Here's Merlin...
Ok so got back late after a post-practice stop that was in truth a derailment at Hooters. Had a great time, so from the top I gotta give the Rams org props on setting up a really fine venue. Picked up some gear for the kids, looked around and wished there was a beer stand, but learned later in practice why there is no beer stand which I'll cover in a moment.
First off watched the QBs doing all manner of basic drills. Handoffs, footwork, even making throws over the crossbar to each other I suppose to ensure the right arc is there I don't know. Got bored though, and will only note what everyone knows, which is that Keenum has some athleticism to him, Goff is incredibly light on his feet, and Mannion is a bit plodding in comparison to them.
I was very relieved to see Cooper out there. Watched him quite a bit with all the other WRs as they did their drills and then as they moved into the scrimmage, and he looked smooth with good hands, just as advertised. I presume the time he missed set him back a bit, and he didn't really stand out in a busting big plays kind of way or anything. But he is very bold in traffic and across the middle for a small dude, which is also not news to anyone here.
So right off the top what I saw was a defense that was bringin it. The offense made some plays that were impressive like Goff's beautiful pass down the middle that was on point, and they won some in the redzone, but looking a bit deeper at things many of the passes would have had some "blown up" receivers. TJ made some hits today that he did not follow through on, where he was in position to lay dudes the F out and he was not the only one. The secondary closed fast and swarmed, and the front seven was in the offensive backfield a lot. I think Fish was real happy with how the defense looked.
Back to the offense the protections were breaking down a reasonable amount as the DL in particular were going hard. There were quite a few passes that would not have gotten out of the pocket without that red jersey on the QB. I watched GRob struggle a couple times on edge rush (still his greatest weakness) and also do well, and across the OL it was much the same and I thought very good back and forth competition between the units. This is going to sound ridiculous, too, but it seemed like Keenum got more heat than Goff, and have no idea whether it's the line blocking being better when Goff was in there, the DL being afraid to hurt the #1 draft pick, or whatever. Goff did get swarmed quickly a couple times, like when he dropped to his knees it would have been a very fast sack in a live game so taking the sack and living to throw another day was a good decision by him vice forcing something. The dude who yelled that was probably the same one who yelled some other idiotic things, and our section was crackin jokes about how dudes like him are the reason why we can't have an effin beer truck.
The receivers overall had a good day I thought. Thomas is just, well, as someone said the other day about him "he belongs." Really the best way to put it. The dude straight stands out in that he's very big, and is already playing fast in this system. His feet are really quick, which is something to see with a guy his size. And Quick, man. I gotta admit the dude is looking great, he's like a different receiver from the one I've seen drop everything and run the wrong routes. Marquez goes 100% every single route and is showing good hands and body control, same exact thing with Spruce. Watched coach Groh doing the tennis ball routine with them midpoint and I continue to feel like this is an entirely different group of receivers now, where all of a sudden they all have solid to good hands. It's weird man. I mean today Britt had a focus drop, but overall he's movin and catching things and it just seems like an insane turnaround as an entire group so it will be interesting to see if it carries over to preseason games. I am REALLY looking forward to seeing that.
The TEs are similar to the above as well in that this group straight catches the ball now with good hands as a unit. Higbee is just downright ridiculous. The dude is huge, has a big catch radius, moves like a WR, and just makes whoever throws him the ball look great. Watched him in drills with Thompson throwing the ball I think it was, and he reels the catch in smoothly before having a couple DBs who due to his size get just as good as they gave on the hits. Kendricks looks so much more consistent too, but when you watch these guys live it's just not even a comparison in terms of imagining who's gonna add what to this passing game.
Run game had some good moments but it's just too hard to tell whether the back would be down if they were playing for real. The D as I mentioned was bringin it, but it did seem like they're aware they don't want to be wrapping Gurley up and driving him to the ground like they would in a game. But still, the dude is so damn good he just makes it look easy. Aaron Green in both phases flashed and is really busting his butt to make this roster. Had a really nice run but the pass he caught was more impressive and like all the good catches I saw today had the crowd appreciation going.
So last but not least the QBs. Here's where I differ from a lot of what I read tweet-wise. The sack and the moron yelling whatever he yelled don't matter as I was very pleased overall with Goff's play. He put up a couple "rookie" throws but also put that ball down the field in the face of the rush with calmness which is far more important and far more telling as to what to expect from him throughout the remainder of camp into preseason. Watching his snaps directly against Keenum's snaps and it's not like Goff is suffering by comparison to my eye. Keenum made some nice throws but most of his are short ranged and/or checkdowns, he's really the same guy I saw get overwhelmed by the whiners late last year. He made one redzone throw on a full run to the right and across his body for a scary TD but it's one I wouldn't want to see him attempt again. Goff in the redzone is an assassin. Dude was droppin dimes on the corner route and across the middle for a TD (at least I think that one was from him to Higbee had a lady chatting with us that was a big distraction).
Tried to download it while I remember it still. Bottom line is this practice only served to boost my excitement about this offense. This team has some significant difference maker type players and we might be witnessing many elements finally coming together on the offensive side of the ball.
