TRANSCRIPT: Rams Interim Head Coach John Fassel (12-19-16)
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Rams Interim Head Coach John Fassel – Post Practice – December 19, 2016
(Opening remarks)
“Practice was good today, a super resilient bunch of guys. It was good to be out there in some December conditions, toughen us up just a little bit. It’s always good to be back on the grass after a tough loss. It feels good loading up for the next game.”
(On QB Jared Goff)
“He was out there today. He’s still in the concussion protocol, but he was involved in all the meetings this morning.”
(On if it is day-to-day whether or not Goff gets cleared)
“It’s really day-to-day, when the trainers feel that he’s cleared his concussion protocol testing.”
(On if there is a point during the week where he would make the decision regarding Goff’s status for Saturday)
“Usually, it would be – for this week, it would be by Thursday, which would be our last, basically, practice of the week leading up to the game. Since everything’s moved up a day, Thursday is like our Friday and so forth.”
(On who he would start if Goff is unable to play)
“We’ve talked about both (QBs) Case (Keenum) and Sean (Mannion). We’d love to get Sean some reps in the situation like last week, where something happens to Jared – whether he can’t find his helmet or his shoelace breaks – get Sean in there for a little bit of work. Which would be good, to see Sean. Case has performed well when required, but it would be good for the team to get a look at Sean and see what he can do if pressed into service by necessity.”
(On if dressing Mannion for the game is something he is considering)
“It’s under consideration. Today, it’s just a walk-thru, there really isn’t any live reps. We’ve talked to him about that being a potential.”
(On how important it is to see Mannion’s abilities in a game)
“I think that’s the point – should he need to go in the game, it would be great to see what he can do. He was a draft pick of ours. He’s also earned it – he comes in early every day, he stays late with Case and Jared, he prepares like he’s going to play, which is hard to do as an inactive, third quarterback all season. He’s earned it, it would be great to see what he can do. Case would understand, so we’ll see how that goes.”
(On how much consultation he would have with General Manager Les Snead about deciding who is on the game day roster)
“We’ve discussed the roster probably three or four times a day since I’ve been, kind of, put in charge. There’s a lot of discussion between myself and Les and (offensive coordinator) Coach (Rob) Boras, (quarterbacks) Coach (Chris) Weinke. The good part has been all parties have been involved on, really, all of these decisions – whether it’s putting a guy on IR (injured reserve), who to activate, who to dress, who to deactivate. It’s been a good, team, decision-making process.”
(On his comfort level this week coming off a Thursday Night Football game, as compared to last week being thrown into a tough situation)
“I don’t know about better. Last week was sure different, just because it was so fast. But, it is different, and it feels like a normal week where you have time to prepare a team meeting, and prepare a special teams scouting report, and treat it with just a little bit more time – two extra practices. I wouldn’t say better. Last week was a fun challenge, for what we were thrown at real quick. This week is the same thing, but with a little bit more time. You think we could do a little bit more preparation, and maybe ingrain myself a little bit more into some of the things we want to do.”
(On if he’s spoken to WR Michael Thomas and where he is at right now from a mental standpoint)
“I talk to him every day, he’s in every special teams meeting. He’s got the two glaring mistakes, where he dropped the pass, and then the opening kickoff return – he muffed the kickoff return. But, I think a lot of stuff happens, at least on special teams, that Mike has done all season that maybe hasn’t been glaringly successful. Playing gunner on punt, he’s been excellent. He’s covered every kickoff, he’s covered every punt. He’s been on just about every kickoff return as a blocker or a runner. So, a lot of things that he’s done really well maybe haven’t been recognizable. But then, of course, he’s got the two glaring mistakes. So yeah, I talk to Mike all the time. He’s quiet, he’s tough, he’s humble. In my opinion, he’s going to be a guy that’s going to be really good for the Rams in the future.”
(On if he’s concerned if Thomas’ recent performance will affect his confidence)
“Yeah, yeah, I do. That’s why I like to spend some time with him, and continue to encourage him. After the fumble in Atlanta, where he fumbled the opening kickoff and they scored five seconds later, I went up to him and I said, ‘This is a really, really good test for you Mike, to see how mentally tough you are to bounce back for the next 59 minutes and 56 seconds.’ (R
Benny Cunningham even mentioned it on the sideline. A couple of years ago, he fumbled a kickoff return against the Giants, and he said that was a test for him to be able to bounce back, one snap and clear that play, because there’s a lot of football left. There’s a lot of good tests that happen during the course of the game, and I think that was a good one for Mike, and I would say he passed, even though he missed a catch last week. It’s just something about him that gives me confidence that he’s going to get it right.”
(On what he said to Thomas following the dropped past against Seattle)
“That was early too. I said just like last week, ‘Bounce back man. You know we’re coming back to you again. You’re going to have to cover kicks, cover punts, return some kickoffs, and hopefully we throw the ball out to you again, and I know you’ll get it.’ Like I would a kicker if they missed a field goal, ‘Hey, game-winner might be coming up here in about two quarters, so stay in it.’ That part of coaching is kind of fun – take a kid that you can tell is just distraught like, ‘Come on! There’s a lot of balls coming back at you left.’ Next time it comes, you got to make the play.”
