Here’s what the Rams had to say to the media after the big Week 3 win.
Los Angeles Rams HC Sean McVay
(Opening statement)
”Tough, tough, hard-earned win today against a great football team. I thought (QB) Jared Goff was outstanding. I thought our offensive line and then really (RB Todd) Gurley and both (RB) Malcolm Brown to be able to finish out the game. Defense ended up having to have some tough stops against what we know was a great offense and we got to get ready. We lost some guys today, as far as with a (CB) Aqib (Talib) and (CB) Marcus (Peters) it’s their ankle. Not exactly sure the extent of that. (OLB) Dominique Easley got his knee as well. He came back in, didn’t feel great. If those guys aren’t able to go, it’s going to be some big voids that we’ve got to be ready to fill and step up, for a short week Thursday against a great football team in the Minnesota Vikings coming here. Then (WR) JoJo Natson broke his hand. So, he’s going to be out, we might have to get that thing fixed. That’s kind of where we’re at injury wise. We’ll take the win anyway that we can get it. It’s good to get to 3-0, but it’s time to move on for us. Our recovery process for our players, to get ready for Thursday starts now and same with us as coaches.”
(On how important it is to the offense for QB Jared Goff to be able to throw to receivers in stride for run-after-catch passes)
”I think it’s extremely important. They’re great defense, they do an excellent job playing sound, vision defense for the most part. Playing a lot of three-deep, four-underneath structures and they predicate themselves on when guys leave balls behind being able to get those tips, those overthrows throws, turn them into turnovers or those catch tackles. He consistently hit guys in stride. I thought did an excellent job, especially on the third-down touchdown pass to (WR) Cooper Kupp. Buying time in the framework of the pocket, really escaping, eyes down the field, makes a perfect throw and then Cooper does a great job breaking the tackle and finishes. But guys made plays and he put the ball in great spots. Really with the exception of the one great play by (S) Derwin James down in the red zone, I thought Goff was excellent today, demonstrated great command, responded series after series. Then when you do turn it over a couple times, especially down in their area, usually that’s not a good recipe for winning a football game. But I thought to our guys credit they didn’t flinch, they didn’t blink, and they just kept competing.”
(On if it’s showing up to him that Goff is having to pass more in tighter windows than last season)
”Yeah, that shows up. That’s why he’s a great football player. He’s not a system QB right, you know. I think the biggest thing is he’s making plays that great players make and that’s why you feel fortunate to have him leading the way. He’s continuing to take steps, he’s so coachable. I think (Quarterbacks Coach) Zac Taylor does an excellent job with him and the quarterbacks room as a whole. I think you just see the ownership, the comfort level as he’s accumulating these reps against certain defensive structures or systems. He’s putting these in the memory bank and I think that shows up where he’s more comfortable and then guys are making plays as well. I mean you look at it really, our offensive players they consistently made big-time plays. Whether it’s (TE Tyler) Higbee’s catch down the sideline, whether it’s those three receivers showing up. (TE) Gerald Everett had a couple catches and then the running backs. So, really I think everybody had their hand in that performance today by the offense. We’ve got to take better care of the football, but overall you know, they did a nice job today.”
(On how prior to season he thought WR Robert Woods’ could improve his aggressive hands and how Woods’ has been making impressive catches this season)
”He’s been outstanding. You know, I think 10 catches on 11 targets today. You really look at it, the way that he’s aggressively stepped to the football with the aggressive hands. We made it a point for him to try to do that. He was intentional about implementing that into his practice regimen, the way that he worked and now you’re seeing it show up in the games. When you have that deliberate practice and then you’re able to transform it to where it’s showing up. He’s been outstanding and really (Wide Receivers Coach) Eric Yarber has done a great job with our receiving group as a whole. They’re all catching the football really well and those three in particular have been phenomenal so far.”
(On LB Cory Littleton’s blocked punt and what makes him so good at it)
”I think just his quickness and then I think also (Special Teams Coordinator John Fassel) ‘Bones’ does a great job putting guys in good spots and then they make the plays. That was a turning point in the game force right there. You can’t say enough about just…consistently week in and week out. Bones is doing an excellent job with (Assistant Special Teams Coach) Matt Daniels, finding a way to try to give us an edge from a special teams standpoint. (LB) Cory (Littleton) delivered and then we were able to make recovery for a touchdown in what was a huge point in the game there.”
