Tweet
Rams coach Mike Martz issued an apology for sometimes questioning the toughness of running back Lamar Gordon, who underwent surgery Aug. 10 to remove a bone chip from his ankle. Other coaches had also questioned Gordon's ability to play with pain, considering he had complained of ankle problems since joining the Rams in 2002.
Said Martz, "He has had that for as long as we have had him. The thing that's remarkable about him, is that I didn't know how tough he was. I'm embarrassed and ashamed of my attitude towards it. When a guy is (complaining of pain), you've just got to trust what he's telling you. And this is one of the times in my career, I feel humiliated and feel stupid. I owe him an apology, because he certainly is very tough. We MRIed it. We did X-rays. They did every diagnostic test they could and finally there was a little irregularity in there. You couldn't see it, but because of the consistent complaint, just to look at it. I owe him an apology because he is very tough.
"We just didn't know because there wasn't any swelling. When there is no swelling in the ankle and you have a lot of pain, we were wondering what was wrong. You know he has character and he is a tough kid. He's so talented. Look at what he has done on that bad ankle. We all got excited about him with the bad ankle. He might be pretty good without the bad ankle, don't you think?"
Gordon said the frustration was always building and he knew coaches were questioning him.
"We did all these tests, and they didn't find anything," Gordon said. "So I'm really thinking, 'I'm making this up myself.' It really flared up as camp went on. I was watching myself on film (of practice), and I was looking terrible. I was hurting so bad, I knew something was wrong. I couldn't even take it any more."
This was one of those cases where the player was grateful an injury was found.
"I'm just excited to go through the surgery process, get this healed up, and move on and play some ball," Gordon said.
He was walking around camp with a boot, and was already feeling better.
"I can pretty much walk around without it, but they're worried about my ankle swelling up, and splitting the stitches," Gordon said. "Because there's no pain when I walk."
After the surgery Aug. 10, it was said Gordon would be out four weeks. That would project to Sept. 7, five days before the team's season opener against Arizona.
He hopes to be ready for the opener, but knows he has to be patient.
"I'm going to push myself, but at the same time, it's still surgery," he said. "You've got to let the body heal from it. It was nothing like reconstructive surgery or anything. So that's not the problem. Everything in there, I think, is fine. It's just actually the cut, and the muscle they had to go through. So I just have to let that get back strong."
CAMP CALENDAR: Training camp in Macomb, Ill., ended Aug. 20.
NOTES, QUOTES
—Cornerback DeJuan Groce, in his second season and making progress as a potential nickel back, suffered a minor knee injury in practice that had him initially scared.
"I feel a little better," Groce said after having to go back to St. Louis for an MRI. "The tests come out negative, so I'm happy about that. It was a relief when I got the information. I just took a deep breath and thanked God."
Groce had to do the six-hour round trip from Macomb to St. Louis because he couldn't get the MRI done in Macomb.
"For some reason they only do it on Tuesday here," Groce said. "Going down there I was thinking about it because you never know what is going to happen with an MRI. You may have done something worse than what you think."
—LB Tommy Polley, who has started since his 2001 rookie season, was put on notice last week when he was replaced in the starting lineup by Tony Newson. Rookie fourth-round pick Brandon Chillar also took reps with the first unit at Polley's strong-side spot.
Newson was told he would be running with the first group 20 minutes before the team's first practice after the Aug. 12 game against the Bears. Newson had replaced weak-side starter Pisa Tinoisamoa when he injured an ankle against the Bears.
"It gave me a chance to kind of earn a little bit of the coach's trust," Newson said. "So I thought I did pretty good."
Newson had been with the Chiefs in 2002-03 when Joe Vitt, now the Rams' linebackers coach was with Kansas City.
"I know his terminology," Newson said of Vitt. "I know the way he's going to coach. I know what he expects of me. There's somewhat of a comfort to it. But you've still got to go out there and perform no matter who the coach is."
Said coach Mike Martz of the change, "This isn't just something from a practice or a situation; this is over time. We've discussed this with Tommy. He knows the situation, what he needs to do."
But Martz insisted that the game is far from over.
"This happens all the time in camp," he said. "We're trying combinations to see what the best combination is. We haven't settled on our final three yet, by any stretch of the imagination."
—Rookie defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove is being given some time at defensive tackle, largely because coaches are pleased with ends Bryce Fisher and Erik Flowers on the right side.
"We just think with his speed, size and strength that he might be able to add something for us in there," coach Mike Martz said. "We'll look him at him a little bit."
