that around the NFL this year. Robinson had one big false start penalty and the defense whooped it up.
11. Side note...Kenny Britt is physically imposing and the team jokester. I know he's had issues, but he appears to be a great guy,
chatting with fans and keeping everyone on the team loose.
12. Ogletree stood out at LB, but the play of the day was by Matt Daniels who put a huge pop on Pead in the backfield on a running play
....the hit drew lots of oooohs and ahhhs from the fans and team alike.
That's it....fun day....great weather....huge crowd....fans have a reason to be excited about the Rams again.....
_________________
Blitz pickup still looks to be a concern.
Still too many dead ball penalties… today Bradford did a good job drawing the D-line offsides with a hard count
CAMP OBSERVATIONS:
• Kenny Britt continues to show is leadership. He is VERY vocal and has shown to be very supportive of his fellow WRs.
When someone makes a play, he is usually the first to acknowledge it. He just has the “look” of a NFL WR.
Something that has been missing from this roster.
• Aaron Donald took his share of reps with the 1st & 2nd units. Showed flashes, but was not nearly as “unblockable” vs. Joseph
• Janoris Jenkins looks like he is refocused and has made some nice plays in coverage.
• Joyner continues to show why they are so high on him. The kid can PLAY.
Lance Kendricks continues to catch everything thrown his way.
Brian Quick had a good day. Catching a nice intermediate pass thrown from Bradford (his best throw of the practice)
after coming out of his break vs, Zone coverage
Bailey, Quick and Britt were the best WRs on the field.
Tre Mason sighting. Made a nice catch and run on a route to the sideline, turned it up and showed his burst.
Zac Stacy had a few break thru runs.
Lowlights:
Defense still having its way vs. the O-Line.
Secondary still having some issues with communication.
7 0n 7 & 11 on 11 Drills:
Highlights:
Bradford looked much better with his timing. Completions to Bailey Britt and Quick which drew plenty of attention from the crowd
Bailey turned Brandon McGee inside out on a couple of corner routes
Lamarcus Joyner made a nice interception off a pass from S. Hill
EJ Gaines had his 2nd pick in two days, peeling off his man and reacting to an errant throw
Kenny Britt out muscles an underthrow ball from Roberson, adjusting to the ball in the air, and using his size and strength to win the ball… then let the DBs know about it. To the point that Coach Fisher had a brief “conversation” with Mr. Britt.
won't bother with a specific report about yesterdays practice but rather give my 1st impressions of the team
QB
thought Bradford looked uncomfortable in the pocket and missed some easy passes..evidently he looked much worse Friday...not sure if he is mentally over the knee operation yet
Austin Davis is Austin Austin...Hill looked ok...sure more fun watching him actually throwing the ball down the field then watching Clemons scrambling every other play in 7 v 7
Gilbert brought back some memories of Keith Null "deer caught in the headlights" look...way too quick with his dumpoffs...something to watch for in the preseason games..hopefully the game slows down for him
RB
Pead and Cunningham most physically impressive(especially Pead) Mason and Stacy look very average athletically who rely on vision/instincts..Mason has almost zero experience as a pass blocker and is maybe 5'9 205 lbs...he might have a steep hill to climb this year learning pass pro...how quickly he learns might determine Pead's future on this team
TE
Cook still looks fast, Kendricks is still looks small and Harkey still big..players to watch are Bayer and Cunningham...Paid Bayer top money to sign him and sure looks the part..soft hands, big body, smooth...looks like a lock to make the ps(or more) Cunningham has the look of a 3rd te..thick trunk/body road grader type..dropped one pass that I noticed yesterday
WR
Bailey was the best yesterday on the field..not sure if that's a good thing...weakest group on paper and might just be the tallest midget in the room. Will say for someone with below avg size/speed he beat both Jenkins and Johnson deep and is a natural zone type wr...
Britt is the physically most imposing..almost as tall as Quick but leaner/faster. The offense's new cheerleader...Coacho said maybe all he needed was to reunited with Fisher, a great players coach. I sure loved his positive spirit on an offensive team lacking a leader...Fisher did get into his face late in the practice about his antics...fun to watch
Quick..is this the year? pushed Jenkins 5 yards off the play on one reception showing the physicality that's been sorely lacking in his 1st 2 years in the league and coacho caught Bradford making eye contact with Quick on a checkdown on another play..
