The Los Angeles Rams have been at Loyola Marymount for almost a week but Monday’s practice will be different than the first four they’ve held thus far. That’s because the pads will finally come on for the first time in training camp, which will only elevate the intensity and competition among players on the field.
There are still plenty of benefits that come with non-padded practices, especially in the early part of camp when teams are still going through installs and players are getting acclimated. But with pads, players can be more physical, particularly in the trenches on pass-rushing drills and running plays.
There still won’t be full-on tackling and players shouldn’t be brough to the ground, but they’ll be able to use their pads to better replicate an actual play and the physicality of it.
“The closest thing that we do get to real football is when we put the pads on and that’s when you can start running some different schemes too,” McVay said Saturday when talking about the Rams’ pass rushers. “There’s a little bit of a regulated look in terms of some of the run things that we’re activating in these settings, some of the limitations in what we allow our guys in terms of not really ‘bulling’ [bull-rushing]. We will try to be smart and minimize the risk for injury but we have to go when we put the pads on Monday.”
For the running backs, defensive linemen and linebackers, practicing without pads doesn’t allow them to truly show off their physicality and skill set. That’ll change on Monday as the intensity level and position battles get taken up a notch.