Said Hargrove, who missed two days of camp to tend his family in hurricane ravaged Punta Gorda, Fla., "Coach Martz told me that he thinks the way I come off the ball and the way I play, that's a natural fit for me. I think it's going to be a real comfortable move for me."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Some of the young guys think we have a lot in now, and they haven't seen anything yet. It's only going to get a lot more complicated and lot more complex." — QB Marc Bulger on where the Rams are with installation of the offense.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
BATTLE OF THE WEEK: Tony Newson, Brandon Chillar and Tommy Polley for starting strong-side LB job: Polley played well in a scrimmage against the Bears Aug. 7, but didn't fare as well five days later in the first preseason game. Newson had been flashing all camp, and will be given a chance to see how he plays against other team's starters. Chillar missed a lot of offseason work because he wasn't able to report to the team until mid-June. Then he missed a few days of practice in camp with a shoulder injury.
OTHER BATTLE FRONTS: Mike Brake, Nick Burley and Ryan Prince for third TE job: The question is whether the Rams will keep one of these tight ends or simply use Erik Jensen in a combination tight end/fullback role. Burley is a converted defensive end, who has shown progress, while Brake has also impressed the coaches with his ability. Prince was cut by San Diego before training camp, but has competed well.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: TE Brandon Manumaleuna: There were raised eyebrows when the Rams matched a five-year offer to Manumaleuna made by Carolina. However, he lost 13 pounds in the offseason, and has been more aggressive in camp, using his size (he still weighs 275 pounds) to his advantage.
ROOKIE REPORT: RB Steven Jackson (first round), missed some practices to rest his leg, but continues to improve as a receiver and blocker. ... DL Anthony Hargrove (third) is getting a look at the 3-technique defensive tackle spot. ... LB Brandon Chillar (fourth) has been making a move after a slow camp start, and is competing for playing time on the string side. ... S Jason Shivers (fifth) has fallen behind some veterans, and has to make an impact on special teams. ... FB Erik Jensen (seventh) returned to practice after missing two weeks because of a knee injury and is blocking well. ... C Larry Turner (seventh) is entrenched as the backup at center and has progressed extraordinarily well for a late-round pick.
INJURY IMPACT: For their practice Aug. 21, two days before a Monday night game against Kansas City, the Rams had only seven players sidelined by injuries: OT Kyle Turley (back), RB Lamar Gordon (ankle), CB DeJuan Groce (knee), DT Jimmy Kennedy (foot), FB Joey Goodspeed (hamstring), CB Robert Cromartie (hamstring) and tackle Jeremy Phillips (neck) ... Returning to full pads were TE Cam Cleeland (hamstring), WR Kevin Curtis (shin splints), LB Tony Newson (hamstring) and DT Bernard Holsey (quad).
Said Martz, "He has had that for as long as we have had him. The thing that's remarkable about him, is that I didn't know how tough he was. I'm embarrassed and ashamed of my attitude towards it. When a guy is (complaining of pain), you've just got to trust what he's telling you. And this is one of the times in my career, I feel humiliated and feel stupid. I owe him an apology, because he certainly is very tough. We MRIed it. We did X-rays. They did every diagnostic test they could and finally there was a little irregularity in there. You couldn't see it, but because of the consistent complaint, just to look at it. I owe him an apology because he is very tough.
"We just didn't know because there wasn't any swelling. When there is no swelling in the ankle and you have a lot of pain, we were wondering what was wrong. You know he has character and he is a tough kid. He's so talented. Look at what he has done on that bad ankle. We all got excited about him with the bad ankle. He might be pretty good without the bad ankle, don't you think?"
Gordon said the frustration was always building and he knew coaches were questioning him.
"We did all these tests, and they didn't find anything," Gordon said. "So I'm really thinking, 'I'm making this up myself.' It really flared up as camp went on. I was watching myself on film (of practice), and I was looking terrible. I was hurting so bad, I knew something was wrong. I couldn't even take it any more."
This was one of those cases where the player was grateful an injury was found.
"I'm just excited to go through the surgery process, get this healed up, and move on and play some ball," Gordon said.
He was walking around camp with a boot, and was already feeling better.
"I can pretty much walk around without it, but they're worried about my ankle swelling up, and splitting the stitches," Gordon said. "Because there's no pain when I walk."
After the surgery Aug. 10, it was said Gordon would be out four weeks. That would project to Sept. 7, five days before the team's season opener against Arizona.
He hopes to be ready for the opener, but knows he has to be patient.
"I'm going to push myself, but at the same time, it's still surgery," he said. "You've got to let the body heal from it. It was nothing like reconstructive surgery or anything. So that's not the problem. Everything in there, I think, is fine. It's just actually the cut, and the muscle they had to go through. So I just have to let that get back strong."
CAMP CALENDAR: Training camp in Macomb, Ill., ended Aug. 20.
NOTES, QUOTES
—Cornerback DeJuan Groce, in his second season and making progress as a potential nickel back, suffered a minor knee injury in practice that had him initially scared.
