Transcripts - Head Coach Sean McVay - Monday, December 18, 2023

Los Angeles Rams Transcripts - Head Coach
Sean McVay - Monday, December 18, 2023

Head Coach Sean McVay

(On an injury update for DB Ahkello Witherspoon)

“He'll be good to go. It was just his groin got tight during the game and don't
expect it to affect his status for this week.”

(On his takeaways from Sunday in the red zone)

“Yeah, the main thing that I was really pissed off about myself was the first
down and five call on the first drive of the game. There are always going to be
some things that you can get into, but we had run it really well on the previous
play. We had run it really well on that drive. When you take a negative right
there, didn't need to do that. I thought that was a really poor play call that set us
behind the sticks. There are a lot of instances of things that you can always do
better, but I thought that first sequence in particular that we ended up having to
settle for a field goal, the way that our guys were playing, the way we were able
to run it, the way (Q Matthew (Stafford) was seeing the field, thought it was a
much better opportunity to… I could have put them in a better spot that I think
would've led to seven instead of three.”

(On the last three red zone trips that did not result in touchdowns
featuring nine pass plays and no runs and if that’s something he’s
evaluating this week)

“Where'd you get that? That's a good little stat right there, I like it. No, each
play, each section is kind of its own entity. But there is no doubt about it that
yesterday, that one in particular could have been better. I think there were
some different reasons for some of the Baltimore things that I don't want to get
too much into, but ultimately it's my job and our job as coaches to try to do as
good a job as we can putting our guys in the right situations to thrive and
succeed. I'm never going to shy away from the times that I can be better.
Certainly, those instances that you’re talking about, I take full ownership and
accountability for and that is where you go back to work and you try to make
sure not to repeat those mistakes. That one yesterday was why I was so pissed
off because that's almost… you’re being a little hypocritical and you kind of got
away from some of your foundational beliefs, especially with the way that our
guys were playing and try to pride yourself in having a good feel for the flow of
the game. In that drive, in particular in that first down and five call, I thought that
was something that hurt us and look to improve and that is something I'll try to
do for Thursday.”

(On injuries from Sunday besides Witherspoon)

“(D Tre Tomlinson is the only one. I think it's his thigh. It just felt a little bit in
his thigh. He wasn't able to return. Our guys are starting to trickle in right now,
but after the game, did a the full eval(uation), those were the only two guys and
should be in good shape.”

(On if he expects OL Rob Havenstein to play Thursday)

“I do, yes.”

(On his evaluation of K Lucas Havrisik yesterday and if he has concerns
moving forward)

“Obviously the one that stands out. I thought because of the magnitude of that
kick, especially given the circumstances where you are inside of 45, you got a
chance to really go up where it's a three-possession game there. 31 points in
that situation would have made it a totally different feel towards the latter part of
the game. I think you want to be careful to overreact to one kick, but it was a
big kick. I do know that this guy has shown the ability to respond. We saw that
against Baltimore so I'm optimistic that is what we will see this Thursday.”

(On if he would change his process of determining who the full-time
kicker is going to be)

“Yeah, here is what I would say, and you know this as well, I've been really
spoiled since I ‘ve been here where you get here and you have got (former
Rams K) Greg Zuerlein, who is awesome, ends up winning Special Teams
Player of the Year in 2018. Then we went through a similar transition before we
ended up getting (former Rams K) Matt Gay in the middle of the year a couple
years ago. We have had two really good kickers that I think have spoiled us in
terms of their consistent production and ability to deliver. I do know this, when
you look at a lot of these really successful kickers, especially the young ones,
there are some growing pains that you go through and usually you end up
working through it. A lot of these guys that are having a huge amount of
success experience some form of adversity early on in their careers, but it is
about how do you respond and that's why there is a confidence and an
optimistic approach as it relates to Lucas. I think he’s shown some good things
and I just think you always evaluate your process. But the kicker position in
general is a very fickle one. I think there are a lot of instances too, especially
with (former Rams K) Brett (Maher) and even with Lucas where you are asking
him to attempt some longer kicks where I have to be accountable for that as
well. Those ones that are 45 and in we expect to be consistent on.”

