Sean McVay wouldn’t mind practicing at SoFi Stadium more often
With there being a wind advisory in Thousand Oaks calling for gusts of up to 50 mph, the Los Angeles Rams called an audible. They moved practice from their usual site at Cal Lutheran to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, allowing them to get in some valuable practice time.
Given their lack of practice time last week due to a COVID-19 scare, Sean McVay felt it was important to not allow another hurdle to hinder his team’s prep. The move to SoFi Stadium was the right one, as the Rams got in a good day of practice.
“Yeah, it was great. I’ll tell you what, I was very impressed. I thought the guys handled doing all virtual meetings really well,” McVay said Thursday. “I’ll be interested to get their feedback, but I thought there was a good bounce in our step. Obviously, being able to come over to this venue, the best in the world, it was special. To be able to take advantage of that, I think was big because I didn’t make my way over there (Cal Lutheran), but I heard it was pretty windy. We were able to get a lot of really good work in that I thought was very necessary for us. Definitely felt like it was the right decision and the players handled it really well, so that’s the most important thing.”
SoFi Stadium is about an hour from the Rams’ facility (with no traffic) so it’s not the easiest commute, especially if players live further up north. But McVay wouldn’t mind practicing at SoFi Stadium more often if the opportunity presents itself.
The elements are kept out by the dome and the field is fast thanks to the turf surface.
“I definitely would not rule that out. I think ultimately, you got to make sure that it fits with the schedule with things going on here. But this is a luxury and then what we’ve learned about being able to get a lot of stuff done virtually, for the efficiency of the day and just with consideration to travel and all those types of things,” McVay added. “With the way that today went and how smooth it was, I certainly wouldn’t rule that out. I think we all know just as it gets later on in the year, and you guys would know better than me just from being here longer, but it seems like ever since I’ve been here, whether it’s been the fires, the winds, our practice facility and the location is not conducive for getting work done towards the latter half of the year in terms of throwing and catching and things like that. This is a real benefit and today we were able to take advantage of it.”
It’s hard to throw and kick the ball in high winds, which prevents the Rams from practicing as well as they might be able to in a controlled environment. Of course, they have to play games on Sundays in wind, rain and snow if that’s the way Mother Nature wants things to go, but practicing without those elements is definitely a benefit.
