Rams shaken by tragedy so close to home
Team trains in Thousand Oaks, site of mass shooting
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Andrew Whitworth and most of his Los Angeles Rams teammates live within a few miles of their team’s training complex in Thousand Oaks. The Borderline Bar and Grill is only five miles south of their weekday headquarters in this placid suburban city.
The Rams all reacted with horror and sadness Thursday after a late-night mass shooting occurred about five miles north of their fields and training rooms.
“It’s gut-wrenching, and it’s emotional,” said Whitworth, who lives in Thousand Oaks with his wife and four children. “I was up at 3:30, 4 o’clock reading about it, and ended up waking up my wife and talking about it. It’s a hard reality. … The truth is that tragedy is everywhere, and you can’t escape tragedy. All you can prepare is how you’ll handle it and how you can approach adversity.”
Marine combat veteran Ian David Long opened fire Wednesday night at the country music bar a 10-minute drive from the Rams’ complex. He killed 12 people before apparently killing himself.
The Rams believe no one connected to their organization was at the bar, but coach Sean McVay and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips both described a somber mood in the Rams’ locker room before practice.
The team will hold a moment of silence before its home game against Seattle on Sunday, and the Rams may organize additional tributes to the victims, McVay said.
CARDINALS: Larry Fitzgerald is closing in on another milestone, and it’s an impressive one.
The 35-year-old receiver needs to catch just 33 yards worth of passes Sunday at Kansas City to move past Hall of Famer Terrell Owens into second place on the NFL’s all-time yards receiving list.
Halfway through his 15th season, Fitzgerald has 15,902 yards receiving, behind Owens’ 15,934 and Jerry Rice’s phenomenal 22,895.
BEARS: Two-time All-Pro pass rusher Khalil Mack and top receiver Allen Robinson look as if they’re just about ready to return after missing the Chicago Bears’ past two games because of injuries.
Both players practiced without limitations Thursday for the second consecutive day.
The NFC North-leading Bears hope to have them back in the lineup against the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field on Sunday.
BROWNS: Baker Mayfield has become the NFL’s unwanted poster boy for helmet-to-helmet hits.
Twice this season, Cleveland’s rookie quarterback has been struck in the head by tacklers during games and both times the officials failed to call a penalty for the obvious infractions.
Mayfield’s trying not to take oversights personally.
“They just have to find their consistency,” he said of the erratic calls. “With every ref it’s different — how they see it, how they’re seeing the plays, momentum with the whistle, when it’s blown, stuff like that. So as they continue to try to enforce the same rule, I think the consistency will grow. But right now, that’s why you’re seeing some confusion.”
Oakland Raiders defensive coordinator Paul Guenther denied there is any friction between him and coach Jon Gruden and said the two remain united in trying to improve a team that has been one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL this season.
One week after cameras caught the two coaches getting into a heated exchange after a costly blown play in Oakland’s 34-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Guenther laughed about the incident and called it a daily occurrence.
“Jon and I fight every day upstairs, golf course, in the car, whatever it may be,” Guenther said Thursday. “That’s going to happen every Sunday. It’s happened every Sunday, whether it’s good or bad. That’s just part of our expectations are higher than what we’re showing. That’s probably going to happen 100 times a game.”