Skip to main content
Advertising

Rams News | Los Angeles Rams - therams.com

Competitive situations, stadium acclimation primary goals of first scrimmage 

Rams head coach Sean McVay said he thinks the last time he stepped foot inside SoFi Stadium was when the turf was in the process of being laid down, though he's not exactly certain.

"I mean, shoot, every day runs together for me right now," McVay said with a smile after Friday's practice. "It was probably about a month and a half ago that I was there."

Fortunately, he and the rest of Los Angeles' coaches and players will have an opportunity to get acclimated with the team's new home venue tomorrow when they host their first of two scrimmages inside SoFi Stadium.

This scrimmage, which is scheduled to kick off at 5:20 p.m, will serve two purposes.

There's the logistical nature of learning their way around the building and figuring out a new routine after having the same one from playing at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for three years (or four for some). And then there's creating competitive situations to help further evaluate the roster.

When L.A. has been going through team drills in practice, most of the reps at quarterback, for example, have gone to starter Jared Goff and reserve John Wolford, resulting in undrafted free agent signees Bryce Perkins and Josh Love not getting many opportunities. McVay said the coaching staff will look to get Perkins and Love "a couple opportunities to compete a little bit tomorrow." Additionally, McVay expects all three kickers – Miami (Ohio) product Sam Sloman, former XFL standout Austin MacGinnis and former CFL standout Lirim Hajrullahu – to see the field and get some chances.

McVay said he wanted to wait until he received the injury report for Friday's practice before finalizing the structure of the scrimmage, but still gave reporters a general idea Friday morning of what it will look like.

"We'll have some different situational stuff set up where we want to get at least eight or 10 plays in this sequence, and then we'll have a phase of special teams in between it," McVay said. "We'll get some good ones on ones competitive work a lot of the time, but we'll also get a chance to evaluate some developmental guys that will look to play some, some live ball with."

Collectively, McVay said the goal is to reach 65-70 plays by the end of the scrimmage, including "every phase of special teams and a couple of them we'll hit more than once."

The Rams' second and final scrimmage this month, scheduled to take place at 1 p.m. at SoFi Stadium on Aug. 29, will serve as a dress rehearsal for the regular season.

Related Content

Advertising