Rams News

Just football on tap at Camp Vermeil
08/14 12:29 AM

By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch

MACOMB, Ill. -- Like most summer nights at the Parkside Sports Bar & Grill, there was cold beer on tap and Cardinals baseball on the big screen. A waitress was asked if any Rams players frequented the establishment for a cold beverage.
``Are you kidding?'' she scoffed. ``They don't even get out of meetings till 10:40 p.m.''
Sometimes the meetings last even later, which doesn't leave much time for the night scene in Macomb, such as it is. On most evenings in training camp, the Rams have an 11 p.m. curfew.
And even the townsfolk know about it. As such, Camp Vermeil II isn't that much different than the inaugural version in 1997. Thumbnail description: You haven't seen the dog days of August until you've seen a Dick Vermeil training camp.
``This is a real camp -- there's no doubt about it,'' defensive tackle Joe Phillips said. ``This is old school.''
Veterans reported July 24. They didn't get a day off until Aug. 2, following their scrimmage with the Indianapolis Colts. There were two practices a day almost every day. Most were in full pads. There were meetings before or after most practices.
``Nine straight days of just smash-mouth football,'' tight end Ernie Conwell said. ``We had pretty much been grinding. Guys' bodies were ready for a break, and mentally they were ready for a break.''
The breaks have been few and far between, although Vermeil has backed off some in the past week or so.
Following Saturday's preseason opener against Denver, players didn't have to report until a curfew at midnight Sunday. Vermeil canceled night meetings the last two Wednesdays. The Aug. 7 practice before the Denver game ended 45 minutes early. Thursday's practice at Western Illinois University was cut short by a half-hour.
On Wednesday, players were pleasantly surprised -- shocked might be a better word -- to find the morning practice had been canceled.
``Any free moment you have is kind of nice, just to get your mind off football for a little bit,'' said linebacker Daryl Bush, a rookie free agent from Florida State. ``But you lie down at night, and you still see plays in your mind when you go to bed.''


Out on the town
The town square is definitely the center of activity. ``I think Ricky Proehl was saying that it looked like the place where they filmed Back to the Future,'' quarterback Will Furrer said.
One weekend morning, Furrer spent some free time at the square, where he came upon a farmer's market. ``They were selling corn,'' Furrer said. ``Like corn in the back of people's cars.''
And, apparently, corn only. ``It was like, this car has corn, and that car has corn, and that car has corn.''
We're not sure if he was kidding.
Other uses of Rams free time:
> Bush and some teammates shot pool once.
> Several players piled out of a car one Sunday afternoon and into the Illinois Theatre to watch ``Something About Mary.''
> Cornerback Todd Lyght played golf at the Macomb Country Club.
> But perhaps Phillips, a veteran of 12 NFL seasons, had the consummate Rams training camp experience. ``I went into town one evening,'' Phillips said. ``I was so tired, I think I spent 15 minutes driving around and said, `Forget it, I'm going back to bed.' ''
The grind
Most days, Vermeil's Rams spend 2 hours on the field per practice, twice a day.
There may not be another team in the league that practices five hours a day.
``Not even close,'' Lyght said.
``We're out there a long time,'' safety Keith Lyle said.
``This is the most time on the field I've ever spent,'' said Phillips, who had NFL stints with Minnesota, San Diego and Kansas City before signing with the Rams in April. ``Even with Marty, we weren't on the field quite as long as this.''
Chiefs coach Marty Schottenheimer is known for his grueling training camps.
``When I first came to Kansas City in '93 and '94, those camps were very similar to this,'' Phillips said. ``Very physically taxing. A lot of work, a lot of hitting, a lot of time on the field.
``But Marty in recent years has really lightened up. Practices have become a little shorter. Maybe the training camps became a little bit lighter in Kansas City because of a product of our winning.''
The Rams, obviously, haven't been winning lately. And even if they were, Vermeil might not change. He made this perfectly clear a few days before training camp opened.
``Practices are always too long for players,'' he said. ``For the amount of money they get paid, it's very little per hour. They are going to earn their money in the Rams organization. If they don't want to work, they can get the hell out of here.
``I've told my coaches, `I don't want anyone feeling sorry or showing sympathy to some guy who thinks he is being worked too hard.' I don't know a way of making a guy a better football player than to work him.''
But as the two-a-days piled up this summer, so did the sore hamstrings, bruised shoulders and other assorted fatigue injuries.
``This is a very tough camp,'' Lyght said Monday. ``You talk to the other guys around the league. Like, the Denver Broncos, they're going to go fishing today. The whole team is going fishing -- just for the team bonding type of thing. I think that's beautiful.''
As the two-a-days mounted, so did the volume of locker room grumbling.
``Hey, everybody's going to complain,'' Phillips said. ``You're in training camp. You're supposed to be miserable.''
Conwell concurred. ``That's just human nature,'' he said. ``But the key is just to let guys vent, and then get on with things. The good thing is we have some good veterans around here now. When they see a guy who's griping about the situation, they let the guy vent and then go over and encourage him. They say, `Hey, Friday we're done this week, and we get to go back home. You get to see your wife. Just suck it up for a few more days.' ''
And dog days or not, tight end Tyji Armstrong, who was out of football last season, says training camp -- even a Dick Vermeil training camp -- is better than the alternative.
``I tell you what, after sitting at home watching TV . . . it's not that bad,'' Armstrong said.

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