Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator gave his first impressions of Myles Garrett, Trent McDuffie, and Jaylen Watson.
The Los Angeles Rams are now in training camp, and it is the first chance that media, coaches, and more get to see how the new additions operate. With Myles Garrett, Trent McDuffie, and Jaylen Watson being the big additions, defensive coordinator Chris Shula gave his first impressions of the trio.
Naturally, Shula was asked about what it was like seeing Garrett line up during the team's 11-on-11 drills.
"It was you know it was the first time he's lined up as a defense with him out there. So you know we've been looking forward to this day for a long time and uh you know it definitely lived up to it," Shula said of Garrett.
Shula made sure to use his arms to demonstrate just how big Garrett is as a player. As the pads come on, it will be interesting to see how the 23-sack defensive end truly stacks up against the offense.
During the media availability, Shula was also asked about the secondary, and what he saw from the group in the first couple of days of practice.
"Yeah, we'll see what the tape looks like, but it definitely felt good out there. What I love is the command and the communication. Um, we want to provide those guys with a lot of clarity so they can go play fast and that's what it seems like. They got a really good ownership of what they're doing and seemed like they made some plays today and flew around. We'll see what the tape looks like, but it seemed like a really good first start," Shula said.
The Los Angeles front office made it a point to rebuild the secondary, pulling off a blockbuster trade to land McDuffie, surrendering a first-round pick and more to bring him over from the Kanasas City Chiefs.
Additionally, general manager Les Snead also signed McDuffie's teammate in Watson, who now forms a one-two punch that can be a nightmare for opposing offenses.
Granted, Shula said he wanted to look at the tape, but he seems to be impressed with what he has seen thus far at the outset of training camp. He also indicated that the current pace of practice is to "stress" the team and see what they can handle, which is why they quickly went into 11-on-11 drills instead of 1-on-1 or anything else.
Los Angeles usually plays very fast, so it makes sense why McVay was pushing the team directly into seeing what kind of shape they are currently in.
Shula's responsibility is to get his players in the right mindset and position to combat this high-flying Rams offense. As the saying goes, "iron sharpens iron," and one of the best offenses in the NFL will be facing off against one of the best defenses every day that practice occurs.
