TRANSCRIPT: General Manager Les Snead, Head Coach Sean McVay and S Eric Weddle – Introductory Press Conference – 3/12/19

Rams General Manager Les Snead, Head Coach Sean McVay and S Eric Weddle – Introductory Press Conference – March 12, 2019



(Opening remarks)

Snead: “Welcome (S) Eric (Weddle) to the Rams family. I don’t know if we’ll call it the relationship, but I do remember when we went down to Baltimore, or over to Baltimore last year – after practices, I remember (Head Coach) Sean (McVay) coming back a lot and mentioning how challenging it was to go against Eric and the football acumen that he brought to the field and the coverages. We talk about a lot of things after scrimmages, Eric’s name came up a lot. I think an Eric Weddle signing is very similar to probably an (T) Andrew Whitworth signing, in that I think he definitely helps the Rams now, but I do think when he does decide to move to the next chapter in life, all of our young players, on defense and on offense, will be better from him being a Ram.”

McVay: “I think for us, when you really look at what he brings to the table, just watching his production from afar, if you know nothing about football, you can just see that this guy is a playmaker. He’s consistently done that. But then, when you get an up-close look at him, like what Les mentioned, especially in a practice setting and you see the command, the communication, the ownership – where he really understands what is the quarterback looking for and then how can I kind of play that cat-and-mouse game with him to try to really throw off his ability to be decisive and make good decisions throughout the course of the game. Then you talk to (Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers) Joe Barry, who has been around him and he just continues to reiterate all of those things. You meet the human being and you talk about being perfectly in alignment with what we look for with the character, the passion for football. I think, you talk to any of his teammates that was one of the things, I know a lot of people reached out and really they didn’t have to do that, but just couldn’t say enough about the teammates that have played with Eric and how highly they spoke of him and it was really after we signed him. That to me is what continues to reiterate why we’re excited about this. I think when you look at our backend now, with him and (S) John Johnson (III) being able to play together in addition to working with (CBs) Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters and Nickell Robey(-Coleman) – those are five instinctual players that I know our DB coaches in the back are excited to get to work with them, with (Cornerbacks Coach) Aubrey (Pleasant) and (Safeties) Coach (Ejiro) Evero. It’s a very good day for the Rams and glad to have our guy Eric with us.”

Snead: “Before we go to Eric, I think I’ll share a little bit about what Sean was talking about. This is a first, probably – when we signed Eric, I had at least four agents reach out to me. This time of year, a lot of agents are reaching out to you, you’re thinking they’re going to obviously, maybe sell their client to the Rams. But each one of them basically said hey, they represent a teammate who played with Eric and they just wanted to share with me that, ‘Hey, their clients’ thought Eric was one of the best teammates they had ever had.’ I’ve never had that occur really. Pretty neat for your legacy, Eric.”

Weddle: “Shoot, what a day! You guys will get to know me quick. I’m full of energy and passion. But first is to thank (Owner/Chairman) Mr. Kroenke, and (Executive Vice President of Football Operations/Chief Operating Officer) Kevin (Demoff), obviously Les and Sean. This process is a little unsettling at times, right? You get to play a game for your job and a lot of guys, we tend to forget that. I live my dream every day. There always will be a smile on my face. Obviously, when things ended in Baltimore, you kind of have to reassess what the next step is. Being where my career is at, people look at me, 34 (years old) – I haven’t hit my prime yet, so you guys get ready. From the onset, when you get a game plan together and think what the future holds – obviously the Rams were my No. 1 destination to fill the void of where they were with (S) Lamarcus (Joyner), who I’m actually very close with and excited for him and his future. And the dynamic of their team, where they’ve been, the success they’ve had and obviously the system that coaches that I’ve been coached under. This is really a great opportunity for myself to continue my dream and the challenge and desire to go out and be the best and to earn the respect of my teammates and the coaches and to earn a starting job. This league is never given to you, so I’ve always said that from day one that no matter how many years you’re in this league or how many contracts you sign, you have to go out day-in and day-out to earn your starting spot – every day in practice, every day in the weight room, every day in the meeting room. I’m ecstatic about that challenge and to bring a new dynamic to this team and to the defense and to see where it goes. I couldn’t be more thankful of an opportunity to join this organization, this team and hopefully lead to great things.”



