TRANSCRIPTS: Rams Head Coach Sean McVay, Offensive Coordinator Kevin O'Connell, DL Aaron Donald – Media Availability – September 17, 2020

TRANSCRIPTS: Rams Head Coach Sean McVay, Offensive Coordinator Kevin O'Connell, DL Aaron Donald – Media Availability – September 17, 2020

Head Coach Sean McVay
(On if TE Gerald Everett is practicing today)
“He is. He just took part in the walk-thru again, like he did yesterday and he's expected to practice today.”

(On whether anyone else will be limited in practice today)
“Nope, we're in good shape. We came out of that game the other day really clean, which was a good thing. We’re in good shape here.”

(On whether it will be an ongoing issue for Everett)
“Yeah, I think he's okay. I think he just took a shot to that lower back area. It was just a contusion. It wasn't anything structurally and checked out all good on that front. So, it’ll be good to get him back out there. He's a huge part of what we want to do.”

(On whether the youth of the roster is by design)
“That's a lot of it. I don't pay any attention to that kind of stuff. You just want to make sure the guys in-house you want to draft right. You want to make sure you're building and developing. But, you look at, look at a guy like (OL Andrew) Whitworth still playing at a high level. I'm surprised we're lowest in the NFC with his average yet with his age (laughs) not bringing us up. You're always mindful of just the normal longevity of some of the guys' careers. But, that's not something that you are evaluating where a guy's at in his career and always thinking about the current year and the next couple of years ahead. But, as far as actually saying what's the actual age of a player? That's not something that I pay close attention to.”

(On whether the younger coaching staff gives an advantage to relating to the team)
“No, I wouldn't say that because, I mean you'd see (former Defensive Coordinator) Wade (Phillips) and he had a great ability to relate. I think people can, or can't relate to a lot of different types of people, whether you're the same age or not. I think we've got a great coaching staff that are great communicators. They're good people that understand how to connect with our players in an authentic and genuine way. That's the most thing. Where it can help is if for the most part, when you just take an overarching approach, you're at least in tune with some of the things, because you're paying attention to the same stuff just based on where you're at in your life. Music or current events, stuff like that. But, I think if you can relate to guys whether you're young or old that's something that we look for and that's what I think makes good coaches. We've got a lot of those guys in our building, whether they're young or older.”

(On the challenges of traveling east to play)
“You know, a lot of it is the new protocols with how you travel with COVID things of that nature. I would say this, as we've continued to learn a little bit more about the circadian rhythm and things like that, the time that it actually takes to adjust even two days is more of a mental, it's kind of just in your mind more than it's actually real and tangible as far as some of the results that people that have really studied this apply to it. So for us, I think the important thing is banking and sleep this week and over the next couple of weeks. We’re never going to allow the fact that we play 10:00 a.m. in our head the next two weeks to ever be an excuse why we won't be ready to go. I think that's an easy outlet and that's something that we would never do. We’ve got to be ready to go and ultimately I expect our guys and I feel confident that they will be ready to go against a good football team on the East Coast that one o'clock, but 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time the next two weeks.”

(On if the traveling party is smaller this season if it’s a tough decision on who stays home)
“It is (smaller). There's people that have the direct access or the direct interaction with the players, or the ones that absolutely have to be able to make the travel list. But there's a lot of people that are instrumental in our operation that will have to be left for left behind. So, those are never easy decisions, butthose people understand just based on the parameters and everybody's been great about it.”

(On what the offensive line has to do to get used to a specific quarterback)
“I think it depends on understanding just how guys move and manipulate the pocket in the drop-back game. It's a little bit different when you're in some of those early down and distances, if you're moving the launch point on some boots or some play actions. But, I've learned a lot just listening to Whitworth and his feel and the depth of the quarterback. How that affects the way he wants set guys, kind of what's our philosophy behind our drop-back protection and how we want to keep the integrity of the pocket, whether you're fir, inside and you're a little bit more vertical on your outside or vice versa, if you're given a little bit more ground. You see there's a lot of teams that have success doing it in different ways, I think it's just something that the accumulation of reps is how you get a feel for it. Then those guys communicating amongst one another. I think some of the most valuable dialogue is dialogue that exists in the coaches’ absence because we're on the sidelines, they're in between those white lines during the game, and as I've gotten around some really special players that are great communicators - I've learned as much from them as I'd like to think that they have for me.”

