Some observations from Camp
| July 31, 2018 11:21PM |
So I made an unexpected family trip to LA so my 5 year old, who is a huge King Tut fanatic, can see the exhibit at the Science Center. Of course, since I was there . . . .I convinced everyone that a trip to the padded practice was both necessary and appropriate family time.
I will echo other comments about the facilities and the set up. I attended school at UCSD in the early 90s and the Chargers practiced at our school. I used to routinely attend practices to watch the chargers practice. That was like a high school practice (and kind of cool in that way) compared to the set up the Rams have.
Stan (who was in attendance at the practice) has a beautiful set up at UCI including a fan shop, a stage with music cranking and practice fields with fully covered bleachers. The fields span quite a distance so it would essentially be difficult if not impossible to observe all of practice because the units are broken up at different parts of the field.
I posted up in an endzone and watched the QBs work out, the OL work and then focused on the DBs. My take on the QBs differs a bit from the other posters. From my vantage point and because Mannion was apparently out on family leave, Brandon Allen got a lot of work. I was TOTALLY UNIMPRESSED by Mr. Allen. I would be surprised at the end of the day if he is kept around over L. Perez. Perez is raw but he has something. A confidence, a way he carries himself that just stood out to me versus Brandon Allen.
The QBs did quite a bit of work basically coming off an imaginary center, opening up their gate and flinging the ball to the perimeter. You can see how this type of play, where the QB basically just takes the snap turns and fires to the outside guy will take advantage of DBs playing off of Cooks et al.
Goff has definitely grown a bit simply in demeanor and confidence. I saw no hesitation. He appeared to be in complete command and while he attempted to throw balls in tighter windows, I wonder how much of this is a product of our DBs being OFF THE HOOK.
We are deep at DB. I completely forgot about Sam Shields and I was watching #37 move smoothly and quickly as if he was a seasoned veteran. Who T.F is that? I look at the roster, oh yeah, Shields. We are deep. KP had a pick, NRC locked down the slot, Hill looked fantastic and Peters and Talib when the season starts will be the best duo we had since Rod Perry and Pat Thomas patrolled the backfield.
I'll say it now, Wade is going to do real damage with this Defense.
On offense, I still think our TE's are underwhelming. I heard good things about Higs coming in but he still looks stiff to me. Tamarack Hemmingway is huge and looks healthy but he doesn't look at all like a natural pass catcher. G. Everett is our hope and he continues to show flash though he looks very lanky and basically a big WR.
Todd Gurley -- may have his new contract but that is a player that absolutely set the tone on offense. The rams ran numerous plays up the middle and though there was really no tackling, Gurley always made a point to run hard, run through the traffic and sprint the distance. It was clear he was setting the tone and tempo for the offensive guys. Malcolm Brown looks noticeably thinner and quicker but I think he will have some problems from Kelly, he appears to have "it" and I think will unseat brown before seasons out as the go-to back up.
The WRs and DB groups really appeared to be tight within their own groups. Kupp, Woods and the Archer all appeared to be genuine buddies along with Cooper and the rest of the unit. Same with the DBs with Talib being the Godfather and holding center court.
As practice broke, people headed over to the ropes where the players went back to the dorms. Many of the players stopped by to sign. I spoke with Johnny Hekker and told him that he was the only player I have ever seen on this team that has a real chance of matching / breaking Jackie Slater's team record for years with the club. Hekker immediately went into a full speech about how impressive it was for Jackie to do all those years from a tackle position versus a punter. Called Slater and absolute beast. I love that type of stuff -- knowledge of the past and respect for the studs that came before.
Brockers, Westbrooks, McQuaide, came by and chatted and then . . . . I spot Kevin Demoff slowly strolling through. No one says anything and finally, I call him over because no one is saying anything. He was very personable and I was making small talk with him as he was looking down signing people's hats etc and I say to him --- in full BS mode--: "I have a good source that says the final number is 6 years $22,555,522 per year" "The palindrome made me know it was legitimate".
His head literally snapped up and he turns to me and holds a stare for just a second. It was like he looked at me like "how the @#$%& does this guy have this information?"
Maybe it was just him running the figure I threw out to confirm it was, indeed, a palindrome -- one of his signature trademarks -- but his look was like I just guessed his social security number.
I add "the 6th year is voidable right? allows you to stretch out the cap hit?" He kind of chuckles.
Of course, I could be misreading him but I have seen that look before when you bust someone on the witness stand. So, my new prediction is Aaron Donald $22,555,522 per year for 6 years - 6th year voidable
I did ask if August 7th "was still the date" and he just walked away from me.
