(from Rams PR)

(from Rams PR)

Rams Head Coach S= cott Linehan

May 10, 2008

(On if S O.J. Atogwe is injured)

“Yes, he tweak= ed his hamstring yesterday at the end of practice. He felt it was going to be okay= . He came out and warmed up today, but it just didn’t feel right. It was t= oo tight and we don’t want to take any chances with him right now.”= ;

(On what T Mark LeVoir’s injury is)

“He has a stra= ined calf. He strained it in the off-season program a couple of weeks ago. It got better and we felt he was going to make it through the weekend, but he re-strained it yesterday. We were hoping he would feel better today, but he probably has another week or so until he will get back onto the field.̶= 1;

(On what he wants ou= t of the rookie players)

= “Retention. We put a lot in these three days and they are = not going to be here next week. We had to get a lot in for them so they could t= ake it home and digest it and come back and give it another go so it is not the first time they have heard it. We will review a lot next week. We will do s= ome of things we probably wouldn’t do with the young players as far as the installation and the expectation (level) next week with the veterans. We ne= ed to expose them to lot. We just want to see the retention and see how they c= ome back and respond when they come back a week from Tuesday.”

(On why the rookies = will not be here next week)

“It is the rul= e with the NCAA requirement for the semester. The semesters fall about a week later this year as far as the calendar. A lot of the schools are done, but some a= re not, and they go through (May) 16^th, so they are not allowed to practice until that calendar day has passed.”

(On LB David Vobora)

“He is a reall= y bright kid and was a very productive player in college. He was one of the leading tacklers in the country. I think both he and (LB Chris) Chamberlain as well as (LB Vince) Hall and (LB Marc) Magro were all very productive linebackers. That was the number one thing that st= ood out and we wanted it to be a priority with the linebackers that we brought = to this team. They are guys that have a nose for the football and I think the thing with Vobora is he a very bright kid and p= layed his entire career there. He comes from greatness at the University of Idaho= . He is just a really bright kid and a pretty good athlete. I think that has probably been a little underestimated as well.”

(On if he is irrelev= ant after being selected with the last pick in the 2008 NFL draft)<= /o:p>

“No. He is in = a good spot, because of where our linebacker depth is. If he can handle doing doub= le duty with special teams then he has a great chance of making the team.̶= 1;

(On the structure of mini-camp this year)

“We are meetin= g a lot more. With all of the volume, we are meeting and walking through and we are getting a lot of reps. The rookies are actually meeting again after the meetings so we are walking through extra with them.= We are letting the ‘vets’ go in the evening and having the rookies stay afterwards to expose them to that without the intensity of practice just to slow things down a bit.”

(On the percentage o= f the total information they are being exposed to now)

“I don’t= know the percentage but it is a whole lot. It is a whole lot more than in the pa= st. That is why we started with the whole group and have these lengthy days for= the weekend so we can put the time in. Part of it is that while we are putting a lot on them mentally, we also have expectations of what we want to get out = of each play, too. You just can’t do that without spending the time. That has been a big emphasis as well. We are putting a lot of time putting in information, but we are also talking very thoroughly about what the expecta= tion of what we want to accomplish.”

(On LB Pisa Tinoisamoa having to prove himself again because of injuries)

“Pisa has worked very hard. He is just l= ike anyone else. He had a little tough luck the past couple years being banged = up a little bit. His playing speaks for itself when he’s out there. His on= ly hold up has been staying healthy. I’m sure that weighs on his mind, b= ut he is using it as a positive that he wants to take care of himself as well = as he can and he has taken care of himself. He hasn’t been a guy that hasn’t really worked at it. He has just some really bad luck. Hopeful= ly that is all behind us now.”

(On WR Donnie Avery)=

“First of all = you can see the speed that he has when he’s out here. That shows up right awa= y. I felt that yesterday all of the rookies, including him, might have been just= a little bit tight. Today he looked a lot more comfortable which is a good si= gn. Normally, the second day is a tough rookie day, but I think, for him today = was a much better day. We are throwing a lot at him, but the great thing is that both he and Keenan (Burton) are working behind Torry (Holt) and they are ge= tting a lot of snaps. They are in a position there where (Wide Receivers Coach) H= enry (Ellard) and (Offensive Assistant/Assistant Wide Receivers Coach) Bob (Saunders) are able to coach them but also be able to watch Torry do it. <= span class=3DSpellE>Torry is really good with those young players so it i= s a perfect situation as far as I am concerned.”

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