How karaoke nights, card games are building Rams’ chemistry

Rams coach Sean McVay has spent the better part of the last decade trying to figure out the best way to build a championship team. 

McVay, the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl, once believed success was measured by exhaustion. 

But now he believes that old-school thinking belongs in a museum. 

Sometimes the best way to build a team is with a little “R&R.” Rest and relaxation. 

McVay’s scheduled off days for veterans and starters are supposed to be about preserving legs for January and reducing the potential for injuries. 

They’re accomplishing all of that.

But there may be an unintended byproduct from them that is even more important. 

They’re creating a brotherhood.  

That bond that is organically forming between teammates became crystal clear when new All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie was asked about the biggest difference between his previous training camps with the Chiefs and his first one with the Rams. 

“I think the biggest thing over here is the recovery time that they like to give us,” McDuffie said. “My favorite thing about that has been the DBs get together and play games. We were playing cards the other night and really getting to know each other. I think a very big aspect of being a great team is knowing who you’re playing with … we’re generally spending real time with each other, which to me is special.”

Yes, you read that correctly. One of the NFL’s premier defensive backs isn’t praising his new team’s schemes or facilities. 

He’s talking about a game of cards and the fact that players are given plenty of time to eat, recover and spend time together. 

“Here it’s come get your recovery, eat, spend time with the guys,” McDuffie said. “I think that’s really cool from a team-bonding aspect.”

That philosophy has been instilled by McVay in recent years. He has quietly built a culture where recovery isn’t viewed as the polar opposite of work, but it’s part of the work. 

The Rams have been ahead of the curve for years when it comes to sports science, and the real MVP might be Reggie Scott, the team’s senior vice president of sports medicine and performance.

Scott prioritizes workload management and trusts veterans to be professionals. Instead of squeezing every possible rep out of Matthew Stafford, Davante Adams, Myles Garrett and McDuffie in August, McVay understands the real goal isn’t to win training camp but be the last team to win in February. 

The hidden benefit of it all is the connection the players build between each other in their downtime. 

Last summer’s team trip to Maui is a great example. It wasn’t just a change of scenery for the Rams. McVay openly described it as being about “connection” and quality time together. Team president Kevin Demoff pointed to late-night karaoke, beach outings and shared experiences as the team bonding that became the foundation for a season that ended one play from reaching the Super Bowl. 

After the season ended in heartbreak following the NFC Championship loss to Seattle, defensive tackle Kobie Turner wasn’t reminiscing about the plays he missed. He was thinking about those karaoke nights in Hawaii. About the grounding walks with the defensive line on Fridays. About date nights with his teammates and their wives. 

“We are the closest group I’ve ever been a part of,” Turner said. “It’s all of these moments that make me so grateful … We’ve built so many memories that will stick with me for the rest of my life.”

That’s what players sound like when they genuinely enjoy coming to work and being around each other. This season’s Week 1 trip to Australia could be a similar bonding experience.

The NFL loves to say team chemistry is something that magically is created after wins. 

The reality is that it’s built over time. Over dinners. Over date nights. Over card games. Over bad singing in Hawaii at a karaoke bar. 

Adams, who led the league in receiving touchdowns last season, has spent his career in Green Bay, Las Vegas and New York. He enjoyed all those stops, but he said the first thing he noticed when he signed with the Rams last year was the “college-type camaraderie” of the team. A place where players actually want to spend time together away from football. 

That’s rare. 

Especially among veteran NFL players where families, businesses and outside responsibilities take precedence. And yet somehow, McVay has found a way to make time for his players to rest, to recover, to let loose, laugh and become friends. 

Pundits will point to the scheduled off days and say the Rams are taking it easy in August. The reality is that they’re investing in something every championship team eventually discovers. 

That teams that celebrate underneath confetti in February almost always learned how to enjoy being together in August.

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