When asked recently who impressed him in training camp, Rams running back Steven Jackson had a surprising name on his list: coach Steve Spagnuolo.

"I would say Coach, his first year last year being a head coach, he didn't really quite know what to expect or how to go through a training camp and get the team ready," Jackson said. "I've seen a difference in his coaching style and the way he's treating the guys and the way he's taking care of us."

And how is Spagnuolo different?

Jackson mentioned a lighthearted punt-catching competition featuring the team's coordinators before the Cleveland preseason game. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, defensive coordinator Ken Flajole and special teams coordinator Tom McMahon took turns fielding punts. Depending on which coordinator was the most sure-handed, that side of the ball had no meetings that night.

The offense screamed with delight with each ball Shurmur fielded. Ditto with the defense and Flajole. It wasn't that loud for McMahon, because only punter Donnie Jones, kicker Josh Brown and long snapper Chris Massey were affected.

The competition ended up in a tie — probably intended by Spagnuolo all along — meaning the entire team got the night off.

"That was something that would've never happened last year," Jackson said. "Normally with Coach Spags if something is scheduled to happen it was going to happen regardless, because he'd already made up his mind that it was going to happen."

A few hours off may not seem like a big deal, but players love getting thrown a bone every now and then.

"Once you get that bone, you go the extra mile for Coach," Jackson said.

There were a few bones tossed out over the course of training camp and the preseason. The last two days of scheduled two-a-day practices were canceled. Earlier in camp, the entire team took a field trip to the movies to watch "Invictus."

"That type of stuff is great for camaraderie," offensive lineman Adam Goldberg said. "And it's great to keep you fresh mentally. Having night meetings off doesn't make your legs feel any better, but ... you feel rejuvenated the next day. You feel like you just had a good time, and now you're ready to get back to work."

It would be a mistake, however, to think Spagnuolo has been running Club Med for the past five weeks at Rams Park. Far from it. The Rams still have more two-a-day sessions than several clubs. And in the midst of the broiling heat wave a couple of weeks ago, the team practiced in 100-degree temperatures.

And then there were the "Oklahoma drills." One blocker, one ball carrier, one defensive player — and live tackling. May the best man win. Live tackling of any kind is almost unheard of in NFL practices. Most Rams hadn't taken part in an Oklahoma drill since college, or in some cases since high school.

"It was kind of an awakening, but you know, it was good," cornerback Ron Bartell said. "It helped us get the mindset that we do need to be physical."

Bartell said Spaguolo talked to some veterans the night before the first Oklahoma drill to let them know what was coming.

Even so, there was less live tackling than a year ago, particularly after the first week or so of camp. There were more "thud" tempo drills as opposed to the live tackling.

"We're still getting the physical play, but we're not going to the ground like we were last year," Jackson said. "We felt like the team, going into Seattle Week 1 (last season), we felt like we were sluggish and tired, beat up still from training camp."

It doesn't look like that will be the case this season. The Rams looked fresh in preseason victories over New England and Baltimore.

"I can really see that (Spagnuolo) has made a concerted effort to make sure we still play physical football, but he's making sure that we're still going to be able to go out and compete at a fast tempo," Jackson said.

Spagnuolo said there has been method to his madness, dating back to his first Rams camp in 2009. He added that any "bones" thrown to the players have been earned. Reminiscent of Dick Vermeil's first Rams camp 12 years earlier, Spagnuolo had to test the mettle of his new team in '09.

"You need to see what the team was made of," Spagnuolo said. "I don't think you want to beat your team up in training camp. You want to try not to, yet you want to get some physical things done because you've got young guys in there that don't know the speed of the NFL game, so you weigh that balance."

But even with a lot of new faces competing for roster spots this year, Spagnuolo still knows this team better than he did a year ago. Much better.

"It was his first year as a head coach, so he kept pushing, pushing, pushing," Bartell said. "Now he knows when to push and when to scale back a little bit. He's done a great job of that. The big picture is being prepared for Week 1."

And Week 1 is just about upon us.