(On who will possibly start if Peters and Talib are ruled out to play Thursday night against the Vikings)
”Well you know, I think it’s going to be predicated on the situation. You look at (CB) Sam Shields and (CB) Troy Hill and then obviously (CB) Nickell Robey (Coleman) does a great job for us. Those will be things that we’ll decide and we’ll find out once we get the specific nature of the injuries and if they are for sure ruled out. Fortunately, (Cornerbacks) Coach (Aubrey) Pleasant does a good job getting all those guys ready to go. Sam got a chance to play a lot today. We know how much Robey’s played in a lot of our sub-packages and then Troy Hill when you go back to last year, he’s played good football for us. If those guys are called to step up in a short week, then we have confidence they’ll be ready to go.”
(On if when your cornerback depth gets pushed to the limit like it did today is it too late in a game to change things)
”I think really the other thing too is you’re working with 46 (active players on the roster). So, there’s certain numbers — once you get down, where you lose two of your corners now you’re talking about for us we’ve really got five up on gameday. So those guys are forced into it. (DB) Blake Countess has some position flex and hopefully that’s not a real fire alarm for us right there (laughs).”
(On when there was 12:03 on the clock, the defense was unsettled he called a critical timeout leading them to get the result they wanted)
”Yes, it was a great job by our defensive coaches. Really, they know they had the luxury if a situation presents itself, this is more important. They did that, they were able to gather themselves together and then it led to that critical stop, which was huge. So it really it’s a credit to (Defensive Coordinator) Wade (Phillips) and his staff on that one.”
QB Jared Goff
(On if he got a sense that today’s game would be a shootout)
”I promise you this won’t make ESPN later. I’ll just give you guys quotes I guess. Yeah, it was fun. (Chargers QB) Philip (Rivers) is a great player. Towards the middle, the end of the game – third quarter – you could kind of feel they were rolling offensively a little bit. Able to move the ball. We felt good on offense as well. You kind of had that feeling a little bit and I’ve got so much respect for him. He’s never out of the game it seems like. We had to put up a lot of points.”
(On how many playmakers he has in his arsenal on offense)
”Yeah, they’re all great. (WR Robert Woods) ‘Woody’ getting 10 catches today, it was awesome. Again, like I say every week, it seems like another guy steps up every week. It kind of cycles. Today was Robert, (WR) Brandin (Cooks). (WR) Cooper (Kupp) played great. I mean they all played great. It’s good to have all three of them and them (RB) Todd (Gurley II) in the pass game is good as well.”
(On how much he worked on sliding this offseason)
”Did you like my slide? Thank you. No, I didn’t work on it at all. Played baseball growing up.”
(On the touchdown pass to Cooper Kupp, if he saw Kupp out of the corner of his eye as he was moving or if he caught his eye after he evaded the pass rush)
”Yeah, I was kind of trying to avoid the rush for a second and brought my eyes down to the rush. That’s never really what you want to do, but I kind of had to move around for a second and then he was able to beat – he was underneath the guy and kind of wheeled around him up the sideline. That’s just him being a smart, smart player and understanding where space is and getting up the sideline and him making a great play afterwards. That was awesome too – breaking that tackle.”
(On what he saw on the interception he threw)
”It was not a smart play. I think you just kind of force it in there, but I think if I throw a better ball it might be a different outcome. But, you’ve got to know we have points down there already and for me to turn it over like that is not what we want to do. Got lucky and our defense blocked a punt which ended in a (touchdown). They picked me up there. But yeah, just not my smartest play today and probably the only one today I’d like to have back.”
(On the offensive line)
”Yeah, they don’t get enough praise. They were incredible today, as they have been the first three games. I mean I don’t know if I got hit maybe once, maybe. Jersey was clean. They do a great job and they’re so good in the run game as well. Without those guys we’re nothing and we know that. It all starts up front and they did such a great job today again. They’re incredible.”
(On if he feels like he’s having to throw the ball into some tighter passing windows this season)
”I don’t know. I think I’m getting more comfortable with anticipating stuff and anticipating windows and that may be part of it. That just happens as you grow and get better. So yeah, that may be part of it, but like I said, I feel good right now and I feel confident. Got the (Minnesota) Vikings in four days so got to get ready.”
(On whether punting one time today is a result of good play calling, depth or something else)
”Yeah, it was really good to finish every drive. Like I said, the turnover I had and then the field goal we missed before the half were the only two I don’t think we scored on prior to the punt – and Todd’s fumble early. It’s always good to finish with points and keep (P) Johnny (Hekker) off the field. We like to say if he’s not playing, we’re doing pretty well and today he only had to punt once. It’s good.”
(On if he feels like he’s getting a better sense of the pass rush and an improved pocket presence or if he’s always kind of had that ability)
”Yeah, I think I’ve always kind of had it, but it varies at levels. I think when you’re in high school you have to get comfortable with it. Then, college you get better at it and that’s starting to happen now in the NFL. Starting to get more comfortable and as time goes on I will continue to get more comfortable and better and improve. That’s part of it with the pocket stuff and just understanding where we’re at and understanding different defensive fronts and what they’re trying to do up front. What they’re trying to do up front with their twists and games and whatnot, all that goes into it. As time goes, continue to understand that.”
