Camp Notes from the HERD Board

[Nick]

Posted by blockandtackle on the HERD board--

Arrived at Rams Park a little before 8:00 am.

Spotted Old Hacker in his bucket hat on the stands within a few minutes. Had to do a double take and really makes sure 'cause this guy is a whole lot skinnier than the guy that drank all my beer at MJR's house last year.

Watched the practice with Hacker and Ramsjunkie (from Michigan) which made for a good time on a beautiful 80 degree morning.

Two things stuck out about his practice: It was very well organized and it was pretty quiet, business-like, and probably typical of a "day one" of camp.

Some observations:

The facility is first class. I've been to Rams Park before but not out of the grass fields. Really nice for the players.

There were about a 1,000 fans. Smaller group than I expected.

The first coach I noticed was the new ST guy, Ligashesky. Very upbeat, very vocal, animated. A teacher.

The next coach I noticed was Kollar and his bark, (much to Hacker's dismay).

Holt looked ready to play a game today. Made some nice catches look easy.

Faulk looked good, thinner. Jackson looked better, bigger.

Arlen Harris has slimmed back down from his "fullback experiment" of last year's camp. He looked quicker. Cason and McGrorty looked like camp bodies.

McDonald made the best catch of the day on a high throw. Looker and Middleton looked good.

Ridgeway didnt show much. Dropped a couple but they were not well thrown balls.

Bulger looked fine. Smoker and Martin were fine, too. Didnt see much of Fitzpatrick.

Hedgecock looks very interesting. Big and athletic. He had the hit of the day that had the players saying "ooooohhh". Dont know who he hit. Hacker might remember. He made a strong first day impression on me. If he learns the offense there is nothing holding him back.

The other TEs/FB/HB guys looked good, too. Roland Williams had some nice catches but he also had a ball hit him square in the chest as he came out of a break and never got his hands up. It was the first run of the drill and it seemed like he wasnt ready for that ball. It might take him awhile to get back in "ram's mode" as far as timing and anticipation. Otherwise, he looked fine.

Goodspeed and Manu looked the same. Manu may have dropped some weight..not sure. Collins is big and athletic. He made some nice catches in drills. Jensen was there but I dont remember much about him.

Pace looked fine. Tucker looks nice next to him. Timmerman participated in many of the drills until the hitting started. Not much else to report on these guys. Turner looked small.

Jerome Carter was impressive at the safety spot. He's big and looked quick and aware in drills. He put some hits on guys in the running drills. He wears #42 so it was easy to make the Ronnie Lott connection. It was the first day so I don't want to get too carried away. Furrey looked comfortable at safety, too. Ivey looks tiny and he was wearing #35 which made him look odd..and tiny.

There was no real hitting and absolutely no tackling, so it was kind of like a regular season game last year....(just kidding).....but it made it hard to really get a feel for some of the players.

Archuletta, for instance, looked good. He was loose and agile and showed no effects of his bad back. But, without hitting......

There were some defensive drills with the Dline and the Oline. Hacker said this will be the fun area in a few days after the players start getting on each other's nerves. Today it was pretty calm.

Damione Lewis looked very quick. He looked like a very quick defensive end....although Kollar still lines him up at DT in full drills. Lewis blew past several Olineman, including Pace and more than once on Grant Williams.

Hargrove, while physically VERY impressive, continued to show that one bull rush and run around the blocker move, which brought out questions about Kollar's effectiveness from a certain, skinnier Ram's fan. Later Hargrove actually tried a spin move but he leaned in on the blocker who simply let him fall to the ground...useless. Its just the first day but Hargrove is gonna need more weapons, I think. Pickett looked good in scrimmage drills. He batted down a pass and had his hands up causing problems on other plays. Kollar likes to yell Pickett's name. He likes it a lot. Kennedy looked OK, nothing special. Little looked OK, too. Kollar had Pickett and Lewis running after practice. Not sure what that was all about. A rookie from Rice, Jeremy Calahan had a couple of nice moments in drills. He has a high motor. Somebody to watch. Brandon Green stood out in a drill or two, also. Vontrell Jamison is huge..well, tall. He needs a bigger upper body, I think. He didn't particpate in most of the drills.

The linebackers were hard to guage since there was no tackling. Several times the LBs moved in front of a pass but none of them could hold on to the ball. None of em. If I was coach there would be a lot of ball tip and ball catching drills for the back seven on defense.

The Rams looked very organized and professional on day one. Drills were quick and to the point. Players were maybe a little tight, feeling things out.

Thats about all I can think of from this morning. I plan to be back out there again on Monday and hopefully the rest of the week.

I also took a bunch of pictures. Is there a best way to get them up on the internet. Shaky or Ramsrule, can you help??