All in all an enjoyable day and well worth the trip.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2018 11:25PM by stlramz.
I will echo other comments about the facilities and the set up. I attended school at UCSD in the early 90s and the Chargers practiced at our school. I used to routinely attend practices to watch the chargers practice. That was like a high school practice (and kind of cool in that way) compared to the set up the Rams have.
Stan (who was in attendance at the practice) has a beautiful set up at UCI including a fan shop, a stage with music cranking and practice fields with fully covered bleachers. The fields span quite a distance so it would essentially be difficult if not impossible to observe all of practice because the units are broken up at different parts of the field.
I posted up in an endzone and watched the QBs work out, the OL work and then focused on the DBs. My take on the QBs differs a bit from the other posters. From my vantage point and because Mannion was apparently out on family leave, Brandon Allen got a lot of work. I was TOTALLY UNIMPRESSED by Mr. Allen. I would be surprised at the end of the day if he is kept around over L. Perez. Perez is raw but he has something. A confidence, a way he carries himself that just stood out to me versus Brandon Allen.
The QBs did quite a bit of work basically coming off an imaginary center, opening up their gate and flinging the ball to the perimeter. You can see how this type of play, where the QB basically just takes the snap turns and fires to the outside guy will take advantage of DBs playing off of Cooks et al.
Goff has definitely grown a bit simply in demeanor and confidence. I saw no hesitation. He appeared to be in complete command and while he attempted to throw balls in tighter windows, I wonder how much of this is a product of our DBs being OFF THE HOOK.
We are deep at DB. I completely forgot about Sam Shields and I was watching #37 move smoothly and quickly as if he was a seasoned veteran. Who T.F is that? I look at the roster, oh yeah, Shields. We are deep. KP had a pick, NRC locked down the slot, Hill looked fantastic and Peters and Talib when the season starts will be the best duo we had since Rod Perry and Pat Thomas patrolled the backfield.
I'll say it now, Wade is going to do real damage with this Defense.
On offense, I still think our TE's are underwhelming. I heard good things about Higs coming in but he still looks stiff to me. Tamarack Hemmingway is huge and looks healthy but he doesn't look at all like a natural pass catcher. G. Everett is our hope and he continues to show flash though he looks very lanky and basically a big WR.
Todd Gurley -- may have his new contract but that is a player that absolutely set the tone on offense. The rams ran numerous plays up the middle and though there was really no tackling, Gurley always made a point to run hard, run through the traffic and sprint the distance. It was clear he was setting the tone and tempo for the offensive guys. Malcolm Brown looks noticeably thinner and quicker but I think he will have some problems from Kelly, he appears to have "it" and I think will unseat brown before seasons out as the go-to back up.
The WRs and DB groups really appeared to be tight within their own groups. Kupp, Woods and the Archer all appeared to be genuine buddies along with Cooper and the rest of the unit. Same with the DBs with Talib being the Godfather and holding center court.
As practice broke, people headed over to the ropes where the players went back to the dorms. Many of the players stopped by to sign. I spoke with Johnny Hekker and told him that he was the only player I have ever seen on this team that has a real chance of matching / breaking Jackie Slater's team record for years with the club. Hekker immediately went into a full speech about how impressive it was for Jackie to do all those years from a tackle position versus a punter. Called Slater and absolute beast. I love that type of stuff -- knowledge of the past and respect for the studs that came before.
Brockers, Westbrooks, McQuaide, came by and chatted and then . . . . I spot Kevin Demoff slowly strolling through. No one says anything and finally, I call him over because no one is saying anything. He was very personable and I was making small talk with him as he was looking down signing people's hats etc and I say to him --- in full BS mode--: "I have a good source that says the final number is 6 years $22,555,522 per year" "The palindrome made me know it was legitimate".
His head literally snapped up and he turns to me and holds a stare for just a second. It was like he looked at me like "how the @#$%& does this guy have this information?"
Maybe it was just him running the figure I threw out to confirm it was, indeed, a palindrome -- one of his signature trademarks -- but his look was like I just guessed his social security number.
I add "the 6th year is voidable right? allows you to stretch out the cap hit?" He kind of chuckles.
Of course, I could be misreading him but I have seen that look before when you bust someone on the witness stand. So, my new prediction is Aaron Donald $22,555,522 per year for 6 years - 6th year voidable
I did ask if August 7th "was still the date" and he just walked away from me.
All in all an enjoyable day and well worth the trip.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2018 11:25PM by stlramz.
