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Practice Report 11/25: Sending Support to Bailey
By Myles Simmons
View: http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-practicereport/Practice-Report-1125-Sending-Support-to-Bailey/37c8c6f6-9ca5-4664-8b0a-b4b488d51781
Wednesday was a tough day around Rams Park, as news of the incident surrounding Stedman Bailey came down late last night and continued to spread to the wide receiver’s teammates in the early morning. Fortunately, head coach Jeff Fisher was able to provide positive news on Bailey’s condition following the conclusion of Wednesday’s practice.
“I can report now that Sted is in Intensive Care Unit. He had extensive surgery. Surgery probably took four-to-six hours, from what my understanding is,” Fisher said. “I don’t have specifics right now, but what I can tell you is that he’s in stable condition. He’ll be in ICU for a number of days. It’s really unlikely -- highly unlikely -- that he returns to play this year.”
That Bailey probably will not play another snap in 2015 is secondary in everyone’s mind after the fact that it appears he will pull through.
“As long as you know his life is going to be OK and that he’s going to live, that’s the most important thing,” James Laurinaitis said. “The last thing on our mind is, ‘Gosh, when do we get Steddy B back on the field?’ It’s just, you hope that he’s OK and that he makes a full recovery.”
“Everybody genuinely cares about Stedman,” Chris Long said. “He’s a great dude, he’s a great teammate, and we’re just praying for him. At the end of the day, that stuff is way bigger than football. This is the health of a teammate. This is the livelihood of a teammate. And you just pray that he’ll get through it and come out of the other end even better.”
The human aspect of this situation is what can make it so tough for everyone.
“Whether you’re a coach, or you’re a father, or you’re a family member -- anytime something like that happens, it’s very, very difficult,” Fisher said.
“The one thing that gave us hope last night was that we were able to get in touch with Sted at the hospital and there was a conversation that took place,” the head coach continued. “So, that gave us hope that he would pull through this and this was not life-threatening. That’s kind of what gave us hope through the evening.”
Word of the incident began to spread through the team late Tuesday night. Once that happened, players began to send messages of support on Twitter and to Bailey’s family.
“Once we got confirmation, some guys tried to reach out to his family and pretty much just get any message we could get to him to tell him we’re with him, we’re praying for him,” Benny Cunningham said. “We just want him to get back here as soon as possible.”
As a teammate, Fisher described Bailey as “a popular guy” in the locker room. And the way Rams players described him on Wednesday backed up that assertion.
“Sted’s been awesome to me,” James Laurinaitis said. “You interact only so much with the offensive guys a lot, but I’ve always known him to be super up beat, always about his craft, works hard. Loves football -- just loves being in here. I’ve always enjoyed having him as a teammate.”
“He’s cool as a fan,” Jared Cook said. “He’s a great guy. Great guy to be around. Funny. He and Tavon [Austin] are like two peas in a pod. He’s part of this family and we love him. We’re praying for him and we’re here for him.”
Bailey and Austin’s closeness stems from their shared time at West Virginia. The two were part of a prolific offense as Mountaineers, and have been working to bring much of that explosiveness to St. Louis. It’s easy for their Rams teammates to notice just the special relationship between the two.
“He and Tavon are pretty similar,” William Hayes said. “They’re always joking around. Real free spirited.”
Tim Barnes’ locker is situated just to the right of the corner where the wide receivers are situated in the locker room, and described Bailey as someone who fits right in with that group.
“They all have their own little receivers’ world,” Barnes said. “They’re fun, they joke around, and they have a good time. So they’re a fun group to be next to. There’s always something going on.”
As difficult as it may have been to do so, the Rams still had to conduct a practice to get ready for Sunday’s matchup against the Bengals. Fisher said part of keeping everyone focused during the session was disclosing any information on Bailey he received.
“The whole key when you’re dealing with these type of situations is you have to do your best to keep them informed,” Fisher said. “The unknown leads to uncertainty, and uncertainty leads to distractions, and then distractions lead to losses. As long as we keep them informed, I think everybody will be fine.”
Many in the locker room appreciated the approach.
“I think coach has done a phenomenal job handling it,” Laurinaitis said. “We just want to make sure everybody’s informed. The worst thing that can happen is people just not know what’s going on, and then your mind starts to kind of run with stories on its own. So, like I said, coach did a great job of keeping everybody informed.”
“I feel like ‘Fish’ has done a good job of keeping the guys updated on him -- giving us encouragement that things are going good,” Cunningham said. “We’ve been trying to do as best we can knowing a brother is going through such a tough situation. But at the same time, you’ve got to try to focus and get prepared for your opponent.”
Still, players said that given a situation like this, it’s hard not to take a step back and put the game of football into perspective.
“I think in today’s day and age, it always jolts you a little more when it’s more personal,” Laurinaitis said. “When you have people that you are interacting with on a daily basis and you’ve known for years, and then you hear they got shot, you’re like, goodness. It definitely puts life in perspective.”
“You realize it’s just a game,” Cunningham said. “When you’re caught up in the moment sometimes, you take it for granted, maybe. But once you see somebody going through a real-life situation like that, you kind of step back for a moment and just realize how blessed we are. And it’s nothing that you ever want to take from granted.”
And so as the Rams continue to prepare for the Bengals, they will do so with Bailey on their minds, hoping he makes a full and speedy recovery.
“I’d say at any given time in an NFL locker room, somebody’s going through something that’s strenuous on them and they’ve got to get ready to play a game,” Long said. “And I think NFL players do a great job of working through that and trying to separate the two things. It’ll be no different.
“Hopefully, Sted will be improving on Sunday and can watch us play and can see us play good football,” Long continued. “Hopefully, it’ll put a smile on his face.”
