As pads go on, here are 3 Rams who are defying expectations at training camp

The 2024 LA Rams Training Camp just leveled up. This is the day that the pads go on, and as you may already know, that changes everything. Football without pads is no more telling than a backyard game of pickup football. But from the moment that the pads go on, the game changes. This is no longer a game of tee shirts, shorts, laughter, and casual talk.

This just got real. And now the real fun begins. Just like Glenn Frey's popular hit song from 1984, The Heat Is On, the temperature just went up. Dramatically.

"The heat is on
On the street
Inside your head
On every beat
And the beats so loud
Deep inside
The pressures high
Just to stay alive
Cause the heat is on "

Glenn Frey

The reason for this sudden spike in temperature is the fact that this is no longer about pass-and-catch track events. This is when football truly happens, the surge of truly competitive football. Pads going on activate the line of scrimmage, the place where 75 percent of the football action takes place.

So far, training camps have been sans pads. And as Rams reporter Stu Jackson point out so adeptly, everything reported so far in terms of positive and negative reports should be taken with a grain of salt.

Real football practices are only just beginning this week.

Svelte players have the advantage without pads. Up to now, it's been about straight-line speed, stop and starts, and getting the jump on opponents. But even as we have witnessed the opportunities for speedy receivers and defensive backs to dominate training camp reports so far, this is when the switch flips, and the Rams' investment in physical players takes center stage.

This is no longer the tale of cheetahs and gazelles. This is now about Rhinos, Lions, and the law of the jungle.

III: The (epi)center of this Rams earthshaking offensive line

The versatility of LA Rams rookie left guard Steve Avila was one of the reasons why he was chosen 36th overall in Round 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft. At the time, the team needed to resolve all three interior offensive linemen starting roles. After all, there was no continuity from 2022, as the team did not re-sign LG David Edwards, the likelihood of young IOL Logan Bruss was up in the air, and the team was not sold on either center, Coleman Shelton or Brian Allen.

In the end, Avila won the starting role at left guard, Coleman Shelton returned to start at center, and the team traded for veteran Kevin Dotson, who secured the starting role at right guard. For 2023, that worked out well enough. But that was then, this is now.

Now, the Rams are moving Avila to the center position. On an offensive line, the center is the role that calls out protections, surveys the defense, and must keep his head on a swivel to stop A-Gap blitzes, help out his teammates on any necessary double teams, stop burly nose tackles, and frequently block at the line of scrimmage and downfield on running plays.

But all of that comes second nature to Steve Avila. He has the smile of a rabbit but the heart of a lion. And when it comes to football, he means business.

Looking over the play of the offensive line in 2023, it was impossible not to see Avila not only blocking his man but staying incredibly active in helping out his teammates. He was all over the place, even blocking well downfield on running plays.

So far, his role has been about recognizing defensive alignments and calling for the proper blocking assignments. Now that the pads are on, toss theory to the side and prepare for the rubber to hit the road. Avila has been described by some reports as being in line for a Pro Bowl type of season, and that remains on the table. He is defying expectations, proving to be a true powerhouse on this offensive line.

But he is not the only one.

II: OLB Jared Verse showing off the power

When it comes to the LA Rams defensive front, the need to find significant contributors cannot be overstated. With the exception of returning rookies NT Kobie Turner and OLB Byron Young, the field is wide open. This is not a group of preordained starters. Rather, there may be names pencilled in as starters. But one player is about to be upgraded from pencilled in to written in ink.

Rookie outside linebacker Jared Verse is about to put his stamp on a starting role. And that will be even more obvious now that the pads have gone on.

This is a new chapter for the Rams defensive front, one that will write its own chapter. And with the team loaded with young talent, all of whom are making positive impressions on HC Sean McVay. He is more than happy to talk defense in a training camp interview:

We've shed some positive reports about Braden Fiske, but have not yet done so about Jared Verse so far. But do not let that fool you. Verse is a stud, a throw-back to the brute force overcomes everything type of player. While is power is always on full display, he is more than a sledge hammer off the edge. He has the full arsenal of pass rush moves, and is learning how to refine his weapons every day.

NFL Insider and analyst Brian Baldinger is excited to see Jared Verse and Braden Fiske perform in this Rams defensive front.

Jared Verse is the real deal, the rookie who is about delivering on the football field rather than telling you ad nauseum about how he will deliver. That makes him a solid get for the Rams defense.

But we have one more player defying expectations.

I: Backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo is better than the brochure

While the news out of training camp swirls around the mid-season form of starting quarterback Matthew Stafford connecting with the tried-and-true trio of WR Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua, and Demarcus Robinson, there is more than Stafford launching superbly placed passes buzzing at the Rams Training Camp.

Backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is lighting up the skies as well. And in doing so, he is getting some seldom-mentioned receivers some positive press as well. Suddenly WR Xavier Smith is making superb plays. He is dropping deep balls into the lap of speedy WR Tutu Atwell.

From all of the offseason rhetoric from Las Vegas Raiders WR Devante Adams, you may have expected Jimmy G. to show up as a shadow of his former self. He was accused of placing the football where his receivers would get clobbered if they caught the football. But Garoppolo was playing his role in Josh McDaniels offense, an offense that has failed whenever he is not protected by the Bill Belichick umbrellas.

Be honest. When was the last time the Rams boasted a former Super Bowl quarterback on the bench as a backup? Now figure in the fact that this is the Rams Training Camp, not a mid-season signing forced by an ill-timed injury. This is more than the fact tha Jimmy Garoppolo making plays.

Suddenly, every receiver on the roster not on the first team has a chance of getting noticed for making plays. It's already happening for WR Xavier Smith. And Tutu Atwell is looking like he may be pushing for a WR3 role this season. The more, the merrier.

The Rams offense is cooking already.

As always, thanks for reading.