LOS ANGELES – The Rams held their final open practice of training camp on Sunday, a day that featured more turnovers created by the defense and some highlight-reel catches on offense.
Senior staff writer Stu Jackson watched the defense, while staff writer Wyatt Miller watched the offense. Notes on each unit below.
Offense
1) Blake Corum runs wild. Corum broke a long run after weaving through defenders and then exploded down the sideline for what might have been a touchdown in game action. He also had a nice cutback on a pitch play that turned what would have been a modest gain into a decent chunk. Later on, he caught a screen pass with one and followed his blockers downfield for an explosive reception. The running back's vision and agility were both on display in the final practice of training camp.
2) Play of the day from tight end Davis Allen. Running straight down the seam, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo floated a pass to Allen's back shoulder. He adjusted and grabbed the ball with one hand and jogged into the end zone for a touchdown. The sideline erupted.
3) Running back Kyren Williams finds the holes. Williams' increased explosiveness, which running backs coach Ron Gould expressed to theRams.com earlier this offseason, was on full display. He made decisive cuts to speed through holes and arm tackles into the secondary more than once. Williams then capped off a two-minute drill with a somersault over the goal line for a touchdown.
4) Wide receiver Puka Nacua continues to stack productive days. There wasn't one ridiculous grab, like the falling touchdowns he's caught previously, but Nacua brought in just about everything that came his way. Whether he was high pointing the ball on the sideline, elevating for a touchdown grab or hauling in an intermediate pass between the zones, Nacua was on point once again.
5) Offensive line creates space for backs. The running backs had room to run on Sunday. They pulled well to the outside and provided gashes in the middle of a defensive line that has played extremely well during camp. Corum, Williams, Jarquez Hunter and even Ronnie Rivers benefitted from that.
Defense
6) Quentin Lake finds the ball again. It's been a good week for the fourth-year safety, as he snagged his second interception of the week. This time, it was on a Garoppolo pass intended for Allen.
7) Nate Valcarcel joins the pick party. The undrafted rookie free agent signee and safety out of Northern Illinois was also responsible for one of the takeaways created by the defense, snagging an interception on a Stetson Bennett deep pass intended for Konata Mumpfield during team drills.
8) Shaun Dolac with his own "peanut punch." The undrafted free agent signee and inside linebacker out of Buffalo used a one-handed punch to record a forced fumble for the defense during team drills.
9) Troy Reeder brings the boom. It may only be "thud" tackling with an emphasis of keeping players on both sides of the ball on their feet, but the veteran linebacker had one of the most physical tackles of practice with the thud he delivered on wide receiver Jordan Whittington after Whittington caught a pass from Garoppolo.
10) Pooh Paul Jr. being eased back in. It was good to see the rookie inside linebacker on the practice field Saturday after a calf injury had kept him out of multiple training camp practices.
"It's hard to say (where he's at in the process), because he just got out here," McVay said. "He has done a nice job. We're kind of just easing him back in because he did have a calf (injury)."
