Linehan lays into his weary troops
MEQUON, Wis. (Camp Day 6/late report)
With about 30 minutes remaining before the scheduled conclusion of Wednesday afternoon’s practice, coach Scott Linehan blew his whistle and had his troops huddle around him at midfield. It looked as if he were going to call for an early adjournment, an occasional occurrence as camp drones on and the players wear down.
Instead, Linehan laid into the team. Although his words were intelligible from the sideline, there was no mistaking a significant increase in decibel level. After about 3 minutes, the meeting broke up. And the final half-hour was the crispest segment of the two-practice day.
Linehan declined to detail his message. “It was between myself and the team,” he said. But in general, he was exhorting the players to gut it out despite the less-than-ideal weather conditions (89 degrees at the start of the 4 p.m. workout) and a growing injury list (only 68 of 80 players practiced) that forced some of the healthy players into extra work.
“This is the hottest day we’ve had,” Linehan noted. “It was a challenging day, and there were a lot of guys taking a lot of extra reps because of guys not being in there. But that’s the way it’s going to be in games, and you’ve got to train yourself.
“It’s going to be like that down in Tennessee next week, and it’s going to be like that when we play on the road early in the heat. We’ve got to get ourselves prepared.”
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Punter Donnie Jones, who turned in a standout season last year after the Rams picked him up as a free agent, is absolutely killing the ball during camp. He’s launched several bombs that traveled 75 yards or so in the air.
“Donnie always has had a great leg,” Linehan said. “He’s much more comfortable with the set-up, with the snapper and timing and everything. . . . He’s really, really got himself in good shape, and he’s kicking the ball very well.”
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Steven Jackson watch:
*Days out: 6
*Practices missed: 9
*Fine total: $90,000
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Notes & quotes:
>>Newly signed DT Henry Smith wore No. 69 Wednesday after practicing with a linebacker’s number — 54 — on Tuesday. 69 became available when DT Josh Thompson was waived/injured.
>>Brett Romberg has a sore hand, so Richie Incognito has been working at C with the first-team offense for a couple of days.
>>S Todd Johnson, filling in for injured Oshiomogho Atogwe (hamstring), has been impressive.
>>DE/DT Victor Adeyanju was back at Concordia on Wednesday after returning to St. Louis for surgery on the broken middle finger on his right hand. He’s expected back on the field in about two weeks.
>>QB Marc Bulger had his sharpest, most accurate day of camp Wednesday.
>>A week in, the contenders for roster spots are beginning to separate themselves from the pretenders.
>>Be sure to check out Chris Lee’s updated camp photos elsewhere on the Rams section of stltoday.com.
All for now . . . two more reports Thursday.
Glad to hear that Linehan isn’t letting those millionaires slack off.
In trying to envision coach Magoo ‘lighting in’ to ‘his troops’ I can not help but liken it to a vision of a sock puppet trying to punish a pack of rottweillers. Magoo is the biggest travesty of a coach in NFL football. Come on man… grow a freaking spine. The last straw was last season at Tampa…. It rains before the half and after the half while the whole team is playing in soaking pads and obviously miserable, Magoo comes out of the tunnel sporting fresh new duds, feeling fresh. What a freaking pansy. Garcia proceeded to pull a johnny u impersonation on our asses. While our dome softened playboys laid down for a beating. I was at the Bengal Game last season in Ohio and I have never seen a worse coached un-motivated bunch of slobs since the bad news bears. This team has been soiled by this loser. Are you kidding me? He’s texting The ‘holdout’! The whole FREAKING TEAM should hold out for a FOOTBALL COACH!
When are they going to get Jackson into camp. Make this guy the top paid running back and get him ready to run us to the top of the West again. He is the cornerstone of the offense and I would have no problem whatsoever if the Rams made him the top paid back. Just get him on the field.
I like the comments here on the board so far. Cut no slack for these millionaires and definitely no slack for one of the worst coaches in the league. 3-13? You kiddin’ me? And no slack for a sorry owner that brings a coach that went 3-13 back for another year. Pathetic. If Linehan had any spine he’d pull a Vermeil on these slackers and make them pay for last year’s debacle with brutal two-a-day practices until they puke. I want to see some fire from this team in the preseason - I want to see the starters out there playing their asses off until they can show that they want to dominate and are ready to start the season. Quit babying these players! Show us the pride and determination that has defined RAM football since 1937. Suck it up and dominate! If Linehan pulls his same crap he pulled the last two years where he “just doesn’t want to get players injured before the season” this team will be buried again. Being easy on the players won’t make them like you Linehan, because no one likes a loser . Weed out the scared, heartless players who play like they’re afraid to get hurt, because these are the guys who will get hurt. Get Fired Up! Dominate!
This situation is disconcerting. A team that is looking for redemption from a 3-13 season should not have to be reminded to practice hard even when faced with 86 degrees in the afternoon. Leaving aside L. Little and R. McMichael, who may feel they have something to prove, are the other players not motivated sufficiently? It just leaves me shaking my head.
MM:
Dante Hall can still find you! He has something to prove> He has to prove to you that he’s bigger than the 5′5 that you think he is.