(On what he does to prepare for a quick turnaround recovery-wise on Thursday night)
”Nothing (laughs). Just get ready. I think we’ll obviously a have a little bit of a deloaded practice this week getting ready for them. They’re a great team. I know they didn’t have their best performance today, but I don’t think that’s indicative of who they are. We’re going to be very ready for them on Thursday, as they are for us.”
(On if the offense talks about anything when the defense lost both starting cornerbacks and if he’s aware of their injuries)
”I didn’t know until the very end. I knew we lost (CB) Marcus (Peters) just because I saw him down on the field. I did not know we lost (CB) Aqib (Talib) until the end. It’s good that I don’t know, that we don’t kind of realize until the end. Marcus and Aqib are incredible players who we love and want to have out there again soon, but it’s good to see guys step up. Guys like (CB) Sam (Shields) and other guys step into that role and able to fill in nicely.”
(On if 30-point games feel like the standard for the team now)
”You know, it’s starting to become that. I don’t know if we have to score 35 (points) to win every game. We’re doing that right now, but if we have to score 14 to win and that’s what it ends up being, that’s what it ends up being. We’ve been playing pretty well on offense right now and hope to keep it rolling, but understand that there’s a lot of stuff that we can get better at.”
(On if today’s game felt like a rivalry)
”Yeah, it felt like a good rivalry. I think you could feel kind of the crowd when they would do something well, it’d be loud. When we would do something well, it’d be loud. You could tell that there were two sides in here. Ultimately, I think we had a little bit more being at home, but you could definitely feel it. I think they’re a great team, we’re a great team and hopefully that can continue for a long time.”
(On what kind of perspective it provides for the team when they see surprising results from around the league each week)
”Yeah, we kind of talked about that pregame, seeing that game (Buffalo Bills at Minnesota Vikings) happen before we got out there – how unpredictable the NFL is. Everyone thought one thing was going to happen and the exact opposite happened. There’s so many good players in this league, so many good coaches, so many good teams and you can never take anything for granted - even being 3-0 playing the way we are. No matter who we’re playing next week, it doesn’t matter. You have to come ready to play and understand that every team is going to have good players.”
(On if he realized he was one yard shy of tying his career high for passing yards in a single game)
”I did not. Was I? Man, should’ve told (Head Coach) Sean (McVay) at the end there (laughs). I didn’t know that.”
(On what he thought of his cameo on ‘Ballers’)
”What’d I think of it? I thought it was great. What did you think of it (laughs)? Thank you. That was fun. I did that in the offseason and that was a lot of fun and really cool to get to see that.”
(On if he will celebrate tonight or start watching tape)
”No, quick turnaround. We’re about to go get a massage right now and do some recovery stuff and get ready to play the Vikings.”
(On if he anticipated that he’d be moving all over the pocket and running around today or if he get went with it as it materialized)
”Yeah, just kind of reacted to it. I thought our offensive line did a great job. There was that one play where I had to step up through the middle and just everything opened up and you just kind of feel it that way. Then, the play with Cooper (Kupp) was more of their coverage was just covering everything and tried to kind of move around a little bit and was able to make a play. Yeah, you don’t want to make too much of a habit of that, like sitting back there and not moving, but yeah, sometimes that happens.”
RB Todd Gurley
(On the Rams’ offensive output without having to punt until the fourth quarter)
“I felt like we did good. Put ourselves in some bad situations, but we learn from them. At the end of the day, we got the win, so that’s all that matters.”
(On how well QB Jared Goff is developing and his overall performance today)
“He’s just being the player he has always been – just making plays and leading this offense. The play to (WR Cooper) Kupp by scrambling and getting out of there, finding Kupp and Kupp making a great play. He’s been doing a great job of just leading us and getting yards.”
(On the best thing about the Rams offense)
“We’ve got playmakers. We’ve got playmakers everywhere. You just can’t count on one guy. Everybody’s making plays.”
(On if it’s possible to grow even more as a team with confidence)
“You can always grow. You can always get better. There’s always mistakes in the game to learn from. We’ve just got to win.”
