Rams gonna get back to the big game via Defense. No offense to the Offense, who will be Top 12 ish. That's all we're gonna need from them. Robert Rochell, Decobie Durant, Derion Kendrick, Daniel Hardy and Chris Garrett are all "DAWGS," who are gonna put this Defense, led by Aaron Donald, Leonard Floyd, Jalen Ramsey, Greg Gaines, Bobby Wagner, A 'Shawn Robinson, Justin Hollins, Nick Scott, Jordan Fuller and Taylor Rapp into the Elite category. Yes guys, your sunny, Southern California Rams are gonna be Defensive stalwarts, en route to repeating, as your 2022 Super Bowl Champions.

Shout out to the Offense, who will be just as important, utilizing Elite NFL talent Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Allen Robinson, Tyler Higbee, Cam Akers, and soon-to-be-returning Odell Beckham, along with budding star Joe Noteboom. You guys can relax and play easy, Defense gonna bring us the Ring this year.

It was good to get down here and talk Rams football and life with @VeteranRamFan and @bubbaramfan.

My biggest take away from today is the Defense. Ramsey wasn't out there but they still looked very good. Now the grain of salt, Wolford got the 1st team reps, I'm confident Stafford will make the O better than Wolford did today. IMO the Rams should start looking a bit more seriously into QB2. Wolford isn't terrible, but I think an upgrade can be found.

Cam Akers looks like he isn't thinking about his achilles. Nifty feet in traffic, a crack is enough for him to get at least 3 or 4 yards.

Atwell had a good practice, made some nice catches and caught some punts. Need to see him return punts in game action to determine if he can beat out Powell on PR.

T Lewis looked good and appeared confident in his knee, no brace. He is a 3 down OLB, he can drop into coverage and break a TEs ribs. He can rush the passer and he can hold the edge and force the run out of bounds or cutback into BWags.

As soon as I started looking for BWags, he showed up. Making several plays in the backfield and a pick six with AD clearing him a path to the endzone. He is going to take this D to the next level!

Jacob Harris is a big dude, a redzone weapon at the least. Harris and Benny Sko need to maximize their opportunities while Van is not out there.

The team spent a lot of time doing 11 on 11. Probably over an hr and a half.

Kupp made some nice catches as expected and had 1 drop that I saw. Didn't focus much on Kupp since Stafford wasn't in on team drills.

ARob1 is possibly the biggest FA steal of this off-season. The Rams got him cheap for what he adds to the O.

Rochelle looked good when I watched him.

I'm sure @bubbaramfan will cover the OL in his report. My only input about the OL is that as the Rams have done since McVay was hired, lots of moving guys around in different positions and combinations.

This team gets it! The players protect each other but still get some good contact, usually ending with the players still on their feet, not on the ground.

The TC setup has evolved over the last 7 camps. Loved the seating for ADA.

Hope the spacing made this easier to read as it seems a bit long on my phone.

Has everyone seen this? It looks like the NFL Network crew caught AD messing with a rookie at training camp. I think this is Elijah Garcia.

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....who were your favorite players in order. From your beginning fandom until now?

I'm a Yankee fan. Have been since 1964. My first favorite player was Mickey Mantle. Then, Bobby Murcer. Thurman Munsen. Don Mattingley. Derek Jeter and now Aaron Judge. My favorite pitchers were Whitey Ford, Mel Stottlemyre, Catfish Hunter (briefly), Ron Guidry, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, CC Sabathia and now Gerrit Cole. But Nasty Nestor is growing on me!

I imagine Dodger fans would have some great players like Wes Parker, Ron Fairly, Dick Allen even, Willie Davis, Yeager, Garvey, Lopes, Russell, Beltre, Karros, Bellinger, Seager and Mookie. Pitchers galore like Koufax, Drysdale, Sutton, Singer, Valenzuela, Herschieser, Kershaw, etc.

Getting ready to go to today's practice. I want to look at K/PR. Only three guys competing. Powell, Calais and Atwell so far. Also to keep track of OL 2nd team snaps. A Jackson LT, Anchrum LG, and Evans RT got most snaps with 2nd team at those positions. Bruss and Shelton split snaps at LG. If Shelton gets starting nod at LG, who is backup C?. Lets see if that continues. Glad I didn't go yesterday. It was the biggest crowd yet and they didn't do much. Hopefully not as crowded today. I want to get a seat where we can see the 11 on 11. We haven't had good enough view to critique players in 11 on 11. Do you like the play by play in my reports? Not sure folks like it. I can just put in the plays that stand out.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to an intense practice today.

