Los Angeles Rams Transcripts - Head Coach Sean McVay - December 19, 2021
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Los Angeles Rams Transcripts - Head Coach Sean McVay - December 19, 2021
Head Coach Sean McVay
Head Coach Sean McVay
(On if he still feels like the team is trending in a good direction as far as guys coming off the Reserve/COVID-19 list)
“I do. Obviously, (I’m) very excited to be able to get (C
Jalen (Ramsey) back. We know how important he is to our team from a leadership perspective and then a production perspective on the field. And so that's really big to be able to get him back with how thin we were on the secondary. And then there are some other guys that are trending in the right direction and hopefully we'll be able to get some good news on them today or tomorrow.”
(On what practices have looked like yesterday and today, if he expects to be able to do any work tomorrow and how guys are looking after having a couple days off)
“Today felt more normal. But basically, to give you a kind of a quick overview of what it's been like, you've seen a lot of good individual full-speed work. And then, we've been able to kind of two spot offense and defense separately with look squads. And some of that is you have to be creative with being able to not necessarily have 11 players on the service team, but sometimes it's coaches, staff, whatever, but we have been able to get that in kind of an up-tempo pace, especially at the point of attack, which was good. But that's roughly been about two hours of work when you combine special teams, jog-thru, good individual emphasis. We had one competitive period where the offense was going against the defense. And then we had about an hour separate doing kind of jog-thru stuff that was all encompassing the first, second, third downs, some situational things. And tomorrow will just be a trimmed down version of that.”
(On how soon RB Jake Funk will be available to play given his return to practice status today)
“On Tuesday. I expect him to play on Tuesday. He's made a good recovery, done a great job with (Vice President, Sports Medicine and Performance) Reggie (Scott) and his group attacking it. So, both (R Jake (Funk) and (ILB Travin) T Howard are guys we anticipate playing on Tuesday.”
(On if RB Darrell Henderson Jr. will start against the Seahawks)
“We'll use them both. (R Sony (Michel) has done a great job these last couple weeks. We know how reliable (R Darrell (Henderson Jr.) is. So, both those guys, if they're both up and available, we'll utilize both those guys. As far as the starter, who gets more, it'll be a feel for the flow of the game. I look at it as like we have two starting backs and then you'll have (R Mekhi (Sargent) and Jake available, if need be, as well.”
(On if LB Ernest Jones will be the defensive signal caller if S Jordan Fuller isn’t available for the Seahawks game)
“That’s a good question. That is definitely something that is most likely to occur, as far as (L Ernest (Jones) being able to have the dot with kind of where he's ascended himself to. He is the most likely candidate, absolutely.”
(On if the team being apart from each other has brought them closer together)
“I think so. I think anytime that your back’s against the wall and you have to work through some adversity, it forces guys to bond tighter than you had before. And I absolutely think that's true. I don't think it's a cliche in the least bit. I think you can use those experiences as powerful moments to build momentum in the right way and show that there (are) opportunities to overcome, guys get an opportunity to step up. I think in those situations and scenarios players like (Q Matthew Stafford are not necessarily asked to do more, but there's more weight on their shoulders, which is something that they're more than capable of being able to handle. I think you saw from the very first snap, (DL) Aaron Donald epitomized that the other night. I thought it was the same thing from the way that Matthew played offensively. The best part about it is that's just those guys playing their best ball. It's not anything more than what they're capable of, but their best was required and that's what we need. And it’s going to be no different this week going against the Seahawks on Tuesday. That is weird playing on Tuesday (laughter).”
(On if what the NFL went through last year has helped prepare for these certain situations and makes it a little easier to deal with)
“I would say this, you do have a lot of plans in place even to (a previous question) the other day when (another reporter) was saying, ‘Okay, if for whatever reason I (Head Coach Sean McVay) was to get it, what is the order and who would kind of take over those roles and responsibilities?’ So, you’re kind of dusting off some of the procedures and things you had in place. I certainly did not ever anticipate this coming up again but based on being in a situation in a scenario where we have such good weather, we'll start using that tent again to meet and things like that. But I think with what we learned last year about being able to utilize technology to get things communicated to our players in an efficient manner remotely is definitely beneficial. And then I think they've done a great job being able to handle the in-person work. I think last year definitely prepared us better. I don't know if you ever truly prepare for moments like this, but (I’ve) been really impressed with the way that our organization and our players have handled this. And I think we're going to be able to go have a good chance to compete to the best of our ability on Tuesday.”
