By Nick Wagoner
Senior Writer

With the first preseason game only a few days away, the Rams took a couple of days away from the grind in an effort to refocus for the rest of training camp.

St. Louis hosts Chicago at the Edward Jones Dome on Friday night in a rematch of last year’s preseason opener. In past years, the first home preseason game meant a lot of work for the equipment staff and moving companies who had to pack all of the necessary gear and drive it the three and a half hours to St. Louis for a game.

This year that movement has been removed from the equation and everyone at Rams Park seems to be happy about it. The team decided to hold training camp in St. Louis for the first time since 1995 when it was done at Maryville University. So far, the reviews of the move have been nothing but positive.

“In my eight-year career, this is the best training camp I have been a part of,” tight end Roland Williams said. “This camp, with the fans and the proximity and we are actually in our own facility, we can’t beat it. We just want to keep working hard so we can keep having it here.”

The reviews from the fans have also been good. There has yet to be a practice with less than 1,000 people in attendance and Saturday night’s evening practice drew over 4,500 people and brought in plenty of donations and school supplies for St. Louis Public Schools.

“It’s good when you come out to practice and you have got people there, especially your own fans in your backyard, watching you very closely,” receiver Torry Holt said. “They want to see who is improving, who is not improving. They are making this a lot better football team.”

Just about everything about camp in St. Louis seems to appeal to the players. The accommodations at the Four Points Sheraton are far better than anything at Thompson Hall in Macomb not to mention the fact that the players are closer to friends and family. Even some veterans have been given the opportunity to stay at home and sleep on their own bed.

The schedule is still similar to the one in Macomb, but the general comfort level seems to be making more of a difference. For instance, if it was a hot day in Macomb, there was no choice but to practice outside. In St. Louis, the Rams have the opportunity to spend the hotter afternoon sessions indoors. In the event of rain, the team can easily just pick up and move to practice to the indoor facility as it did last week.

Receiver Isaac Bruce said although he likes the new setup and home of camp, it is still not terribly exciting.

“It’s working out pretty good,” Bruce said. “Camp is still camp, just the meetings and having to wake up early in the morning and have a practice and have another meeting and have another practice. It’s all the same, it doesn’t change much. The whole monotony of the thing doesn’t change.”

In his effort to correct that, coach Mike Martz has paid special attention to keeping the team fresh and ready. Martz and the coaching staff studied a number of training regiments in various sports during the offseason to get a better feel for recovery times in relation to performance.

That’s why the injury numbers for this year’s camp are way down and there are no serious injuries to speak of. As it stands, the team has about eight players with various injuries, none any more serious than a simple strain or pull. A year ago at this time, that number was around 13.

Making matters worse last year was the fact that of those 13 injuries, a number of them involved starters and were of a serious nature. By this point, offensive tackle Kyle Turley, center Dave Wohlabaugh and defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy had suffered some sort of debilitating injury. In Turley and Wohlabaugh’s case, it ended their seasons and for Kennedy it put a serious damper on his development.

This year’s camp is centered on the idea of a more difficult morning practice followed by a light afternoon workout. Generally, the morning practice has required pads followed by shells in the afternoon. But as camp has wore on and the players have started getting the annoying little injuries such as hamstring pulls, Martz has gone to shells only for most of the recent practices.

Receiver Torry Holt, who is one of the victims of a slight injury with back stiffness, said the players all appreciate what Martz and the staff are doing.

“The coaching staff is doing an absolutely fantastic job with camp,” Holt said. “I think the guys are responding very well to camp. I think we all appreciate the time he (Martz) is giving us. I think it’s making us that much more efficient when we are out there on the football field. The guys are picking things up, understanding their roles. I think we are showing coach that we are very appreciative of him trusting us this way.”

INCOGNITO UPDATE: Lost in the shuffle of unsigned first-round choice Alex Barron is the absence of rookie lineman Richie Incognito, who also has yet to sign a deal. 

Incognito was rumored to agree to terms before camp, but those rumors were not true. Momentum Sports, which represents Incognito, has placed him at Athletes’ Performance, a training facility in Arizona.

Incognito trained there before the draft and is doing his rehabilitation there. That facility is far ahead of what can be offered to Incognito in St. Louis in terms of equipment, including an underwater treadmill that is important to the rehabilitation of a knee injury such as Incognito’s.

It is likely that Incognito won’t be signed before Barron, but there is less urgency because of his knee injury. It isn’t likely, however, that Incognito will play for the Rams this year, another issue clouding his signing. Once he does agree to terms, it is possible that Incognito will land on the physically unable to perform list, keeping him out for the year.

Incognito visited Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala last week and it appears as though his timeframe is about three months before he will be back on the field.

INJURY UPDATE: With no practices to speak of since Saturday night, there isn’t much change to the injury report for the Rams.

Left tackle Orlando Pace did address his injury, which was originally reported as a hip flexor. Pace said the issue is more of a strained quadriceps, but he is not worried about it.

“I think it’s nothing to really be concerned about,” Pace said. “It’s just a strain. I will be ready to go when coach needs me. I will be fine.”

Joining Pace and Holt on the injury list are cornerbacks Travis Fisher (groin) and Jerametrius Butler (knee), tight end Erik Jensen (back), running back Dusty McGrorty (knee strain), defensive lineman Brian Howard (hamstring) and guard Adam Timmerman (knee and feet). Timmerman has been limited, but is participating in most of the afternoon workouts.