TRANSCRIPTS: Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher, 8-2-16

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – Training Camp Post-Practice – August 2, 2016



(Opening Remarks)

“First, really full day with the team in pads, we had about half the team yesterday working through some special teams drills in shoulder pads. But I thought, overall, today was really good, we got through it healthy and got a lot of work done. As you see, we added another phase, we moved into the red zone today and the offense made a lot of plays, a lot of good throws, a lot of good catches. So, I’m expecting the defense to answer a little bit tomorrow. The offense is probably going to need to strap it up a little bit tomorrow. It was a good day overall.”



(On WR Pharoh Cooper’s status)

“Yeah, we’re holding him out. He’s got a little thing going in his quad. You push through it, it may be two weeks, (but) if you back him off, it might be a couple days. That’s what we’ve got going there, he’ll be fine.”



(On if this was a typical first day in pads)

“Yeah, I thought it was good. Considering what we installed and the types of sessions that we had, I thought it was really good. We had a lot of good work in the special teams period and got a lot of work just throwing the ball into tight areas in the red zone, which is hard. I thought all of the quarterbacks did a nice job today.”



(On QB Jared Goff’s performance today)

“I thought he did well, he made some really good throws, a couple, the balls should have been caught. I thought he was making really good decisions. We had a little bit of noise the last period, so they had to focus in the huddle and I thought he took charge of it. He’s progressing well.”



(On DE Robert Quinn’s performance coming back from injury)

“Yeah, and that was not an easy thing that he went through last year. A lot of hard work during the offseason, step-by-step-by-step to where we are right now. He’s 100 percent, but it doesn’t make sense – when you have a racehorse like that, you have got to watch him. We’re going to watch him, his reps aren’t, probably aren’t up, to where he normally would be, but he’ll get there. It just makes sense just to protect him. He’s going to play in the preseason, do all those things. But he’s special.”



(On if he had to calm the team down before today’s practice like he did prior to Sunday’s practice)

“No, today was just ‘let’s go play.’ You’ve got pads on now, so it’s time to go play. What you saw, which is a little bit different, which we talked about, the defense clearly has an advantage without the pads. It’s hard for the offensive guys to anchor and pass protect and all that. Then all of the sudden, today the pads went on and the quarterback has a little more time, he steps up in the pocket and makes a big throw down the field. It was real football today. (When) we’ve got pads on, it’ll be real football.”



(On what the team installed during today’s practice)

“Well, I’ll give you some specifics. We installed the entire system – offense, defense and pretty much special teams through the offseason program. So we’re reinstalling again. So that’s where we’re at. Everybody, for the most part, has had an opportunity to go out and execute what we installed during the offseason program, so now we’re doing it again – that’s what everybody does. You start over and you just start your installation process over and you go. We’re maybe 20 percent into it right now, which is good. As you’ll see as we get into next week, we’ll do a lot more situational-type things, where we get into the two-minute, the four-minute, the last play – just all those things so there’s recall and comfortability with that.”



(On if he has seen a confidence difference from OTAs to what he’s seeing today)

“Yeah, completely different. Again, I think a lot had to do with the pads, but it’s completely different. It’s a huge step that we took, specifically today. You walk off the field, everybody feels good, the defense is (saying) ‘we gave up too many plays.’ Tomorrow the defense may make the plays and the offense may not, they’re competing. We’re allowing both sides to call what they want and compete. As we get further into it, we’ll back down getting into the situations. It’s just one day at a time.”



(On the rumors of Coach Fisher sleeping on an air mattress)

“I’ve been coaching for 20 years and I don’t go into my own personal stuff. But I’ll confirm that, yeah. Yeah, I’ve got an air mattress at home and a six-pack of Fiji Water.”



(On if any of the young guys stand out to him after seeing the film from yesterday’s special teams practice)

“They’re all getting better. I like the group of receivers, the young group of receivers. (Passing Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers) Coach (Mike) Groh’s doing a really good job with them. I think I said you can change the numbers and it’s true that they’re all tall, can make plays, elevate and make catches. I’d say, right now, it looks like the young group of receivers is going to be good for us. You’re going to get to know them, especially in the preseason games.”



(On if there’s anything in particular that has stood out to him from TE Tyler Higbee and WR Duke Williams)

“I just like what they’re doing right now. Duke came in, knew he had a once in a lifetime opportunity based on some of the things that happened in his history. We gave him that opportunity and he took advantage of it. Went off in the summer and came back, took a lot of weight off and he’s doing well. Tyler, on the other hand, is just getting better every day. He had a setback because of the knee but he pushed through that during the break. He’s making a lot of plays, like he’s played before.”



(On the kind of options DB Lamarcus Joyner gives them as they try to work around the pieces in the secondary)

“He’s getting reps, he’s taking reps outside at corner, he’s in that competition there. And then he’s able to go back inside, where he’s really comfortable and he’s productive for two years. His flexibility helps our defense. If he ends up getting the job done outside, that’s only going to make us better.”



(On if it’s hard to pencil Joyner into a cornerback spot with all of the different looks and formations opposing offenses present)

“Well, nothing’s hard. We have to make the right decisions and make sure he’s getting enough reps. A significant part of our defensive package involves more than four defensive backs – I’m taking (L Mark Barron out of that because he’s kind of in that linebacker spot. So it involves more than four, we play with five. He’s going to be on the field most of the time. He’s one of those guys you can trust, he’s very, very serious about his job, and very, very competitive. He’s learned to practice really well, he hit everything his first year here. Anything that was moving, he hit even if he didn’t have pads on. Now he’s learning how to settle down a little bit. The game’s slowing down for him.”



(On if he’s noticing anything going on after the whistle during the first few days of camp since the first few days sometimes are chippy)

“No, it’s clean, we’ve talked about it. There’s occasionally going to be a push and shove, you see it all around the league, it happens, it’s part of camp. We talk about it, there’s no place for it and it certainly can’t carry over to games, you don’t want to create a bad habit. You do want to finish and that’s really important on both sides of the ball and special teams. Finish through the whistle, through the echo of the whistle. That’s probably some of the things that you saw there.”



(On evaluating QB Case Keenum coming into his first year as the starter in camp and how he’s handling it)

“He’s handled it great. He has a great feel for it. Understands the offense, great in the huddle. He does all those little, extra, subtle things that you need to do as a quarterback. He’s had a great offseason. A little setback during OTAs, arm got sore, but he worked out real hard and he’s doing well.”