Austin looks even smaller this year..have zero idea how someone that size will survive but the good news looks even faster more assertive on the field..a woosh!! player. Pettis, Moe and Veiltung will fight it out for the scraps...Moe might have the softest hands of all the wr's and also has very quick feet..Givens gave his Claude Rains impression yesterday playing on the 3rd team
OL
Robinson looks 2 inches taller and 20 lbs lighter then Saffold...Saffold with his new girth/muscle might struggle ever to play OT again. Robinson is a WOW player to me..watching his body control when he pulls, bending his knees and lowering his body like a snake getting ready to strike is special..
Coacho rightly pointed out we need Wells to stay healthy(at least for 1/2 a season) to help Robinson adjust in his rookie season. Having Long on one side and Wells on the other will help the very young and raw Robinson adjust..Barnes is Barnes..thought Jones looked slightly bigger...2 players to watch in preseason games are Hooey who looks noticeably bigger/stronger and Bond who definately passes the eyeball test...oline needs more depth
DL
scary..simply scary..Rams front 7 might ber the most dominating in the nfl since the Ditka/Ryan Bears teams
Sam is a natural pass rusher with the ability to sink his hips and get small..Donald has that elite 1st step and strong hands of a future all pro..scary good as a group
LB
IMO most physically impressive athlete on the field yesterday was Ogletree playing Sam...a WOW player...easily runs with Cook or Kendricks..just needs experience to become special...will say after Laurenaitis and Ogletree rest are nothing special.. will try to watch Armstrong and Steward today..
CB
when Darren Woodard is getting major 1st team reps you have problems..Jenkins is a top nfl cb even if he will lose some battles because of his size..rest of the unit has major question marks...will say Gaines and Joyner both made interceptions yesterday showing off the genius football IQ's...good news Williams allows his players to read plays and adjust the coverage which are made for heady players like Gaines and Joyner..bad news is neither are anything special athletically and Joyner is very small. Reid looked lost and was on the 3rd team only because we don't have a 4th team. Robinson passes the eyeball test and ran step for step with Britt on a deep out...my scouting report on him was "covers like Tarzan and tackles like Jane" so he should do well in 7v7 drills
S
any unit starting the bad tackling McCleod is still a work in progress.Good news McCleod looked very good in coverage yesterday(we often used a one safety deep scheme leaving McCleod to range from sideline to sidelne) On one play down the sideline McCleod easily got over and could off killed Austin ona dep ball if he wanted to...McDonald is solid...Cody Davis is bland and dAlexander is a strong safety only type..my scouting report on him was "poor mans Pryor"..thought he looked 1/2 slow in college in reading plays and yesterday Williams cussed him out for not knowing the defense..not sure if he will be anything other then a special teams player as a rookie..
not sure how many practices I'll attend but will say team might be special...adding Gregg Williams, Aaron Donald, Greg Robinson and Britt will make a big difference
thanks...Cecil and Williams will have their hands full coaching up this group
McDonald had 5 pd in 10 games and McLeod only 7 in 16..not sure you can find worse production from any other pair of starting nfl safeties...Davis and Mo Alexander are their backups...don't know if Matt Daniels has any ps eligibility left. doubt we carry 3 ss on 53. Fingers are crossed that Cody Davis makes a move..best combo of brains/tackling among the safeties
likely carry 6 cb...if Robeson can tackle and learn the playbook(9? on wonderlic) he might stick as well as Jenkins Johnson, Joyner, Gaines and Woodward...McGee didn't show much yesterday but is a key st player..
Woodard was beaten like a rented mule in 7v7(man to man) but looked very solid in 11v11(zone) where he showed very solid awareness
slightly impresssed with Joyner's quickness yesterday..guess Williams drafted him for a specific role where he can hide his deficiencies while maximizing his strengths..Gaines was a 6th rd steal his 2 interceptions in 2 games speaks about his vision/awareness..as a player Gaines reminds me of Verner, another athletically average cb who had his career year last year playing in Williams system
overall a bad group unless Joyner, Robeson or Gaines really surprise
doubt it...at least this season
looking forward to seeing Joyner cb blitz and McDonald coming on ss blitzes...I had wondered if they might consider moving McDonald back to fs after they drafted Alexander..just think it will take time for Alexander time to learn the playbook.
from watching Alexander play can't ever imagine seeing in a single safety role but might be a decent starting ss...maybe next year they tinker with the idea of a McDonald/Alexander tandem
_________________
Theme of the day: Offense turns up the heat
o Best practice thus far for the offense. Worked a lot on Red Zone packages.
o Bradford looked like Bradford of old. By far the best he has looked. Passes were crisp and out on time.
o Brian Quick was the “go to guy” all day. He had more receptions than the rest of the WRs combined.
