TRANSCRIPT: OL Brian Allen, OL Joe Noteboom - Media Availability - August 21, 2020

TRANSCRIPT: OL Brian Allen, OL Joe Noteboom - Media Availability - August 21, 2020
OL Brian Allen
(On COVID-19)
"I just lost my smell, lost my taste. I had light headaches for the first couple of days, but outside that, it wasn't too bad at all. It kind of sucked that I had to get out of the building for a while. It was a critical point during rehab, so it came unfortunate time. But, I know a lot people get it much worse than I had. So, at the end of the day it wasn't too big of a deal like it seemed at the time. I'm all good from that, never was in danger or my health in question. So, I was fortunate."

(On working his way back from knee surgery)
"It's been a long, slow process. I was joking around with the guys on the field the other day — November 17 was the last time I was in pads. It's weird being back out there, I'm still working back into practice. Not all the way there yet, but every day just taking another step and getting more comfortable, pushing off my leg and being explosive, and the movements and angles I have to do to play my position. Hopefully, I'll be ready and 100 percent soon. Every day, just working to get back to where I was before that happened. Overall, it's good to be back around the guys and be part of the team again. In the NFL, when you get hurt, it's not like college where you're still in there every day. When you're out, a team goes on without you. Just to be back with everybody and be around the guys, it's been good."

(On his anticipation to play in SoFi Stadium)
"I'm excited to see it. Last time I was in there, I was a rookie. It was still a lot of work to be done. So, I've just see it flying over it and it's obviously a very impressive stadium. Excited to get in there and be one of the first people to see it and practice on it tomorrow. Looking forward to that. Like I said, we've been talking about this for how long? This has been the conversation, for it to finally be here is excited for us."

(On his role on the offensive line)
"Yeah, I don't know how much they want me to disclose on that. But, we've got a lot of guys, and a lot of guys who can play which is a good thing. Coming back, there's a lot of guys with experience, a lot of guys who have played different positions, so you know we're pretty versatile as what we can do, as far as our room. I think regardless, the best five are going to play. With all the experience we have, we'll be in a much better position this year going in with that and have all the versatility, having all the experience, and even if last year was you know, nine games for me, that's invaluable experience. Can't beat game reps and stuff like that. For everybody to get that, it'll be good for us.”

(On his recovery from knee surgery)
"So, me and (OL) Joe Noteboom had surgery on the same day. But with my injury, I tore my MCL, my meniscus and part of my tibia I fractured. For the healing process, I had to be non weight-bearing for so long for my MCL and meniscus. But for stuff to start healing, I had to start walking, getting weight down. For the first month, I couldn't even walk. It really delays the healing process, as far as getting back and getting healthy. It made things take a little longer. As far as being out, one week I'm getting ready to play and then the next week, I'm not going to play until next year. That mentally was tough. You're alone a lot. I live with guys on the team, so they're going to practice, I'm sitting at home. My mom came and stayed with me for a couple weeks just to get me on my feet. But when she left, I'm alone all day. I come to rehab, I go home and just sitting on my couch, can't walk. That was a tough time, but it's going to make me better in the end. As far as the COVID, that happened at an unfortunate time just because I was in a pretty critical part of rehab. I had just started running and getting my strength back. I couldn't come in the facility for three weeks. So, I was just at home. I think not having that setback, I'd be a full-go right now. But having that month push back from that, complicated things."

(On his recovery from knee surgery)
"So, me and (OL) Joe Noteboom had surgery on the same day. But with my injury, I tore my MCL, my meniscus and part of my tibia I fractured. For the healing process, I had to be non weight-bearing for so long for my MCL and meniscus. But for stuff to start healing, I had to start walking, getting weight down. For the first month, I couldn't even walk. It really delays the healing process, as far as getting back and getting healthy. It made things take a little longer. As far as being out, one week I'm getting ready to play and then the next week, I'm not going to play until next year. That mentally was tough. You're alone a lot. I live with guys on the team, so they're going to practice, I'm sitting at home. My mom came and stayed with me for a couple weeks just to get me on my feet. But when she left, I'm alone all day. I come to rehab, I go home and just sitting on my couch, can't walk. That was a tough time, but it's going to make me better in the end. As far as the COVID, that happened at an unfortunate time just because I was in a pretty critical part of rehab. I had just started running and getting my strength back. I couldn't come in the facility for three weeks. So, I was just at home. I think not having that setback, I'd be a full-go right now. But having that month push back from that, complicated things."

