Practice Report 8/22: Gaines Solid in First Game Action

Practice Report 8/22: Gaines Solid in First Game Action

By Myles Simmons

[www.therams.com]#

It had been a long time since cornerback E.J. Gaines strapped up his pads on gameday.

Between a concussion suffered Week 15 of 2014 and a season-ending foot injury suffered the first weekend of 2015 training camp, the Mizzou product has been sidelined for what he said has, at times, felt more like five years than just one.

That all changed in Saturday’s victory over Kansas City.

“It was exciting to get out there,” Gaines said Monday. “It’s been a full year and I was just excited to get out there and compete a little bit.”

As head coach Jeff Fisher has maintained is the plan, the Rams are bringing Gaines along slowly and didn’t play him too much. The cornerback made four total tackles — three solo, one assist — in his 22 snaps, according to the press box statistics. That accounts for 27 percent of the defensive total, comparable to the playing time of starters T.J. McDonald, Trumaine Johnson, and Alec Ogletree, who all received 24.

Gaines, however, played much of the second quarter. He said Monday that was essentially the plan going into the contest.

“I felt good while I was out there, so they kept me out there a little longer,” Gaines said.

As Fisher mentioned in his Sunday press conference, Gaines had to fight through a sprained ankle from last week’s practice to play. That’s in addition to the hamstring strain he already had to overcome earlier in training camp. According to Fisher, sometimes those kinds of minor injuries happen because a player is focusing so hard on rehabbing an injury that it’s just how the body responds to finally going full speed.

“It wasn’t unexpected [but] you didn’t want it to happen,” Fisher said Sunday. “But he had a hamstring issue that set him back. The ankle sprain last week was just a freak thing that happened in practice. For all intents and purposes, he’s back now.”

The types of plays Gaines made Saturday are the best indication.

“The reps that he got — they’re live reps, they’re contact reps,” Fisher said. “They’re put your foot in the ground, plant, drive, and go make a tackle. Those are good things to see out of him.”

That was illustrated by Monday’s practice, in which Gaines took a significant number of snaps with the first-team defense opposite Johnson on the outside.

“Yeah, it felt real good,” Gaines said. “Like I said, just keep growing and keep making plays and try to win that starting job.”

Nevertheless, Gaines acknowledged there are more challenges to overcome before he feels at his desired level once again.

“I’d say just the live reps, getting the speed of the game,” Gaines said. “And you can’t really simulate that out here on the practice field. But getting out there in the preseason will do me good.”

If his time on the practice field on Monday is any indication, Gaines should be in line for some good playing time against the Broncos on Saturday.

ROSTER CUTS ARE COMING

After the third weekend of preseason games, each team in the NFL must trim their rosters from 90 to 75 players. The cuts have to be done by 1 p.m. PT on Aug. 30.

With that in mind, there may be a little extra pressure for some players on the bubble to perform in practice and the game this weekend. But Fisher said he won’t tell them anything special.

“There’s really no need for a message. If they don’t realize that there’s a cut-down after the third preseason game, they’re probably not smart enough to play and help us play,” Fisher said. “We just want to try to give everybody an opportunity to play. We still have a few guys that haven’t gotten any play time.

“At the same time, we’re trying to get our starters ready for the regular season,” Fisher continued. “It’s the hard part of the business. But, everyone is going through it. We just want to prepare in this week so each and every one of them get a chance, if they do get on the field, to excel.”

Still, there are factors — whether in games, in practice, or in the classroom — that will determine if a player will remain on the 75-man roster for the final exhibition matchup.

“I don’t want to say they’re obvious, because all these guys have given us their heart and soul since prior to the draft and the OTAs. But we have hard decisions to make,” Fisher said. “Some of them will maybe get an opportunity for a practice squad. Some of them maybe get an opportunity with other clubs, and then some of them will come to the realization that their childhood goal is over, and I need to go on with my life.”

EXTRA POINTS

— Los Angeles had a few players back on the field after being held out for practices and the game last week. On defense, starters linebacker/safety Mark Barron and safety Maurice Alexander returned. And offensively, rookies tight end Tyler Higbee and running back Aaron Green participated in the session.

As has been the case throughout training camp, Higbee received a number of red-zone targets and made plenty of receptions.

— At the end of practice, Fisher had the team run gassers. Some position groups had to do more than others. 

“We did a little extra running for the penalties,” Fisher said.

In the first preseason game, the Rams had only two penalties. They had nine against Kansas City on Saturday.

“The penalties, yeah, we’re going to address them with the team tomorrow — each and every one of them,” Fisher said at his press conference on Sunday.

Between team meetings and the wind sprints, we’ll see if there’s adjustments made this week.