Getty Sean McVay called Wednesday's joint practice session between his Los Angeles Rams and Las Vegas Raiders a mix of "sloppy" and "unnecessary things" that he hopes to see cleaned up on Thursday.
Let’s get straight to it: There was clearly nothing “thud” about day one of the Los Angeles Rams‘ joint practice session with the Las Vegas Raiders on Wednesday morning.
One collision between Jalen Ramsey and Josh Jacobs is proof.
Reporters in attendance at Thousand Oaks saw the cornerback deliver a hit so powerful, the running back’s helmet flew off. Omar Ruiz of the NFL Network took a picture of what transpired next:
There was another scuffle, but this one involving special teams as mentioned by Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic.
We have a scuffle during special teams phase. Started with a couple guys near Raiders sideline on punt coverage play, then sidelines partially cleared. Joe DeCamillis dove into it.
Finally, one more that was photographed by Ruiz that involved the Rams’ Sebastian Joseph-Day and Richie Incognito of the Raiders.
Day one of three meetings between the Rams and Raiders (including the Saturday preseason contest at SoFi Stadium) saw its mix of scrappiness and, what Rams head coach Sean McVay called, “unnecessary stuff.”
‘Unnecessary Things’
McVay pointed out how the chirpiness and scrap fests end up ruining the practice tempo and the goals teams want to accomplish.
“I didn’t like how sloppy it felt overall,” McVay told reporters near the 17:50 mark of the post practice presser video below. “There was a lot of breaks in the action because of unnecessary stuff. It wasn’t exclusive to one side or the other but for us to get the work that I know coach (Jon) Gruden and his group wants and for us and our group, we’ve got to clean up some of the mechanics. And I’ve got to do a better job of managing some of the things as well.”
Will this practice still be viewed as a solid learning session?
“There’s going to be a lot of good things that we can learn from,” McVay said. “It just didn’t feel good with the way that it ended just based on a lot of unnecessary things that took away from football. It was a lot of unnecessary things that I know both of us want to be able to eliminate to try to get better and we’ll figure out what it looks like for tomorrow.”
Even with the trash talk and breakup of fights, McVay believes the Raiders never came in with the intention of trying to cause a fight.
“I don’t believe there was any sort of malicious intent from their guys,” McVay said. “But just that practice etiquette and getting the work that we want. These are two teams that are trying to get ready for the upcoming season and trying shape one another and we want to make sure we structure the practice in a way that’s beneficiary for the both of us.”
Reaction From the Raiders, Plus Ramsey
Hunter Renfrow helped spark some excitement, and chirpiness, from both the Raiders and Rams.
Tweeted by Ruiz, Renfrow beat Ramsey on a deep connection from Derek Carr. That led to more heated exchanges.
ESPN NFL reporter Paul Gutierrez was another who caught Renfrow winning the one-on-one with Ramsey.
Hunter Renfrow absolutely torches Jalen Ramsey and trash talking from #Raiders sideline ensues…
Renfrow didn’t sound bothered by the field altercations when he spoke to Raider team reporters after practice.
“I think both sides took it seriously,” Renfrow said. “It’s good to get that competitive work because it’s refreshing to go against people that aren’t your own. It was good to get that competition. And it definitely got more spirited at times that you’d like. But it was a good practice and that’s what football is: Just competition and having a lot of fun.”
Renfrow: spirited competition was “refreshing”
Carr then revealed the approach the Raiders took: Treat it like a game, not practice.
“Our mindset last night in getting to bed early and waking up this morning was treat it like a game day mentality,” Carr told reporters. “These are like game reps.” Even pointing out how he feels he and the Raiders get more out of joint practices than in preseason games.
It was a Game Day, Derek Carr said.
Back to Renfrow. He certainly became a trending topic on Twitter, and fired this shot that led to a Pro Football Focus graphic.
Hunter Renfrow wants the NFL on notice 👀
Meanwhile, Ramsey ended his Wednesday afternoon taking shots at the people who “say things for clicks,” which is an obvious reaction to those who turned Renfrow into a trending topic following a fiery practice day.
😂 I can’t believe that “y’all” believe half the bs that people say for clicks.. y’all gotta know at this point & do better than that lol
It’s all love, I ain’t gon pop my shit, but just know, I’m really the chosen one❕
Thank you God 🙏🏾
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