Special Teams:
Punt Coverage; Worked on coverage drills, interior line and backs (no gunners)
1st Unit:
Cunningham Armstrong Steward McQuaide Sims Bates Harkey C. Davis
2nd Unit:
Alexander Ogletree Harkey Hus A. Hill Sabino Mason Stacy
· Some player observations: That Phillip Steward has made his way to the 1st unit on the punt coverage team says a lot about what they think of him.
· That Chase Reynolds is absent from either 1st or 2nd unit team is worth noting
· Johnny Hekker just kicks the stuffing out of the ball. 65 yards in the air, with 4.9 – 5.0 seconds hang time
7 0n 7 & 11 on 11 Drills:
Highlights:
Bradford to Brian Quick early and often
First play was a crossing route, with Quick making a one handed reception on a throw slightly behind him
1st unit on offense throughout the entire Red Zone period had Britt and Quick, Cook and either Kendricks or Austin (the WR rotation was not part of this package; with Stacy in the backfield
Bradford to Britt in the back of the End Zone over Jenkins
Britt and Quick worked exclusively with the 1st unit in all 11 on 11 drills
Bradford showed a ton of confidence in Quick. Was actually looking for him as primary, instead of as a bail out last option as in previous practices
Bradford to Cook down the seam for a 30 yard gain. Great throw and contested catch between McLeod and McDonald who had pretty good coverage
Britt, Quick and Cook on the field together is intimidating for defenses. Add Kendricks OR Austin and it looks scary.
Zack Stacy showed his 2013 form for the first time today.
Brian Quick takes exception to extra contact after pass break up from Joyner, shoves him back. Some will say so what, but it is just another example of Quick showing more confidence and not just tucking his tail between his legs and going to back to the huddle defeated. Next play Joyner tried to bump Quick who leaned on Joyner and back him off 2-3 yards. Physicality that hasn’t been present in his game.
Tavon Austin gets a few carries out of backfield. Jump cut to the outside and GOODBYE. 30 + yard gain.
Tre Mason also with a nice jump cut in the hole in Red Zone drill. Nice run.
Greg Williams is to defense what Mike Martz is to offense. Mad scientist. Different blitzes, formations (fronts) and coverages.
Lowlights:
Chris Givens running reps with the 3rd unit. He got some 2nd unit reps when paired with Pettis, but was also running with 3rd unit guys like Veltung and Blake.
Shawn Hill had a rough day with accuracy. Lots of passes under thrown.
Blitz pickup still looks to be a concern.
Once again, It appears that the hard count is a very effective tool in slowing down the pass rush. At least 3 more offsides by the d-line again today.
CAMP OBSERVATIONS:
· Biggest crowd in the Fisher era. Place was packed, and electric
· Offense pulled out the stops today and pushed the ball downfield more
o Ran a couple of reverses…. To Austin who ran into the waiting arms of Robert Quinn for a huge loss
o Used Kenny Britt on a reverse for a nice gain
· Jo-Lonn Dunbar was part of Nickel package with the 2nd unit, replacing Bates as MLB. So Armstrong and Dunbar as 2nd unit LBs in Nickel
o Nice pass break up in RedZone
· New look O-Line seemed to hold up better than in previous days.
· Isaiah Pead and Tre Mason rotated with the 2nd unit
· Marcus Roberson can cover, but doesn’t seem to want to stick his nose it when it comes to contact
· EJ Gaines just “gets it” always in position, and was helping others get lined up in secondary
· Cody Davis was frequently directing Alexander in where to line up.
· With the absence of Tru Johnson, the CB looks frightfully thin
o McGee and Woodard are not ready
I think Joyner has a chance to be a good player in the Nickel CB role. Have not liked his cover skills at outside CB. He struggled with Pettis in 1 on 1 drills, and let him get behind him in 7 on 7. It'd be one thing if it were Austin or Givens blowing by him, but it was Pettis.