(On QB Carson Wentz being really active on the sidelines yesterday)

“He was. He was buzzing back and forth in front of me like running wind sprints.
I actually noticed that yesterday. You will have to ask him. I don't know what the
hell was going on. He was staying loose though. I do know that much.”

(On if anything happened to Stafford to prompt Wentz to be so active on
the sideline)

“No, he wanted to get some extra cardio in during the game. He was double
dipping. I noticed that as well. He's kind of always been a guy that I think does
just stay loose and you will have to ask him about that though, but I actually did
notice that a couple times as this big creature was buzzing back and forth in
front of me on the sidelines.”

(On if WR Tutu Atwell is still in concussion protocol)

“He is cleared now. He will be in good shape.”

(On if Atwell will play on Thursday)

“That is the expectation, yes.”

(On the Rams leading the league in coming away with points once you get
into the red zone)

“There it is! There’s a positive spirit.”

(On leading the league in most points scored in the red zone)

“There it is. There's a positive spirit.”

(On the offense’s red zone success)

“We've been pretty good in the red zone overall. There's been a heightened
awareness especially the last couple weeks because of the way that we went
right down the field in both our opening drives and had to settle for a field goal,
which like I said, I got to do better for our guys. But we've been pretty good in
the red area. I think that's a tribute to all 11. Everything starts with (Q
Matthew (Stafford), but I think we've been able to run the ball effectively and
then once we do get in the tight red area, we've been consistent in making
those kicks. And so that's a credit to the teams, to offense, but ultimately you
want to come away with touchdowns. I think there's been a heightened
awareness which you have to acknowledge those things because it's always
about what have you done lately and being able to continue to take steps. But
we've been pretty good in the red area. And then you give credit to the
defenses. There was some stuff that they didn't have a whole lot of inventory,
especially with (Commanders Head Coach) Ron (Rivera) only calling one game
against Miami. And then Baltimore is as good a defense as it gets in this
league. And so no excuses, I've got to be better. But overall, I think we've been
pretty good in the red area and I just haven't done a good enough job for us,
particularly these last two weeks on those opening drives is what's really stood
out.”

(On whether changes will be made in the secondary due to DB Derion
Kendrick’s performance yesterday)

“We're just in the early parts of getting ready. You kind of accelerate your
postgame process. I thought our defense played really well. There were those
two drives that could make it feel a lot different than what it was. There were a
lot of good things. We had some communication things on their first touchdown
we got to do a better job of. And then you just mentioned it, (Commanders WR)
Terry McLaurin is a baller and there were some isolation situations where
sometimes it's not going to go down for you and he ended up making some
good plays. What I think we need to be able to learn from, and I want ‘DK’ to be
able to learn from and not exclusive to him, us overall, is okay on the first
touchdown, how do we make sure with a tool that we play that better so we
don't leave the corner route open? When we get them in a fourth down and
seven, how can we make sure that we're not giving ourselves a chance to foul
and give them a fresh set of downs playing with the good techniques? But if
guys are competing and using the tools and the techniques that (Defensive
Backs Coach) Aubrey (Pleasant) and (Defensive Coordinator) Raheem
(Morris) and our DBs coaches are coaching and it doesn't go down for us, that
that's the NFL. That's life in the NFL. Those are the tough things that have to
occur. But some of the things that we can control above the neck and being
smarter situationally, those are the things that we want to improve upon. He's
shown that he can respond to that, but I think there's a tendency, and I felt this
way too, that oh man, it felt a lot different than what the totality of the game was
because it was that most recent exposure in regards to when (Commanders
Q (Jacoby) Brissett comes in and manufactures two scoring drives and the
way that it went down. And it seemed like ‘DK’ was in the middle of that action,
but he'll learn from it. He's a mentally tough guy and we'll figure out what we
think is the best way to try to defend a really good team that's playing at a high
clip on Thursday.”

