LOS ANGELES – Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur and defensive coordinator Chris Shula each held press conferences with local media following Wednesday's practice at 2024 Rams Training Camp presented by UNIFY Financial Credit Union, discussing their takeaways from each unit's first two camp practices in pads, standout players so far and more.
Here are some of the highlights and key takeaways from those conversations, which you can watch below:
"We get to run some different schemes that we don't normally do without our pads on some of our gap schemes and stuff like that. There's been some good, there's been some bad. That's how it's going to be." – LaFleur
- LaFleur felt the second day in pads went better than the first, and that both sessions were competitive overall.
- "You don't want one side dominating the other," LaFleur said.
"He's a long, strong, sturdy individual. I mean, you guys see him, he's, he's a good sized dude, and he's got great athleticism. He can handle those edges. I think he's going to be a big asset for us." – LaFleur
- LaFleur likes what he's seen so far from new Rams tight end Colby Parkinson.
- LaFleur said Parkinson has had his best two days of practice, in terms of the first two days of practices with the pads being on.
"You see a toughness, and you see they're really taking on Giff Smith's mentality." – Shula
- For Shula, that's what he's seen so far from the Rams' defensive line through the first two padded practices.
- "He loves those guys, but he's tough on them, too," Shula said.
"You see a guy that's really grown he's kind of playing a lot more outside now, where his first year, I was actually the DBs coach, and he was playing more inside all the time." – Shula
- Shula has been impressed with defensive back Cobie Durant's growth, noting that veteran Tre'Davious White took Durant under his wing during the offseason.
- "He's really understanding route combinations, splits, exactly what he's going to get, and (he's) a guy that's just been playing consistent, and he really has all offseason," Shula said.
