LA Rams Transcripts - Head Coach Sean McVay, QB Matthew Stafford - October 13, 2021

Los Angeles Rams Transcripts - Head Coach Sean McVay, QB Matthew Stafford - October 13, 2021





Head Coach Sean McVay, QB Matthew Stafford
Head Coach Sean McVay
(Opening Statement)
“Excited about having a great week of preparation with the Giants. I want to just kind of get ahead of it. It's a really unfortunate situation that's gone on with the Raiders and (Raiders Former Head) Coach (Jon) Gruden. I hated that so many people have been negatively affected by this. Thoughts and prayers are with all of those people that are and really just want to leave it at that. And we're focused on the Giants and really excited about preparing to try to attack an opportunity to get our fifth win. Guys have a good look in their eyes. Just had a good walk-thru and we know it's going to be a great challenge, especially with them returning a handful of really good players that we expect to see this week.”

(On his reaction to the content in Gruden’s emails)
“Just sad about it. It's unfortunate. (I) just want to really leave it at that.”

(On if he has had any contact with Gruden since the news broke)
“No.”

(On if he was contacted by the NFL as part of the investigation, as he was on staff with Gruden during his time with the Washington Football Team)
“I was not.”

(On if he can clarify if he is sad about the content Gruden put out there or sad for Gruden himself)
“All of the above. I just think it's a really unfortunate circumstance. So, I'm sad for the many people that have been negatively affected, anybody that was offended by this. There’s a lot of families. There's a lot of things that go into this and there's a lot of people that have been affected and that's what I'm sad about. It's kind of a sad commentary all around and it's an unfortunate thing that we're even talking about it right now.”

(On what he thinks of an ecosystem in which the NFL allows one to feel comfortable discussing topics that were discussed in Gruden’s emails)
“I think, first of all - kind of like what we've talked about with the sensitivity of all the things that have gone on over really the last year - I've been raised to love people, to care about people. I think one of the great things about this game is you bring people together from a bunch of different backgrounds, and I think there becomes an understanding of, man, you see people in their purest form and that's what you love about being able to do this and the different amount of people that I've gotten exposed to. I'm really saddened by that. I saw that my uncle was on some of those chains, but I can't speak on behalf of some of the content. But saddened is an appropriate word and I'd like to think that there's an atmosphere and environment here that's about helping people reach their highest potential, having empathy, caring about people and that's what I think we display. And I think that's what the people that have been in this building would say and that's really important to me.”

(On if the atmosphere around the topics Gruden covered in his emails are moving in a healthy direction)
“I think there's a lot of instances where there's a heightened sense of awareness. I like to believe that people are innately good, and I also think - I know for myself - there's mistakes that people make, that I've made. Nobody's perfect. I think there is something to be said for mercy, for grace and for forgiveness. I go back to what I said a couple of minutes ago. I've been raised to love people, to care about people. (I) came from a great situation where my family taught me right from wrong. I haven't always been perfect, but I do think with the platform that I'm so fortunate and blessed to be able to have, it's about bringing people together, building people up, helping them maximize their highest potential, but also be the best person they can possibly be. That's something that I'm committed to trying to do and that's what we'll always try to do here.”

(On the challenges that the Giants present)
“There’s a lot of challenges. This is a really good football team. I think there's a lot of guys that we do expect back from injury. (Giants Head) Coach (Joe) Judge does an excellent job. This is a really competitive football team. I think they're doing a really nice job schematically in all three phases. They've got good personnel. You can start to see a lot of guys are making plays for them offensively. I think (Giants Q Daniel Jones is playing at a really high level. He's got playmakers that he can get involved. Defensively, they've got a plethora of different things that they throw at you with (Giants Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Patrick) Graham. Then with (Giants Special Teams Coordinator) Coach (Thomas) McGaughey and Coach Judge, they do an excellent job putting a lot of pressure on you in the kicking game. It’s going to be a great challenge. You see that show up on the film and we got to be ready to go.”

(On CB Darious Williams being on IR short-term or long-term)
“I see it as the three weeks. That’s why we were kind of going back and forth because you felt like, ‘Alright, it's probably going to be two weeks, might be on that fringe of returning for that third game.’ But I do expect if he progresses the way that we anticipate that he'll be back after that three weeks.”

(On having back-to-back road games, if having the shorter week on the front end helps and what specific challenges he sees)
“I think getting through it, now you feel good. That short week, that’s always a little bit stressful and I know for the players to be able to turn over, I thought our guys handled it really well. So, I was pleased about that. Being able to give them a couple of days to kind of get rested, get recuperated (and) refreshed. They had a good look in their eye today. There’s always challenges whether you're at home or on the road in this league week in and week out. But being able to travel across the country, that poses its own challenges. I think our guys have done a nice job over the last couple of years, especially really handling those trips well. So again, it goes back to the consistent theme that you guys always hear me talk about. We just got to be ready to go in that three-hour time span, and if we play our best ball then typically we feel like we give ourselves a chance for some good things to happen.”