(On how much of this was week pre-planned in case of disaster scenario versus on the fly)
“Yeah, I don't know if you can ever truly pre-plan for something like this. The agility and the flexibility is at a premium right now. And really from our coaches, our staff, our players, they've done such a great job. Here is what the circumstances are. Here are the numbers we have. Here are the players that we have available. So, let's start to formulate a plan accordingly to go prepare and try to win your 10th game. So, it's been a little bit of a fluid situation. I do think it's good that you have a little bit more clarity in terms of here's what our 48-gameday roster would look like right now. There's a couple guys that are still technically out that are trending in the right direction that we can anticipate being back. So, not something that you can ever really pre-plan, but guys have done a great job adjusting and adapting on the fly with an ever-changing situation like this is.”
(On if he has a sense of how playing on a Tuesday affects their normal weekly schedule going forward)
“Yeah, today it's ‘Friday.’ It's not Sunday, it's ‘Friday’ because we're playing on ‘Sunday’-Tuesday. So, we just kind of really get our normal rhythm and routine. Really these are things that you're accustomed to, whether you play a Thursday game on a short week, Monday nights, or Sunday night games. So, because we were really delayed in even being able to start our preparation, we've treated the last two days like a combination Wednesday-Thursday yesterday. Today is like a Friday. Tomorrow will be like a Saturday, and then Tuesday is Sunday to us. We're such creatures of habit. You get into your rhythm and routine and in all seriousness, it feels like I'm going about my Friday rhythm, where typically I meet with you guys before. Then I'll go through my normal routine that I go through on a Friday and tomorrow will be like Saturday morning.”
(On if the Week 16 Minnesota game will be like a Thursday as per that schedule outlined in the previous answer)
“Yep. I'll treat it like in between a Thursday and a Monday night game because it'd be like technically playing on a Friday. So not quite as short of a week as what a Thursday would be. These are things that we're well equipped to do this late in the season, especially. It's a real premium on the above the neck information and maximizing walk-thrus and things like that. So, I'm just grateful for Commissioner (Roger) Goodell, the league, and the (Player’s Association) PA to be able to work it out, so that we are getting some bodies back and we're going to be able to play this game that's reflective of good competition that we're looking for and the equity that we talk about in this league.”
(On if he is aware that the Arizona Cardinals lost and if he addresses that at all with his team)
“I am aware of that. We came in and guys heard what the score was, but the reality is, it all becomes irrelevant if we don't take care of business. Of course our players look at that kind of stuff, but the focus and concentration is, let's take care of our business. To say I'm not a fan of the game and the league and things that could potentially affect us, I'm absolutely aware of that. But, you continue to harp on what are the things that we truly control? And that's making sure we do a good job up on Tuesday. But, I'm definitely aware of that, as our players are as well.”
(On how it affects the team to get CB Jalen Ramsey back)
“It's huge. It's huge because of the different ways that you can utilize him, the swagger, the game day leadership he provides, just the presence. When you're around Jalen Ramsey, you just feel better about our chances as a team. He's got that kind of effect. He's got one of the best game day demeanors of any player I've ever been around. Then I think about some of the things that you can do when you think about the matchups and the problems that they present personnel wise and what he enables us to be able to do in regard to trying to defend a really difficult offense with great personnel. It's really big and it was huge missing him last week for that same reason. Guys did a great job stepping up, but to say that it's not a big deal to get Jalen Ramsey back would not be accurate. That's a huge deal for us. And I was ecstatic when I got the call that he was cleared.”
(On his favorite moment from WR Cooper Kupp’s season)
“My favorite moment…that'd be really difficult (to pick). What game do you want to talk about? We can talk about favorite moments. He's just done so many different things. Nobody would really talk about it, but our longest run of the year was with (WR) Cooper (Kupp) lead blocking on (Seahawks S) Jamal Adams, the first time we played these guys, where he kicked out Jamal in the hole and kind of ricochet him into another player and (R Darrell (Henderson Jr.) goes for 28-yards on our sideline at Seattle. Yet he's got 113 catches, 12 touchdowns, and all these yards. So, he just does something week in and week out. Then when you hear the level of detail. People joke about it but when he communicated what he saw in that touchdown he had against Jacksonville, that's why he's so special. He's so gifted. He's so smart. He's so conscientious. He's so selfless. (He is) such a great teammate. I'm a better coach for being around Cooper Kupp. I could go on and on about all the amazing superlatives about him, but he's an even better person than he is a player. I think that's the best thing I can say about him.”
