St. Louis Rams Training Camp: Jeff Fisher Presser Transcript, 7/30

The St. Louis Rams wrapped up their second day of practice on Monday. Head coach Jeff Fisher spoke with the media following the afternoon session. The mustachioed one covered a range of topics, from putting on the pads to Sam Bradford's status and more. Read the complete transcript of Fisher's presser after the jump.

(On today's practice)
"Day two went good. We got a lot more in. We had a couple of very competitive periods without pads, and they were practicing well without pads. We saw some young guys make some plays, we saw some DBs finish some plays, so it was a good day."

(On retaining the enthusiasm from the first practice)
"Yeah, this team is going to be consistent with that. They like practicing and they like the challenges. We did some really good special teams work early. They know what's ahead. Nothing is coming as surprises to them from the standpoint of they know what the schedule is, they know what the installation is, they know when the day off is. They know better than to pace themselves, because as we said, we don't have a lot of reps to go around."

(On DT Michael Brockers)
"He's picking everything up mentally. He came back in really good shape, his strength is good, he's not making mistakes, and it's just a matter of waiting until we get the pads on. We're going to get him in the preseason games and see how he can compete against starting offensive lines."

(On when they will be playing in pads)
"Wednesday in a special teams practice and then Thursday the entire team will have shoulder pads on."

(On if he is anxious to see them in pads)
"Yeah, we are. We've got the ‘rooks' in the pads and got the big guys an opportunity to do some pass rush and things, and that's what it's about. Clearly, the defense has the advantage right now. Anytime you go through team drills without pads because it's hard for the offense to anchor. Once pads go on, then things start to even out a little bit."

(On the first teams matching up against each other)
"Yeah, and we'll adjust. There'll be days when we go 1s-against-2s, or some specific drills, for that matter. Two minute drills or live goalline-type things we usually go 1s-against-2s and mix it up."

(On why he matches up first teams against each other)
"I like to vary it. If your first offense goes against the second defense, the second defense now is getting a little better look, so you get to evaluate them against better talent, and vice versa."

(On OL Rokevious Watkins)
"We're working him back in. The hope is to get him into individual period and he's doing a lot inside. He's doing well and hopefully in the next few days he'll get back and we'll work him back into practice. He's a strong young player and he's a little bit behind because he's missed, but we'll try to get him caught up."

(On if Watkins has to lose any weight)
"No, he's got a really good head start on that thus far, but we just need to get him into a little better shape."

(On T Jason Smith)
"He's our starting right tackle right now. He's very athletic, he's talented, and he's getting better each day, so we're counting on him."

(On LB James Laurinaitis)
"He's a captain of the defense. He's a very talented player, he's intense, he's the kind of guy that you want at your middle linebacker position. He's dedicated, he's intelligent, and he's very committed to it. Football's important to him and he wants to learn. He was frustrated early in the offseason because he couldn't come in and learn the defense and do those kinds of things. He's that kind of player. He's very vocal on the field and he's been extremely durable for us."

(On if LB James Laurinaitis was named a captain)
"No, if I said captain, I misspoke. I meant he's a leader. He just has natural leadership qualities at the middle linebacker position."

(On what QB Sam Bradford has to do for the team to be successful)
"The things that we're seeing from him right now: really good understanding of the offense, not afraid to practice, not afraid to pull the trigger, learn from the mistakes and just take charge. And that's what he's doing. He's doing a great job. He's made some great throws. You see him developing relationships with even the younger receivers already. He's right on track. His potential is extremely, extremely good."

(On what he sees from LB Rocky McIntosh)
"We wanted some depth, and we wanted to improve the competition at the outside linebacker spot. Rocky has some familiarity with the system from Washington. He's just a talented player. He's athletic and he's got very good strength. He's a smart player and felt like he had a chance to fit into this system. He's also been a very productive special teams guy. He wanted the opportunity to come in here and just have a chance to compete and make the team. It felt like the perfect fit for us."

(On if McIntosh understands the different terminology)
"Yeah he's got a good feel. What you guys don't get a sense for is the time that is spent inside, and the time spent in walk-thrus and all the reps. We've got a 10 or 11 hour day and we're spending two of it in the practice environment. The rest is inside in the meeting and walk-thrus, so everybody is getting plenty of opportunities."

(On what type of linebacker McIntosh is primarily)
"Right now, we're asking him to learn both outside positions."

(On if he prefers morning or afternoon practices)
"You're not going to play games in the morning. Our preference is to get up, get going, make sure you've got at least a couple of meals in you. We're trying to take care of the nutrition-type things and hydration-type things, and make sure you're warmed up. In addition to that - in our studies - the injury rates, the pull histories were greater in the morning practices than they were in the afternoon practices."