Notes from Wednesday’s Morning Session

-         Greetings from Titans Baptist Sports Park here in sweltering Nashville, Ten. It’s amazing how much different the weather is when you get away from Mequon, Wis. Of course, for those of you in the STL, you already know the difference.

-         There was no real news to come out of Wednesday’s morning practice but let me assure you it was by far the most entertaining workout of this training camp. Plenty to talk about here but I want to cover some injuries real quick.

-         Not participating in most or all of the workouts were Brett Romberg (hand), Oshiomogho Atogwe (hamstring), Anthony Becht (hamstring), Victor Adeyanju (finger), cornerback Fakhir Brown (shoulder) and Donnie Avery (pelvic bone). Running back Steven Jackson hit lucky 13 in his holdout.

-         The way the setup is here in Tennessee is that the Titans have three practice fields next to each other. On the first field closest to the parking lot, the Rams offense squared off against the Titans defense. The middle field gave the special teamers a place to hang out and the far field was Rams defense against Titans offense.

-         Because I have yet to develop the ability to be everywhere at once (can anyone help me with this?), I spent most of my morning watching the Rams offense against the Titans defense.

-         From the word go, the team drills were nothing short of intense. There was really a palpable intensity on this field as both teams came out fired up.

-         One source for a lot of the passion was Tennessee defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch. This guy looks exactly like the character who played “Meanie,” the hard hitting guy in the movie “The Waterboy.” And oh by the way, Vanden Bosch is insane. He was squealing and yelling all over the place. For what it’s worth, when I say insane I mean he’s a wonderful man and I hope he doesn’t hurt me.

-         Vanden Bosch is mostly known for his non stop motor and his propensity for sprinting down the field after ball carriers well after the play is over. At one point, he chased Travis Minor down about 40 yards down field and tried to strip the ball out. Safe to say, he sets a pretty good example for the younger Titans.

-         Before practice even started, Tennessee veteran center Kevin Mawae was giving former teammate Jacob Bell the business. He prodded Bell to stop slacking off during individual work and the walk through, yelling from the middle field back to the first field. No worries, though, Bell and Mawae are close friends.

-         Speaking of Bell, I’m not sure if it was the homecoming factor or what but he had what seemed to be his best practice since coming to St. Louis. In one on one pass rush drills, he absolutely stone walled Titans’ All Pro DT Albert Haynesworth on a couple of occasions. Haynesworth and Vanden Bosch got the best of Bell and Adam Goldberg on a stunt later in the drill but it was obvious that Bell was motivated to face his former teammate and friend.

-         In his one on one opportunities with Vanden Bosch, Goldberg was excellent. Goldberg is quietly starting to really come on and told some reporters later that he feels as good as he has in some time.

-         Speaking of one on one drills, one Rams was absolutely outstanding in the morning workout. That player was center Nick Leckey. Leckey is undersized and has bounced around a lot but he took reps against the Titans best interior guys not named Haynesworth and held his ground with outstanding leverage and a low base. Leckey worked plenty with the ones because of Romberg’s absence and really was impressive.

-         As expected, tempers began to flare in team drills. In the first team session, Torry Holt had his helmet knocked loose (though he didn’t have the chinstrap buckled) by a Titans defensive back. Holt came down with the catch for about a 16-yard gain, picked up his helmet and finished the play. On his way back to the huddle, he made it a point to hand the ball back to the defender (couldn’t see who it was from my angle). Holt said later it fired him up to have a good practice.

-         The second team period brought on the serious fires as fights broke out left and right. One skirmish started with Vanden Bosch hitting Roy Schuening in the back of the head. Goldberg came to his aid and things broke out from there. Reche Caldwell and Cortland Finnegan got into it moments later and the coaches finally brought their teams back to the huddle to get things settled down.

-         Those speeches didn’t do much good though as Rams tackle Mark LeVoir and Titans DE Sean Conover got into it on the very next play.

-         Perhaps the best news of the day was that the offense really continues to click and did so against a top notch defense such as Tennessee’s. The Rams moved the ball well up and down the field with their first unit, even running the ball with success against the Titans’ stout front seven. In fact, the first team session saw the ball hit the ground but once in the first 12 or so passing attempts. And even that incompletion was questionable as Keenan Burton appeared to catch it but the officials ruled it hit the ground before he could get his hands under it.

-         Brock Berlin took most of the reps with the third team offense but he had a rough day. Two days removed from one of his finest practices, Berlin seemed a bit timid. He was intercepted on a couple of occasions. Should be interesting to see if Bruce Gradkowski gets an opportunity this afternoon.

-         One player who did not have a rough morning was Caldwell . He’s been quiet for most of this camp but he really showed up today. On one play, he caught a 10-yard curl in front of Finnegan, juked left and cut right, leaving Finnegan in his wake on his way to the end zone. Perhaps Caldwell could still figure into the mix for the final receiver spot, after all.

-         That’s all for now, be sure to check back this afternoon for more updates from the Rams and Titans.