(On how surprised he is to be here with the Rams and how does it make him feel to know other agents have reached out to Rams about his character)

Weddle: "It’s extremely humbling. Throughout this process, you talk to teams, the teams that reached out to us once I got released, obviously, I think the majority thought I wasn’t going to be on the market and then they have to go back and re-evaluate the player. Is he a good fit? Can he still play? Yada, yada, yada… But to see what had come back from other teams and the interest that they showed in me, it got me emotional at times. You never know what the other teams think and so right there you know, all right, I’ll probably have an opportunity to continue playing. Then for me, honestly, as great as the individual accolades are – don’t get me wrong, I try to be the best at whatever I do, whether it’s at home being a husband, a father to my kids. Being the best safety in the league or trying to be – whatever it takes. Ultimately with me, it’s about the relationships. It’s about what you leave after you’re done. No one is going the remember how many picks I made in my career, but they’re going to remember if I was a good teammate, if I was a guy they can count on. If a guy is in trouble at 2 a.m. downtown, are you going to be the guy that they call to go pick them up and help them? I think that’s what I cherish the most and the relationships I make and doing whatever it takes for the team. It’s super cool to hear something like that and know that you’re trying to do things right. No one is perfect, obviously I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but to hear those kinds of things and the young guys that I’ve tried to help that it meant something to them.”



(On his childhood photo of him in a Rams jersey)

Weddle: “My mom actually sent that out in a group text a couple days ago. I remember having a Rams uni, full tackle uniform, like tackling the couches and stuff when I was a little kid. I didn’t have any brothers, so my dad was getting the brunt of it. But, it was pretty cool to see that picture. Seeing my son – I have a nine-year-old son, he’s going to be 10 in July, and he plays tackle football. He’s geeked out of his mind to come see this place. He’s like, ‘Dad, I’ve got to come. Let me miss school.’ And I’m like, ‘Gaige, you can’t miss school. You’ll be up here quick.’ If there’s something like burning in the background, it’ll probably be the Weddle kids destroying something so fair warning. It was cool just to put that out there and how it’s come full circle for me. I’ve had an amazing run at this. I think things happen for a reason and to have an opportunity to finish out what I started in an amazing place like this and where this team has been in the last two years it’s been a progression each season for this team. So, next step is to go win the Super Bowl.”



(On the process of getting signed to the Rams)

Weddle: “I can get into the details, but you’ll probably be bored after 20 minutes. Long story short, they reached out and went back and forth. Initially, I was going to take trips to other teams and then circle back to L.A. last. That was the gameplan set kind of initially. Then it probably changed within a half an hour. They came back and said, ‘We want to be the first trip, let’s get him out here. We like what we’ve seen. Let’s get him in the building.’ That kind of changed the dynamic of the teams I was set out to visit from there on out. With me personally, I knew what L.A. brought and how I could fit. So, obviously, your number one you want to go there first and see if it’ll work out. Then I got here and basically we visited and hung out. Sean (McVay) and I probably talked four or five hours over Thursday and Friday, just everything – football, life, people, players, scheme. It was great to see the guy behind the guy. We just see him on TV or interviews, but to actually get to know him on a personal level was impressive. To see his confidence, but also his humility in the same sentence is hard to find in people. His personality and mine, it was like we were talking to each other. It was really weird at times, but it was awesome. I knew after a short time that we were going to mesh. The thing about head coaches is you want them to be up front and honest with you at all times as a player. You don’t want to be given the easy answer. Just tell me how it is. If I’m stinking the place up, let me know. Let me know what I need to fix and then I’ll get to work on it. Or if you’re doing good, then that’s great. With him, I got that from the onset. He’s genuine. He’s honest, he’s loyal. Once the relationship was building then it was just trying to get the deal done at that point once Friday came around. There were some little mishaps here and there, but once a player wants to be somewhere and the team wants you then usually it gets worked out. Credit to (Vice President, Football & Business Administration) Tony (Pastoors) and (Agent) David (Canter) to getting that done and now I’m a Ram.”



