July 29, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher directs his team during training camp at ContinuityX Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

You know football is officially back when the squad puts on the pads in practice for the first time, and that was the case at Rams Park on Thursday. You can work all you want in shorts, but things start to get real once the pads get strapped on and the guys start really hammering each other. There were some scuffles and things of that nature, but overall it was a good day for the Rams. Here’s what head coach Jeff Fisher thought of the practice.

“It was good. It was our first official practice with the whole team with pads. What happens is it slows down a little bit even though they only weigh a few pounds, It slows down. But I thought we got a lot done and we worked a lot of situational stuff, the two minute, the redzone and I thought it was pretty good.”

“It’s especially beneficial for the guys up front that got the pass rush for the first time in 7 or 8 months so that was good. We need as much of that kind of stuff as they can get so we’ll continue with that the next couple of days. It’s a process and we’ve got a lot of time ahead of us.”

(On T Roger Saffold coming back from an injury)
“The injury’s completely behind him. He’s strong. He’s really worked hard this offseason, with his feet, his balance and his technique and the injury’s behind and he’s doing just fine. He’s got a couple pretty good rushers out there to work against every day.”

May 11, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher during mini camp at ContinuityX Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

The Rams held their second OTA on Wednesday, but it was the first day coach Fisher was available to the media after. It sounds like things are going pretty smoothly thus far, and the rookies are working their way in with the vets. The coaches are giving the players quite a bit of the new system already, but it appears as if the guys are taking it all in and doing well. Here is some of what Fisher had to say after the workout.

“This obviously is our second OTA. Yesterday was an exciting day for us because it was the first time that the rookies got to meet the vets, and the vets got to meet the rookies and so we had a little main introduction in the main auditorium and from then on it went very smooth. Really pleased with what we got done yesterday. We added a bunch of things today. We got a lot of base in, we got third down, we got in the redzone today. Friday we’ll probably do some two-minute. So we’re throwing a lot at them, but they have responded very well and they’re practicing well together.”

“Well, it’s the enthusiasm and it’s the communication and the discussion and the movement skills that we’re looking at. When you say intensity, there’s a fine line between practicing with and without pads. What we wanted to accomplish over the next couple days is relearn how to practice at a great tempo without pads and protect each because we’re going to have a handful of non-padded practices as we continue to move through the offseason and in the beginning of training camp and through camp. They understand that and they protect each other and that’s important.”

“We’ve completely forgot about last year. This is a team that’s going out there to win, period. There’s players that are emerging that were here. There’s players that are improving. We’ve got an influx of talent through free agency and the draft and we’re going to play hard and win games.”