"I feel a little better," Groce said after having to go back to St. Louis for an MRI. "The tests come out negative, so I'm happy about that. It was a relief when I got the information. I just took a deep breath and thanked God."
Groce had to do the six-hour round trip from Macomb to St. Louis because he couldn't get the MRI done in Macomb.
"For some reason they only do it on Tuesday here," Groce said. "Going down there I was thinking about it because you never know what is going to happen with an MRI. You may have done something worse than what you think."
—LB Tommy Polley, who has started since his 2001 rookie season, was put on notice last week when he was replaced in the starting lineup by Tony Newson. Rookie fourth-round pick Brandon Chillar also took reps with the first unit at Polley's strong-side spot.
Newson was told he would be running with the first group 20 minutes before the team's first practice after the Aug. 12 game against the Bears. Newson had replaced weak-side starter Pisa Tinoisamoa when he injured an ankle against the Bears.
"It gave me a chance to kind of earn a little bit of the coach's trust," Newson said. "So I thought I did pretty good."
Newson had been with the Chiefs in 2002-03 when Joe Vitt, now the Rams' linebackers coach was with Kansas City.
"I know his terminology," Newson said of Vitt. "I know the way he's going to coach. I know what he expects of me. There's somewhat of a comfort to it. But you've still got to go out there and perform no matter who the coach is."
Said coach Mike Martz of the change, "This isn't just something from a practice or a situation; this is over time. We've discussed this with Tommy. He knows the situation, what he needs to do."
But Martz insisted that the game is far from over.
"This happens all the time in camp," he said. "We're trying combinations to see what the best combination is. We haven't settled on our final three yet, by any stretch of the imagination."
—Rookie defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove is being given some time at defensive tackle, largely because coaches are pleased with ends Bryce Fisher and Erik Flowers on the right side.
"We just think with his speed, size and strength that he might be able to add something for us in there," coach Mike Martz said. "We'll look him at him a little bit."
Said Hargrove, who missed two days of camp to tend his family in hurricane ravaged Punta Gorda, Fla., "Coach Martz told me that he thinks the way I come off the ball and the way I play, that's a natural fit for me. I think it's going to be a real comfortable move for me."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Some of the young guys think we have a lot in now, and they haven't seen anything yet. It's only going to get a lot more complicated and lot more complex." — QB Marc Bulger on where the Rams are with installation of the offense.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
BATTLE OF THE WEEK: Tony Newson, Brandon Chillar and Tommy Polley for starting strong-side LB job: Polley played well in a scrimmage against the Bears Aug. 7, but didn't fare as well five days later in the first preseason game. Newson had been flashing all camp, and will be given a chance to see how he plays against other team's starters. Chillar missed a lot of offseason work because he wasn't able to report to the team until mid-June. Then he missed a few days of practice in camp with a shoulder injury.
OTHER BATTLE FRONTS: Mike Brake, Nick Burley and Ryan Prince for third TE job: The question is whether the Rams will keep one of these tight ends or simply use Erik Jensen in a combination tight end/fullback role. Burley is a converted defensive end, who has shown progress, while Brake has also impressed the coaches with his ability. Prince was cut by San Diego before training camp, but has competed well.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: TE Brandon Manumaleuna: There were raised eyebrows when the Rams matched a five-year offer to Manumaleuna made by Carolina. However, he lost 13 pounds in the offseason, and has been more aggressive in camp, using his size (he still weighs 275 pounds) to his advantage.
ROOKIE REPORT: RB Steven Jackson (first round), missed some practices to rest his leg, but continues to improve as a receiver and blocker. ... DL Anthony Hargrove (third) is getting a look at the 3-technique defensive tackle spot. ... LB Brandon Chillar (fourth) has been making a move after a slow camp start, and is competing for playing time on the string side. ... S Jason Shivers (fifth) has fallen behind some veterans, and has to make an impact on special teams. ... FB Erik Jensen (seventh) returned to practice after missing two weeks because of a knee injury and is blocking well. ... C Larry Turner (seventh) is entrenched as the backup at center and has progressed extraordinarily well for a late-round pick.
INJURY IMPACT: For their practice Aug. 21, two days before a Monday night game against Kansas City, the Rams had only seven players sidelined by injuries: OT Kyle Turley (back), RB Lamar Gordon (ankle), CB DeJuan Groce (knee), DT Jimmy Kennedy (foot), FB Joey Goodspeed (hamstring), CB Robert Cromartie (hamstring) and tackle Jeremy Phillips (neck) ... Returning to full pads were TE Cam Cleeland (hamstring), WR Kevin Curtis (shin splints), LB Tony Newson (hamstring) and DT Bernard Holsey (quad).