(On whether Sports Psychologist Dr. Carrie Hastings was a great resource)
"Yeah, I talked to (Dr.) Carrie (Hastings) — she was awesome."

(On how many times he's heard the world 'ecosystem' and what he's learned about the Rams ecosystem)
"That's a loaded question, we've been hearing about it a lot. Everyone on our team does a great job and knows what is at stake. Everyone wants to be here and this is the most important thing in a lot of our lives, outside our family, so we don't take anything for granted. What we're going, I couldn't tell you what day of the week it is. We're getting ready for September 13 and there's nothing distracting us right now. There's nothing we're worried about, guys going out or stuff like that. Everyone's pretty responsible on our team and we're all trying to keep each other as safe and healthy as possible. That's not really a concern. We've got a lot of guys who are great professionals and do things the right way. When you have the guys like we have in the locker room, I'm not just saying that, but you don't need to talk about ecosystem, you don't need to talk about be smart, we have smart guys on our team or else we wouldn't have what we have. I don't think that's a concern with us, but really, just grateful for who we have on our team."

(On if there was any creativity at home to be sure his rehab efforts stayed on track)
"That honestly set me back a lot. Like I said, I was coming in here every day and doing the rehab I needed. That was still in the COVID stages where everyone was freaking out to the extremes, where it was still serious, but then the information wasn't advanced. At that point it was like, 'something could seriously be wrong.' But you know, I was fine. I obviously got it and the next day, we got the text that we were shutting down the facility. I don't know who's doing that was, but yeah, just not being able to come in stunk. You can only so much you can do at home. I was doing a lot of body weight stuff, but honestly, working out while I had it, a lot of people will say their lungs are fatigued or tired. In a normal workout, I'd do 500 push ups and 500 squats a day on air. I guess to the point where I was just doing them and feeling like @#$%& the whole time. I still stuck that out and did those the whole time, but when I came back and got in the weight room, all my strength was gone. That was a bigger thing that happened."

(On how beneficial it was to reconnect with the team virtually)
"It was awesome just to get back to football. I never really had an offseason, The season ended, and I stayed here and was rehabbing every day. Everybody goes home, everybody leaves. So, for me to just get back around the team was the biggest thing, I'd say. I love the group of guys I get to work with every day and the guys I get to hang out with every day. My good friends now are on this team and in my position room. So, not being able to be in that setting with them kind of stunk. Just being on the outside looking in, not a good feeling. So just getting back in the room and being able to work with them, work at football and stuff we love to do together has been fun. In the spring, whether it was on the computer or in person, I mean I think we got just as beneficial work as we would have if we were in here. It was good to see. Productive."

OL Joe Noteboom
(On what the rehab process was like for him before taking the field)
"It was definitely extremely long. First and foremost, kind of feel hopeless and all that, but our training staff is so good. The process is so long, you can kind of get down on yourself and not feel like you're ever gone get back, but they did such a good job. I lost weight, I gained strength, so I feel better now than I ever had before. Pretty much I was around here the whole offseason. So, pretty easy transition to camp, and knee is feeling really good so far."

(On if he ever worked with Sports Psychologist Dr. Carrie Hastings and if so what was the process like)
"Yeah I did. A couple of weeks and we had to shut it down because Covid-19, but we would just go in and talk about how to get the right mindset and how to get the right mentality for rehab. Just kind of what we can do, not being able to move and be on crutches, just kind of get our mindset back into like we're playing a game or practicing just so we don't lose anything like that. Just kind of talking through how not to get down on yourself, and how to bounce back, and how to stay motivated, so she was really helpful for sure."

(On if that mindset stayed with him throughout the whole process)
"Yeah. She talked a lot about, kind of visual stuff because that's all we could do. Watch film and you could visualize yourself in there, visualize yourself running, doing certain techniques. So, you still can visualize stuff like that."

(On if this was his first time working with a sports psychologist and if he was apprehensive about using that as a resource)
"We actually had it in college available to us as well and the Rams always made it known that we have something like that here. I just feel like being injured, it was the perfect time to do something like that. So, people talk highly of her and what she has been able to do, so it was definitely very beneficial."