Another legend passed away

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Good News for Stan.

2022 NFL Franchise Valuations Ranking​

August 1, 2022FEATURE STORYDATA VISUALIZATION
2022 2021 2020

3 years, 73.5M.
Great Player. Well Deserving. Glad SF was forced to pony up.

RIP

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Snead and his crack scouting staff have done a wonderful job in identifying ‘Ram fit’ player talent for years. And they have rightfully been highly praised for it. Their record on finding late round and UDFA talent is remarkable.

In fact, the current Snead strategy of trading high picks for proven top drawer talent is only possible because of Snead and his guys ability to continually keeping the pipeline full. The envy of the league, I think.

But I’ve been thinking…

This strategy is a 2-sided coin and I wonder if Rams asst coaches are getting the full credit that is their due?

Here’s what I mean. Let’s take a look at a few names of recent mid to late round picks and some UDFA’s and ask ourselves if Rams just got ‘lucky’ or benefitted from coincidence when so many of these players vastly exceeded all expectations one after another. Or was there some fantastic coaching going on behind the scenes that turbocharged player development and raised ceilings on so many players’ careers? Sometimes players left Rams only to struggle on other teams. Doesn’t this support my argument?

Check out these names and this is only a partial list just to bolster my argument…

Boom
Edwards
Allen
Hav (okay he was a high pick, but damn, he’s playing at an elite level that nobody saw coming)
Jones
Gaines
SJD
Troy Hill (excelled here but struggled with Browns)
Fuller
Scott

This is but a partial list, there are so many others making significant contributions even though drafted late or not at all. Looks like more gems were found in this ‘22 draft, too. Think that’s just a bunch of coincidences? Me neither.

My point? The combination of talent evaluation AND superb coaching by many assistants has enabled this formerly mediocre team to raise itself to SB winning elite status in just a handful of years.

There are many moving parts to this successful organization and I just wanted to point the spotlight on a possibly under appreciated segment in Rams asst coaching ranks.

Hot Damn!

Or at least, Jersey Jimmy G???

49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo in talks with New York Giants, per source

It was very difficult to get any good shots of the players. The stands were full, there were people lined up 5 deep at the rails. We just didn't have any good views! So your going to see a bunch of fans this time. OH! Wait, there is a series of some girl catching kicks from an unknown player. She's good! And she can throw too!

Day 2 Pics (new link)

Not sure how many of you guys watch HK but I'm a big fan of the show and will be watching. Last season was outstanding with the Colts, and this year should be a good one as well with Detroit trying to crawl out of the division basement.

Detroit is intriguing with ex-Rams in Brad and Jared being a big part of their rebuild. Also I like Dan Campbell as HC so I think they have a strong GM/HC combo but gotta prove it on the field. Either way it's gonna be a kneecap-eatin' good time!

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And it looks like White has overtaken Bone(r)s

Just parked and the lines are already forming. Season ticket holder’s day so expecting another large crowd.

I printed a new roster with the ‘22 UDFA highlighted. Will try and focus on those players.

Well, we’ll only see backups during preseason games, of course, but starters might play some during controlled scrimmages again this year.

Here’s the highlights (and only the highlights) that I see in my crystal ball…

Stafford will have an even better year, probably his best yet.

Akers will have a very nice year, probably picking up where he left off in playoffs of ‘20.

Boom will have a terrific year and at the end we’ll be asking WTH we were ever worried about.

RG starter is too blurry, could be Bruss or could be Shelton.

Allen Robinson will prove to be a steal and he and Stafford are gonna make beautiful music together.

Kupp will be Kupp once again. Might not equal those ‘21 numbers but he’ll once again be virtually uncoverable. He and Stafford will resume their mind meld mode.

Rams will be VERY difficult to run on. They have best DL in league and now have both Wagner and Jones for 3 downs to help out. Goodness.

Edge opposite Floyd is still blurry but I’m betting that Rams will windup with a very adequate rotation over there. I have high hopes for both Garrett and Hardy, btw. More and more snaps will be earned by them on passing downs.

I see a CB roster beyond Ramsey that has tremendous potential. Very deep and very versatile and I expect Morris to use them in many different combos and schemes. It’s gonna be much better than the ‘21 unit. Prepare to be pleasantly surprised by multiple players, including rookies. Don’t see how Snead could have done a better job restocking CB than he has.

