St. Louis Rams: Training Camp Recap, August 9 - Missouri Sports Magazine

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St. Louis, MO (Shane Gray, Missouri Sports Magazine)

After a brief reprieve from the heat on Wednesday evening, the St. Louis Rams returned to the fields of the Continuity X Training Center for Thursday afternoon’s training camp action and successfully tackled temperatures that once again soared well into the 90s.

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s session, it is significant for at least a couple of reasons.

One, Friday’s session will be the final one for the Rams prior to heading out of town to face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday for their preseason opener. Secondly, tomorrow’s practice marks the conclusion of the second week of camp.

Thus, for at least those two reasons, Friday’s practice is a notable one.

Head Coach Jeff Fisher’s Post Practice Remarks

In post practice remarks, Jeff Fisher spent a lot of time answering questions about Sunday’s aforementioned preseason opener in Indianapolis. Fisher shed some light on the approach his team’s take during the preseason.

“You set out to win the games,” Fisher said. “Obviously every time you compete on the field you want to work towards and achieve a victory. As far as the first preseason game, we’re looking forward to watching them play. We want to see the rookies respond under pressure, which there is obvious pressure in the first one. You stay somewhat basic. You don’t try to out-scheme somebody and spend all this time.  You want to see them block and tackle (and) you want to see them execute the fundamentals against a good opponent.”

“What you want to do through the preseason,” Fisher continued, ” is not give up a lot of points, keep the penalties down â€" keep them way down â€" protect the football, block and tackle and execute and let the score take care of itself.”

As for how much we will see of the younger players and those further down the depth chart, it sounds as if many of them will be seeing plenty of time on the field, at least on Sunday.

“I think you’ll see, I think, we’ve talked about playing the younger players a little more than you ordinarily would in preseason games,” Fisher explained. “Particularly, because we’re getting the first and the second group more of the reps on the practice field. So, you may see them play a couple more series than in years past, but we’ll adjust. The numbers are good, the health by in large is good. As far as play time is concerned, it’s going to vary depending on the player and the position and basically what happens in the game.”

Injuries/Inactives

-Center Scott Wells, defensive tackle Trevor Laws, defensive end Eugene Sims, left tackle Rodger Saffold, cornerback Bradley Fletcher, safety Darian Stewart and wide receivers Danario Alexander and Brandon Gibson were all sidelined.

Players were out for a variety of reasons, many involving soft tissue concerns, and none were out for anything that would generally be considered overly significant.

-Running back Steven Jackson was rested again.  He was rested for a portion of Tuesday’s practice and all of Wednesday’s also.

-Defensive tackle Kendall Langford, who was out yesterday with flu like symptoms, was back in action.

Performances of Note 

-Safety Craig Dahl had a nice interception in 7 on 7 work.

-Wide receiver Mike Campbell, 6’2″ and a year removed from Temple University, showed some nice hands on several catches.

-Rookie quarterback Austin Davis had another pretty good day, showing some solid arm strength and some good accuracy. However, for the sake of full disclosure, he had a few rough throws mixed in.

Overall, Davis would seem to have a realistic shot at locking up the No. 3 quarterback role if he shows well throughout the preseason.

-Rookie wide receivers Brian Quick (round two) and Chris Givens (round four) seem to be improving with every practice. Today was no exception, as both performed well and appear to be growing more comfortable and attaining more consistency.

-Another wide receiver, former Pro Bowl honoree Steve Smith, had some nice grabs. His speed and quickness look to certainly be good enough for him to get open and make plays this Fall.

-Rookie linebacker Aaron Brown came off the edge clean on a couple of plays. Prior to today, I had not noticed him much to this point.

-Both rookie runners, Isaiah Pead and Daryl Richardson, continue to show quick feet and solid hands.

-Tight ends DeAngelo Peterson and Mike McNeill continue to make some nice receptions.

Other Observations

-With likely starting left tackle Rodger Saffold out today, versatile offensive lineman Quinn Ojinnaka slid into Saffold’s spot, moving over from left guard where he has been a staple with the first unit. Ojinnaka, who has made 15 career starts in 56 NFL games, has split those previously mentioned starts between between guard and tackle.

-The Rams once again began practice with some special teams work. Each day, other than yesterday, St. Louis has initiated practice with some type of special teams activity.

-The St. Louis offense spent a good deal of time working on the hurry up in seven on sevens.

Looking Ahead  

St. Louis will wrap up week two of training camp with a practice tomorrow at 5:30. The practice is once again free and open to the public.

PHOTO: Copyright MSM Images â€" Michael Thomas NFL Photographer