(On if he is looking forward to practicing at SoFi stadium tomorrow)
"Yeah, for sure. I haven't been there since it was under construction like two years ago. So, it wasn't anything in there. So, just to get in there and kind of, it's going to be the same, there's going to be no fans, so it'll be good. This is what it's going to feel like and just to get on the turf, and feel that out, so it'll be good for sure because it'll be the exact same atmosphere come game day."

(On how he stayed engaged with the process while injured)
"I was in many meetings. I went down to locker room before games and kind of hung out down there, went in after, still had a spot in there. I still hung out with everybody and went to like all the O-line dinners. Just wasn't able to practice. Everything else was pretty much the same, just trying to keep the same exact schedule going, so I didn't feel too much isolation there."

(On how it feels to finally be out there practicing post rehab)
"Yeah. So, it's actually a testament to our training staff. They've done such a good job. When you're in the middle of it, you kind of feel, you're like how am I ever going to be able to do anything like I was before. You can barely pick up your leg, let alone lift as much as you were before. Just how they were able to tell me to stay patient and trust the process, I feel better now than I did last year. So, just getting out there and feeling that, is just extremely surreal and exciting to just go out there and feel like, better, let alone having the knee surgery. So, it's just makes me excited to just go out there every day and not take it for granted."
(On how he felt being one of the strongest guys at his position to being physically challenged due to injury)
"Yeah, for sure. That's one of the things we talked about. Just kind of not being able to take your competitive edge out on some things, because every day we're kind of doing something athletic. Just to not be able to do, like even walk around your house is just, you know, it was, easy to get down on yourself. So, just kind of talking through that with her and trusting the trainers promise. It really worked out in the end. Just not try to get too down on yourself through it and trust the process, was the biggest thing for that."

(On was it a given that he would go back to playing where he last left off or was there any doubt once he arrived to camp)
"In my mind the trainers were telling me I was going to be limited in camp coming into it. I guess that's where they felt good just putting me in there. The walk-thru is kind of fairly good. Was I expecting to come right back in there? No, but I'm just going to do whatever the coaches say. If they tell me to go in at left guard and that's where I'll be."

(On if the O-line has a since of how they will lineup due to guys coming fresh off of injuries)
“Pretty much right now we've been doing the same stuff every day. The guys who are in there. But we're just trying to listen to coach and we're just trying to get better as an O-line in general. It doesn't matter who's in there. He keeps three, four guys ready at all four positions. So, we're just running with what we got in there right now and trying to get better with those guys."

(On how he feels where he stands with his development as a guard and how does he process it)
"I definitely feel way better than I did last year. I felt good last year, but it was just kind of the inexperience at guard. That was my first time playing it. I definitely feel way more comfortable there right now. I kind of learned, like even when I wasn't playing I was just watching it over and over again. So, I think it's guard right now. I'm trying not to think about it if I'll play anything in the future. Just kind of trying to focus on guard because that's most likely what I'll be playing. But definitely feel way more comfortable there than last year."

(On how many times he's heard Head Coach Sean McVay mention the Rams ecosystem and what he's learned about it)
"Yeah, he does bring that up a lot. Culture is one of the big things he talks about, well as our team meetings where he'll talk about certain things we should have, or just around the building and how to approach everyday. Our big thing is be on time, that's our one rule. We're pretty relaxed other than that, but we try to keep everything detailed and stay on time. Ecosystems kind of, one of his big things, and team bonding and everyone on the same page, everyone's thinking about the same thing at once, have the same common goal. So, he does a good job of keeping everyone on the same page."

(On the last time he's heard the word ecosystem before McVay started using them)
"Probably early high school. Like biology or something.”

(On if there’s anything he did differently during the recovery process to be in the best position possible)
"Yeah. Talked with trainers a lot, talked with the nutritionist, talked with the strength staff. We're really trying to focus on lowering the body fat percentage, getting leaner, but maintaining that strength. They have all these numbers they keep track of. So, just trying to, I lost like 15 pounds from last year, but I'm stronger, I'm faster. They talk about, certain amount of body percentage lowers, has way more force so you're way stronger even though you lose the weight. So, just talking in like details and numbers like that, focusing on nutrition and just stuff like that. Just trying to get my body in better shape was the main thing. And definitely feels way better than last year."
--RAMS--