Safety will be a team strength on D. Rapp will be traded for pick or player before trade deadline. He will go to a team for which he is a better fit. Win-win. Nick Scott will be a fan favorite by mid season. Hell, I might even break down and buy his jersey!

Honestly, my crystal ball is clueless when it come to punter. Could go either way and will be determined in camp and preseason games. Sorry.

Morris will be a Ram hero and get hired away as a HC and I suspect that he will be in position to pick and choose the opportunity he most likes.

Rams will win 13 games despite playing the toughest schedule.

Rams finish with a Top 3 Offense.

Rams finish with a Top 5 Defense.

Rams run the table with relative ease in the playoffs and go to SB. I don’t see a better NFC team that can stop them.

Rams meet Bills in SB and win 27-21.

Sooooo…

How do you like THEM apples?

Camp was supposed to open at 11 and since I’m only 15 minutes away, I left work at 10:30 thinking its early on a workday. There won’t be many people there. WRONG! Packed house! And parking was a pain too until @bubbaram told me about his parking lot. Using that one tomorrow.

Weather was nice. Sunny, mid eighties with a cool breeze blowing. Bubba had some choice seats picked out, but the staff said he had to move because those were reserved. So, he did and then the staff changed their mind and opened the section back up. Too late for us so we had to sit in the end zone. Good view from there!

When the Rams took the field as a team, the crowd erupted into cheers! When ever a position group was done with drills and moved to another section of the field, the crowd cheered! What a great feeling to be associated with such a class organization and Super Bowl champs too! Couldn’t have said that for a long time.

Let’s talk about some of the players. I’ll just shoot from the hip from what I recall.

#14 DeCobie Durant. Dude was everywhere! Flying around like he was superman! You already know he had two interceptions but unless someone has them filmed and posted on twitter, you have no idea how difficult those players were. The throws the QB were good throws! No tipped balls, no one in their face. The receivers were also open, but Durant just put himself out there, closed the gap and dove in front to intercept. A true thing of beauty!

#6 Derian Kendrick. I wanted to make a point to focus on him, but he seemed to have got lost in the shuffle to me. I may be wrong; everyone is talking about him so he must be doing something right. The only time I noticed him was during passing drills and he failed to catch a ball thrown out in front of him. No big deal, we all have moments, but it just seemed…. odd, I guess? I’ll try and watch him closer in the coming days.

#44 Danial Hardy. Stud. Fast! Has balance, control. Chased Wolford out of the pocket and caused an incompletion, more than once. I like this guy. Let’s keep an eye on him.

#60 Bruss. Played at right guard mostly with the 2’s but did get some reps with the 1’s. He anchors well. Seems to have good leverage and good use of his hands. Didn’t get beat. Don’t recall the defender going against him though. In this short practice, I felt he did better than Shelton. The kid, to me, is ready to start.

#49 Rodger Carter. He is a big TE! Huge legs! Was practicing some long snaps at the beginning. I imagine he is looking for a role to play. Don’t think he sticks.

#1 Robinson. He is a player. A professional. He appeared to be giving it his all on every play, regardless of where he fell in the QB’s progression. Caught a couple of balls, curl patterns then turned it up field with some speed! This is a great signing. Only problem, there are only so many balls to go around and we seem to be loaded with WR.

#15 Atwell. Small, yes. Quick, yes. Fast, hard to tell from our vantage point. It seems I have a series of photos with him breaking away from a DB so he must have something going for him. I told Bubba that when he isn’t the primary receiver, I see him not being as crisp in his cuts. I guess I feel you should practice how you play. His hands are good! I just don’t see what the FO saw in him.

#30 Calais. He was catching some balls out of the backfield and look good doing it! Sure hands, good cuts, burst of speed. Be nice to have him fill two roles for us.

That’s about it. Go check out my other thread that has camp photos! Till next time!


VRF

Thought I would put these in a separate thread so you all wouldn't have to go searching for them.

Camp Photos 7-29-22

Wow! TC is finally happening! Got there early and got decent seat in the south endzone. VeteranRamFan showed up not to long after. We had our customary beer and waited for practice to start. Used a voice recorder so I'm just going to play it back and write here what went down and some thoughts as the practice progressed.

First in front of us they practiced punt drills, then 1st team O and D looked to be doing walk through, play installation. 1st OL of Noteboom, Edwards, Allen, Shelton LG, Havenstien. Defense AD, Gaines, Robinson, Jones, Wagner, Floyd, Hollins, Rapp, Scott, Ramsey, Long. Note that Ramsey only was on the field for these walk throughs, the rest of the time he was like a coach on the sideline.

