FAST EDDIE'S RADIO ODDS AND ENDS, July 28Add yourself to The HERD's Official Roster (guestbook), if you think you are man enough!
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Here are some brief highlights:
Jack Snow said that the practices will be less intense today as the Rams prepare to board a bus for Champaign at 6:30 tonight.
Snow says that Vermeil has really backed off this year and Jack thinks the team is "coming along."
He has been very impressed with Joe Germaine and surprised by his arm strength, Warner has been impressive as well. He dismissed the concerns about Trent Green, although its obvious that Green's performance thusfar has been a dissappointment to most observers. "He just has to perform at a little better than average level due to the talent they've surrounded him with."
Snow seized every opportunity to talk about how impressed he has been with Tony Horne and how far he has come as a WR since camp last year. (FE - I agree that Horne has made great strides offensively. He was not even one of the top 7 or 8 receivers in camp last year and I could not believe he made the team. This year he's practicing with the 2nd unit and playing with some confidence.) Snow also feels this WR corps is the best the Rams have had since they've been in STL.
They interviewed WR coach Al Saunders, whose radio demeanor is very calm and almost intellectual, remarkably different from his personality on the practice field. On the WR corps as a whole: "They've all got a long way to go but they've really performed well in camp so far."
On Ike Bruce's health: "I'm not a doctor or a trainer. My job is just to see that he's conditioned to play to the best of his ability." Saunders said that his first experience with Ike was that he ran 8 plays in the first minicamp and then he was done for the rest of the weekend, so he immediately worked out an offseason conditioning program for Ike, and Bruce stuck with it and reported to camp in excellent shape. He said that Ike won't do much in the Indy scrimmage because there's no need, but he will get some reps in 7 on 7 passing drills. (FE - These are some of my favorite drills that they do. Watch them if you make it to Champaign. They take the linemen off the field and run the backs and receivers against the LBs and DBs in coverage. Sort of like sandlot football with no rush. Very exciting.)
On Az Hakim and Torry Holt:
"These guys are two different kinds of receivers and two different kinds of people. Az is an excellent route runner and he's probably the quickest guy on the field, he's very confident this year. Holt is a rookie but he's not intimidated by anyone, he catches the ball very well, and he has a great work ethic."
On why he coaches with so much energy in practice:
"There are no players in this league without talent. A lot of times you'll line up against a defensive back who is more athletically gifted than you are, so the only thing that sets you apart is technique. I try to impress upon these guys that technique is always what makes the difference between success and lack of success."
Snow told Saunders that the only way he could be more visible on the practice field would be to wear a backpack like Gansz:
"I don't want a backpack and I don't want to sell insurance." :)
More from Snow:
"No one is quicker in and out of his breaks, Az has phenomenal talent. I talked to him about it and he just has to work on his concentration, watching the ball into his hands."
Enter Howard Balzer:
"If injuries are going to happen, it's best they happen early. This will provide alot of opportunities for some young guys on the defensive line who most people have never even heard of. Guys like Lionel Barnes, Otis English, John Jacobs, and Kendrick Gholston will all get an oppotunity to show what they can do in the upcoming scrimmage and the first preseason game next week."
Snow:
"Al Saunders has been pulling back on not only Bruce, but also on Ricky Proehl, because he's an established vet and he doesn't need the same amount of reps as a Torry Holt or Az Hakim... But when they do go, they go all out, there's no holding back. They just don't need as many reps."
Balzer:
Rookies get paid around $650/week while they are in camp. Vets make about $800/week. If they don't make the team and they didn't have a signing bonus, then this is all they get.
On MLB: "Styles is the steadiest, Fletcher has great speed but his height creates matchup problems with tight ends.
Snow: "Well the fact is that the MLB comes out in pass situations anyway, so all you really need is a run stuffer there, that's it." (FE - Hey Jack, watch the practice brother, Fletcher is always in with the nickel package.)
Balzer: "Leonard Little has been fantastic so far. He has picked up right where he left off last year. What that means to the coaches is that he should be able to pick up and contribute right away after his suspension."
Nobody seems to think that Rodney Williams has a snowballs chance of beating out Rick Tuten at punter. "That was a 'crash' pick. Dick Vermeil threw Gansz a bone by picking a special teams guy in the draft."
Vermeil seems "very much at ease in camp. He's bouncing around here... that's because he's letting Martz and Saunders run the show on offense."
Jeff Gordon notes that Dick Vermeil is getting noticeably disturbed over the subject of Marshall Faulk's holdout. "The team has made a committment to giving Faulk what he asked for and done what it said it would do. Vermeil talked to Jay Zygmunt on the phone after he had met with Arceneaux for hours yesterday and the frustrating thing is that Zygmunt can't even tell where Arceneaux and Faulk are at. The Rams don't even know what it is they want."
Gordon says that there appears to be a "difference of opinion within the organization" regarding Billy Jenkins and Devin Bush. (FE - My guess is that Bush is Armey's guy).