TRANSCRIPT: Rams Head Coach Sean McVay - Media Availability - October 2, 2020

TRANSCRIPT: Rams Head Coach Sean McVay - Media Availability - October 2, 2020
(On if he’s able to rule anyone out for Sunday’s game against the Giants)
“(R Cam Akers will be out, that's the only person right now.”

(On how S Jordan Fuller progressed through the week and what’s his status for Sunday’s game)
“He did okay. He'll be questionable. We'll continue to monitor that over the next 48 hours, I guess less than 48 hours now that we're out. So, he'll be questionable for the game.”

(On what goes into the decision to go forward with a guy like him)
“The number one thing there is making sure that we're considering the player's health and safety first. He’s done a great job communicating with us. If we feel like there's no risk and that he's feeling good, he's feeling confident and he's feeling like he can go play with a quieted mind and go be his best self, then that's what we'll do. If there's any reservations, or when you talk to (Vice President, Sports Medicine and Performance) Reggie (Scott) and our medical group, there's any hesitation or feelings that hey, not 100 percent, not feeling like I'm ready to go, then we'll hold him out because we do have good depth at that position. And really we do that anyways, regardless of the depth. It's about the player and he is a guy that's mature beyond his years for a rookie. So, if you're asking along the lines of does he have to practice every day for us to feel good about him being ready to go. With him, he's one of the rare instances that I would say you’d obviously love them to always practice, but I think he could be able to perform at a high level if he was just taking mental reps for the week.”

(On if there is a difference on the way they are using DL Aaron Donald this season)
“Yeah. It just depends on which packages you're talking about. In certain situations, we definitely want to make sure that he's not a static target and in the same spot. It makes it a lot easier to kind of game plan a player of his magnitude when you know where he's going to be. But if you don't based (inaudible) we have some versatility in how smart he is to be able to move around, that's an advantage for us. That's something that we’ve definitely done that before, but probably doing it a little bit more than we've done in years past.”

(On if there is something he feels that he has gotten better at in year four as a head coach)
“I would say I've probably gotten a little bit less tolerant for how much media I have to do (laughs). Just kidding. I think what I've continued to learn is it's about surrounding yourself with great people. And I felt that year one. As far as establishing your rhythm, your routine, I think every year and especially this year being so different. But I think more than anything, it's about the relationships, continuing to get to know the people that you're working with on a day-to-day basis. That's your players, that's your coaches. Some of these guys, we have a good foundation built and some of them we're continuing to get to know. Every year is such a challenge and it's great to be able to just compete week in and week out. I think you just lean on the people. I think you definitely have experiences that you can draw on, but to say that I'm more comfortable or not, I don't necessarily know that. I'd say that I think you're continuing to try to just be consistent in the things that you think are important.

(On what has impressed him the most about OLB Leonard Floyd as a mentor for the defense)
“I don't know that anything's really surprised me. I think we've been pleased with him. He's done a really nice job, all camp. He's a player that I always thought very highly of when we would go against him. I especially thought that when he was playing under (Defensive Coordinator Coach) Brandon's (Staley) guidance and leadership from the (2018) season. Brandon was with him for a couple years in Chicago. His length is his athleticism, his ability to be able to do some different things, whether it's not just always going forward, but being able to play in coverage, I think gives a winning edge for us. And he's done a nice job and we expect him to continue on that same path that he's headed.”

(On how has offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell evolved in his role of developing the offense and QB Jared Goff )
“Yeah he's been awesome. I just think the leadership that he provides specifically for (Q Jared (Goff) as a sounding board, somebody that's giving him feedback every single snap, I knew (Offensive Coordinator Coach) Kevin (O’Connell) was a great coach, but until you get to be with somebody, you can't truly appreciate it and he's better than I had even thought. A great communicator. He sees the game the right way, but I just think his ability to work with our quarterbacks has been something that's been really special. There's full ownership and autonomy of everything that we're trying to get done really from a big picture perspective, but also from that quarterback. There's so much that goes into every single snap and for him to be able to just kind of have such a great grasp and command and good rapport with those quarterbacks, I think has been instrumental in some of the early success we've had.”

(Confirmation on if that’s where he finds his comfort in being able to delegate)
“Oh yeah. I don't have to worry about the quarterbacks at all because I know how much confidence I have in Kevin and the feedback that he's consistently giving them. Then he and I have great dialogue, in a lot of instances, or we'll talk through certain things and he's been great.”