(On if there is extra complexity when layering in pre-snap motion)
“Yeah, I think that's more just a layer of complexity to the offense in terms of the rapport and the consistency of everybody getting off at the same time, where are those snap points actually being activated, whether it's a jet motion or the different types of motions that you see us utilize. But it's like anything else, it's the reps. The actual integrity of the pocket is where you're going through, like to me, what your question was more in alignment was asking about right in the drop back world, just feeling how a quarterback moves in the framework of the pocket based on where that push is. How a rush expresses itself. Those are things that just the more time you get a feel. We as coaches talk about ideal launch points and sweet spots you want to stay in. But, I think the thing about football that we all know and that you love so much about it, is it's imperfect. There's 22 bodies on every play. It never goes exactly according to plan and that's why you don't want to make players robots. You want to allow them to be able to organically have a framework and then be able to go react accordingly. I think in a lot of instances, that's what occurs, especially when there's an actual push or somebody gets edged a rusher.”

(On is he noticing more teams play coverage versus trying to blitz and does he think that is a new trend in the league)
“I think it really just depends on the philosophy of the defense and kind of what our approach is and how you match up. I think everybody has certain phases of their offense where they can activate quick-element throws, whether it's in the three-step drop-back world, the screen game, you know, if you're changing a launch point on your keeper. So, you look around the league, everybody has those plays in their offense, but how much you activate those and where you see those as priority calls during each week is predicated on what you feel like you're getting defensively or how some of those match-ups you feel like exists would give you favorable – or if they're playing coverage contours or defensive looks that enable you to push the ball down the field.”

(On does he think teams are less willing to blitz because of explosive plays that could take place behind that)
“I mean, I think it depends on who you ask. There's certain coordinators that would say, ‘Hey, make them snap it one more time, let's play deep-to-short or some that are saying, ‘Hey, we're going to be in the attack mode or mindset where we don't want to let the offense dictate the terms and just kind of bleed the ball down the field.’ So, there's a lot of really good coordinators in this league that I think somewhat answered the same sum differently. And that's where there's the intriguing part of the game plan and the approach week-by-week. Last week, we were really going on with (Cowboys Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Mike) Nolan. He's been doing it at a high level for a long time, but to actually say that you truly knew what to anticipate, that wouldn’t be accurate. You know, we had an idea of what to expect, but we didn't have any film to go off of. (Saints Defensive Coordinator) Dennis Allen was a coordinator in New Orleans, Coach Nolan was there, but I didn't feel like that was as relevant as maybe looking at some other films where (Defensive Coordinator) Brandon (Staley) has been in previous places because Nolan had been a coordinator at various stops before. So last week was truly a blank slate. Whereas, (Eagles Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Jim) Schwartz has been putting good stuff on tape with his defense for a handful of years and we played them a couple of times since we've been here as well.”

(On does he have any concerns about the effects on WR Robert Woods after WR Cooper Kupp signed his extension)
“We want to get him extended too. He's a huge part of what we're doing. So, that's something that, I think, is definitely important. You absolutely talk to your players about that. (WR) Robert (Woods) and (WR) Cooper (Kupp) have been pillars of what we've done the last few years, and great to be able to get Cooper under contract, so happy for him, and you can expect to see something similar down the line here very shortly we’re working towards for Robert.”

(On does having both Woods and Kupp making substantial salaries fit into the financial framework)
“It does.”

(On if the new defense was an advantage that played into the success on Sunday)
“You know, I think they just played well. I think we have good players. I thought Brandon and the defensive coaching staff did a phenomenal job of putting together a great game plan against a really explosive offense with the ability to run it or throw it. There is the element of you don't have any film, so you can do some things that maybe they're not expecting. But I don't think there's enough film from one game either for you to feel like you see the identity of our defense all in that game. You know, that's part of the game planning. So much of it too, you know, you have your foundational calls and principles in some of the early down in distances, but teams do a good job of getting fairly specific situationally in the third downs, the red-area, some of those things that, usually after a handful of weeks, you can kind of start to see that come together and who they want to really emphasize or kind of what's the philosophy of the coordinator and how he wants to utilize the personnel.”


Offensive Coordinator Kevin O'Connell
(On how important it is for wide receivers to be good run blockers in his offense and how much they work on that in practice)
“It's huge. It's something I've always admired from afar. The past three years watching this offense week in and week out, studying what's made them successful, to join this group and be a part of it and just see those guys work as a group day in and day out. What (Wide Receivers) Coach (Eric) Yarber and (Assistant Wide Receivers) Coach (Zac) Robinson do with those guys to prepare them both mentally to some of the schematic things we do in the run game, but also physically and handling some of the things that we ask (WR) Robert (Woods) and (WR) Cooper (Kupp) and (WR) Josh (Reynolds) and (WR) Van (Jefferson) and those guys to do. It's something that a lot of teams talk about it. A lot of teams say it's a huge part of their offense and what they want to do, but those guys have put it on tape for a long time here. That it's something that's really emphasized and that they've had a lot of success with.”

