TRANSCRIPT: Rams Head Coach Sean McVay – Media Availability – August 4, 2018

Rams Head Coach Sean McVay – Media Availability – August 4, 2018



(On if there is any update on TE Gerald Everett and S Lamarcus Joyner)

“So with (TE) Gerald (Everett), he’s got a shoulder sprain. You guys see him out here where he had a little splint. We’re going to be smart with him. So, he’ll probably be doing rehab and different things like that for at least the next week or so. Then as far as with (S) Lamarcus (Joyner), his achilles is just sore. We’re being smart with him, but we expect him to be ready to go and practice against Baltimore (Ravens). With Gerald, he’ll still be out. We’ll leave him back.”



(On how OLB Matt Longacre is doing)

“(OL Matt Longacre, he got a little bit of a bicep tweak. Again, want to be smart with Matt. We we’re a little concerned that it might be worse than what it was, but he’s a guy – he’s going to stay back and continue to rehab with our training staff as well when we go to Baltimore.”



(On if Joyner will go to Baltimore)

“Lamarcus is going to go. We expect him to be ready to practice on Monday.”



(On if they have received an adequate explanation on the helmet rule and if he feels that has been properly communicated with the team)

“Think so. I thought (NFL Referee) Craig (Wrolstad) and his crew did a great job explaining it to us and I think just like anything else, once you really get into these games and you see how it’s truly being officiated, we’ll see. We’ve talked about being smart as far as keeping your head out of it - the same fundamentals and techniques. The thing that’ll be interesting to see is how it’s officiated from the standpoint of some of those bang-bang plays where a player is trying to keep his head out of the tackle and that target point changes based on some of those split-second decisions. So, we just got to do a good job adjusting and ultimately it’s all geared towards players’ safety and that’s what we’re all about.”



(On his thoughts on WR Brandin Cooks making plays, taking the top off the defense and how cool it is to have him)

“Yeah, you just mentioned it. He did a great job today and he’s done that throughout the course of his career. Feel really good about the other guys that he’s playing with in that receiving corps. He’s fit in really nicely with (WR) Robert (Woods) and (WR) Cooper (Kupp) and you’re seeing (WR) Josh Reynolds and (WR) Mike Thomas and (WR) Pharoh Cooper make a lot of strides as well. But, (WR) Brandin (Cooks) is an exciting player. Really impressed with how quickly he’s been able to learn the system, take ownership on the offense and then obviously just getting out here and making plays – doing what he’s done throughout his career.”



(On how Cooks’ explosiveness shows up in ways other than just running past people)

“Well, I think really it’s in a variety of ways. It’s not exclusive to just running down the field. You’ve seen him in New England (Patriots) last year, he gets a couple end-arounds where (Patriots QB Tom) Brady is flipping it to him and he scores two touchdowns that way. He’s catching slants. He’s doing things on some intermediate cuts, running away from people. So, he’s got the ability to separate. He can do a variety of things. It’s exciting to be able to work with players like him, where you’re not really limited in any way that you can utilize him.”



(On if he notices if QB Jared Goff is having a good practice on a day-to-day basis)

“You notice. He was sharp today. I thought he had really good command. Everything that we did today was kind of unscripted. Different situations forcing these guys to think, work on a play clock and work with the noise. I thought there was a couple times where I got the play in really late and he did a great job of recognizing, kind of speeding up the tempo of the huddle, how he broke it and got up and got set. But, that was impressive and it’s about stringing those days together. But, it is practice and we got a lot of good work in and there’s still going to be things that we can always clean up. But, you definitely felt that he was in total command and he was really sharp today.”



(On if he has discussed the National Anthem with his team)
“I have not yet. That’ll definitely be something before Thursday that we do. We talked about it in the offseason as far as when those initial things came out. We’ll try to operate exactly like we have in the past, but also be mindful there might be some guys that have a certain opinion. That hasn’t been expressed to me, but I want to make sure – like we talked about – that clear, open and honest communication with our players. That’s definitely something that we’ll address and make sure that we’re all on the same page and handle it in a manner that we feel is right for the organization.”



