Nick’s Notes: July 31, 2008

MEQUON, Wis. –

-         The afternoon workout on Thursday was clearly an improvement over Wednesday’s afternoon session as the Rams started to get some of the banged up players back on the field.

-         Receiver Drew Bennett (knee) and cornerback Tye Hill (quad) returned to the practice field after missing Wednesday’s action. Bennett did not have his knee drained and just got treatment to get back on the field. Hill said he felt better and thought the pain in his quad was just camp legs at this point.

-         While the Rams got some help back on the field, they also had a few injury scares during the practice session. Linebacker Marc Magro rolled into receiver Derek Stanley’s right knee. Stanley did not get up right away though he was able to hobble to the sideline. It didn’t appear to be anything serious but Stanley will be evaluated. Also, tight end Randy McMichael appeared to tweak his left ankle though he appeared to be OK.

-         The rest of the injury list stayed the same including receiver Donnie Avery (pelvic bone), guard Mark Setterstrom (knee), safety Oshiomogho Atogwe (hamstring), Fakhir Brown (shoulder), Anthony Becht (hamstring), tight end Joe Klopfenstein (back), linebacker Chris Draft (back), linebacker Vince Hall (hamstring), cornerback David Macklin (hamstring), fullback Dan Kreider (knee) and Victor Adeyanju (broken finger).

-         The action on the field was much better also as plenty of cloud cover provided a nice temperature. While things cooled down in terms of weather, the Rams offense was heating up. Thursday was quarterback Marc Bulger’s best day as he was on target with just about everything. He hooked up with Torry Holt for a nice touchdown pass and was his usual, accurate self on most of his other throws.

-         The progress for the offense was a welcome sign after watching the defense take control for the better part of the past five days.

-         Some quick observations from one on one pass rush drills: Adam Carriker has completely regained his strength. He simply rag dolls people when he wants to…James Hall is outstanding on the bull rush. He looks better taking on guards inside than when he’s on the edge against tackles…Things are starting to click for Chris Long. It appears he still thinks through some things rather than reacting but his thought process is taking him down the right path…Roy Schuening is up and down. One minute he’s as polished as they come and the next he’s making an error. Still, he looks solid and should contribute some point down the line.

-         It should be mentioned in this space that for as much as it seems every season someone wants to count out Dane Looker, it just doesn’t seem wise. Looker has been one of the most consistent players on the field. He “gets it” and it shows. That isn’t to say he has anything locked up, it’s just to point out that he’s having a strong camp so far.

-         That’s all for today. Be sure to check in tomorrow for a couple of updates following each practice and send those emails in for next week’s mailbag live from Nashville, Tenn.