(On the challenge they accomplished today with beating the Los Angeles Chargers)
“Yeah, they have a Hall of Fame quarterback, a Hall of Fame tight end, an All Pro linebacker in Melvin Ingram, a Pro Bowler in (Chargers WR) Keenan Allen. They’ve always been good on offense. They’ve got a great running back in Melvin (Gordon) and (Austin) Ekeler. (Chargers WR) Mike Williams played big today – the guy they drafted in the first round a couple years ago. He showed his ability today. Offensive wise, they have a great team. Defensive wise, they’re still young, but they have great people – a veteran in (Chargers DE Brandon) Mebane and a Pro Bowl corner usually every year in (CB) Casey Hayward. Like I said, in Melvin and when (Chargers LB Denzel) Perryman’s healthy, he’s a great linebacker as well.”
(On how Goff has improved over the last season with regards to sensing the rush and being able to keep plays alive)
“It’s just something we work on. We work on that all the time. I’m not sure about this week, but it says, ‘The first two weeks of the season, scramble touchdowns have been the leading touchdowns.’ So, it’s just about stuff gets off schedule, stuff doesn’t work out how it plans to work out. It starts with the O-line. Like I said, they did a great job of just keeping people off him and he kept his head up and made a play. It’s just something we definitely work on all the time because sometimes you expect something, but it doesn’t work out all the way. So, you’ve got to be ready to go the extra mile sometimes.”
WR Robert Woods
(On the Rams offense getting up to speed in Week 3)
“Just trying to get going. Finding ways to keep exploiting defenses, finding gaps. Use all our weapons – receivers, running backs and tight ends – get them all involved and move the ball downfield.”
(On when QB Jared Goff gets the game ball if it feels like the entire offense gets it as well)
“(Laughs) Yeah, for sure. That means he’s delivering the ball. He’s standing tall in the pocket. That’s what he does every single game, every week – delivering the ball on the money, only where we can catch it. He’s putting it right in a catchable spot every single time.”
(On how a different player seems to have a big game each week)
“That’s just our offense. That’s how it moves. Finding ways to find gaps, use everybody – fly sweeps downfield. This offense utilizes every single guy and keeps them all involved.”
(On how important it was to beat the Los Angeles Chargers today)
“It was another opponent. It wasn’t really about L.A. or the win for L.A. It was just an opponent in our schedule at home, have to win at home, keep this thing going and keep stacking wins.”
DT Ndamukong Suh
(On his thoughts about his play and the game)
“I would say at the end of the day we have to play better. We gave up too many points. Obviously, he’s an elite quarterback, he’s going to make plays. We have to find a way to stop the run. We did a pretty good job in the first half. I think we were at 44-yards but gave up too much in the second half. We have to prepare and get ready for Thursday night.”
(On how it feels to play with a lead with this offense)
“It’s a great situation to be in. Obviously, we have a very high-powered offense. But it’s up to us as a defense to give them as many opportunities to score as possible so we have got to find way to continue to get off the field. Today we struggled in some areas and we have to get better.”
(On his thoughts about facing a team in the Vikings who are coming off a tough loss)
“I think they’re going to be hungry. Obviously, them not doing as well as they had hoped, they’re going to be hungry coming out here, getting on the road on a short week allows them to forget about it very quickly and prepare for our game. We expect them to come out with a lot of fire power.”
(On what he thinks they can improve on)
“Just going off my recollection, like I said, being able to hold them from rushing pretty well in the first half was good for us, but in the second half we gave up too many yards in the rushing game. We need to be able to eliminate them from running the ball throughout the entire game, make them one dimensional. We know with them having an elite quarterback, they’re going to get some passes, things are going to happen. But we have to find ways to get off the field.”
LB Cory Littleton
(On what happened on the blocked punt)
“We came into the game with a game plan and execution and everything went perfectly and that was the result.”
(On if him and DB Blake Countess came in one after the other)
“Yeah, I had somebody lead it out for me, give me a clear opening, then basically with any blocked punt, you just have to believe in the plan and hope everything works, trust in it. I believed in it and launched out and got the block.”
(On if he’s playing on all punt block teams now or only select situations)
“I do as much as I can on special teams. That’s where I started. It’s something that I never want to stop doing but then at the same time I start on defense, so I have to manage myself a lot.”
(On if that was a specific situation where Special Teams Coordinator John Fassel told him he was in)
“For the most part I always stay in on our punt returns. We have another guy behind me, (DL Justin) Lawler he always comes in and does a good job whenever I’m too tired, but for the most part I’m always on our punt blocks.”
(On his excitement to play on special teams)
“I mean it was my first excitement coming into this league. It was my main role. It’s something that, honestly, most people don’t like doing but it grew on me, so I can’t stop doing it.”
(On if it’s because he can affect the game so drastically)
“You can affect the game drastically in a lot of different ways. Anytime you get a sudden change – any blocks, interceptions, forced fumbles. This is just another way for me to contribute for my team.”
from Turf Show Times - All Posts https://ift.tt/2NvCRal
No comments:
Post a Comment