St. Louis Rams 2014 Training Camp Recap: First Day Of Full-Team Pads

While the special teams players were the first to shell up for the St. Louis Rams on Monday, yesterday marked the first “full-team” padded training camp practice of the year. Most reputable football minds will tell you that you cannot truly evaluate players until the shoulder pads are on, and the action is live. So, with one “evaluate-able” day in the books, here are our five takeaways:

1) Kenny Britt, Kenny Britt, Kenny Britt. Not only is the former first-rounder making his voice known through his enthusiastic banter, he is, more importantly, making his presence felt on the field through his play. His name has been a “headline” each day of practice so far, which should be a good sign for Jeff Fisher, Sam Bradford, and the fanbase that has been praying for a dominant receiver for a long, long while…

2) Aside from being a vocal and physical staple at camp, Britt has apparently unleashed his creative side. According to Chris Givens’ post-practice interview, the loquacious receiving corps does not want to be deemed the Greatest Show on Turf 2.0, but, rather, the A.F.R.O.S.: Americas Finest Receivers On Sundays. It nothing else, it is creative…

3) The defensive secondary continues to “struggle” against the first-team offensive unit. That is not entirely surprising, with Trumaine Johnson still sidelined, after injuring his hamstring earlier in the weekend. However, Lamarcus Joyner has been the one defensive back whose regularly impressed thus far, finishing Tuesday with another standout performance.

4) The St. Louis Rams are continuing to use Jake Long’s recovery to their advantage, ensuring the both Rodger Saffold and Greg Robinson are seeing plenty of first-team reps at left tackle. Robinson has had some struggles so far in pass protection, but received some words of praise from Jake Long and the coaching staff on his progression since OTAs. As a left tackle, working against Robert Quinn on a daily basis can certainly lead to some embarrassing moments. However, working against the best every day in practice will only help in his development on the edge.

5) On the running back front, Tre Mason is finally seeing some first-team reps, after seeing few to none over the weekend. In the past, Jeff Fisher has been slow to work rookies into the backfield, especially Zac Stacy last offseason. For now, Stacy is still seeing the bulk of those first-team touches , but how those reps are divided throughout the preseason will certainly be something to keep an eye on.