[Joe Pendleton]

we likeee

[Elvis]

[Joe Pendleton]

nasty, love it!!!

[Elvis]

This never gets old...

[Elvis]

[CanuckRightWinger]

Per a Jourdan Tweet today:

John Wolford lofted a deep ball to TuTu Atwell who had a step on Georgia rookie CB Derion Kendrick....but Kendrick in "a real effort move" stretched and knocked the ball away.

When Jourdan ask Nick Scott about Kendrick, Scott just had a big wide grin saying that "the rookie has already come out of his shell."

ME: I know it's very very early....BUT,
Maybe McSnead found a Monte Jackson clone in the 6th friggin' Round???!!!
Actually quite a few draftnik pubs lauded Derion Kendrick the BullDog transfer from Clemson...EG. like Sporting News had Kendrick going at #79 in their 2022 Mock Draft last April.

Derion Kendrick did have a Red Flag.....disciplinary from Clemson brass for behaviour contrary to Team Policy....or words to that effect. I had read where Kendrick had an infant son in hospital at the time of the altercation/dispute with Clemson brass when they cut him. Maybe he was just a concerned/distraught Dad who told some guy bugging him at a bad time, to just fuck off. I've been in that movie before!

So all Kendrick does is leave winning program Clemson...
transfer to the most powerful NCAA D in Athens, Georgia....
get a starting CB position...
and then led the lockdown Georgia BullDog D in 2021 interceptions.
Not too shabby, eh sportsfans!

Maybe Ram veteran Jalen Ramsey can mentor this Kendrick kid (only 21) and harness that wild spirit/defiance to some good advantegeos Los Ramos usage.
That'd be nice, eh.

[/zn/]

Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
DAY ONE of Rams camp in the books. Ask Matthew Stafford about anything except jointing IG (even about his arm). He threw today and was a “full” participant; plus a few standout plays and unfolding position battles to track and more observations:
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Rams QB Matthew Stafford throws publicly, more notes from Day 1 of training camp

By Jourdan Rodrigue

https://theathletic.com/3445744/2022/07 ... ed_article

IRVINE, Calif. — Ask Matthew Stafford anything. Just don’t ask him about joining Instagram.

Yes, even ask him about his throwing arm — that topic is preferable to the notoriously social-media-avoidant Rams quarterback.

“I have no idea, guys,” he said with a dry grimace after Sunday’s first training camp practice, when a reporter commented on Stafford joining IG over the weekend. “You can ask me all of the football questions you want. Don’t ask me about that.”

Sunday, Stafford threw publicly for the first time since the Super Bowl. After receiving an anti-inflammatory injection in his elbow in March, Stafford did not throw a single pass during the portions of organized team activities reporters were able to view, and he said he wouldn’t throw until training camp out of extra precaution for that arm.

On Sunday, Stafford was able to work through each phase of individual drills (short, medium and long routes) and also threw in team drills.

“He was a full participant today,” said head coach Sean McVay after practice. “Him having as much experience as he does, we’ll continue to build him up (and) we’re aware of what that pitch count is. But it didn’t restrict him from being able to do anything today.”

On Friday, McVay confirmed that Stafford would be cleared to throw in camp. The Rams have him on a training plan as they monitor how his arm reacts to the increasing workload. Stafford said he had throwing sessions in the time between OTAs and camp, but there’s nothing that can simulate a full practice.

“It feels good to get out there. Definitely knocking some rust off and feeling it again,” Stafford said. “It’s good to … stress it a little bit, and see how it reacts.”

McVay joked Friday that Stafford was “freakin’ irritated” to not be throwing in the spring more so than harboring concern for any lingering injury. For Stafford, following the Rams’ onload/de-load plan has been an exercise in patience, with a very long season in mind.

“It’s a little bit of a process, but I’ve got to just sit there and go with it,” Stafford said. “There’s a little bit of something that we have down on paper, but it’ll be fluid, I’m sure. So we’ll just go from there …

“It’s an interesting thing, trying to have a little bit of governor on there, and at the same time just be as smart as I can. It’s a process. Gonna have to sit there and work through it, trust it, and we’ll figure it out as we go.”

I spent most of Sunday watching the offense — though the team did break into 11-on-11 drills several times. As a reminder, the Rams often structure their live periods to run the second team against the first team on each side of the ball. Media members cannot report on schemes, but otherwise the full practice is open to credentialed viewers.

Here are some observations from Day 1:

• Cornerback Jalen Ramsey worked with the defense in installation periods, largely at the beginning of practice (he also did an on-field workout with team athletic trainers later in the day). The Rams said Friday that Ramsey, who is recovering from shoulder surgery to repair one of two torn A.C. joints he suffered midseason in 2021, would go on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list to open camp, but the team shifted that plan Sunday.

