Throughout training camp, team insider Myles Simmons will share his top observations from each practice.
1) First observation is uniform related: The Rams got new practice jerseys. Gone are the royal blue practice jerseys the offense has been wearing for the last few years. In are darker navy blue jerseys with white numerals. The defense is still wearing white.
2) There's also a new feature at camp — a small video board on the far end zones closest to the biergarten. It displays a high view of the plays just after they're completed for on-field review.
3) After beginning with a special teams period — where the club appeared to be working on kickoff drills — Los Angeles' offense began the session with ball security work. Head coach Sean McVay often began offensive sessions this way during the offseason program, too, signifying the importance of keeping possessions.
4) A McVay practice doesn't seem to really start until the head coach gets on the field and starts covering receivers when they're running routes against air. McVay did that early in the season on Thursday afternoon, seeming to work against crossing routes in particular to get his steps in.
5) Another staple of a McVay practice is tempo. The head coach was encouraging the quarterbacks and wide receivers to keep moving quickly in order to make the most of the allotted time in each drill.
6) For the first one-on-one drills of the year, Los Angeles' quarterbacks and wideouts seemed to get the better of the secondary. Jared Goff completed passes short passes to Brandin Cooks, Cooper Kupp, and Robert Woods against Marcus Peters, Nickell Robey-Coleman, and Aqib Talib, respectively. Each time, Goff had to fit the ball into a tight window, and he did.
7) Also in one-on-one drills, wide receiver Mike Thomas went up and snagged a pass over cornerback Sam Shields down the left sideline. It was a nice play for the third-year wide receiver out of Southern Miss.
8) It's a small detail, but in 7-on-7 drills, Peters tried to rip the ball out of Cooks' hands after a pass that would have moved the chains for a first down. It was a short throw — the offense needed only three or four yards — and Cooks had enough for it and had secured the ball. But it's that kind of effort on the first day of camp in 7-on-7 that makes Peters such an elite defender. He does have five career forced fumbles — including three in 2017.
9) Also during 7-on-7 drills, linebacker Ramik Wilson made an athletic, juggling interception on a pass from Goff to tight end Tyler Higbee down the seam. The ball was well thrown, but safety Lamarcus Joyner, Wilson, and Higbee all converged toward the ball at the same time. With the ball tipped, Wilson nearly picked it off, couldn't secure it, fell to the ground, and still couldn't quite secure it. Though Talib almost picked up the still-live ball and ran with it, Wilson finally secured the pick.
10) It's difficult to evaluate the run game when the team doesn't have on pads. But there were a couple runs in 11-on-11 drills where Gurley burst through a solid hole from the offensive line and sped down the field for big gains. Goff joked in his press conference that there's maybe a reason Gurley's had a touch more pep in his step over the last couple days.