(On if they were surprised that Weddle landed on the open market)

Snead: “It was interesting. I do remember probably before Eric was actually released. I remember reading one article that he might be – we usually call them in our world – a ‘cap casualty.’ I do know that at that moment our scouting staff, we were to go, ‘OK, let’s just prepare for that.’ You’re never sure, again, the caliber of player he is speaks for itself. When you do read a little nugget, you prepare and be ready to act if something like that occurs.”



(On how much Weddle’s signing before free agency began helped the Rams with its offseason plan)

Snead: “That definitely helps. We obviously projected to have a need a safety and to be able to, let’s call it, check that box off the list before you get into free agency, before you get into the draft. It definitely makes the rest of the offseason easier to navigate.”



(On where their sense of urgency came from internally to be the first team that Weddle visited rather than the last)

McVay: “I think the biggest thing that is great about our relationship, talking about Les (Snead) and myself, is let’s talk about how we anticipate addressing some of the needs that were going to come up. His understanding of some of the depth with this draft as we’re continuing to get more familiar with what that looks like, knowing that more than likely you’re going to lose a player of Lamarcus’ (Joyner) caliber. So, we talked about how being able to acquire Eric would then change some of the approaches that we can take as we move forward and navigate through the rest of the offseason. Ultimately, trying to find the most competitive roster we can have. He and I discussed some things we felt like that if it was something that he wanted to be here, we would be able to work through that. And I think it was more along the lines of us just being able to communicate how did we anticipate this would play out and if it was something that we felt good about. I thought (Agent) David Canter did a great job, too, of enabling us to get a clear-cut understanding of what Eric’s intentions were, so then that enabled us to be more aggressive in saying, ‘Why don’t we get him here if it’s something that this is where he wants to be. We think we can get it worked out.’ Like Eric said, it was a mutual appreciation that I think myself and our coaching staff had for Eric. You look at when we went to dinner, and whether it’s interacting with our defensive staff where we had (Cornerbacks Coach) Aubrey (Pleasant) and (Safeties) Coach (Ejiro) Evero, (Defensive Coordinator) Wade (Phillips) was there and (Assistant Head Coach/Linebackers) Joe Barry. There was a very comfortable interaction that I think existed where there’s a rapport and excitement about, ‘Let’s see if we can build on this relationship that we’re starting to develop right here.’”



(On where the dinner was held)

McVay: “It was at Mastro’s in Thousand Oaks.”



(On if he has any prior contact to his fellow defensive backs on the Rams team and their previous relationship and if they’ve reached out since his signing)

Weddle: "Yeah. Obviously, me and (C Aqib (Talib) have had our battles on the field, (C Marcus (Peters), too. Then the Pro Bowls, visiting and hanging out. The Pro Bowls are a very unique dynamic you get amongst your peers. It’s really, your guard’s down. You really get to know the guy. I’ve really made a lot of friends at the Pro Bowl that will last a lifetime for that reason. You hope everyone gets to experience it for that reason. Then, I reached out to ‘JJ’ (S John Johnson) as soon as I signed here and just let him know, ‘Can’t wait to get to work with him.’ You know, the same stuff. Just excited for him. I’ve watched a lot of games. I stole (Sean) McVay’s iPad when I signed here so I could watch some film. He’s pumped. We all are. We have a great opportunity, but it doesn’t matter if we don’t work. I’ve been a part of some great defenses and great secondaries, and you think you’ll become something, but it doesn’t happen if you don’t give it all you’ve got to it. I’ve reached out to those guys. I can’t wait to work with them. It’s going to be a great offseason and a great season.”