2nd team O vs 1st team D Aleric Jackson took most snaps at LT, Anchrum at LG. Shelton, Kolone and Brewer all took snaps at C today. Bruss and Shelton took turns with 1st and 2nd team at LG. Bobby Evans took the majority of snaps 2nd team RT, though Anchrum did get in a few. 2nd team D was harder to see who was in. Guys that stood out were Hardy, who has speed and high motor and Durant who got couple of pass breakups and two INT's. Hill and Long seemed to be alternating, Rochelle back and forth 1st and 2nd team. I really liked what I saw of the new guys.

Now Acuri at. LT, Snyder C, Brewer RT. Look like everyone on OL is going to get in. Mx Pircher got snaps at LT and RT.

Next they broke up into their position groups with db's closest. Drilling backpedling, change of direction, etc.

Stafford and 1st team vs 1st D several scrimmage snaps. short pass to Robinson, run up middle by Akers, pass to Upp for 10. No hard contact, Akers looking good as he takes a short screen pass. I could see from my vantage who was on D, Wolford now out there with Funk RB, Skow, Harris Tutu A jackson LT, Anchrum LG, shelton C, Brewer RG, Bobby Evans RT. Wolford the Hopkins over the middle, Powell several snpas from the slot, Funk with a screen for 15.

1st team back in, Henderson run up the middle. Stafford gets sacked by Hardy. Hardy playing hard. Brewer some snaps at LG, Henderson with couple nice runs.
No deep passed so far. Durrant pass breakup to Robinson.

Redzone drills, Higbee nice catch. Durrant with INT. Terrell Lewis with good pressure, beat Havenstien.

Kicking team now out, Matt Gay right on, drilling FG's.

Still 15 min odd of practice to go I had enough and headed to the car.

Good practice. Good intensity. Some of what I took away from today's practice. Atwell looked to have put on some weight, especially on his upper body. He was fast out there but his route running looked a little shabby. Kupp also looked to have muscled up. Brian allen looked bigger, had a huge brace on his right leg. Stafford looked good, but didn;t throw anything over 15 yds.

Standout players for today: Durant is a player. 2 picks and a breakup today. I really liked what I saw from him and the other DB's. Hardy was in the backfield a lot guy is fast and turns the corner quick. T Lewis looks like he's trusting his knee.

Looking forward to tomorrows practice. Going to try and get sideline seats. Was hard to see the numbers on guys.

Rams are going to repeat.

starting this Fall , Hasbro will be selling your very own personalized 6 inch action figure

with thier app , you'll be able to scan your face . and then chose skin tone , hair color , beards , etc options

and then chose your body , they don't have a whole lot of bodies to chose from , a few Marvel , and Star Wars , Ghostbusters , GI Joe and Power Rangers

but it looks pretty cool

I'm going to have to get me a Stormtrooper , one , I know the Mandalorian one would be cooler , but who am I kidding , I'm more of your Stormtrooper kinda guy

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This is great to see after us winning the SB. There haven't been many Rams on this list for a while, let alone 3 of the top 6 and overall 4 of the top 20 (including OBJ).

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@bubbaramfan is already there. I’m leaving in about 10 minutes. Hopefully I can remember how to post here with my phone.

Stay tuned!!!

I can hardly believe I’m typing this since I’ve been down on Atwell after last year’s fiasco, but there have been so many positives reported on Atwell that maybe he is legit.

So I’m gonna pose a ‘what if’…

IF he proves to be a weapon this year schemed by McVay then that’s the best of all possible worlds for the Rams in terms of timing (available from September on), threat to stress opposing D, and cap cost.

If Atwell really proves himself beyond doubt then OBJ then becomes unnecessary, don’t you think? The standard here for really proving himself is that he could claim that #3 WR position, or at least share it with Jefferson in some kind of a McVay designed rotation. IOW, a modest #4 WR performance won’t do the trick of making OBJ unnecessary. Those cap dollars can go elsewhere or maybe be rolled over for next year.

Maybe Rams have been dragging their feet on an OBJ signing because of optimism about Atwell and have adopted a wait-and-see strategy?

Just spitballing here, but it is somewhat logical IF they are genuinely impressed with Atwell at this point.

We’ll be getting some great feedback on Atwell from beat reporters and numerous camp reporters plus the preseason games, that’s for sure. I know we’re all pulling for him but it always comes down to on-field production.

Is Atwell gonna be another Ram Cinderella story or just a tease? Stay tuned.

What do y’all think?