“Doctors cleared him in a limited fashion,” McVay said, “that enables him to participate in a lot of the jog-throughs, the above-the-neck stuff, and to be able to have him out here with his teammates with all of the different things that we ask of him. He felt good about that, we felt good about that, and so I think that’s what’s best for our football team, (and why) we pivoted in that direction.”

• Ramsey had a great moment with safety Nick Scott during those installation periods, as the two huddled to talk through a concept after a simulated play. Scott’s role will likely increase through the summer and fall.

• Inside linebacker Travin Howard went on the non-football injury list Sunday. Howard pulled his groin while training off-site this summer, and a source said he had to get surgery. No timetable to return has been disclosed. Receiver Warren Jackson, running back Kyren Williams and safety Quentin Lake all went on the PUP list. The nature of Lake’s injury wasn’t previously known (he didn’t practice in the spring), but McVay clarified Sunday that the team is monitoring a knee issue.

Williams, who broke his foot and had surgery in the spring, is likely to be cleared for practice before the end of the preseason, McVay also indicated.

• It was receiver Allen Robinson’s first training camp practice with the Rams, but he didn’t look new. Robinson impressed with his body control on several catches, and Stafford called him out in his news conference for a contested red zone fade. It was hotly debated whether Robinson completed the catch in-bounds, a conversation sure to circulate when the team watches practice cut-ups later.

“Allen is a really intelligent player. I’ve been really impressed by his ability to not only pick up what we’re doing — X’s and O’s and lines on a paper, but (also) the nuanced stuff of what we’re trying to accomplish on each play,” Stafford said. “When you have guys who think like that and can play like that, it makes my job a lot easier.”

• As expected, guard/center Coleman Shelton is competing with rookie guard Logan Bruss for the vacancy on the right side. Shelton can play both guard positions as well as back up Brian Allen at center.

“(Shelton) is a guy we have a lot of trust in,” McVay said. “When you look at getting B-A back and making sure we’re smart with his rep count, he played so many snaps last year (so we’re) making sure that he feels good, and is as fresh as possible. … It’s really fortunate to have a player like Coleman Shelton, who has started, who I think can start at any of the three interior spots and perform at a high level. He’s gonna get an opportunity to do that (and) guys like Logan Bruss.

“But we’re gonna really open it up and try to see what it looks like, to find who is gonna be that fifth player, playing with the other four guys (who) are already established.”

• Cornerback Troy Hill nearly intercepted a pass by backup quarterback John Wolford in team drills, and rookie defensive back Russ Yeast nearly took one away from Stafford in another series.

• Running back Darrell Henderson was able to participate in Sunday’s practice after sitting out all spring with a soft-tissue injury.

• Tidbits that might be interesting only to me: Rams offensive line coach Kevin Carberry (so far) rides his bike to the practice fields from the team hotel. … As demonstrated by receivers coach Eric Yarber, “Yarbs,” the Rams may have invested in new types of padded gloves for use by coaches in individual drills. Teams usually deploy boxing gloves for “punch-out” attempts during those periods, but the gloves Yarber wore Sunday had finger holes and were sheath-padded up to his elbows. That means he wasn’t just “punching” at the ball during catch-and-runs but also could grip-and-rip. That, to me, indicated a slight change in the Rams’ approach to ball-security techniques as a natural integration into drills.

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[more:]

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Jourdan Rodrigue@JourdanRodrigue
Among the better plays of the day: Stafford over the top to Robinson as Robinson cut across the back of the end zone through substantial traffic, in RZ team period.
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Jalen Ramsey can’t participate in team drills yet but he’s really active with DC Raheem Morris and DBs coach Jonathan Cooley on the sideline working group through covg concepts and calls. Looks like he even has a practice script like the coaches.
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Really pretty deep pass to Atwell from Wolford, and Atwell had a step on Kendrick for a would-be TD. But effort play from Kendrick who closed to the catch point and helped knock the ball incomplete instead.

I asked Nick Scott about some of these battles today and a grin spread across his face re. Derion Kendrick; cited another play he made on a jump ball to Robinson and added that the rookie Kendrick has already come out of his shell.

Brycen Hopkins looks a step quicker this year.

PUP is like a gray area where the team thinks they can come back (not season-ending) but they still want them able to work on the side with trainers, they just can't do on-field team stuff.

When I drop tidbits and clues it is always in the hopes that information is provided to the reader that helps them understand the scenario. Per the rules of the credential, I cannot tell you something like (hypothetical), “Coleman Shelton took the bulk of the RG snaps on Day 1 and Bruss was close behind in the rotation” unless it is asked and addressed in a press conference/interview after observing it in practice. Per the rules of the credential I cannot specifically discuss scheme, rotations, etc., unless i ask directly in a presser/interview and it’s answered. That then makes things complicated because often doing that means people who are not at practice will aggregate small pieces of info off the live feed without context for blog stories, so it’s quite a difficult line to walk overall (not complaining, I love my job - but this is something most people don’t know!)

[Elvis]

[Elvis]

Akers wearing #3 (Nobody tell OBJ)

[Elvis]