(On his thoughts during WR Cooper Kupp’s long touchdown reception)

“Well, you could see they busted the coverage. They were playing a single-high
zone in the thirds corner squeezed and the flat player didn't carry when we got
too vertical through a zone. So I was like. ‘Oh just make sure we hit it.’ But no,
if you said, did I envision him being open like that, it worked out for us but I
can't take credit for the design that was a mistake in terms of how they should
have played their coverage.”

(On any differences regarding Stafford’s play compared to what he’s been
doing previously)

“I don't think it's different. I just think he's elevating everybody that he's around.
He's got just a great vibe about himself, the way that he comes in, the way that
he interacts with his teammates, how intentionally he is in the meeting room on
the walkthroughs, and then how competitive he is in practice settings whether
it's when we're going good on good or whether we're in some of our look squad
preparation periods. And so he's been outstanding and I think he's really got
great command of what we're doing. He's taking great care of the football. He's
getting through progressions quickly. I think he's seeing the field well and what I
love is he's getting all of his eligible involved. The ball is getting spread around
and that's when I think we're at our best. When you're using all of the skills in
the playmakers that we have at our disposal and I think these guys are playing
confident. I think that yesterday was a great opportunity for us to still find a way
to win in spite of missing out on a lot of scoring opportunities, whether that be
from the sequence that I mentioned, some different things in terms of hitting
field goals or converting on some things in the red area and then taking care of
the football. But he's been a stud in every sense of the word, nothing different.
But I just think you can't say enough about how he has truly elevated
everybody that he's around and there’s such a belief and a confidence that with
him at the switch, you always feel like good things are going to happen for us.”

(On his initial thoughts on the Saints)

“I really just started diving into them a few hours ago here. What stands out is
they do a great job offensively, very similar with (Saints Offensive Coordinator)
Coach (Pete) Carmichael. They've got a quarterback who is playing really well.
He was really efficient yesterday. They've got playmakers at his disposal. They
mix personnel groupings to put a lot of pressure on you. And then defensively,
I've got tremendous respect for (Saints Head Coach) Dennis Allen. They do a
great job of really having a good sound, a philosophical approach. They're
really good on all three levels of the defense. He does a great job of being able
to keep you off balance and keep you honest, which is why they've been so
good defensively whether it was when he was the DC or since he's been the
head coach. And then they are outstanding on special teams. And it's a team
that applies a lot of pressure to you. I think they've got a lot of guys that have
played in a lot of big-time games and this is a team that knows how to play
winning football in the month of December. So we've got a great challenge and
what a cool opportunity that our guys have earned on Thursday night at home
to go see if we can go get another one and love the opp and go cherish it.”

(On this December being more enjoyable than last December)

“Absolutely. I think we've talked a lot about it, the perspective but the people. I
love working with these players and the coaches and the consistent approach
that they've had. And that's not exclusive... Yeah, it's a lot more fun when
you're getting the results that you want but I really appreciate a lot of the things
that we learned in spite of coming up short, especially early on in the season.
And what I'm so proud of is the way that these guys have responded and really
reset after the bye. I think we've put together a pretty good five weeks and it's
always about how you continue to move forward and get a chance to do that in
a short week. And so we're looking forward to swinging, man.”

--RAMS--

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#HelmetHornsMatter

“Well, the color is good, I like the metallic blue,” Youngblood recently said while laughing, via NFL Journal. “The horn is terrible. It looks like a ‘C.’ When I first saw it on the logo I honestly thought it was a Charger logo.

“Now when I see it on the helmet, it just isn’t a ram horn. There is no distinct curl like a mature ram horn. I don’t know how the Rams could get that wrong. That is your symbol and it has been for what? Seventy years or more? Longer than I have been alive? It’s just not us, it’s not the Rams.”---Mr. Ram Jack Youngblood