(On if there was ever an instance where one of Kupp’s questions led him to find the correct answer)
“It's more about collaborating. Like he's got such great awareness too, that it's more like he's aware of what things he's put on tape and he's saying, hey, this would be a good complement based on their coverages and some of the routes that I've already run off of these same looks. So, he's really seeing things like a coach. He's taking some of these younger receivers under his arm, and he is not only a captain for us, but he's also helping coach that group up, making corrections when we're trying to game plan from post-practice stuff. Whether that's helping get (WR) Odell (Beckham Jr.) up to speed, helping (WR) Van (Jefferson) continue to mature, there's just so many amazing things and none of it is done other than because he wants to be a great teammate and he wants to win. And that's the best thing about him. But the route that he ran against Tampa, that was his idea. He came up with that when our players were doing some stuff in the offseason and the way that guys had triggered on a similar route concept where he stays coming back underneath all the way, and he ends up putting his own sauce on and he has a reason behind it. I said, ‘Shoot, that seems like a pretty good idea. Let's do it.’ When you've got great players like him, you're going to listen to them. And he's got very educated understanding when he makes suggestions of what it's going (to do, and) why he likes it. He solves some of the problems no different than when a coach that's responsible for game planning a certain phase of our offense comes to you to present. Alright, what do you think of this idea? And you kind of go through: what's the problem? What’s the intent? What are the mechanics? Then what are the problems that can arise in this play? Have you thought through all those? (WR) Cooper (Kupp) does that when he is making suggestions, and that's why you're seeing him do what he's doing.”
(On if there are any changes he’d like to see in terms of procedures, testing protocols, and the ability to adapt and move games given the crazy nature of last week)
“I think it was great with what they (the league) did. And then kind of like I had mentioned yesterday on a similar question to what you're talking about, let's think about what are the priorities behind what we're trying to get accomplished. Number one: assuring the players' health and safety to the best of our ability, given the unknowns and the uncertainty that exists right here. I think the league, and I think the PA has done a great job being able to work in coordination to get that figured out. What does that mean? That means moving the schedule, if need be, even though there's a lot of different layers to how those decisions come about. And then it's saying, let's continue to understand this new variant. What is the volatility of this? What are some of the things that we can do to educate people on why it's not minimized, but why the symptoms are more mild and why you're seeing that shelf life turn over and you're getting guys back faster. So, I think they're checking the boxes on the health and safety. And then how can we accomplish that while also being able to complete our season, play a full schedule and give ourselves an opportunity to crown a champion at the end of it? I think that adaptability and that agility that we have to have as a team is exactly what was demonstrated by the PA in the league this week. Very grateful for that. And so, I think they're doing a great job.”
--RAMS--
Head Coach Sean McVay
Head Coach Sean McVay
(On if he still feels like the team is trending in a good direction as far as guys coming off the Reserve/COVID-19 list)
“I do. Obviously, (I’m) very excited to be able to get (C
Jalen (Ramsey) back. We know how important he is to our team from a leadership perspective and then a production perspective on the field. And so that's really big to be able to get him back with how thin we were on the secondary. And then there are some other guys that are trending in the right direction and hopefully we'll be able to get some good news on them today or tomorrow.”(On what practices have looked like yesterday and today, if he expects to be able to do any work tomorrow and how guys are looking after having a couple days off)
“Today felt more normal. But basically, to give you a kind of a quick overview of what it's been like, you've seen a lot of good individual full-speed work. And then, we've been able to kind of two spot offense and defense separately with look squads. And some of that is you have to be creative with being able to not necessarily have 11 players on the service team, but sometimes it's coaches, staff, whatever, but we have been able to get that in kind of an up-tempo pace, especially at the point of attack, which was good. But that's roughly been about two hours of work when you combine special teams, jog-thru, good individual emphasis. We had one competitive period where the offense was going against the defense. And then we had about an hour separate doing kind of jog-thru stuff that was all encompassing the first, second, third downs, some situational things. And tomorrow will just be a trimmed down version of that.”