By Myles Simmons
View: http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-practicereport/Practice-Report-1125-Sending-Support-to-Bailey/37c8c6f6-9ca5-4664-8b0a-b4b488d51781
Wednesday was a tough day around Rams Park, as news of the incident surrounding Stedman Bailey came down late last night and continued to spread to the wide receiver’s teammates in the early morning. Fortunately, head coach Jeff Fisher was able to provide positive news on Bailey’s condition following the conclusion of Wednesday’s practice.
“I can report now that Sted is in Intensive Care Unit. He had extensive surgery. Surgery probably took four-to-six hours, from what my understanding is,” Fisher said. “I don’t have specifics right now, but what I can tell you is that he’s in stable condition. He’ll be in ICU for a number of days. It’s really unlikely -- highly unlikely -- that he returns to play this year.”
That Bailey probably will not play another snap in 2015 is secondary in everyone’s mind after the fact that it appears he will pull through.
“As long as you know his life is going to be OK and that he’s going to live, that’s the most important thing,” James Laurinaitis said. “The last thing on our mind is, ‘Gosh, when do we get Steddy B back on the field?’ It’s just, you hope that he’s OK and that he makes a full recovery.”
“Everybody genuinely cares about Stedman,” Chris Long said. “He’s a great dude, he’s a great teammate, and we’re just praying for him. At the end of the day, that stuff is way bigger than football. This is the health of a teammate. This is the livelihood of a teammate. And you just pray that he’ll get through it and come out of the other end even better.”
The human aspect of this situation is what can make it so tough for everyone.
“Whether you’re a coach, or you’re a father, or you’re a family member -- anytime something like that happens, it’s very, very difficult,” Fisher said.
“The one thing that gave us hope last night was that we were able to get in touch with Sted at the hospital and there was a conversation that took place,” the head coach continued. “So, that gave us hope that he would pull through this and this was not life-threatening. That’s kind of what gave us hope through the evening.”
Word of the incident began to spread through the team late Tuesday night. Once that happened, players began to send messages of support on Twitter and to Bailey’s family.
“Once we got confirmation, some guys tried to reach out to his family and pretty much just get any message we could get to him to tell him we’re with him, we’re praying for him,” Benny Cunningham said. “We just want him to get back here as soon as possible.”
As a teammate, Fisher described Bailey as “a popular guy” in the locker room. And the way Rams players described him on Wednesday backed up that assertion.
“Sted’s been awesome to me,” James Laurinaitis said. “You interact only so much with the offensive guys a lot, but I’ve always known him to be super up beat, always about his craft, works hard. Loves football -- just loves being in here. I’ve always enjoyed having him as a teammate.”
“He’s cool as a fan,” Jared Cook said. “He’s a great guy. Great guy to be around. Funny. He and Tavon [Austin] are like two peas in a pod. He’s part of this family and we love him. We’re praying for him and we’re here for him.”
Bailey and Austin’s closeness stems from their shared time at West Virginia. The two were part of a prolific offense as Mountaineers, and have been working to bring much of that explosiveness to St. Louis. It’s easy for their Rams teammates to notice just the special relationship between the two.
“He and Tavon are pretty similar,” William Hayes said. “They’re always joking around. Real free spirited.”
Tim Barnes’ locker is situated just to the right of the corner where the wide receivers are situated in the locker room, and described Bailey as someone who fits right in with that group.
“They all have their own little receivers’ world,” Barnes said. “They’re fun, they joke around, and they have a good time. So they’re a fun group to be next to. There’s always something going on.”
As difficult as it may have been to do so, the Rams still had to conduct a practice to get ready for Sunday’s matchup against the Bengals. Fisher said part of keeping everyone focused during the session was disclosing any information on Bailey he received.
“The whole key when you’re dealing with these type of situations is you have to do your best to keep them informed,” Fisher said. “The unknown leads to uncertainty, and uncertainty leads to distractions, and then distractions lead to losses. As long as we keep them informed, I think everybody will be fine.”
Many in the locker room appreciated the approach.
“I think coach has done a phenomenal job handling it,” Laurinaitis said. “We just want to make sure everybody’s informed. The worst thing that can happen is people just not know what’s going on, and then your mind starts to kind of run with stories on its own. So, like I said, coach did a great job of keeping everybody informed.”
“I feel like ‘Fish’ has done a good job of keeping the guys updated on him -- giving us encouragement that things are going good,” Cunningham said. “We’ve been trying to do as best we can knowing a brother is going through such a tough situation. But at the same time, you’ve got to try to focus and get prepared for your opponent.”
Still, players said that given a situation like this, it’s hard not to take a step back and put the game of football into perspective.
“I think in today’s day and age, it always jolts you a little more when it’s more personal,” Laurinaitis said. “When you have people that you are interacting with on a daily basis and you’ve known for years, and then you hear they got shot, you’re like, goodness. It definitely puts life in perspective.”
“You realize it’s just a game,” Cunningham said. “When you’re caught up in the moment sometimes, you take it for granted, maybe. But once you see somebody going through a real-life situation like that, you kind of step back for a moment and just realize how blessed we are. And it’s nothing that you ever want to take from granted.”
And so as the Rams continue to prepare for the Bengals, they will do so with Bailey on their minds, hoping he makes a full and speedy recovery.
“I’d say at any given time in an NFL locker room, somebody’s going through something that’s strenuous on them and they’ve got to get ready to play a game,” Long said. “And I think NFL players do a great job of working through that and trying to separate the two things. It’ll be no different.
“Hopefully, Sted will be improving on Sunday and can watch us play and can see us play good football,” Long continued. “Hopefully, it’ll put a smile on his face.”
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