WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — For the first time this summer, the Rams had the opportunity to stare down a different team across the line of scrimmage. Los Angeles hosted the Dallas Cowboys on Tuesday for the first of its two joint practices of the preseason – the Rams will also host the Saints on Aug. 20 – ahead of each of their first preseason games this weekend.
Head coach Sean McVay and quarterback Matthew Stafford each told the media what they can get out of a joint practice and what they learned about their team by facing off against a different opponent for the first time.
"We've been going against each other for a long time. It'll be good to be able to look at the film, see what we can learn. These are opportunities for us to grow, even though we don't game plan it, we're just testing our rules. But there was a lot of good stuff really from both sides, and I look forward to really looking at the film and diving into how we can learn from it." - McVay
The joint practice was the first opportunity to see a different defense and offense for the Rams after spending the last two weeks at LMU. Although the practice is unscripted for the offense, McVay still acknowledges the benefits that can come from examining the operations against a different defense.
McVay didn't have a chance to look at the film before speaking with the media, but he was pleased with something that won't show up in the silent tapes anyways: getting in and out of the huddle. "I like the overall vibe and the feel in terms of how we got in and out of the huddle, stuff that you can't necessarily see on the silent tape," McVay said. "Then some of the specifics, technique and fundamental-wise is what we'll really be able to dive into when we watch the tape."
"We sit there and we practice against our defense, they see our plays, they're trying to play our plays, we're trying to play their defense. We don't game plan for any of this. We just go out there and play, play our rules, see how they hold up. There's going to be things to learn, things to correct, but it's a good chance to go compete to see what else is out there. Dallas is a really talented football team. Over the last 12 months, they've really accumulated a lot of good defensive players as well. So it's been fun for us to go out there and work against those guys, see something new." - Stafford
The offense had its fair share of ups and downs throughout practice. While Stafford said "there's always plays you want back, things to clean up," he was still encouraged by "some explosive plays" they were able to generate.
Stafford had a very similar takeaway as McVay when it comes to using joint practices to get new looks and play against someone different off-script. The "iron sharpens iron" motto repeated around Rams Training Camp throughout their time at LMU can only go so far as each side of the ball starts to understand the other's plays or formations. When all was said and done against the Cowboys, Stafford was "happy with our operation, the way we competed," as it provided each a chance to see something different.