(On his experience with shoulder sprains and TE Gerald Everett’s timetable of recovery)

“Yeah, it’s tough because, really, sometimes depending upon if it’s the labrum area, then how does it end up if it comes out based on some of the structure stability of that shoulder. And really, I’m kind of learning – you get educated from (Senior Director of Sports Medicine and Performance) Reggie (Scott) and his staff. We had a couple guys last year that played throughout the season with (C Kayvon (Webster) and (C Nickell (Robey-Coleman) were both playing with kind of with some shoulder straps. But, especially because of how physical that tight end position is when you’re locking out, making contact at the point of attack, in the run game, in protection, different things like that – it’s a concern. But, he’s responded well to the initial couple days of treatment. Fortunately, it’s not something right now that we felt like had to get fixed, but until you really go through that process you never know how it’s truly going to respond. But, that’s where you rely on Reggie and his staff and then obviously (TE) Gerald (Everett) being able to communicate how he’s feeling.”



(On the defense and how well they can be considering the offseason additions and preexisting players on the roster)

“I think we’re confident in the players that we do have. It’s about really offensively, defensively and special teams coming together and play as all eleven, as a complete unit, kind of the power of the unit that we talk about. For us, it’s going to interesting to see just how things continue to evolve. I think (Defensive Coordinator) Wade (Phillips) does an excellent job at putting these guys in great spots. We feel fortunate about the acquisitions, we’re excited about some of these younger players that are expected to take on larger roles. Like you guys have heard me say, hopefully we see a ‘99’ (DT Aaron Donald) sighting sooner than later.”



(On if he anticipates DT Aaron Donald to report by the August 7 deadline associated with free agency and show up in Baltimore)

“You know, I’m not really sure. We’re scheduled to meet together with (General Manager) Les (Snead), (Executive Vice President of Football Operations/Chief of Operating Officer) Kevin (Demoff), myself and (Vice President, Football/Business Administration) Tony (Pastoors) tonight to discuss kind of where we are at. There really hasn’t been much progress in terms of the dialogue since camp. I know that we’re very intentional about trying to get him here, love to have him. In the meantime like we’ve said, really appreciative of the way that guys have worked, that are here, doing a good job of finding ways to get better. Certainly that deadline, I don’t really know exactly how they look at it, how we look at it. I just know that we want to try to find a way to get him here, and that’s important to us.”



(On if he has personally been in touch with Donald since their phone call a couple weeks ago)

“It was last week. I have not been in touch with him. I plan on talking to him soon, but I haven’t spoken with him since on the phone. We’ve been busy getting going, but I’ll talk to him here in the next couple days if not today.”



(On his analysis of the backup QBs)

“Really, we’re looking at it where you get a chance. (Q Sean (Mannion) has gotten a lot of good work as the backup. Then (Q Brandon (Allen) when Sean went home to go have his baby, it was a good chance for Brandon to get some more reps. He’s done a nice job progressing. Then I think (Q Luis Perez is very impressive. Really diligent about studying, trying to really learn the system. Being his first year, I think we’ll really get a chance to evaluate him getting some reps in Baltimore, and then obviously when we finalize that plan as far as how we want to play guys in that preseason game next Thursday. He’s done a nice job, really he’s got a nice even keel demeanor, good poise, I think he commands the huddle. Then Brandon is the guy that you’ve seen him play a lot, specifically in the preseason and have success. So we’re excited about those two guys.”



(On the competition among each position group)

“I think really in terms of open spots, I think there is a lot of different, good competitions. I think what you really feel is when we really put our guys we anticipate being our starters, offense and defense. Just the level of competition that gets ramped up just going offense versus defense. It’s hard to specifically point out any one position group. I think you feel the DBs’ depth. Our receivers are doing a nice job and then really both fronts as far as our O-line and our D-line. Been really impressed with (L Cory Littleton’s leadership he’s displayed, and then that outside linebacker position like we talked about. I think (OL Samson (Ebukam) has taken a lot of steps in the right direction even though we’ve kind of rested him just because he had a little swelling in his knee, (DE) Ryan Davis is a guy we’re excited about as well.”