Training Camp Report: Rams and Chargers Joint PracticeKristen Lago
Day 10 is officially in the books.
On Wednesday afternoon the Rams held their 10th training camp session at UC Irvine, the second of two practices with the Chargers. The session, which lasted a little over two hours, gave both teams the opportunity to work against an opponent for the second time this summer.
The practice was lively and competitive as thousands of fans packed the sidelines to cheer for their respective team. And in honor of the team’s “Throwback Day,” over 30 Rams’ legends were on hand to watch the Rams final joint practice ahead of Saturday’s preseason opener against the Cowboys. Here’s what you missed from Day 10 of Rams Camp:
TOP TAKEAWAYS1. Goff gearing up for preseason openerIn Wednesday’s practice quarterback Jared Goff showcased his growing composure in the pocket and his improved timing throughout a series of drill. While on Saturday Goff excelled in the two-minute drill, today the quarterback looked even sharper in this afternoon’s midfield, 7-on-7 and red zone drills.
“I think both times were good,” Goff said of the joint practices. “I think we got off a lot more plays today. For whatever reason, it felt like we got more series with the offense. I thought it was good. Today the two-minute drill was probably the one thing we want back and everything else was pretty good.”
During the team’s 7-on-7 work Goff dropped a perfect downfield pass to tight end Tyler Higbee for a would-be touchdown. And though the deep routes have been inconsistent for the quarterback in the past, today he took more than a few chances down field.
“Yeah, about time,” he said with a laugh. “Deep balls come. I think early on in camp you’re just figuring out timing sometimes and just some different things with guys, but I think they are starting to come. We were starting to hit a few today. It was a good job by the receivers of getting open downfield.”
But it’s not only his timing on the deep routes that is improving. In the same drill, Goff delivered a bullet to wide receiver Robert Woods for about a 20 yard gain. And in 11-on-11 drills, Goff recorded a number of completions to various wideouts including Pharoh Cooper and Cooper Kupp, along with running back Todd Gurley.
2. Things get heated After a relatively calm afternoon with the Chargers on Saturday, the intensity level was much higher when both teams hit the field for Wednesday’s practice. During the team’s one-on-one drills, tempers flared defensive back Trumaine Johnson and Chargers’ wide receiver Dontrelle Inman after Johnson was “flagged” for a pass interference.
A few minutes later, a second tussle broke out on the same sideline, this time between the Chargers’ offense and the Rams’ defense, before a final conflict during the special teams portion of practice.
“I think anytime you practice against somebody else guys are competitive, especially after the first day where there’s some good back and forth,” McVay said. “Starting out with the one on ones, guys are competitors, that’s what makes them great.”
And while the third scuffle marked the end of the matchups off the field, the players continued to bring the heat on field, with a number of hard hits and evident trash talking on both ends. However, McVay said that the intensity level was about what he expected, especially with fans from both teams adding to the excitement.
“Guys are great competitors, like I said we always want to be mindful, but those are things that we’ll be able to look at and figure out exactly what happened,” Mcvay said. “Fortunately nobody got hurt as a result of it and we’ll try to be mindful of those things moving forward.”
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