TRANSCRIPTS: Rams Head Coach Sean McVay, Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips, RB Todd Gurley II - Media Availability - October 17, 2019

Rams Head Coach Sean McVay
(On if he believes being on the road for an extended period of time can help the team get back on track)
“I don’t know, necessarily, if it’s getting back on track, but I think it’s good to just get away, kind of be connected as a team and get a chance to try to just do some things better as we move forward. I do think this comes at a good time. We’re looking to see if we can play better on Sunday and hopefully, our week of preparation leads to a good performance. I think being able to stay out in Atlanta and then travel to London on that following Thursday will be good for our team for that 11-day span that we’re together.”

(On if CB Jalen Ramsey will practice on Thursday)
“He (CB Jalen Ramsey) will.”

(On how his first meeting with Ramsey went)
“It was great – it was good to be able to meet him. You can tell – really impressive person. Really intelligent, smart, charismatic guy – got a lot of confidence. That was what came off. That was really the first time we had met in person other than saying hello after a game or something like that. He’s picking things up quickly. He just has a big picture understanding of football. He loves it and we’re glad to have him here.”

(On if Ramsey participated in Thursday’s walk-thru)
“He did.”

(On what it’s like to gameplan against premiere cornerbacks and how it changes what he sometimes has to do offensively)
“Yeah, it definitely changes. You just want to be aware. Is it a guy that stays on one side? Does he travel and play star coverage? Those kind of things are always affected and altered and you just want to be mindful of it. There is an element of – depending upon how you feel about your matchup versus that given player – what the approach is. But, a player like him gives you some flexibility defensively that not a lot of players give you the luxury to have, and that’s why we’re so fortunate to have Jalen here.”

(On how he keeps the team focused on the game when there were multiple personnel moves occurring in the middle of the week)
“That’s just a part of it. Unfortunately, injuries are a part of this game. Whether it’s getting a guy that’s already on your roster up and ready to go as a result of somebody being injured, or whether it’s onboarding somebody that you just traded and acquired in that manner, those end up kind of being the same thing. You’ve got to always be ready to adjust and adapt and our focus is on getting ready and playing the best game that we can against the Falcons. Our players have the same focus and concentration as well.”

(On Ramsey’s physical status)
“No, I think – to my knowledge – he’s feeling good. I know he had the issue with the back soreness and stuff like that, and that’s something that we want to monitor and keep an eye on. We’ll have a better idea – the walk-thru’s not necessarily the best gauge, but I think him getting out here and partaking in football activities for the first time in a few weeks will be a good gauge to see just how he’s physically feeling.”

(On updates regarding RBs Todd Gurley II and Malcolm Brown)
“(R Todd (Gurley II), he’s made good progress. He participated in the walk-thru, he’s going to continue to do some stuff at practice. (R Malcolm (Brown), he’ll be day-to-day and we’ll just keep our eye on that – but he won’t practice today.”

(On if he thinks Brown will play on Sunday)
“I would say it’s hard to say. He’s questionable for the game. I think you want to see some progress to be able to feel good about it. Sometimes these things end up turning the corner pretty quickly, so we’ll use our time on this.”

(On if RB Darrell Henderson Jr.’s performance last week gives him confidence going into Sunday if Brown is not available to play)
“I think it does. I think it gives him (RB Darrell Henderson Jr.), too, confidence – probably just kind of getting his feet wet a little bit. Really, he played in all situations. He had some different things that, maybe, he got exposed to that we didn’t anticipate as a result of Malcolm taking a little bit of a breather when he ended up tweaking his ankle. He got some things that he can learn from in protection and some of those known passing situations. He got a short yardage carry that I think we’ll be better on if those things come up. Then he had some real bright spots with a couple of those runs you saw him pop.”

(On if he can say if Ramsey will play on Sunday)
“Today will be the big gauge. Really, more than anything, for him to push himself physically, communicate how he’s feeling. We’ll do what’s best for Jalen, and what’s best for our team is to be able to have him up in some form or fashion. Those are some things that I think we’ll have a better grasp on after today’s practice.”


Rams Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips
(Opening Remarks)
“It’s different in that, we’ve got a whole different secondary than we had last year, right now.
Actually, we’ve got three out of the four that are different than two weeks ago. As far as (C Jalen (Ramsey) is concerned, I’m sure (Rams Head Coach) Sean (McVay) has already said, we’re evaluate him, he’s is a pro, he knows where he is. It’s a situation where you have to evaluate where he is, if and how much he needs to play in this ball game. We’re are still in that process right now. We’ve gone through a walk thru, now we are going to go through a full-speed practice and see where he is. We will continue that tomorrow and see where we are.”

(On if he’s been in a situation before where a team brought in a player of his stature this early in the season)
“We haven’t brought in that many great players in the middle of the season. Actually, (LB Dante) Fowler (Jr.) came in the middle of the year last year, this is a little earlier, but yeah. We’ve had good players come in before. The good thing is, you talk about (DT) Aaron Donald, we didn’t play him, but he hadn’t played in any games, he hadn’t been in training camp, he hadn’t played in any games, that’s where the evaluation process was there. This guy has at least played almost every play in three games, he hadn’t played in some other games. That’s why you still don’t know right now.”