(Opening remarks)
“Practice was good today, a super resilient bunch of guys. It was good to be out there in some December conditions, toughen us up just a little bit. It’s always good to be back on the grass after a tough loss. It feels good loading up for the next game.”
(On QB Jared Goff)
“He was out there today. He’s still in the concussion protocol, but he was involved in all the meetings this morning.”
(On if it is day-to-day whether or not Goff gets cleared)
“It’s really day-to-day, when the trainers feel that he’s cleared his concussion protocol testing.”
(On if there is a point during the week where he would make the decision regarding Goff’s status for Saturday)
“Usually, it would be – for this week, it would be by Thursday, which would be our last, basically, practice of the week leading up to the game. Since everything’s moved up a day, Thursday is like our Friday and so forth.”
(On who he would start if Goff is unable to play)
“We’ve talked about both (QBs) Case (Keenum) and Sean (Mannion). We’d love to get Sean some reps in the situation like last week, where something happens to Jared – whether he can’t find his helmet or his shoelace breaks – get Sean in there for a little bit of work. Which would be good, to see Sean. Case has performed well when required, but it would be good for the team to get a look at Sean and see what he can do if pressed into service by necessity.”
(On if dressing Mannion for the game is something he is considering)
“It’s under consideration. Today, it’s just a walk-thru, there really isn’t any live reps. We’ve talked to him about that being a potential.”
(On how important it is to see Mannion’s abilities in a game)
“I think that’s the point – should he need to go in the game, it would be great to see what he can do. He was a draft pick of ours. He’s also earned it – he comes in early every day, he stays late with Case and Jared, he prepares like he’s going to play, which is hard to do as an inactive, third quarterback all season. He’s earned it, it would be great to see what he can do. Case would understand, so we’ll see how that goes.”
(On how much consultation he would have with General Manager Les Snead about deciding who is on the game day roster)
“We’ve discussed the roster probably three or four times a day since I’ve been, kind of, put in charge. There’s a lot of discussion between myself and Les and (offensive coordinator) Coach (Rob) Boras, (quarterbacks) Coach (Chris) Weinke. The good part has been all parties have been involved on, really, all of these decisions – whether it’s putting a guy on IR (injured reserve), who to activate, who to dress, who to deactivate. It’s been a good, team, decision-making process.”
(On his comfort level this week coming off a Thursday Night Football game, as compared to last week being thrown into a tough situation)
“I don’t know about better. Last week was sure different, just because it was so fast. But, it is different, and it feels like a normal week where you have time to prepare a team meeting, and prepare a special teams scouting report, and treat it with just a little bit more time – two extra practices. I wouldn’t say better. Last week was a fun challenge, for what we were thrown at real quick. This week is the same thing, but with a little bit more time. You think we could do a little bit more preparation, and maybe ingrain myself a little bit more into some of the things we want to do.”
(On if he’s spoken to WR Michael Thomas and where he is at right now from a mental standpoint)
“I talk to him every day, he’s in every special teams meeting. He’s got the two glaring mistakes, where he dropped the pass, and then the opening kickoff return – he muffed the kickoff return. But, I think a lot of stuff happens, at least on special teams, that Mike has done all season that maybe hasn’t been glaringly successful. Playing gunner on punt, he’s been excellent. He’s covered every kickoff, he’s covered every punt. He’s been on just about every kickoff return as a blocker or a runner. So, a lot of things that he’s done really well maybe haven’t been recognizable. But then, of course, he’s got the two glaring mistakes. So yeah, I talk to Mike all the time. He’s quiet, he’s tough, he’s humble. In my opinion, he’s going to be a guy that’s going to be really good for the Rams in the future.”
(On if he’s concerned if Thomas’ recent performance will affect his confidence)
“Yeah, yeah, I do. That’s why I like to spend some time with him, and continue to encourage him. After the fumble in Atlanta, where he fumbled the opening kickoff and they scored five seconds later, I went up to him and I said, ‘This is a really, really good test for you Mike, to see how mentally tough you are to bounce back for the next 59 minutes and 56 seconds.’ (R
Benny Cunningham even mentioned it on the sideline. A couple of years ago, he fumbled a kickoff return against the Giants, and he said that was a test for him to be able to bounce back, one snap and clear that play, because there’s a lot of football left. There’s a lot of good tests that happen during the course of the game, and I think that was a good one for Mike, and I would say he passed, even though he missed a catch last week. It’s just something about him that gives me confidence that he’s going to get it right.”(On what he said to Thomas following the dropped past against Seattle)
“That was early too. I said just like last week, ‘Bounce back man. You know we’re coming back to you again. You’re going to have to cover kicks, cover punts, return some kickoffs, and hopefully we throw the ball out to you again, and I know you’ll get it.’ Like I would a kicker if they missed a field goal, ‘Hey, game-winner might be coming up here in about two quarters, so stay in it.’ That part of coaching is kind of fun – take a kid that you can tell is just distraught like, ‘Come on! There’s a lot of balls coming back at you left.’ Next time it comes, you got to make the play.”
| Subject | Author | Views | Posted |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Shaky | 625 | December 19, 2016 04:35PM |
| Blue and Gold | 283 | December 19, 2016 05:02PM |
| 21Dog | 261 | December 19, 2016 05:13PM |
