Rams Players Were ‘Guinea Pigs’ to Figure Out Their Australia Travel Schedule

NEED TO KNOW

• Players from the Los Angeles Rams called themselves “guinea pigs” after they traveled to Australia in the spring to test logistics for the first NFL game in the country

• The team prepared their travel plans for the season opener in Melbourne on Sept. 10 based on the four players’ experiences during the long travel

• “It’s a business trip, and we gotta do what we gotta do,” Kyren Williams told the Los Angeles Times of their trip

The Los Angeles Rams are ready to head down under thanks to their “guinea pigs.”

The Rams will play their season opener against the San Francisco 49ers at Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia on Thursday, Sept. 10, the first-ever NFL game in the country. But with the 16-hour flight required to get to Melbourne, not to mention the major time change, when to fly out for the game has been a point of contention.

While the 49ers landed in Australia on Thursday, Sept. 3, the Rams opted to wait until a full week later, and will land the morning of the game. To come to that decision, four players from the Rams traveled to Australia in the spring to test out the options, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“They kind of used us as guinea pigs,” offensive lineman Kevin Dotson told the Times during Rams training camp. Dotson, 29, traveled to Australia in the spring with teammates Kyren Williams, Tyler Davis and Xavier Smith.

Their “physical and mental experiences in flight” were taken into consideration by the team, as was their physical and mental reaction to returning home after the trip, per the outlet.

Davis, 25, told the LA Times he slept “eight to 10 hours” of the flight in the spring. “So, once we landed, I was able to rock and roll,” he said, describing a positive experience on the plane. “You feel like you’re at home going to sleep,” Davis said.

Once they arrived in Australia in the morning, Williams said he worried sleeping during the day “would mess me up,” according to the outlet. “It’s a business trip, and we gotta do what we gotta do,” he said, adding, “So they’re going to find the best way to get us there in the best feeling, so all we got to do is trust them and go play.”

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Dotson said he’s not worried about how the Rams will play despite the tedious travel. “We’ll be fine,” Dotson told the LA Times, adding, “It’s going to be exhausting regardless, but the amount of rest we’ll get in between will be fine.”

The Rams and 49ers kick off from Australia Matthew-Stafford-kevin-dotson-090926-los-angeles-rams-090926-tout-02-08f5650d66024835bfce03e0aee593a1.jpgat 8:35 p.m. ET on Thursday, Sept. 10.

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