(On when you make changes in the secondary and the issues when you go against a team that likes to pass)
“Well, you have the same issues in that they are no.1 in the league in passing yardage. We know (WR) Julio Jones, we know their receivers and (Falcons) quarterback Matt Ryan is playing great. They have probably the top-passing offense in the league so, it will be a challenge whether we had all the same people or different ones. Let me say one thing about the people that we had before now, (CB Aqib) Talib and (former Rams C Marcus (Peters) are not only great players, but great people. We certainly miss them that way, but we are looking forward to what we have. A good thing is, Jalen, from what we know from him already is a real smart guy. Even in the stuff he’s done already, he’s pretty quick on everything. If he does play, I think he can play with a bigger menu than a normal guy coming in would play with, so that’s a good thing. It’s a challenge whoever you have out there against him. You have to have a good rush too, it’s not just the coverage you have to have a good rush. They hurt you in that they’ve got Julio who matches up against anybody for man-to-man. Then, they’ve got receivers like (Falcons WR Mohammed) Sanu that really get open in zone coverages really well and the short-quick routes even in man-to-man. They’ve got some talented receivers. And a quarterback, like I’ve said, he goes through the whole progression though, you can see that. He goes here, he goes there and then boom, he goes over there. A lot of them will go here, here or just one, but he goes right through the coverage and usually throws to the guy that has the best chance of getting open.”

(On what LB Kenny Young can bring to the defense)
“(L Kenny (Young) is a talented athlete. We brought him in here I believe as one of our 30, before the draft (visits). We talked to him, we obviously studied him a lot and then him being from UCLA, we knew a lot about him. We knew he was a really talented athlete. He’s a pro athlete, he can run, he can change direction, has speed. He has some real good assets.”

(On how long it was between hearing about the Peters and Ramsey deal)
“It was pretty close. It wasn’t a long time, no. We were told, ‘Hey, Marcus is gone, but we’re trying to do this.’ It came about fairly quickly.”

(On if Ramsey is limited and how confident he is in CB Troy Hill being able to play a lot of snaps)
“We put (C Troy (Hill) in last week and he played well for us. (C Darious (Williams) had a real good preseason. We think he’s got a bright future. We have some guys that can play.”

(On how he’s seen LB Cory Littleton grow)
“He’s having another sensational year. I think he was overlooked last year like I said, he had five interceptions last year. He’s a guy that makes big plays and he makes a lot of plays. He’s in on most of the tackles. He’s having a real good year.”

(On Littleton seeming like a quiet guy and if he’s quiet around him)
“Yeah. He’s pretty quiet. He knows what’s going on, but he’s what I’d call ‘not a talker’. He will answer the question if you ask him anything about football, he knows it. That’s the good thing.”

(On if he is satisfied with the pressure they are getting on quarterbacks)
“You always want as much as you can get. I don’t know all the stats from the league, but I’d say we’re pretty close to as many — not sacks — but pressures as anybody. Obviously, Aaron is a big factor in that. I think our other guys are doing good. (L Clay Matthews had 6.0 sacks in five games. I thought we had pretty good pressure.”

(On the type of skillset Ramsey brings in man coverage and how that opens things up for what he likes to do in bringing pressure)
“Again, it’s all about what the players can do. If you’re fortunate to have a lockdown-type cornerback, you can help other guys more and rush more people, basically, in some situations. He gives you more versatility than you would normally have.”

(On if LB Troy Reeder is going to be a starter)
“(L Troy (Reeder) has played. Troy again, I think he had 16 or 18 tackles last week and he’s come in and done a good job for a guy that was an (undrafted) free agent and played and actually played pretty well.”


Rams RB Todd Gurley II
(On how he is feeling this week)
“I’m doing better.”

(On if he thinks he is on track to play this Sunday)
“We’ll see on Sunday.”

(On if he was able to do more in Thursday’s practice than he was on Wednesday)
“Yeah, making progress.”

(On CB Jalen Ramsey)
“We’re on two sides of the field. I don’t know – I haven’t really gotten a chance to see nobody today, honestly.”

(On what adding a player of Ramsey’s caliber can do for the team)
“I don’t know, man. We’re just trying to put things together, trying to get back winning. Obviously, (C Jalen (Ramsey) is a great player, so excited to have him on the team. He’s a part of the Rams now.”

(On how it was seeing RB Darrell Henderson Jr. play)
“It was cool man, it was exciting. We did draft him (RB Darrell Henderson Jr.) in the third round for a reason, so I’m glad he got the chance to be able to get out there.”

(On if losing OL Joe Noteboom impacts the the offensive line)
“None. One man goes down, next man up. That’s just part of the game, just got to figure it out and move on.”

(On if he’s warmed up to taking long trips)
“It is what it is. Kind of like you’ve said, we’ve been doing this for the last couple of years. Last year, we went all the way to Colorado for no reason, to come right back to L.A. Been able to go over to London the last two years. It is what it is, out of our control. We just play our game.”

(On if it’s any easier to go to London after having a good experience over there this summer)
“Yeah, it’s kind of pointless when you only go over there for like three days, but It is what it is.”

(On if he feels like long trips are a good bonding experience for a team)
“We always have a pretty good time. Hangout and go out to eat, and dinner, do some things. Yeah, I guess so.”



--RAMS--