IRVINE, Calif. – Head coach Sean McVay, defensive lineman Aaron Donald and quarterback Matthew Stafford each met with local media Tuesday following the sixth practice of 2021 Rams Training Camp presented by UNIFY Financial Credit Union, covering their assessment of the first day in pads overall (McVay), the chemistry of the defensive line (Donald), last week's competitive redzone period (Stafford), and more.
Here are some of the highlights and key takeaways from those conversations, which you can watch in their entirety below:
"I thought it was good. I thought there were a lot of good things that we can really correct, coach off of." – McVay
- McVay was pleased with how the first practice in pads went, citing "good, positive plays" on both offense and defense, the overall energy and the volume of work they were able to get out of the players.
- "We'll see what those numbers look like and we'll come out and we'll be in pads again tomorrow, but we'll probably shorten some of the fields and get some redzone work and then be mindful of, as practice progresses what that looks like in terms of the volume," McVay said.
"It's getting better. You see it each day - watching film, communicating, talking to each other." – Donald
- Donald sees the defensive line's chemistry improving as it works to build chemistry with A'Shawn Robinson and others expected to step into bigger roles this year.
- Regarding Robinson specifically, Donald said that "he's learning the same about us - the different ways to play off each other, how to play certain techniques and things that are his strengths. Over time you keep continuing to build that."
"Getting the chance to compete against our defense is a treat." – Stafford
- Stafford enjoys the opportunities he gets to face the Rams' defense, including last Saturday's competitive redzone period, recognizing that "every opportunity to go against those guys is going to make us better, and I hope that they feel the same way going against us."
- After Ramsey picked off one of Stafford's passes, Stafford responded with back-to-back touchdowns. "I hope they feel it," Stafford said. "I know I do on our side of the ball. Those guys are making it tough for us."
