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Nick's Notes: July 30

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

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Nick’s Notes: July 30, 2008

MEQUON, Wis. –

Notes from Wednesday’s Afternoon Practice

- It was perhaps the hottest session of practice since the team arrived and it showed according to coach Scott Linehan. In the middle of practice, Linehan called his team to the middle of the field and gave an impassioned plea for a better effort.

- There were 13 Rams not on the field during the afternoon session. The list: Receiver Drew Bennett (knee), guard Mark Setterstrom (knee), receiver Donnie Avery (pelvic bone), Oshiomogho Atogwe (hamstring), Fakhir Brown (shoulder), Anthony Becht (hamstring), cornerback Tye Hill (quad), tight end Joe Klopfenstein (back), linebacker Chris Draft (back), linebacker Vince Hall (hamstring), cornerback David Macklin (hamstring) and Victor Adeyanju (broken finger).

- Bennett was one of the new additions to the list. He has swelling in his knee. There is no structural damage to report but he is likely going to have it drained in the near future.

- Macklin has a sore hamstring he’s been playing through but they held him out.

- With so many injuries and the first taste of heat, Linehan wanted his team to battle through it and finish strong. There was a noticeable boost of energy soon after the speech so something worked.

- Of course, nothing drew a bigger cheer than the one from the team when Linehan informed them they would be getting the night off from meetings. That doesn’t mean much in terms of getting to do much but it does mean some extra relaxation time that the team needs right about now. The Rams have three more practices before Saturday’s scrimmage.

- Taking a page from former center Andy McCollum, Richie Incognito has been sporting the flap up on his jersey, allowing him to get a nice breeze over his belly during practice.

- That’s all for today, be sure to check in tomorrow and keep sending those questions into the mailbag.

Notes from Wednesday’s Morning Practice

- First and foremost, an update on guard Mark Setterstrom. Setterstrom suffered from numbness in his right leg. Coach Scott Linehan revealed today that he has a strained muscle in the leg around his knee. He will have treatment in the next few days but is expected back soon.

- Linebacker Vince Hall and receiver Marques Hagans missed the practice with hamstring issues.

- Tight end Joe Klopfenstein left practice early with some stiffness in his lower back. He returned but his status for this afternoon is unknown.

- Cornerback Tye Hill has a sore quad from banging his leg against another wideout. It got tight but Hill is practice to practice.

- The rest of the walking wounded list remains the same: Donnie Avery (pelvic bone), Oshiomogho Atogwe (hamstring), Fakhir Brown (shoulder), Anthony Becht (hamstring) and Victor Adeyanju (broken finger) missed the morning session.

- With Setterstrom out, the opportunity has presented itself for another player to get reps with the first team. The player given the majority of that opportunity is rookie John Greco, who has been working at right guard and looks outstanding in almost every drill. Linehan says Greco’s future is still TBD when it comes to which position he will play but there’s no doubt he has a future at guard based on the opening week of practice.

- Just so everyone knows, Derek Stanley made another acrobatic catch this morning. Ho hum, another day at the office for the youngster who clearly seems energized by being in his home state.

- Ron Bartell is taking full advantage of his opportunities. While he still has some off moments, there are times when he’s the most impressive defensive back on the field.

- Jonathan Wade is also coming along nicely at cornerback but rookie Justin King will push him for a spot on the depth chart.

- There were no alterations to the roster, at least not in time for the morning practice.

- That’s all for now, be back later with some more from the afternoon session and be sure to send your emails in as I will be answering questions today live from Concordia.