Rams News

Veterans bring proper supplies to Camp Vermeil

07/23

By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch

MACOMB, Ill. -- In a few short hours Thursday, the parking lot at Thompson Hall was transformed into Range Rover paradise.
The arrival of the veterans at Rams training camp headquarters brought an invasion of utility vehicles packed with televisions, pillows, blankets, and other creature comforts.
For tight end Aaron Laing, it meant packing the entire Rocky movie series. That's right, Rocky I-V. More Sylvester Stallone than you could shake a left uppercut at.
For offensive lineman Zach Wiegert, it was Clint Eastwood movies.
Hey, these are football players. Were you expecting chick flicks?
Wide receiver Eddie Kennison arrived with enough stuff to live at Western Illinois University permanently. ``Just the camp necessities,'' Kennison said, unconvincingly. ``The TV, the blankets and my alarm clock.''
Not to mention an industrial-strength stereo that looked menacing enough to fill the Trans World Dome with sound.
At the other end of the spectrum was defensive tackle D'Marco Farr. Being a '90s kind of guy, Farr went into a downsizing mode for this camp.
``I just brought a TV, and a blanket,'' Farr said. ``I only brought one pair of underwear -- and I'm wearing it. I brought too much last year. I was too comfortable. Got to be mean. Got to be ugly. Got to be nasty. I cut my hair off. It's got to be rough this year. No comfort.''
Actually, most of the Rams had either shaved heads or nearly-shaved heads. As Laing said, ``Now that we're up here, you don't have no time to get a haircut.''
Burly defensive tackle Joe Phillips, a free agent pickup from the Chiefs, made the 7-plus hour drive from Kansas City on Thursday morning. He looked strong enough to lift his F150 4x4 pickup.
``I wanted to make sure I was completely healthy and fit,'' said Phillips, a weightlifting addict who's embarking on his 13th NFL season.
Most of the Rams, safety Keith Lyle included, seemed to share Phillips' view of training camp as a necessary evil. ``We're back here again,'' Lyle said. ``It's a bad dream.''
For all but Farr, it seemed.
``This is the only time I feel normal, when I get to go out and hit people,'' Farr said. ``Mowing the lawn, washing the dishes, waving to the neighbors, I don't know about that stuff. I'm not Mister Rogers. Mr. Rodman, maybe.''
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Ram-blings: The Rams attended a welcome barbecue and get-together at Chandler Park in Macomb on Thursday evening, but didn't stay to eat. After the players and coaches were introduced, the team got back on a couple of buses and rode back to campus for meetings.
-- The Rams haven't decided how to fill the roster space created by Ed Simmons' retirement, but it probably won't be with another offensive lineman. One possibility is wide receiver Tyrone Goodson, a rookie free agent from Auburn who was cut earlier this month.

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