the Los Angeles Rams left their practice fields Thursday night Youth Rob Havenstein Jersey , and it was dark outside when they finally left the locker room.With a Monday night road opener coming up, coach Sean McVay is putting his Rams on a one-week schedule of late arrivals and later practices. He's hoping the Rams will be fully awake when they hit the Coliseum field in Oakland."The circadian rhythm is what I've learned," McVay said with a smile.As he showed in keeping nearly his entire first-team offense out for the entire preseason, McVay doesn't hesitate to try anything to get an edge for his Rams, who welcome the opportunity to begin a season of enormous expectations under a national television spotlight. The late kickoff could keep his players on the field until an hour past their normal bedtimes, so he switched up the schedule."I think you continue to learn ... how the body just gets acclimated and adjusts to peaking at the right time when you are kicking off at 7:20," McVay said. "Typically, you're practicing earlier in the day for when you're kicking off at 1 o'clock out here. There's just a different element of what your natural body rhythm goes through."McVay's players clearly think he has earned the right to be trusted after he engineered Los Angeles' stunning turnaround in his debut season. The Rams' offense hasn't showed any concern about taking its first snap together in a game that counts after McVay declined to play the starters in four preseason games.They can even laugh about it: When Aaron Donald was asked about his readiness after holding out through the entire preseason, the Defensive Player of the Year replied: "Well, nobody really played in a preseason game this year. It ain't just me. It's everybody."McVay realizes many coaches disagree with the Rams' approach to this preseason. Jared Goff likely could have used a few live series to work on his timing with new receiver Brandin Cooks, and the offensive line might have benefited from a few snaps with Austin Blythe, the probable replacement for suspended right guard Jamon Brown in the first two games.McVay simply didn't want to tempt injury in games that don't count."It might not be for everybody," McVay said. "In an ideal world, you would like to be able to have (Goff) get that experience. But at the risk for what we thought could potentially occur, that was a decision that we made, and I totally respect and understand that people might disagree with that."The results are going to predicate what that final (success of the decision) is Youth Austin Blythe Jersey , and I'm OK with those consequences, knowing that you've got to take ownership of your decisions."NOTES: Inside linebacker Mark Barron was the only Rams player who didn't practice. His ankle injury still hasn't healed, and the veteran realizes he might not be ready to play Monday. "It's most definitely frustrating, but we kind of expected it coming off the injuries that I had," Barron said. "You've always got to be careful with it. We're just taking it day by day." If Barron can't play, he's confident in newcomer Ramik Wilson's ability to fill in. ... The Rams re-signed safety Isaiah Johnson one day after waiving him. The third-year pro has moved between the practice squad and the 53-man roster for the past two seasons, playing in four games. Johnson is the 54th player on the roster for the Rams, who have a roster exception for Donald. ... Goff, Todd Gurley, Andrew Whitworth, Michael Brockers, Aqib Talib and punter Johnny Hekker were named team captains. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers hoped to return from the bye week without the brace that has protected his left knee since the second half of the opening game.Instead, Rodgers was the only player not on the field on Tuesday for the team's first practice of the week.While his teammates began preparing for Sunday's matchup at the undefeated Los Angeles Rams, Rodgers continued to rehab the injury. That's how he's started every practice week since sustaining the injury during the second quarter against Chicago on Sept. 9."It's too early to tell," Rodgers said of playing without the brace. "I'd love to, but it's too early to tell at this point."Rodgers has played well White Ndamukong Suh Jersey , despite the injury and reduced practice time. He enters this week's games ranked 10th in the NFL with a passer rating of 100.1. His 6.5 yards per carry is better than his career-high mark of 6.3 in 2014.Still, he would like to be fully healthy as the Packers start a critical stretch to the season."If I'm completely healed, I don't need to wear a brace. Feel more comfortable without it, obviously," Rodgers said. "Having dealt with a knee injury for much of my football life, obviously you're more protected. You see some guys who do wear it all the time without having issues, but I just feel more comfortable without having it on. So, if it's not on, that means I'm feeling great and, if it is, that means I'm not quite all the way back."Rodgers said he did not have another MRI during the bye to determine how much the knee has healed. Regardless, the break came at a good time for the team and for Rodgers, who has been dealing with other minor injuries. He's been sacked 19 times."It was a great week, nice and relaxing with everything we're dealing with," he said. "The knee is an issue but we have other bumps and bruises that aren't on the injury report because they're not significant enough. It helps, the week Youth Aaron Donald Jersey , healing those things up."The Packers will need Rodgers at his best as he takes on the Rams. With Los Angeles ranking third in the NFL with 33.6 points per game, Rodgers knows he might have to win a shootout.Doing so, however, will be difficult against a defense that ranks fourth with 18.3 points allowed per game. Behind Aaron Donald's four sacks, the Rams had seven sacks in a rout of the 49ers last week."You have that chip on your shoulder," receiver Davante Adams said. "Obviously, we understand why we would be underdogs based on the record and the play style and the way they've been playing."They've been playing some great ball in all three phases, really. So, I saw something where this is like the biggest underdog he's ever been point-wise. So, that kind of stuff fires guys like No. 12 up and I know it fires me up."The challenge won't get any easier in succeeding weeks. Next, it's a trip to New England to face the Patriots. After a home game against Miami, it's back-to-back road games at Seattle and Minnesota. Those five teams are a combined 23-10-1.For Green Bay (3-2-1), this could be a make-or-break stretch to its season."We're going to have to play a lot better than we have to win those games," Rodgers said. "This is an important stretch in our season. I'm not going to say it's going to define our season, but it's definitely going to shake things out when we get on the other side of this and get back home in six weeks on where we're at in the race and what we're playing for."