(On if the team travelling Saturdays instead of Fridays is his choice or league mandated)
“No, it's not anymore. I think what we've learned is, as you're just trying to get guys acclimated, their body clocks, all those types of things. We've learned that this is – best thing that we can do is try to keep guys on a consistent rhythm and routine. Unless you can really go for an extended period of time, it doesn't really get the benefits that maybe we used to think they did. To be able to have the players sleep in their bed one more night, kind of keep them on as normal of a rhythm and routine as possible. We felt like was going to be the best thing, and that's kind of the approach. We did learn that kind of where it's a trial-and-error last year with the mandates where you're making some east coast trips and you're mandated to travel the day before and we felt like it worked out, and that’s why we'll take that approach this year.”

(On if the Gruden situation sparks conversations with the team, coaching staff and other stakeholders within the organization)
“The dialogue is always ongoing about just how we want to operate, the standards at which we want to be able to communicate and how we expect to have our core values come to life with everything that we do. With our players, I think those are kind of better to have if it's a one-off or if it was something that specifically affected our team. But if I felt like that was something that was important to be able to address, then I always take that of the clear, open and honest communication with our guys.”

(On QB Matthew Stafford being sacked and rushed less than any other starting quarterback in the league and how much of that is aligned with the offensive line and what Stafford does)
“I think all of it. I think it's a combination of all of those things is what I really meant to say. (I) think the (offensive) line has done an outstanding job. I think our receivers and tight ends and (running) backs are doing a nice job of being able to separate in the rhythm and timing. I think Matthew has a great feel for the pocket where that internal clock kind of goes off. I think that's a credit to all 11. That's why you always hear me say football is the greatest team sport that there is. It's a great thing. We want to continue to have that be something that we can stand by, and I think that's been a credit to all those guys that you mentioned.”

(On if Jon Gruden’s firing surprised him since he actually knows Gruden personally)
“Yeah, it did it. All I know is I can only speak on my individual interactions with him. I haven't seen any of those types of things that you would expect that kind of stuff to come out in writing or whatever. We are responsible for the things that we do say, but I have not seen that side of him and I was surprised by that.”

(On if he feels like the team is getting into some kind of rhythm)
“I think we're working through that. Every single week presents a new chance to reestablish yourself and continue to try to go in the right direction. We always talk about either you get better, or you get worse, you never stay the same. The best teams find a way of getting better as the season progresses. That doesn't mean that it's a perfect trajectory where you're just always on that upward tick, but you do want to see the things that we've emphasized continue to come to life. The things that really matter. The things that end up making the difference between winning and losing, and I like where our team is at. There's a lot of improvement and looking forward to seeing some of these things we've emphasized come to life on Sunday.”

(On if the emails released accurately depict who Gruden is, and we just did not know)
“I can't say. I haven't seen that side of him. So that's not something that I'd seen from him.”

(On if this is a learning experience on what is being said in some circles, and how to enact change?)
“Yeah, I think it starts with your daily actions, your interactions. I think in a lot of instances, kind of like over the last year and a half or the last couple of years, asking questions that maybe you wouldn't have asked before so there can be that understanding. In a lot of instances, you feel like you're always, as a head coach, you're responsible for leading, but I think what I've learned as much as anything is you've got to listen, learn, and then it gives you a chance to be able to lead the right way. These are situations and scenarios that, that definitely is more apparent than ever. That's something that you want to be intentional about doing and making sure that the empathy exists, and also asking the questions so you can have a better understanding and then be able to learn and then lead the right way accordingly.”

QB Matthew Stafford
(Inaudible)
“It’s difficult sometimes to figure out who's going to be playing, who's not. This is a game about players, there's no question about that. But at this point in the week, you're just trying to kind of get comfortable with their scheme and what you think you might see, all those kinds of things. Knowing who's going to be out there, that's definitely a big part of it. (It’s) tough to say at this time of the week. We just go out there and try to have crisp days ourselves, work on what we're supposed to be working on and let those days translate into game day.”

(On how his finger is doing)
“I’m good.”

(On if any of the things he had patched up during the offseason is affecting him)
“It’s nothing physical, as far as how I'm feeling. I think the biggest thing is just executing. There’s a couple plays here, there early in the game, couple third downs that I wish I had back. It’s on me to just try to do as get a job as I possibly can to put all of them right there and let our guys go run and make plays with it. I think we did a nice job of settling into the game, myself included, later in that game. But we'd love to start faster, there's no question about that. That’s just going out there and executing, to be honest with you.”

