IRVINE, Calif. -- Mermaids exist, but dinosaurs never did.

Welcome inside the peculiar mind of veteran defensive end William Hayes, now exposed for public consumption thanks to the latest installment of "Hard Knocks," the HBO reality series that follows the Los Angeles Rams through training camp. One week after exposing Jared Goff for not knowing where the sun rose and set, Hayes emerged as the central figure in the second episode because of his outlandish convictions.

"Will Hayes absolutely believes and is totally convinced, that there are mermaids, and they do exist," Rams coach Jeff Fisher told the "Hard Knocks" cameras from his office. "As a matter of fact, I remember him getting real excited about the potential for moving out here because he knew that he would be close to the mermaids here on the West Coast."

But it's toy dinosaurs that line the cubbyhole of Hayes' locker at UC Irvine, courtesy of his amused teammates. The 31-year-old spent a chunk of the show defending his belief that the existence of dinosaurs is merely a myth. Hayes said he puts them in the same category as Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, and then one teammate posed a very important question:

So where do fossils come from?

"S---," Hayes said, "I don't know."

"I think it's some bulls---, to be completely honest with you," Hayes told "Hard Knocks." "I just can't fathom a T. rex walking around here, something man ain't ever seen."

Hayes has spent eight seasons in the NFL. He was inconsistent through his first four with the Tennessee Titans, then reinvigorated his career upon joining the Rams in 2012. Over the last four years Hayes has compiled 119 tackles, 21.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception despite spending a good portion of that time as a backup. He has credited that success to taking his career more seriously since rejoining Fisher, the man who drafted him with the Titans.

Prior to Saturday's preseason opener from a packed Los Angeles Coliseum, Hayes approached Fisher, shook his hand and thanked him for believing.

"Let's win a championship," Fisher told Hayes, as caught by the "Hard Knocks" cameras. "Give you a chance to meet your first mermaid for real."

Praise for Goff: Goff lost $100 to third-string quarterback Sean Mannion, after Goff bet him that he couldn't hit the crossbar with a throw. But the No. 1 overall pick is seemingly starting to win over some of the Rams' coaches.

Barrett Trotter, in charge of offensive quality control, said in a meeting: "As he sees Case [Keenum, the current starting quarterback] operate at a high level, he's starting to raise his expectation. At Cal [Goff] was a starter for three years, started as a freshman coming in, so he probably never had anybody to look up to and see how much better they can actually be."

Chris Weinke, the quarterbacks coach, in the same meeting: "This is an even-keel kid. Not a lot bothers this kid. But I've been impressed. I've seen some competitiveness come out in him. He's starting to get frustrated if he makes a poor decision, so I love that about him. The kid wants to be great."

Rob Boras, the offensive coordinator, in the middle of practice: "You know what I love? You walked in the huddle, and you told him not to rush it. You follow me? Lead like that! They're going to do what you tell them to do."

Hazard on the road: Fisher understood the need to acquire alternative means of transportation for the sprawling UC Irvine campus, but he pleaded his team to do one thing: "We need to be careful."

Kenny Britt wasn't.

The eighth-year wide receiver, another one of Fisher's players from Tennessee, has apparently chosen to get around in a dune buggy. He took fellow wide receiver Brian Quick for a spin on it one day, and it flipped over. Both emerged from the wreck unharmed, but Fisher found out about it.

"Dumb and dumber, stand up," Fisher said in a meeting, prompting Britt and Quick to rise up out of their chairs.

"Scary [stuff], huh. Come on, man. You guys OK? ... Are we lucky? ... Yeah, we're pretty lucky, right?"

The good and the bad: Two undrafted rookie free agents, receiver Nelson Spruce and safety Brian Randolph, were juxtaposed for their roles in Monday's 28-24 victory over the Cowboys. Randolph was shown walking off the field on crutches after suffering a season-ending ACL injury that prompted the Rams to release him. Spruce -- currently nursing a sprained knee that will keep him out of action for a week or two -- was shown getting hugs from family and friends after catching six passes for 51 yards and a touchdown.

Down the sidelines, in the locker room and outside the stadium, they all chanted: Spruuuuuuuuce!

Respect for the flag: Fisher is really, really serious about the national anthem. So serious that he took time out of a meeting to go over the protocol in detail -- defense on the left, offense on the right, helmets on the left arm, entire team directly behind the sideline. The 58-year-old Los Angeles product then showed an example on video, just to make sure his players understood.

"This is important to me," Fisher said. "It's a respect thing. It's a self-respect thing, it's a respect for your teammates, it's a respect for this game, it's a respect for this country."

Everybody in the pool: Well, everybody except one man. The Rams did some calisthenics at the UC Irvine swimming pool, prompting Hayes to suit up in a Speedo. But guard Jamon Brown refused to get in the water, even with floaties.

"I don't trust the floaties," he said. "I trust my feet."