There have been a lot things that have happened since the last Rams game. While many of us have tried to put behind us the worst season in the history of pro football in St. Louis, the memories lurk as training camp is here.
Yes, training camp, where dreams are built, hopes are dashed and reality takes place. This year the Rams can only look to improve as they hit rock bottom last year.
Some pundits think they cay win as many as six to eight games. I say let’s start with winning one before the leaves start to fall of the trees.
Training camp – you know, the time of the year when players are taken to an isolated, God-forsaken place where they can sweat a lot, bond as a team and focus with minimal distractions. Two a days, where lunch time and a nap could not get here quick enough.
Fans would come out and watch practice, then go back to the barber shop or bar and tell everyone how good a player looked in practice in the morning, only to learn he had been cut that same afternoon. So much for the keen eye.
There are so many things that training camp used to be. Now teams practice at their own facilities. When it gets really hot, they cancel practice or go work in the shade of their indoor facility. And as for two a days, that normally stops after about three days of camp where they would no longer have consecutive practices in full pads.
Did I mention that instead of the dorm life on some college campus, hotels are the order of camp now? Did someone say, “Room service”?
Yes, training camp has changed. Mind you, I never thought the sometimes primitive methods of training were the answer in being a better team in November. But I wonder if the nearly country-club environment some enjoy is the answer either.
You always hear about today’s player being bigger, stronger and faster. You never hear that they are tougher, because they are not. It’s not totally their fault; it’s how they have been conditioned. They do not know any better because few in today’s game have any concept of the history of the players , the tradition and the game they play.
And that is their fault. In this era of readily accessible information, most players are clueless about how things got to be the way they are today – and there is no excuse for that. But then again, when some have been so focused in playing in the NFL as if it were a birthright since they hit high school, what do you expect?
One game at a time
If the Rams have a perfect, injury-free camp, they will still have their work cut out for them. Being as bad as they were did not come about overnight and their resurgence will take a little time too. Their draft was safe, the free agent signings were not awe-striking, but then again the Rams were terrible and they did not have a lot a of money to spend, so why would the good free agents look at St. Louis unless they could not get a job anywhere else? Terrell Owens?
St. Louis could not fill all of their true needs in one off season no matter where they picked in the draft. They did the right thing, and they are now on a mission of being better one day at a time. For some I say more patience is needed, and it will be challenged. To the others who just want to hate because that is what they enjoy, the second guessing will be there on a daily basis.
Practice imperfect
If you are one of the fans who cannot get enough of the Rams and go to practice feeling like you are a little smarter, here is a question for you. When you are at practice, because of your vantage point, what are you actually watching?
Unless you are in team meetings, it can be hard to access who is doing what, let alone when there is a good play or a breakdown in assignment. You have not been informed on how they teach technique, so how do you know if they are doing it right?
Throw in the fact that few go all-out in drills as if it were Sunday, and those who do not even pad up make it hard to imaging how many levels higher the game would be and could said player keep up.
In short, watching practice with the untrained eye can be a waste of time. But if you like the heat, humidity and all the other things that make players miserable, have at it. I am not sure if it will get you ready for the season. Then again, it’s training camp, its pro football. It’s the Rams.
