Hitting continues as Spagnuolo strives to toughen up Rams
Another morning practice in full pads and more live tackling sessions as St. Louis Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo tries to toughen up his troops during training camp. Spagnuolo wasn’t overly thrilled by what he saw Sunday, noting a “sluggish” start to the proceedings.
“Not bad,” he said. “I will tell you what I told them at the end: We try to condition in practice; we don’t do it after. And there were some moments in there that I thought were a little bit slow or a little bit walking around. So I fed it to them, and hopefully this afternoon they’ll respond.”
Notes & quotes:
*TE Joe Klopfenstein sat out after experiencing what Spagunuolo described as “a reaction to some medicine.”
*QB Marc Bulger hooked up with WR Donnie Avery for a pretty 50-yard scoring pass down the right sideline.
*The biggest hit of the day — of camp, so far — was delivered by LB Larry Grant. He buried WR Keenan Burton in the backfield after Burton had taken a handoff.
*The offense performed much better Sunday after the defense dominated Saturday. “The offense came out and looked a little bit different, moved the ball. That was pretty impressive,” Spagnuolo said.
*Rookie LB James Laurinaitis again got a few snaps with the first unit. He looks good shedding blockers as he pursues the ballcarrier.
*TEs Randy McMichael and Bill Bajema are both solid, effective blockers.
All for now . . . more following the afternoon practice, which starts at 2:45.
i wish i can see videos of the minicamp!
someone in Rams Park film prectice and put on in Youtube!
I’d like to see Larry Grant win that strong side spot. A couple young guys that played together at a high level in college teamed up with Witherspoon could turn out to be a good unit.
As long as the hard hitting continues, we’re bound to get a few guys dinged up but that’s to be expected. Hopefully, we make it through camp with no serious injuries.
Coach Spag’s is going to have his troops in shape and battle hardened for the regular season and so far, the players are buying into the program. I don’t ever recall a season where the Rams developed a reputation as a physical, hard hitting, dominating team. This could be the year and as a long time fan, I find it refreshing and very exciting.
I am an old RAMS fan and I remember the days when the RAMS were mean and tough.I personally watched Deacon Jones and Lamar Lundy,Rosey and even Olsen take control of a game by being tougher and meaner than their opponents, IE Rosey swinging his helmet on the SF sideline Kickin A and taking names.Spags lets see it again!