Here's VeteranRamFan...
So day 3 of training camp started off with meeting a fellow member @bubbaramfan. We hit if off being that we both are Army vets. A little while later I got a text from @8- 12, another member and he joined up with us. We then went into the beer garden and I don’t remember anything after that!
Just kidding. I will say I didn’t pay that close of attention to practice as I am a sociable person and like to engage in conversation with friends. There wasn’t very many fans there which was fine by me. We hung out on the railing in the beer garden, real close to the field.
One of the staff equipment guys confirmed that the 11x11 would take place on this field so we were all set. He also stated how different this coaching staff is compared to last year (yes, he was employed by the Rams last year too). He said that last year the coaches and assistant coaches would not help at all with picking up equipment used during the practice. This year, they all help out. Validation about the change in culture and the “We, not me” attitude.
During the mid-practice break, Ogletree came over to get out of the sun and kneeled down right in front of us. Of course, everyone engaged him in conversation and photo ops. Bubba told me to get a pic with him but I’m not that way. The man is working and taking his break. Let him have his time. Someone did ask him if he liked the new coaching staff better than the last one. He was silent, thinking of his response, very cautious of what he would say next. His reply, a simple “It’s different”. So, without saying much, his reaction to the question spoke volumes.
INJURY REPORT: #45 Zach Laskey went down at the start of a passing drill, no contact. It looked like a cramp but they carted him off the field. It was his left leg he was nursing. He was in pain so I don’t think it will be healing anytime soon.
As far as the action on the field, we had the defense standing right in front of us which was cool to see them engage each other but our views were blocked significantly (those are some big guys!). I will say that as crisp and sharp practice was yesterday, today was just the opposite. Lots of missed passes, sacks, short gains or no gains on the ground. Heck, E.J. Gains picked one off and returned it for a TD. He was covering Pharaoh Cooper. Some drops and some good catches also. Deep balls were a problem for the QB’s.
We tried to focus on the O line. Seemed like there was a lot of rotation on the O line. Whitworth was given the day off and Andrew Donnal took over LT for some of the reps. Quinn exposed him. Donnal didn’t look too good. When the 2’s took the field Daryl Williams manned the RT position at times. He was beat badly by #66 A.J. Jefferson on a couple of plays that would have resulted in a sack. He held up better against #56 Carlos Thompson. Pace Murphy had a shot at left tackle with the 2’s and wasn’t much better than Donnal.
Some of the biggest news happened after practice when a few players stayed afterwards for some extra work. Mark Barron was coaching up #56 Folarin Orimolade. C. Kupp was throwing and catching passes with Gurley and Sam Rogers. Kupp was doing something different, when a pass was thrown to him, he had one of the assistant coach’s hanging on him with hands to his face and across his body. You just can’t teach that kind of dedication to your craft. Gurley and Rogers took their cue from Kupp and started doing the same thing.
Sorry I don’t have much more to report. Tomorrow is supposed to full contact with pads so I’ll make a point to get out there and I promise I’ll focus more on the field than on the bottle.
