TRANSCRIPT: Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher (10-10-16)

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – Press Conference – October 10, 2016



(Opening Remarks)

“You look at the stats from this game, the important stats – we had over 100 yards rushing, 270 passing, 370 plus or something in total offense and held the ball for 35:34. We had 23 first downs to their 15. You know, we had 29 rushing attempts. That’s a formula for success, that’s a formula for winning, and one would expect to do so. As I mentioned yesterday, the difference in this ball game, was the fact that they created turnovers – made big plays in two situations and we didn’t get any turnovers defensively. We gave up too many rushing yards in the game. I’m disappointed in it, but we presented it to the players in that fashion – we’ve won three in a row, dropped this one, we had a chance to win it, didn’t work out, now you move on. The fact that we didn’t have three quarters of our defensive line is not an excuse – young guys have to step up. They got some playing opportunities, in case we need to draw upon them in the future. I know you guys are curious about the punt. I’d do it all over again if I had the opportunity. They made the play, we didn’t. But that’s the way we are wired, that’s our fabric and that’s taken us a long way. I’ll have some more injury information for you as far as (C Trumaine’s (Johnson) concerned. We’re still doing tests. We got good news on (G) Cody (Wichmann), from the standpoint it’s not a high ankle. He’s probably questionable going into this ball game – keep you up to date.”



(On if there was anything he saw in the red zone opportunities that limited the team to three field goals and one touchdown)

“That’s a good defense. We ended up in third-and-long for most of them, and that’s hard to convert, and then we had the couple penalties. But one thing that is true, is that (K) Greg (Zuerlein) is kicking really well right now. I’d like for Greg to kickoff and kick extra points. He’s hitting his field goals. Our touchdown-to-field goal ratio is not where it should be, and we talked about that. We need touchdowns. We credit their defense, and the third-and-longs, and the red zones, from that standpoint.”



(On what it means to K Greg Zuerlein to start the season nine-for-nine on field goals)

“He had some misses last year that were long, they were long attempts. But, he’s had a great offseason, and he’s just hitting the ball well. It’s hard; you got the wind condition yesterday, which was swirling a little bit. He drove those kicks. He’s off to a great start. If we need him at the end, we have confidence in him to make that kick. Again, I’d much rather see him kick extra points.”



(On if being ranked last in the league in yards per game is deceiving to him)

“I’m not pleased with where the offense is at. I’m not pleased where the football team is at – offense, defense, or special teams. The total rankings are based on the last five games, and we had some difficulty the first two, three, or four, with respect to total yards. So, we’re going to have to have a 500, 600 yard game to jump in to the middle of the pack. It’s going to take some time. To me, the wins are going to offset that. That’s the way it goes. We’re getting better on third down, we’ve made some plays on third down. We had nine explosive plays in the game this weekend against a really good defense, and like I said, 23 first downs. You can take the 32nd in the league and write all you want about it, but this offense is improving.”



(On how the team starts preparing for their extended road trip to Detroit and London coming up)

“We’re prepared – the operations side and everybody is prepared. We didn’t address anything today with the players, today was addressing yesterday. We’ll start in to some of the administrative meetings with them tomorrow, as far as bags and travel and itineraries and things like that. It’s going to be a challenge, but we’re set up, we’re ready to go, everything is in place. It’s just back-to-back road trips, that’s all it is.”



(On if the travel plan was similar the last time he played in London)

“No, we actually played at home and then traveled, I believe we traveled on Monday.”



(On how the extra travel fits into the logistics of their week)

“If you think about it, you play the game, you come home, you do those things that you ordinarily would do on Monday – the treatments and all those kinds of things – then you dress casually, you address sleep and you address the time changes and you travel. That’s not going to be the case here, we’re departing from Detroit, so we have a quick turnaround – the game’s over, we’ll have to assess the team, the treatment needs, the medical needs of the players and, we’ll go upstairs and have a big meal, then we’ll screen and clear customs and take off. That, in itself, is unique, I don’t know that anybody has done that before. By the time we get there, the players will be prepared for it.”



(On how he feels QB Jared Goff is doing approximately one month into the season)

“He’s getting his offensive reps in every period with the exception – on Friday it’s kind of hard, but on Wednesday, Thursday, he’s getting his reps. And then he’s running the scout team, the scout team is completely different than our offensive reps. But he’s doing fine, he has a good feel for what we’re doing, I think he’s improving, he’s learned a lot and, with each passing week, he’s getting better.”



(On if he would put Goff in the game for a series or two to get experience if the game was a blowout)

“I did that last year with (Q Sean (Mannion) at Cincinnati. So, yeah, that’s a possibility.”



(On how much WR Pharoh Cooper was at fault on the interception returned for a touchdown yesterday and if he expects Cooper to get more offensive snaps moving forward)

“We’re expecting ‘Coop’ to play more. He got his hands on a return and I think he played nine plays, so we’re expecting him to play more. The interception is one of those things that happened, it’s a three-part answer – it’s a combination of the receiver, the quarterback and the defensive player making a great play.”



(On how hopeful he is that DT Michael Brockers and DEs Robert Quinn and William Hayes will be able to practice this week)

“They’ll be day-to-day.”