Nick’s Notes: July 26, 2008

MEQUON, Wis. –

Notes from the Afternoon Practice

-       Another practice is in the books and though it was a bit warmer this afternoon, it was still beautiful outside.

-       Coach Scott Linehan was pleased with receiver Donnie Avery's first practice and with good reason. Avery looked sharp in pass catching drills, showing little to no rust and according to Linehan made no glaring mental mistakes.

-       Another interesting note on Avery. Not only was he holed up in a local hotel but he was there since the travel day. Avery begged Linehan to ride on the team plane but since he was not under contract, he couldn't. Instead, Avery flew commercial to Milwaukee and took a cab into a local Radisson about eight miles from Concordia. Meanwhile, his stuff flew with the team and he had to make do with store bought items until he could get his belongings after signing. Sounds like the kid really wanted to be here.

-      The first semi-serious injury of this training camp has hit. Cornerback Fakhir Brown has a partial tear of his rotator cuff in his left shoulder and is expected to be out for two to three weeks. Brown did some running on the side but is likely to miss the first preseason game. Ron Bartell stepped into his spot in the starting lineup on Saturday afternoon.

-      In other injury news, receiver Keenan Burton is suffering from some tendonitis and was limited in the latter portion of practice. Defensive end Victor Adeyanju continues to be slowed some by a tight hamstring.

-      Derek Stanley made it clear he didn't want to get lost in the receiver mix, coming up with the play of the day, going up between two defenders to make an acrobatic catch deep down the field. His play drew the biggest applause of the day.

-     The afternoon practice drew an estimated 600 people, the largest turnout to a practice yet.

Notes from the Morning Practice

-         Two practices down and it seems all is running smoothly here at Concordia University. The Rams completed their first morning session Saturday morning and got plenty of work in.

-         First, a piece of business. As we reported earlier, rookie receiver Donnie Avery agreed to a four-year contract in the early stages of this morning’s practice. Avery was holed up at a local hotel and reported to camp soon after signing his deal. He will be on the practice field this afternoon.

-         There is nothing new to report on Steven Jackson’s contract situation. The Rams are holding hard and fast that a deal won’t be struck until Jackson reports to camp. Still, I would expect Jackson to report sooner than later and a contract to be done soon after.

-         Now, on to the practice report. Receiver Keenan Burton continues to impress with his polished route running and surprising burst. Cornerback Tye Hill was overheard lamenting getting burned by Burton yesterday on a play when he thought Burton was going to cut then suddenly accelerated past him. The kid is just extremely smooth in his route running.

-         Another rookie made a strong impression Saturday morning in the form of seventh round linebacker Chris Chamberlain. Chamberlain was all over the field and came up with a nice, diving interception for one of the defense’s big plays of the day. There’s a real opportunity for Chamberlain to land a roster spot, particularly if he can show up on special teams because of the lack of experienced depth at linebacker.

-         Richie Incognito and Trent Green had some issues with the center exchange Saturday morning as the pair had three fumbled snaps in a series of four plays.

-         Cornerback Fakhir Brown has yet to receive a clearly defined prognosis but he did miss Saturday’s morning practice because of what is believed to be a strained left shoulder.

-         Defensive end Victor Adeyanju played through his tight hamstring and completed the practice.

-         The crowd was larger Saturday morning, around 400 people with a full crowd in the VIP tent.

-         One thing that is blatantly obvious as the Rams continue to progress in these practices is the faster, crisper pace to the offense. Frankly, there are plenty of clear connections between Al Saunders’ offense and that of Mike Martz. There are plenty of shots being taken vertically in the passing game and there is plenty of timing and quick release stuff in the mix as well. Quarterback Marc Bulger loves it.

-         Torry Holt is back to his usual, upbeat self and we’ll have more on him tomorrow but it’s important to note that Holt admitted to wanting to do some venting in the offseason and has already put it behind him. Holt looks as good as ever on the field and off. According to Bulger, Holt was seen running around the gym dunking basketballs on Friday and has the bounce back to his step. Last year, Holt would be walking around with ice packs on his knees. While Holt’s knees are still in need of regular attention, it appears he feels better than he did last season.

-         That’s all for now, but I’ll be back with another update and some more observations and such from this afternoon’s practice.