LOS ANGELES — Wednesday marked the final day of the first block of practices at Rams Training Camp presented by CommunityAmerica Credit Union at LMU. The second open-to-the-public practice on Day 4 was filled with more 11-on-11 reps, but Los Angeles started to implement more specific situational work.
Head coach Sean McVay recapped his thoughts on the first block of practices and those situations as wide receiver Puka Nacua and defensive end Myles Garrett each gave their perspectives of their own experiences thus far at training camp.
"We're still in the early parts of our installation. Today was the first day that we added two-minute. It's hard to call sacks, things like that. But I think the overall operation has been pretty good. There's always things that we can clean up, but we try to be able to just incrementally introduce those types of things so that we, as coaches and players, can think alike in these situations. We can learn from it, and I've been pleased with it while always acknowledging that we collectively can always improve, and that starts with me." -McVay
During a portion of the 11-on-11, both first first and second-team offenses and defenses got their first cracks at two-minute drill. This also included kicker Harrison Mevis coming on at the end of each sequence to attempt field goals.
Rather than jumping to conclusions about the positives and negatives of each rep during this installation period, McVay and the coaching staff are looking for good football and to improve every time on the field. "What I like is just good football," McVay said. "It's not necessarily about who wins and loses, but are we having good quality football, that if we can continue to raise our floor, then that's going to be you know conducive for success. I love this group. I love working with them. They bring the energy, they inspire me and I like good football."
"The game of football is a safe place for me, and I enjoy that. There have been things outside of my control that I think have impacted the way I've been able to focus and enjoy this game of football. But coming out here and seeing that jersey No. 12 hung up in my locker is something that I don't take for granted." - Nacua
Nacua has already made some highlight plays on Day 2 of training camp, and he was all over the field catching passes from quarterback Matthew Stafford on Day 4.
After the offseason and going into training camp this year, self improvement is at the top of mind for Nacua. For him, there are more important things to think about than him entering a contract year, and when asked if he ever considered not practicing without a new contract, he responded by saying, "it never crossed my mind that I don't want to be out here with these guys."
Through the ups and downs of the offseason, Nacua has stayed grounded through his support system and has allowed them to help him both on and off the field as he looks forward to doing what he enjoys most: Playing football. "I owe a great thank you to my support system, but especially like my family through this time."
"You hope to have those relationships like you had in college. You had a lot of people coming from a lot of different places for the first time and the culture was set by the head coach — and it kind of feels like that now with Sean. He's so passionate about the game. He's so involved in everything from offense, defense to special teams, and that kind of thing is infectious. It just feels natural to want to be around the guys and get to know each other because he's that same way." - Garrett
Something Garrett noticed almost immediately when joining the Rams has how the culture felt set. He noted the established leaders and almost the top-down approach the Rams take with its culture from McVay to all the players.
The transition has felt natural for Garrett, and he doesn't feel forced to implement things the way he's used to because it's already working for Los Angeles. "I'm not trying to force myself on anyone or trying to take over a group. This group is doing great without me, and I want to just try to help elevate the guys and the playmakers that we have here," Garrett said.