The one thing I do like about him, he seems to be one of those guys who understands how to play the game. And inside, he might be exactly the type of player who thrives in G. Williams scheme.
Its too early to get any kind of a read on Rhaney. They had him at RG today, which he actually has more experience at, as opposed to Center.
Theme of the day: Offense turns up the heat
o Best practice thus far for the offense. Worked a lot on Red Zone packages.
o Bradford looked like Bradford of old. By far the best he has looked. Passes were crisp and out on time.
o Brian Quick was the “go to guy” all day. He had more receptions than the rest of the WRs combined.
Special Teams:
Punt Coverage; Worked on coverage drills, interior line and backs (no gunners)
1st Unit:
Cunningham Armstrong Steward McQuaide Sims Bates Harkey C. Davis
2nd Unit:
Alexander Ogletree Harkey Hus A. Hill Sabino Mason Stacy
· Some player observations: That Phillip Steward has made his way to the 1st unit on the punt coverage team says a lot about what they think of him.
· That Chase Reynolds is absent from either 1st or 2nd unit team is worth noting
· Johnny Hekker just kicks the stuffing out of the ball. 65 yards in the air, with 4.9 – 5.0 seconds hang time
7 0n 7 & 11 on 11 Drills:
Highlights:
Bradford to Brian Quick early and often
First play was a crossing route, with Quick making a one handed reception on a throw slightly behind him
1st unit on offense throughout the entire Red Zone period had Britt and Quick, Cook and either Kendricks or Austin (the WR rotation was not part of this package; with Stacy in the backfield
Bradford to Britt in the back of the End Zone over Jenkins
Britt and Quick worked exclusively with the 1st unit in all 11 on 11 drills
Bradford showed a ton of confidence in Quick. Was actually looking for him as primary, instead of as a bail out last option as in previous practices
Bradford to Cook down the seam for a 30 yard gain. Great throw and contested catch between McLeod and McDonald who had pretty good coverage
Britt, Quick and Cook on the field together is intimidating for defenses. Add Kendricks OR Austin and it looks scary.
Zack Stacy showed his 2013 form for the first time today.
Brian Quick takes exception to extra contact after pass break up from Joyner, shoves him back. Some will say so what, but it is just another example of Quick showing more confidence and not just tucking his tail between his legs and going to back to the huddle defeated. Next play Joyner tried to bump Quick who leaned on Joyner and back him off 2-3 yards. Physicality that hasn’t been present in his game.
Tavon Austin gets a few carries out of backfield. Jump cut to the outside and GOODBYE. 30 + yard gain.
Tre Mason also with a nice jump cut in the hole in Red Zone drill. Nice run.
Greg Williams is to defense what Mike Martz is to offense. Mad scientist. Different blitzes, formations (fronts) and coverages.
Lowlights:
Chris Givens running reps with the 3rd unit. He got some 2nd unit reps when paired with Pettis, but was also running with 3rd unit guys like Veltung and Blake.
Shawn Hill had a rough day with accuracy. Lots of passes under thrown.
Blitz pickup still looks to be a concern.
Once again, It appears that the hard count is a very effective tool in slowing down the pass rush. At least 3 more offsides by the d-line again today.
CAMP OBSERVATIONS:
· Biggest crowd in the Fisher era. Place was packed, and electric
· Offense pulled out the stops today and pushed the ball downfield more
o Ran a couple of reverses…. To Austin who ran into the waiting arms of Robert Quinn for a huge loss
o Used Kenny Britt on a reverse for a nice gain
· Jo-Lonn Dunbar was part of Nickel package with the 2nd unit, replacing Bates as MLB. So Armstrong and Dunbar as 2nd unit LBs in Nickel
o Nice pass break up in RedZone
· New look O-Line seemed to hold up better than in previous days.
· Isaiah Pead and Tre Mason rotated with the 2nd unit
· Marcus Roberson can cover, but doesn’t seem to want to stick his nose it when it comes to contact
· EJ Gaines just “gets it” always in position, and was helping others get lined up in secondary
· Cody Davis was frequently directing Alexander in where to line up.
· With the absence of Tru Johnson, the CB looks frightfully thin
o McGee and Woodard are not ready
