On The Rampage: Pads Are On, and Block Two Just Told Us a Lot –Read the Los Angeles Rams Substack!
We have the off day today. Of course, that’s when there’s the most to report. It would seem that camp does not slow down for players on the roster, which means let’s review all the updates block two just provided. Read the Los Angeles Rams Substack!
How we got here, block by block. McVay has built a camp structure that provides a lot of recovery days for his veteran players, particularly avoiding front-loaded marathons by making their practices four days on, one day off. The first break came on Friday, July 31, which means, Saturday, August 1, Day 6, is when the pads have come back in this summer conditioning camp. Puka Nacua and Davante Adams have been testing the first team defense quite physically all day today in a press coverage, which is valuable information going forward.
That was all downgraded to a teaching walkthrough with no pads on Sunday, Day 7. It was Stafford’s turn for a rest day, and Stetson Bennett was out there tossing the ball to the first team in the most confident manner seen from him so far, while splitting the backup quarterback reps with Ty Simpson. We’ll get to them in more detail shortly. We need two weeks and, in essence, two games in hand before we can really make a decision on who is best suited for each backup spot.
On Day 8, Monday, it was back to the pads for the most competitive practices of camp so far, with Stafford going toe to toe with rookie cornerback Trent McDuffie, and it wasn’t the aerial acrobatics that impressed McVay, it was the competitive nature in which both sides were battling for control of the football. Stetson Bennett again was running the entire second team offense with maximum efficiency, while the second unit defense was shutting down the run game in the red zone. Myles Garrett was again held out of practice due to lower body soreness, and the concern is more about preservation than production, with McVay estimating his third straight day off before he’s expected to return to the field on Wednesday.
And today is a rest day for everybody but the front office, it would seem, as general manager Les Snead publicly confirmed that talks have commenced for a contract extension with Puka Nacua now that he’s eligible for his second deal.
The rookie who just made it a story has not missed a pass catch yet. Read the Los Angeles Rams Substack!