Linehan wants to see increased enthusiasm

ST. LOUIS -- Scott Linehan's first day in charge of a training camp left the new St. Louis Rams coach glad there's plenty of time to work out the bugs.

"You're never satisfied, you always want to be better," Linehan said after the first of two practices on Thursday. "But I'd rather start that way than finish that way."

Linehan thought players were perhaps trying too hard to impress the new boss and show him they're capable of much better than last year's 6-10 finish. That showed in a muted energy level.

"They're thinking a lot, the computer was running upstairs with our players quite a bit," Linehan said. "We were in sleep mode a little bit with our mouths, so we're going to concentrate on getting better on the enthusiasm side."

Players were not arguing the point.

"The offense, we were definitely sloppy at first, but we made some plays at the end which was nice," quarterback Marc Bulger said. "That's how camp goes: it's a roller coaster and you go up and down."

Bulger recalled one blown assignment from one of the team's pair of rookie tight ends that gave the defense an easy shot at him.

"They're rookies and it's the first day of camp," Bulger said. "But I think they have to realize that this isn't college, we're not going to baby them along and two weeks from now we're playing Indianapolis.

"One blown assignment is going to screw up a lot of things, i.e. last year."

Defensive tackle La'Roi Glover called the first practice "typical" given it was the team's first official get-together since the last of three minicamps ended June 11.

"A lot of nervous energy out there, kind of like a chicken with his head cut off at times, but that's to be expected the first day of practice," Glover said. "And this is important: there's nowhere to go from there but up, and we've got time to do it."

Among the plusses, Linehan wrapped up the first workout in a little under two hours, slightly ahead of schedule.

"I think it was a little bit shorter out there, which kept guys a little fresher," Bulger said. "But I probably won't be saying that a couple of days from now."

And from Bulger's standpoint, he didn't feel the intense glare of the head coach that accompanied practice days during Mike Martz's six seasons with the team. Linehan was offensive coordinator with the Dolphins last year and spent nearly the entire first practice surveying that side of the ball, but wasn't nearly as obsessive with the quarterbacks.

"I wouldn't say he's as hands-on as Mike was," Bulger said. "I don't know if there's anyone in the league that's as hands-on as Mike was.

"But at the same time it's his offense, and once we get into game-planning he will be."

Linehan said he was more excited than nervous directing his first workout and confessed to getting less than a full night's sleep.

"You always want things to go well, but the biggest difference going from a position coach or coordinator to head coach is you kind of worry about everything," Linehan said. "Even though you want the offense to stick it down the middle of the field with a big play, you certainly don't want the defense to be giving up that play."

Noteworthy

• First-round pick Tye Hill, as expected, missed the first workout waiting to have his contract completed. Linehan said the two sides "kind of took a break" from negotiations Wednesday but was hopeful of progress later Thursday.

* The Rams will hold their first full-pad workout today with just a single practice scheduled.

* Richie Incognito was with the first string at left guard.