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The franchises have co-existed peacefully in the seven months since the Spanos family announced the Chargers' intention to join the Rams in Stan Kroenke's lavish Inglewood stadium complex, which will open in 2020.
"Where I'm from, if somebody initiates it, you're going to finish it,LeBron James Jersey," Johnson said. "But it was a fun competition. ... I'm from Stockton,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, (California) and the Stockton came out in me. At the end of it, he got in my face, and I'm not going to let anybody disrespect me."
The intensity and feistiness likely were secretly thrilling to both coaches, who used the joint practice to shake their teams out of the preseason doldrums with their exhibition openers looming this weekend.
Neither team expects any bad feelings from this workout to linger — and most players were back to casual friendliness by the time they wrapped up this practice at dusk.
"We're definitely building a nice little rivalry with the Rams," Chargers running back Melvin Gordon said. "That's what I got out of today."
The fights mostly arose between the Chargers' offense and the Rams' defense during a lively scrimmage.
Sean McVay and Anthony Lynn both expressed relief that nobody got seriously hurt in the workout.
The Chargers also moved north with a bold advertising campaign built around a "Fight for LA " slogan,NFL Jerseys Authentic China, and they actually released a new video from the campaign earlier Wednesday.
"I just saw a lot of good competition out there," Lynn said. "I didn't encourage the fighting, but I was pleased with the intensity."
"He probably landed (a punch) on my helmet, which is kind of nothing," Inman said of Johnson. "I think that's stupid. If you break your hand, then what? But nah, I think it got real intense."
In the first and best scrap, Rams cornerback Trumaine Johnson threw a punch at Chargers receiver Dontrelle Inman before Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman pushed Inman to the ground — and Chargers receiver Keenan Allen responded by body-slamming Robey-Coleman.
That fight hadn't really materialized until the teams got together for a workout lasting more than two hours. They are holding their training camps 5 miles apart in Orange County.
The teams won't play each other during the regular season, but they will face off in a preseason game at the Coliseum on Aug. 26.
The players and coaches left UC Irvine with the first on-field instance of bad blood between two franchises currently competing for the hearts and minds of Los Angeles' football fans after moving to town one year apart.
IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — The Fight for LA finally has some punch.
The teams also held a joint practice last weekend at StubHub Center, the Chargers' new home stadium, without anything approaching a fight.
"It's a fun experience being out here," Rams quarterback Jared Goff said. "I'm sure there's a little bit of a rivalry among the fans with both LA teams now, but it was a good day today, and it was a lot of fun to see both teams' fans out here."
Even veteran Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers chipped in with some trash-talking of the Rams' defenders during the workout, but Rams cornerback E.J. Gaines' bloody face was the only noticeable result of the short-lived brouhahas.
The Rams' faithful made their feelings known in Irvine with rude chants directed at the Chargers. Talkative Chargers cornerback Casey Hayward had a running dialogue with hecklers during one drill, but it was mostly in good fun.
A handful of skirmishes broke out Wednesday when the Los Angeles Chargers visited the Los Angeles Rams' training camp for the teams' second joint practice in five days.
"I liked the energy," McVay said. "Going against another quality team is something that's going to be helpful for us going forward. ... (Fights) are a good learning opportunity for us as a team, about keeping that composure in scrimmage situations."
During their first year of cohabitation,Stitched Cheap Jerseys, the clubs will spend their weeks about 90 miles apart on opposite ends of the sprawling Los Angeles metroplex. After their preseason showdown, the Fight for LA will be mostly an advertising slogan and a point of debate for fans.
Everything changed in Irvine,Cheap MLB Jerseys China, where Johnson and Inman set off the festivities with a scrap after the whistle.
Johnson, the Rams' highest-paid player, indeed threw a punch at Inman, and Robey-Coleman flattened Inman as the third man in. Johnson said the scuffle arose from Inman leaving his hand in Johnson's facemask for far too long. |
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