(On how much the versatility of the receivers allows him to open up the playbook)
“I think it just goes into the marriage of the run and the pass and your ability to be versatile on those kind of mixed downs. Where you can run every phase of your offense and it makes it hard on the defense when every play starts out the same, but they're different. And those guys truly start to see that, and they've seen it for a long time and now it just gives you a lot of tape to coach off of. Doing things the right way, and you can really count on those guys.”

(On how he thought QB Jared Goff performed in the season opener)
“I was happy with how (Q Jared (Goff) played. I thought he got off to a good start throwing the football. We tried to get him into a rhythm and not really knowing absolutely what we were going to see defensively. (Head) Coach (Sean) McVay did a great job with our whole offense of really calling plays that, not only gave our guys a chance to play fast, things we had really repped a lot in training camp, but also gave us a chance to see defensively how they were going to line up, what they were going to do. And our guys responded both, with the start of the game and then as the game went through with some adjustments that were made. But as far as Jared goes, I thought he threw the ball well. There were some critical plays he made on third down. Some things here and there that you're always going to be coaching up. But for his first real live game action in a pretty long time, it was really good to see him play fast, be accurate, and then we go back to work this week and figure out the areas we need to improve.”

(On if he saw anything from Goff in the game that reflected some of the work they had done together during the offseason)
“Yeah, I think so. Just fundamentally, just some of the little things that we've talked about. They showed in really all phases of our passing game. Now it's just about the consistency and like I said, identifying the areas where we can still continue to improve on those things while also understanding we're now into the season. And although we're constantly working towards those things, understanding that consistency is everything to this position and it's what's going to make our offense go.”

(On what the tackles and guards have to do in order to adjust to the quarterback)
“I think it's all about being on the same page with where the quarterback's going to be in the pocket. From a depth standpoint, from a rhythm and timing standpoint of how long we intend to hold the football to execute the play that we're calling. What's the optimal timing of that play? And then it's a combination of those guys, which our group's done an unbelievable job up front, and a lot of those guys have been doing it for a long time, especially at the tackle position. As far as their consistency and really make it easy on the quarterback, knowing that he can set firm in that pocket at the depth that whether we're on one step, three step, five step, whether we're moving the launch point, whatever it may be that he could be confident to not only set his feet and be firm in there, but also to progress in rhythm reading with his feet.”

(On the level of involvement of rookies WR Van Jefferson and RB Cam Akers in the offense and how he balances getting them more involved while keeping them at a comfortable pace developmentally)
“I think as far as me being comfortable, those guys have demonstrated to all of us as a coaching staff throughout training camp, and obviously into that first game, that they're ready, they're prepared. It's not too big for them now. Now it's just about those incremental gains every single week, and that consistency word that really defines young players. The ones that tend to have a lot of success early on in their careers are just consistent in their approach during the week as we head towards the weekend. And how are they preparing themselves both mentally and physically for the football game on Sunday? Those guys tend to show up. I think one of the reasons why we feel so comfortable, is we have those great veterans in those rooms. In the receiver room, you talk about Cooper (Kupp), Robert (Woods) and Josh (Reynolds) and (WR) Nsimba (Webster), guys that you know, have done it at a high level and can really show those guys –especially Van – the proper way to operate and prepare and all those things. Then in the running back room, (Running Backs Coach) Thomas Brown does a great job. Obviously, like we've talked about before, but (R Malcolm (Brown) and even (R Darrell’s (Henderson Jr.) experience last year, really comes through in that running back room when they're kind of as a group and as an offense, we're bringing Cam (Akers) along, as well as Van.”

(On how he thought Akers played in Sunday’s game against the Cowboys)
“I thought he played well. He ran hard, played with good ball security. We really want to consistently give him ops where he can continue to fit into the runs that we want to have in our system. It's all experience at this point for Cam and I think the blend of Malcolm and Cam and Darrell, really gives us three guys that we feel good about. It's just a matter of each and every week, giving those guys ops. When one guy gets hot or another guy gets hot, maybe those guys will see more carries, but it's the consistency. And the fact that all three of those guys are supportive of one another, and they really do give our offense a winning edge from a standpoint of having three guys we really can count on it.”

