Fitzpatrick gets plenty of work in camp

ST. LOUIS -- Ryan Fitzpatrick imagined himself as a Rams quarterback when he was a child putting his hero's poster on his wall. Now, he wears a real St. Louis Rams uniform and aspires to hold the position Jim Everett did.

Growing up in Arizona, Fitzpatrick was a fan of the Rams, then located in Los Angeles.

"When I was a little kid, I had my Rams uniform and the Jim Everett poster in my room," Fitzpatrick said.

St. Louis drafted the 6-foot-2, 221-pound Fitzpatrick in the seventh round with the 250th overall selection.

He spent Saturday working out on the second day of the Rams minicamp for drafted rookies and free agents. As the only quarterback in camp, Fitzpatrick is getting plenty of attention from coach Mike Martz and quarterback coach John Ramsdell.

"That's not something I really expected, but I love it," Fitzpatrick said. "Coach Martz is with me pretty much all day. I know he expects a lot out of me and I hope to meet those expectations."

Fitzpatrick met St. Louis' starting quarterback, Marc Bulger, before the morning practice.

"I just talked to him a little bit," Fitzpatrick said. "We talked about camp coming up with the veterans. I'm looking forward to that and learning even more."

Martz, known to be a taskmaster for his quarterbacks and not shy about raising his voice, nodded with approval watching Fitzpatrick during much of the practice.

He frequently pulled Fitzpatrick aside for some private counseling -- but also clapped his hands and said, "That's the way to throw it. That's how to get it done," after seeing Fitzpatrick throw tight spirals on down-and-out patterns.

The progress Fitzpatrick has shown in just two days of minicamp impressed Martz.

"A lot of times, you throw so many technique issues at a quarterback in the first couple of practices and then they come back out and it's just hard to go back and do those things correctly," Martz said. "He's retained things very well. You know, he gets a little frustrated sometimes if everything is not perfect.

"That's a good quality. You like that in a quarterback. You like perfection."

Admittedly, there is a lot to take in for Fitzpatrick, whose thick Rams playbook has been a constant companion.

"It's a big book. I almost dropped it yesterday," Fitzpatrick chuckled.

"The biggest thing is I've had to rework is how I drop back," he said. "I did a lot of shotgun in college. There's all kinds of stuff to remember. I'm getting a lot thrown at me. I've got most of it written down or committed to memory."

As the only quarterback in camp and with six receivers to throw to, Fitzpatrick said he expected to experience arm fatigue. He has quick feet and a strong arm and he displayed good accuracy throwing short passes.

"I knew I was going to throw a lot, but I didn't expect to throw this much," Fitzpatrick said. "I've just got to fight through the soreness. I'll be OK. I like throwing the ball."

That's what Martz wants to hear.

"If his elbow is at his knee when he leaves here, that's just about right," Martz said with a grin.