IRVINE, CA-The Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers proved in their inter-squad scrimmage that the fight for LA is real with several fights breaking out during the second practice between the two teams this summer.
The intensity level of the team’s second scrimmage between each other was turned up to game-level temperature with the random melees and the physical nature of the practice that took place at UC Irvine where the Rams are holding their training camp.
Rams coach Sean McVay wasn’t particularly alarmed by the skirmishes that broke out, seeing the altercations as being reflective in the way players compete on the field.
“I think anytime you practice against somebody else guys are competitive, especially after the first day where there’s some good back and forth,” McVay said. “Starting out with the one on ones, guys are competitors that’s what makes them great. We always want to be smart about it, but those are things that we’ll be able to look at and figure out exactly what happened. Going to back and forth, it’s hard to exactly say what’s had gone on. But, I thought the guys did a nice job regaining their poise and finding a way to get through this practice where we both got something out of it.”
Chargers running back Melvin Gordon said sometimes these altercations are unavoidable.
“You try to stay away from them, but sometimes you’re just out here and you’re just trying to compete, and sometimes this is what happens,” Gordon said. “We got to play clean and smart football. On game day, obviously, we’ve got to play a lot smarter and minimize what we did today. You want that grit and you want that kind of fire. You got to know how to control it.”
With that said, Gordon is quick to add the he wouldn’t hesitate to have his teammates’ backs.
“You got to be there for one another,” said Gordon. “Your brother goes to war, you’ve got to be there to back him up. You can’t be afraid. You can’t be scared. Sometimes, you’ve got to go in there.”
As far as the game-like intensity level on the football field, Gordon said it’s only going to manifest.
“You got to lock in because they’re coming now,” Gordon said. “Your intensity has got to reach theirs. You just lock in more and you just really got to pay attention to the details.”
Interesting enough, all the clashes on the field occurred where the Rams defense was going up against the Chargers offense. McVay chalks up the on-field testiness to players simply challenging one another.
“Guys are great competitors,” McVay said. “Like I said, we always want to be mindful, smart about how we do this. I’ve been a part of something like this when we practiced against the (Houston) Texans in Washington. Fortunately nobody got hurt as a result of it and we’ll try to be mindful of those things moving forward.”
Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson, who was front and center of the first breakout session between the two teams, said the incidents that took place were merely echoes of practice.
“It’s a friendly competition. It’s football,” Johnson said. “It’s a contact sport. It’s that day in the camp…where it’s a long day, and you’re playing somebody else. This is not my first rodeo. I love it when it’s sparking like that. But at the same time, game time, you know that’s not gonna to happen. It’s practice. It’s just one of those days.”
Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, race, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University. Email Dennis at dfreeman@news4usonline.com