(On what makes a running back hot and how it differs from a basketball shooter)
“I think sometimes it’s easy for people to see the ball go in the hoop, and that totally makes sense to me. But just as coaches, when you're watching a guy, his vision, his feel of kind of how a defense is defending things, how he's holding his tracks and seeing the vision of the cut and reading things a gap at a time and all the coaching points that you talk about when a guy is kind of has a good feel for that. He can run a little bit more naturally. Obviously, ball security is always a huge thing. We talk about some of these core kind of principles, but it's a good point. It's a good question, but there's definitely ways you can see it.”

(On how the rhythm has been for him so far and in what ways has he been able to put his stamp on things)
“I think it's been consistent all the way throughout, and I continue to go back to our communication as a staff, as a whole and our offensive staff that I deal with – and obviously Coach McVay, that we're putting together a plan for our guys to go out and have success. Coach McVay called a great game. My first time being around him in that game setting of kind of how he operates. You can simulate it in those scrimmages and we try to simulate it as much as possible, but there's really no simulation for those real games, especially in that first game action against an opponent. Where as a group, we were really happy with how it went and now it's just a matter of continuing to kind of grow as a coaching staff within our individual roles and supportive of our group, however we find success moving forward.”


DL Aaron Donald
(On the video of him that went viral from the Cowboys game)
"I had no thoughts. That's last week's stuff. We are just prepared on playing Philly this week."

(On having LB Micah Kiser back in the defense)
"He's playing great. I think he can continue to get better. I think he's coming up, filling holes, making plays. He's communicating well, giving us calls and things like that. I was impressed with what he was doing in camp, for him to translate it for his first NFL start and play how he did. I'm definitely excited about it, because I know he's going to continue to get better and find ways to be more productive. He definitely could be a special football player."

(On repeating the answer)
"I would just say for him that, he had a great camp and to translate that to his first NFL game, his first NFL start, I should say, and play how he played at a high level, communicating well, coming up, filling holes, I think it will continue to get better. And he's got an opportunity to be in a special football player."

(On the other linebackers)
"I think everybody's making plays. That was the thing that I liked last week. It wasn't just one or two guys. You got guys that were making plays up front, (OLB Leonard Floyd) Flo made a big play, (DL Michael) Brock (Brockers) made a big play, Micah made big plays, (S Jordan) Fuller made big plays. Everybody was flying around, making plays that helped us to win that game. It's a young group. A lot of guys that have got to make a name for themselves, but what they did last week, they put it on film and they’re going to continue to do that."

(On what's on his mind when he sees a lot of free space towards the quarterback and all he sees is a running back lined up in pass protection)
"Just trying to find a way to get him out of the way, so I can get to the quarterback."

(On going up against an injured O-line and players he hasn't played before)
"Well, you study those guys. I don't think they're a bad offensive line. I think you see the stats and if you didn't watch the game, you will expect something, but you know, breaking down film and watching them, I think they're a solid offensive line. They've got some good pieces, starting with (Eagles C Jason) Kelce, he's one heck of a center. I played against him multiple times, so I know what he brings. They're a good group. They're a young group, but I feel like overall, they play good together. We still have to go out there with the same mindset that it's going to be a dog fight and trying to find a way to make our plays and dominate."

(On his recollections of playing against QB Carson Wentz)
"He's a tough quarterback. He's not going to let you take him down easy. He's going to try to find ways to extend plays any way he can to still get the ball down field and if that's him ducking under a sack and looking down field and making a throw down deep. They can hurt you in a lot of different ways. He's a good quarterback, a playmaker at times, he tends to make mistakes, but I think he tends to make a lot of good plays as well."

(On what he thinks of the changes to defense)
"I like it. I feel like just like any other defense, you're going to find your favorite plays you like and plays that aren’t your favorite, but you’ve still got to do it. But overall, I feel like we've got an opportunity to be a special defense, but that's on us in the way we go out there and play as a unit and compete. I'm liking all the players, all the things we got in so far, the way we go about game planning and putting guys in great positions to have success and make plays to help this team to win. That's the type of defense you want to be a part of."

(On DL Michael Brockers' sack against the Cowboys)
"That was a big play for us. That was a big, third-down stop. He took him out of field goal range. That's what you expect from play makers and Brocks a playmaker for us. That's why he's on his team. That's why he's a leader on this defense. You expect that. It was a big play that we needed, and he came through for us."

(On that play seeming like an example where a lot of players were involved to make that happen)
"Yeah, exactly. That's what you want. That's the type of defense you want to play on. You don't want to have to just depend on one guy or two guys or three guys. There are 11 guys on that field, and you want to depend on all of them guys. I think we've got a group that we can do that with."
--RAMS--