(On how soon RB Jake Funk will be available to play given his return to practice status today)
“On Tuesday. I expect him to play on Tuesday. He's made a good recovery, done a great job with (Vice President, Sports Medicine and Performance) Reggie (Scott) and his group attacking it. So, both (R
Jake (Funk) and (ILB Travin) T Howard are guys we anticipate playing on Tuesday.”(On if RB Darrell Henderson Jr. will start against the Seahawks)
“We'll use them both. (R
Sony (Michel) has done a great job these last couple weeks. We know how reliable (R Darrell (Henderson Jr.) is. So, both those guys, if they're both up and available, we'll utilize both those guys. As far as the starter, who gets more, it'll be a feel for the flow of the game. I look at it as like we have two starting backs and then you'll have (R Mekhi (Sargent) and Jake available, if need be, as well.”(On if LB Ernest Jones will be the defensive signal caller if S Jordan Fuller isn’t available for the Seahawks game)
“That’s a good question. That is definitely something that is most likely to occur, as far as (L
Ernest (Jones) being able to have the dot with kind of where he's ascended himself to. He is the most likely candidate, absolutely.”(On if the team being apart from each other has brought them closer together)
“I think so. I think anytime that your back’s against the wall and you have to work through some adversity, it forces guys to bond tighter than you had before. And I absolutely think that's true. I don't think it's a cliche in the least bit. I think you can use those experiences as powerful moments to build momentum in the right way and show that there (are) opportunities to overcome, guys get an opportunity to step up. I think in those situations and scenarios players like (Q
Matthew Stafford are not necessarily asked to do more, but there's more weight on their shoulders, which is something that they're more than capable of being able to handle. I think you saw from the very first snap, (DL) Aaron Donald epitomized that the other night. I thought it was the same thing from the way that Matthew played offensively. The best part about it is that's just those guys playing their best ball. It's not anything more than what they're capable of, but their best was required and that's what we need. And it’s going to be no different this week going against the Seahawks on Tuesday. That is weird playing on Tuesday (laughter).”(On if what the NFL went through last year has helped prepare for these certain situations and makes it a little easier to deal with)
“I would say this, you do have a lot of plans in place even to (a previous question) the other day when (another reporter) was saying, ‘Okay, if for whatever reason I (Head Coach Sean McVay) was to get it, what is the order and who would kind of take over those roles and responsibilities?’ So, you’re kind of dusting off some of the procedures and things you had in place. I certainly did not ever anticipate this coming up again but based on being in a situation in a scenario where we have such good weather, we'll start using that tent again to meet and things like that. But I think with what we learned last year about being able to utilize technology to get things communicated to our players in an efficient manner remotely is definitely beneficial. And then I think they've done a great job being able to handle the in-person work. I think last year definitely prepared us better. I don't know if you ever truly prepare for moments like this, but (I’ve) been really impressed with the way that our organization and our players have handled this. And I think we're going to be able to go have a good chance to compete to the best of our ability on Tuesday.”
(On how much of this was week pre-planned in case of disaster scenario versus on the fly)
“Yeah, I don't know if you can ever truly pre-plan for something like this. The agility and the flexibility is at a premium right now. And really from our coaches, our staff, our players, they've done such a great job. Here is what the circumstances are. Here are the numbers we have. Here are the players that we have available. So, let's start to formulate a plan accordingly to go prepare and try to win your 10th game. So, it's been a little bit of a fluid situation. I do think it's good that you have a little bit more clarity in terms of here's what our 48-gameday roster would look like right now. There's a couple guys that are still technically out that are trending in the right direction that we can anticipate being back. So, not something that you can ever really pre-plan, but guys have done a great job adjusting and adapting on the fly with an ever-changing situation like this is.”
(On if he has a sense of how playing on a Tuesday affects their normal weekly schedule going forward)
“Yeah, today it's ‘Friday.’ It's not Sunday, it's ‘Friday’ because we're playing on ‘Sunday’-Tuesday. So, we just kind of really get our normal rhythm and routine. Really these are things that you're accustomed to, whether you play a Thursday game on a short week, Monday nights, or Sunday night games. So, because we were really delayed in even being able to start our preparation, we've treated the last two days like a combination Wednesday-Thursday yesterday. Today is like a Friday. Tomorrow will be like a Saturday, and then Tuesday is Sunday to us. We're such creatures of habit. You get into your rhythm and routine and in all seriousness, it feels like I'm going about my Friday rhythm, where typically I meet with you guys before. Then I'll go through my normal routine that I go through on a Friday and tomorrow will be like Saturday morning.”
(On if the Week 16 Minnesota game will be like a Thursday as per that schedule outlined in the previous answer)
“Yep. I'll treat it like in between a Thursday and a Monday night game because it'd be like technically playing on a Friday. So not quite as short of a week as what a Thursday would be. These are things that we're well equipped to do this late in the season, especially. It's a real premium on the above the neck information and maximizing walk-thrus and things like that. So, I'm just grateful for Commissioner (Roger) Goodell, the league, and the (Player’s Association) PA to be able to work it out, so that we are getting some bodies back and we're going to be able to play this game that's reflective of good competition that we're looking for and the equity that we talk about in this league.”
(On if he is aware that the Arizona Cardinals lost and if he addresses that at all with his team)
“I am aware of that. We came in and guys heard what the score was, but the reality is, it all becomes irrelevant if we don't take care of business. Of course our players look at that kind of stuff, but the focus and concentration is, let's take care of our business. To say I'm not a fan of the game and the league and things that could potentially affect us, I'm absolutely aware of that. But, you continue to harp on what are the things that we truly control? And that's making sure we do a good job up on Tuesday. But, I'm definitely aware of that, as our players are as well.”