(On what he emphasizes most about maximizing veteran player potential)
“I think it starts with the player. I also would like to think that there's an atmosphere and environment that's conducive for them being able to kind of reach their highest potential with the coaches that they're working with. You look at (OL Leonard (Floyd) and (Outside Linebackers Coach) Chris Shula has done great with that group. Those two have a great relationship, they're always communicating. Then there's a comfort level that Leonard already had with (Defensive Coordinator) Brandon (Staley) leading our defense and some of those expectations. We try to cultivate an atmosphere where there's a mutual respect and it's about putting our arms around these guys and helping them reach their highest potential. It starts with the players, always. That's a big part of the kind of guys we want to identify, especially the names you mentioned when you talk about a Leonard Floyd, or (WR Brandin) Cooks, (WR Robert) Woods, (OL Andrew) Whitworth, those kinds of guys and (S) Eric Weddle even. They're high character guys with a high football IQ and they love the game and that's what we'd like to think brings out the best in guys with the types of people that they're working with in our building.”

(On if he was aware that P Johnny Hekker did not punt once against Buffalo)
“Yes. I was aware of that given the fact that if we have to punt, usually I'm pissed. So, I was aware that we did not punt. He’s (P Johnny Hekker) a huge weapon and the ability, you know what I mean? You listen to (Giants Head) Coach (Joe) Judge this week and for Johnny, teams look at him like a quarterback that can punt because of all the different things that you can do with the fakes and stuff like that. He's a huge weapon. What I would do over again that I would say to Johnny and I mentioned it to him is in that situation where we decided to go for the long field goal after we ended up taking the sack on third-down last week, I probably should have used the best punter in the world to our advantage and had him pinned them deep in their territory instead of giving them a short field. So, was aware of it. But, it is very comforting to know that you have somebody like him leading that unit. We do like to not use it unless we have to.”

(On Floyd joining the team this year and learning from DL Aaron Donald)
“I think it's like anything else. It's establishing a rapport and a comfort, being able to play off one another, like you hear us talk about a quarterback and receiver. But, it's the same thing with offensive linemen and defensive linemen, especially when you're working in your four-man rush principles on the same side as somebody and being able to have naturals and play off of one another based on if Aaron gets penetration up the field and making sure that we keep the integrity of our rush lane. So, there's a lot of things that go into that. Repetition is the best way that you can experience. Then those guys communicating amongst one another, I think it's good for the coaches to give parameters and have established some clarity. It really is special when the players have that ownership and they're able to kind of work through some different things. It enables them to be able to operate at their highest level and there's a lot of things that those guys can feel during the course of the game and some of their match-ups that really express itself in a way that shows the ownership for the players is the most important thing.”

(On how he processes a loss)
“I think every single game offers an opportunity to learn. As far as how you process it, you wake up with a pit in your stomach on Monday morning and then you get moving on the next opponent. Then, you don't think about it anymore. What you don't want to be naive to is ignoring the mistakes that lead to not getting the outcome you want. We always want to be able to learn from those things, but that's the beauty of this game. Whether we had won that or not, there's still going to be the same sense of urgency going into the Giants game because every single week we prepare as if we expect to win the football game. We also understand what a challenging league this is, and that no matter who you're playing, you’ve got to be able to bring it and it takes mental and physical toughness. So, that's kind of how I process it. It means a lot. You pour everything into it and to say that you're not sick to your stomach when you don't get those results, that wouldn't be accurate. You do have to demonstrate the ability to move on, especially if that's what you expect your players to do. That’s what I'd like to think we do.”

(On what he likes about his defensive performance)
“Like you mentioned, it is early. I do like the way that we communicate amongst one another. I like the different things that we've done in terms of how aggressive we get to the football. We're a physical unit. Now, there's been some instances where I said, ‘Hey, we've got to be able to tackle better collectively.’ You do take into account that some of the great players we played at have forced some of those missed tackles, but I just liked the fact that there's a lot of good things going on. There's a lot of leadership, a lot of players really stepping up. I think these guys have really delivered at the most important moments in a handful in a couple of these games so far and been really impressed with the resilience of this group. I think that was demonstrated last week. I think a lot of the things that occurred last week were more a result of some of the short fields that I've put that our defense in some bad spots. Then for them to get a couple takeaways and really get that momentum back in the team's favor. I think that's something that we can carry on to this week if we use it the right way.”

--RAMS--