(On how one game WR Cooper Kupp is hot and then the next WR Robert Woods is hot)
“That’s just the game. Certain defenses are going to allow you to throw the ball into certain places. (WR) Robert (Woods) was in those places and he did a great job of making the most of the opportunities. He had some great catches going down and getting the ball a couple of times, catching and running on some balls. In other weeks there's going to be other players that get opportunities based on that coverage. At first third down in the game, if you told me that ball was going to (WR) Van Jefferson’s backside, I'd probably tell you you're crazy. I didn't think that was going to be the place that's going to go, but the defense dictated that it went there. I'm just trying to make sure that I get the ball to the appropriate receiver. I'm not a hundred percent when it goes to that, I'm trying to do my best and spread the ball around because I do think when we're spreading the ball around, and the defense has to cover and honor everybody that we're sending vertical, that's when we're at our best.”

(On if he feels like the numbers are right in terms of him being the least pressured quarterback in the NFL right now and what goes into that, besides a productive offensive line)
“It’s everybody. It definitely starts with the guys up front. They’re doing a hell of a job blowing guys up in the run game and also doing a great job protecting me. I think (Head Coach) Sean (McVay) does a great job of mixing and matching. We're moving the pocket, we're running a play action, we're running quick game, we're running throws down the field and we're trying to keep the defense on their toes as much as we possibly can and make sure that we're staying on offense. We can't do that unless our guys up front are playing the way they're playing. They're playing at an extremely high level. That makes my job, and really all of our jobs, easier. But (wide) receivers got to be where they're supposed to be and be there on time. (Running) backs got to do a great job, which our backs have done a hell of a job picking guys up in protection. If we’re asking them to chip a defensive end here or there, they're doing a great job. It’s really just a total team effort. But they are doing a heck of a job up front.”

(On what taking the backside dig sometimes does to a defense)
“On offense what you want to do is just play offense. Right? You want them to feel the pressure. Whether that's through tempo or play design or personnel, you want to apply pressure to the defense. I think we do that in a number of different ways at the moment and got to continue to do that. By no means, am I trying to throw things that aren't there, but at the same time, if the defense is going to allow you to throw a ball in a certain spot, I'm going to aggressively try and do that.”

(On if he feels he has a one, two punch with RB Darrel Henderson Jr. and RB Sony Michel and how does that help him as a quarterback)
“Definitely. Both those guys do a little bit of everything really well, in my opinion. It's not like we have one guy that does this and the other guy that does the other thing. They both catch a ball out of the backfield well. They both pass protect well. They both run the ball well, inside and outside. So we've got really two guys that are really solid running backs in this league. It's great because that's a physical position. That's a position that takes a pounding. These guys are around the ball, between the tackles a bunch and the ability to have one guy sit out for a series and have another guy come in and you don't miss a beat, that's impressive stuff. And it really helps us as an offense”

(On how they prepare with New York having so many injuries)
“I think the biggest thing for us is always trying to strive to play that game, that full game. No matter who our opponent is, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter who we're playing, whether we're out here on the practice field, whatever it is, we're just trying to execute as well as we can, as often as we possibly can. That's offense, defense, special teams. And then you flip the tape on, you watch New York play. I'm watching their defense and their defense flies around. They got a bunch of first round picks, two really good corners, two really good safeties, some interior defensive linemen that are special players. So, it's not hard to understand what the task is at hand and that's going up against a really talented team especially on the defensive side of the ball that I’m looking at that kind of jumps off the tape at you. We'll have a big challenge that's going on the road to a tough environment. So, we're excited about the opportunity to just go out there and try and get a win.”

(On what it was like integrating into a team with a diversity of concepts and if his arm angles changed as a quarterback and if that expands his mathematical advantage)
“I've run about every kind of screen you can run before I got here, but I do think that we do it at a very high level, whether it's the wide receiver screen, outside backs, tight ends, there's a lot of thought that goes into it. And then our guys do a great job of executing those thoughts and premises. I don't know. I think a screen, as much as anything, is almost a feel play. It's a feel play for a tight end to know when to get out or a running back, ‘when to make myself available on the screen.’ And I just try to put myself in that same feel rather than just be a robot that I take three and a hitch, and I throw it here. I'm trying to always draw the defense in. The more guys coming to me, the better it's going to be on the back end. So, it's a little bit of a feel play. You never know on some of those receiver screens, how a defensive end’s going to run out and try and play it, or if he's not, how that throws going to turn out, you just try to let the game come to you and make the right play.”

(On going from West Coast to East Coast)
“I couldn't tell you what hotel we ever stay in. I couldn't tell you anything. I know the four walls that I'm in my room and I wake up, I go play the game. To me it’s no different where we're traveling, how long we're on the plane. I'm probably asleep on the plane most of the time anyways. So, I understand that it is a long trip, but at the same time, we're pros. It's time to go out there and play when it's time to go out there and play, and then we'll be ready to go.”

--RAMS--



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2021 01:22AM by Shaky.