(On how it affects the team to get CB Jalen Ramsey back)
“It's huge. It's huge because of the different ways that you can utilize him, the swagger, the game day leadership he provides, just the presence. When you're around Jalen Ramsey, you just feel better about our chances as a team. He's got that kind of effect. He's got one of the best game day demeanors of any player I've ever been around. Then I think about some of the things that you can do when you think about the matchups and the problems that they present personnel wise and what he enables us to be able to do in regard to trying to defend a really difficult offense with great personnel. It's really big and it was huge missing him last week for that same reason. Guys did a great job stepping up, but to say that it's not a big deal to get Jalen Ramsey back would not be accurate. That's a huge deal for us. And I was ecstatic when I got the call that he was cleared.”
(On his favorite moment from WR Cooper Kupp’s season)
“My favorite moment…that'd be really difficult (to pick). What game do you want to talk about? We can talk about favorite moments. He's just done so many different things. Nobody would really talk about it, but our longest run of the year was with (WR) Cooper (Kupp) lead blocking on (Seahawks S) Jamal Adams, the first time we played these guys, where he kicked out Jamal in the hole and kind of ricochet him into another player and (R
Darrell (Henderson Jr.) goes for 28-yards on our sideline at Seattle. Yet he's got 113 catches, 12 touchdowns, and all these yards. So, he just does something week in and week out. Then when you hear the level of detail. People joke about it but when he communicated what he saw in that touchdown he had against Jacksonville, that's why he's so special. He's so gifted. He's so smart. He's so conscientious. He's so selfless. (He is) such a great teammate. I'm a better coach for being around Cooper Kupp. I could go on and on about all the amazing superlatives about him, but he's an even better person than he is a player. I think that's the best thing I can say about him.”(On if there was ever an instance where one of Kupp’s questions led him to find the correct answer)
“It's more about collaborating. Like he's got such great awareness too, that it's more like he's aware of what things he's put on tape and he's saying, hey, this would be a good complement based on their coverages and some of the routes that I've already run off of these same looks. So, he's really seeing things like a coach. He's taking some of these younger receivers under his arm, and he is not only a captain for us, but he's also helping coach that group up, making corrections when we're trying to game plan from post-practice stuff. Whether that's helping get (WR) Odell (Beckham Jr.) up to speed, helping (WR) Van (Jefferson) continue to mature, there's just so many amazing things and none of it is done other than because he wants to be a great teammate and he wants to win. And that's the best thing about him. But the route that he ran against Tampa, that was his idea. He came up with that when our players were doing some stuff in the offseason and the way that guys had triggered on a similar route concept where he stays coming back underneath all the way, and he ends up putting his own sauce on and he has a reason behind it. I said, ‘Shoot, that seems like a pretty good idea. Let's do it.’ When you've got great players like him, you're going to listen to them. And he's got very educated understanding when he makes suggestions of what it's going (to do, and) why he likes it. He solves some of the problems no different than when a coach that's responsible for game planning a certain phase of our offense comes to you to present. Alright, what do you think of this idea? And you kind of go through: what's the problem? What’s the intent? What are the mechanics? Then what are the problems that can arise in this play? Have you thought through all those? (WR) Cooper (Kupp) does that when he is making suggestions, and that's why you're seeing him do what he's doing.”
(On if there are any changes he’d like to see in terms of procedures, testing protocols, and the ability to adapt and move games given the crazy nature of last week)
“I think it was great with what they (the league) did. And then kind of like I had mentioned yesterday on a similar question to what you're talking about, let's think about what are the priorities behind what we're trying to get accomplished. Number one: assuring the players' health and safety to the best of our ability, given the unknowns and the uncertainty that exists right here. I think the league, and I think the PA has done a great job being able to work in coordination to get that figured out. What does that mean? That means moving the schedule, if need be, even though there's a lot of different layers to how those decisions come about. And then it's saying, let's continue to understand this new variant. What is the volatility of this? What are some of the things that we can do to educate people on why it's not minimized, but why the symptoms are more mild and why you're seeing that shelf life turn over and you're getting guys back faster. So, I think they're checking the boxes on the health and safety. And then how can we accomplish that while also being able to complete our season, play a full schedule and give ourselves an opportunity to crown a champion at the end of it? I think that adaptability and that agility that we have to have as a team is exactly what was demonstrated by the PA in the league this week. Very grateful for that. And so, I think they're doing a great job.”
--RAMS--
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