California fires force Rams inside, leave teams on edge

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California fires force Rams inside, leave teams on edge

By Bob Grotz, Delaware County Daily Times
POSTED: 12/07/17, 12:10 AM EST | UPDATED: 55 SECS AGO 0 COMMENTS
COSTA MESA, Calif. >> Wildfires aren’t an issue here. The skies are clear and the air as pure as it’s going to get in this part of Southern California.

The same with Anaheim, where the Birds are practicing at Angel Stadium and Disneyland is doing its 3D thing.

Roughly 50 miles from the Eagles’ hotel, however, the wind-driven fires are raging, destroying multi-million dollar homes and vegetation and creating issues for the Rams — and potentially the game Sunday at the Coliseum against the Eagles.

Los Angeles is 17 miles from the edge of the carnage, which is close enough to ingest toxic fumes from the smoke.

Thus, the Los Angeles Rams moved their regularly scheduled practice Wednesday in Oxnard indoors due to poor air quality. It’s not known if the Thursday and Friday sessions will be impacted.

With road closures due to the fire, and smoke already billowing just 20 minutes from Los Angeles, there is at least a chance the game between the teams Sunday at the Coliseum in Los Angeles could be affected.

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said he’s heard nothing from the NFL about a postponement or cancellation. The matter is being monitored on every conceivable level.

“It is obviously a serious issue with what’s going on, and our thoughts and prayers are obviously with the people that are affected,” Pederson said. “I know the Rams were affected these last couple of days. And it makes it a little uncomforting and unsettling.”

Rams head coach Sean McVay said on a conference call that the fires basically are an inconvenience. Scaling down the practice isn’t that big of a deal at this point of the season.

“They affect us a little bit with the things that recently developed,” McVay said on a conference call. “The air quality isn’t quite what you’d like it to be to be able to go outside. But fortunately, because we are right next to Cal Lutheran’s campus, we were able to go over to their gym, have a good walkthrough, kind of use both of their basketball gyms. That was kind of the approach we were going to take anyway. We just did it indoors, and we kind of kept the players off their feet more than we were accustomed to on a Wednesday. Being this late in the season, you do sometimes look into adjusting your practice plans to have a little bit more of an above-the-neck emphasis on a Wednesday. And that’s what we did, and hopefully we’ll be able to regain our normal practice schedule and get back out there tomorrow.”

Several Eagles who played for the Rams empathized with their former teammates.

“A lot of those guys live up north,” defensive end Chris Long said. “It’s a scary situation for everybody. I’m sure for a lot of people it makes a football game less important. I hope everyone is alright. That’s a scary deal.”

Eagles cornerback Jaylen Watkins’ brother, Sammy, who leads the Rams in touchdown receptions, is among those affected.

“His place is north of LA,” Watkins said. “As of now it’s OK. But the potential is there.”

If the game is rescheduled, it won’t be the first time Pederson has been through the drill. Late in the 2010 season, the Eagles had a Sunday game pushed back to Tuesday. Despite having LeSean McCoy in the lineup, the Eagles had 22 runs, and 43 pass attempts in a 24-14 loss.

“I can just remember back a few years ago, we had a snowstorm in Philly that pushed a game back,” Pederson said. “Those thoughts do come back to my mind because I was a part of that, too.”

Right now, winds are blowing the smoke and the fires to the north and west.

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Eagles leading receiver Zach Ertz remains in the concussion protocol.

The veteran tight end didn’t practice Wednesday, but has been present at team meetings according to Pederson.

“The sense is that he’s doing well,” Pederson said. “But again, I don’t to get into too many details about it. He’s in the protocol. We just have to monitor it.”

While Ertz didn’t practice, linebacker Joe Walker (neck stinger) was back in uniform Wednesday.

Center Jason Kelce was a full participant althoiugh hes working through an ankle issue sustained in the Bears game.

The addition to the report is defensive tackle Destiny Vaeao (shoulder), who was held out of practice.

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NOTES >> Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz said there will be no visit from Angels slugger Mike Trout, who not long ago signed a contract large enough to put a down payment on Angel Stadium. Wentz said he texted Trout, who is back in South Jersey hunting. “He’s back home hunting it up,” Wentz said. “We keep in touch. I shot him a text.” Hunting, shot — get it? Trout also is slated to get married Saturday … Wentz, by the way, is the only quarterback in the league to throw a touchdown pass in every game. He leads the circuit with 29 TDs, three short of Sonny Jurgensen’s team record set in a 14-game season in 1961 ... Pederson brought his sense of humor to Cali. During the Wednesday morning presser, a cell phone sounded with the AOL “you’ve got mail” ringtone. The head coach shot a goofy look toward that corner of the audience. The last question from the presser, came from the area of the AOL tone. Before fielding the query, Pederson said, “check your mail.”