St. Louis Rams training camp update: Day 1

The first day of the St. Louis Rams' training camp is in the books. By all accounts it was a good one, as you might have expected it to be for football starved fans. A few notes from camp to pass along as we get closer to another season of Rams football.

A few friends of the site were on hand today, and delivered some great reports. If you're heading out to any of the open practices, be sure to pass along what you saw, and your pictures, in a fanpost. We'll get it on the front page, guaranteed. Also, be sure to drop your Twitter handle in the comments if you plan on tweeting from practices. 

We've got a bounty of photos from camp today. Just click on the picture above to see the full gallery. 

A summary of the day after the jump.

No major injuries reported today. Sure, there was plenty of cramping, as you might expect on a lovely Missouri summer day and months without football for the players. Still, no injuries is always a happy thing to report. 

Danario Alexander left practice early due to cramping. DX also took a nice hit from Craig Dahl.

Speaking of wide receivers, the ultimate position battle is now underway, with impressive performances from a couple of surprise entrants. Mardy Gilyard had a nice day catching passes. Here's what Will from Rams Herd had to say about Gilyard:

Mardy Gilyard flashed glimpses of talent that we never really got to see last year, making a couple of very nice catches deep down the field, flat-out beating Jerome Murphy once and taking a hit (but holding on) from Jermale Hines on another. However, he also had a couple of balls go through his hands in drills.

Brandon Gibson looked good catching passes today too. I always caution on camp reports because it's a long way from the practice field to game time, not to mention playing in pads. Still, both Gibson and Gilyard will need outstanding performances to make the final roster, and this is a good start for two players that do possess an intriguing skill set. 

According to the PD, Keith Toston backed up Steven Jackson at running back. That's to be expected. With Kenneth Darby gone, Toston is next on depth chart. I have a sneaking suspicion that by the time free agents can practice on August 4 (though the league might be willing to move up two days), there will be a different running back behind Jackson. 

I posted a photo earlier from Patty at The Pigskin Arch, who was also at practice today. Keep an eye out for her report coming soon. 

Like I said above, if you're heading out to any of the open practices, be sure to pass along what you saw, and your pictures, in a fanpost. We'll get it on the front page, guaranteed.