(On how he sees himself fitting into the Rams and how returning home to Southern California at this point in his career played a part in him signing with the Rams)

Weddle: “The system is what I ran in San Diego for basically nine years. You change it a little bit as years go on, you add different concepts, you add different things. But the base of what we ran, is what Wade (Phillips) brought to them. So, that was definitely enticing of knowing the verbiage, knowing how they like to run different coverages, knowing that I played in it. So, that was obviously a check that the Rams brought to the table. Then me fitting in, I feel like I can play in any system. I don’t like the generic ‘Tampa 2’ defenses, and you just sit back and the quarterback knows what you’re in and they’re basically going to pick you apart. If the Rams did run that or like a ‘Seattle 3’ like I probably wouldn’t have came, because I bring more to the table then just sitting back like a sitting duck. Not saying those things don’t work, I’m just saying for me personally I like to do more stuff (laughs).”

Snead: “I have a feeling that one’s going to come up again. I just know it.”

Weddle: “Seattle’s a great organization, don’t get me wrong. I’ve got to remember I’m a Ram now. But, I’m going to say what I want and I’ll back it up so it’s all good.”

McVay: “He was just saying he likes that system for himself. He didn’t say anything else about it. He likes the scheme with a little bit of different things, but he didn’t say anything about the other one. Right, Eric? (laughs).”

Weddle: “Of course. Yes, Coach (laughs).”



(On extending OLB Dante Fowler Jr. and the process of getting him back under contract)

McVay: "That’s something that was a big priority for us. Our defensive coaches felt really good about him, as did Les and his staff. When you look at what he was able to do, really being brought in in the middle of season, where that New Orleans game was his first opportunity – that’s a tough deal where you’re coming in midway through and it’s a very different philosophy than some of the things he was asked to do in Jacksonville. You see the traits, you see the explosiveness, you see the passion for the game with the way he practices – he’s got a great demeanor about himself. He made some critical plays and affected the game in a variety of ways. I think when you look at what (DT) Aaron (Donald) has been able to do, then you add an element of what Dante was able to provide, specifically coming off the edge for us, you can’t have enough guys that can influence and affect the passer. Then he made a lot of plays in the run-game as well. You look at the Super Bowl, they’re running a couple of counter-schemes, even on a third down, where he folds back underneath, where they try to run it. I think he made a lot of plays. I think he’s only going to get better. I think this is a place that he wanted to be and we wanted him here. We’re excited about continuing that relationship with Dante.”



(On if the team thought Fowler was the best available edge rusher and if that affected their desire to re-sign him)

Snead: "I think as Sean mentioned, he made plays for us along the way. From the beginning, we wanted Dante to be back. Obviously, you’re monitoring who might be available and things like that both in free agency, trades and even the draft. Dante was a priority for us to try to get back for the 2019 season at minimum. It was what Dante did.”



(On the passion Weddle has for this game and where he developed the sense of brutal honesty)

Weddle: "That’s a great question (laughs). I’m at face value. So, I give everything I have – good, bad or indifferent. I try to do things right, but we all make mistakes, but it’s not because I don’t care. Every decision I’ve ever made is always thinking about the team and thinking about what’s best for the defense. A lot of people think when I play on the field and I do some wild stuff, it’s never about me. It’s never about what makes me better or what I can do to make some stats. It’s always about making the defense as best as possible within the play, within that down, how can I affect the game, how can I set up my teammates to make a play for them to help our defense, to help get the ball back to the offense. That just optimizes what I’m about – I’m about my team. I love this game to death and I cherish it. I know it can end at any moment, so I don’t live with regrets. I don’t live with, ‘I wish I would have done this, I wish would have not said that.’ I said it, I man up to it. There’s one thing with me, that if I make a mistake, I own up to it. If I play like crap in a game, it was me. If we don’t play good on defense and I play good, I didn’t play good enough. That’s what I’ve always been about. That’s not going to change and I think in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a bad way to be.”



(On describing some of the wild stuff he’s done on the field)

Weddle: "I’m going to leave that for you guys to think about and see. I just know it’s going to be a great season, man. I can’t wait.”