Los Angeles Rams Transcripts - November 26, 2020 Head Coach Sean McVay,

Los Angeles Rams Transcripts - November 26, 2020
Head Coach Sean McVay,
Head Coach Sean McVay
(Opening statement)
"Happy Thanksgiving to everybody. I hope you guys are doing good. From an injury standpoint, (TE) Tyler Higbee did not participate with his elbow, so we'll just continue to monitor his status as we get closer. Then, (OL Terrell Lewis did not participate because of his knee, he had some swelling, we drained it and we're going to continue to monitor that. Then we put (IL Micah Kiser on IR today."

(On if Kiser's injury is season-ending and will the team be promoting anybody)
"So, don't expect that to be season ending. Don't expect it to require surgery. Because of the circumstances this year, just with the unlimited IRs and how quickly guys can return, that was kind of the thought process. As far as promoting somebody, do anticipate that a little bit later in the week, but because we've been able to stay relatively healthy, what we're concerned is making sure that we're able to get the appropriate guys up for our 48 (man gameday roster). Who that ends up being, we kind of have an idea, but it hasn't been determined yet, so I don't want to announce that.”

(On if Kiser will be out for longer than three weeks)
"The hope is that it's just those three games. It was something that you even debate whether or not you wanted to do it because it's kind of right in that fringe area. It is something that we'll just continue to monitor and I'll keep you posted once it gets back to where he could potentially return and see where we're at then."

(On OLB Derek Rivers arrival and if he will play this weekend)
"So, he'll get in Saturday. We don't anticipate him playing Sunday. It's a little bit different than kind of what last week was with (K) Matt (Gay) and being able to just kind of, you know, you're coming into kick, there's not a lot of tactical things that you have to go climbing and because of the continuity with (LS) Jake (McQuaide) and (P) Johnny (Hekker), we felt okay about that. But this will be something that we'll get him in here, he was somebody that our coaching staff on defense really like some of the skillsets that he possesses, and we'll see how it goes."

(On what has attributed to creating turnovers)
"It's always a point of emphasis. I think the defense has done an outstanding job. Really, we tried to reset coming off of the bye and really make that a big point of emphasis to win the turnover battle week-in and week-out. We were plus-two against Seattle. We were even last week. But I do think in a lot of instances, that fourth-and-one stop by (C Jalen (Ramsey), where he ended up preventing them from converting by being stout at the point against (Buccaneers WR) Mike Evans. Then he and (Buccaneers WR Chris) Godwin got their feet tangled up. So, that ended up kind of serving as a turnover as well. But offensively, we've got to take better care of the football, you know the screen for the interception and then the other one later on, it could have been costly. It has been an emphasis. Our defensive coaches have done a great job. We always talk about attacking the ball and creating those takeaways. Other than points, there's no better indicator of wins and losses than winning that turnover battle. That's why I think all 32 teams are probably emphasizing it, but it’s something that we try to be pretty intentional about.”

(On if the intensive COVID Protocol is helping the team recover)
“I think the benefit for us is being in an environment where the weather is so nice that we can utilize that tent. That was part of something going way back early on that we had kind of envisioned this possible scenario to be able to still meet, but be able to follow all the precautionary measures and preventative maintenance, if you will. We've had a little bit of zoom meetings, but our ability to meet in person, outdoors has really been an advantage for us. Then we've kind of expedited the day as far as just making it truly as efficient as possible. It's been a good thing for us. I think the guys have handled it really well and I would be willing to bet that they probably haven't felt much of a difference compared to how we've been operating beforehand, because there's been just very minimal changes we've had to make to this schedule.”

(On the expectation Higbee’s status for Sunday)
“I think it's going to come down to possibly a game-time decision. We know how tough Tyler is. I know he's going to do everything in his power to push through it, but we also want to be smart with him. So, he truly is questionable as of right now. I think you've always got to go into it with contingency plans, so you're not caught off guard if he isn't able to go. But if he is, then that's a bonus for us.”

(On Defensive Coordinator Brandon Staley’s effort to stay ahead of the curve)
“I think what he's doing such a great job of is adjusting and adapting week-in and week-out. Defense is a little bit different, where offense in a lot of instances, kind of dictates based on, all right which personnel are they going to activate? Which plays are they run? Then defensively so much of what you have to do is adjusting or making sure that you have contingency plans for whatever the offense can activate. But you do have a philosophy behind how you want to operate and what you're seeing is, is what was so impressive about (Defensive Coordinator) Brandon (Staley) from the first time I met him. I love his leadership along with our other coaches and then how the players have really taken ownership on the system. That's what it's about. It's about our players, number one, and then being able to kind of have that philosophy come to life. Each week presents a different approach based on how you want to defend the personnel and the scheme and that's what I think our coaches and Brandon's leadership have done an outstanding job of putting together plans week-in and week-out that accentuate our player skill sets and kind of try to cause problems for the opposing offense. It’s be a great challenge this week against a great coaching staff. They do a great job with their scheme. They're as good as anybody in this league. I know we all know what a great challenge it will be.”

(On Staley’s success at making halftime adjustments)
“He's done a great job. That’s been one of the strengths of our team, of our defense and it's a real credit to Brandon and the rest of our defensive coaches.”

(On if the Monday night game and Thanksgiving have thrown off the schedule this week)
“Not too much, really it was yesterday. The normal Wednesday was a little bit more modified than it would have typically been. We had to accelerate our game plans, but today, on Thanksgiving, even though I know this is anything but a normal year, you usually have practice in the morning and try to get the guys out of there so they can spend the rest of their day with their families. That's what we did last year and each of the first couple of years. So that hasn't really been any different and then tomorrow will be a normal Friday for us. So, it's kind of getting back to normal and I think it actually serves as a nice, natural break for the players. I've loved the way they've handled the last couple of days. I think having a little bit of a break and then coming back refreshed on Friday will serve us well and we’ll be ready to roll on Sunday against the 49ers.”

(On is Lewis injury related to the previous knee injury)
“Yeah, it's still his knee. He’s had some different issues with it. It's all related in some form or fashion, but he had some swelling we had to drain it. We're kind of waiting to get some further information on his status and what that looks like moving forward.”

(On what the defense will be missing without Kiser)
“Command, physicality, you know, just his presence. You could see, even going back to when you're studying him at Virginia, he just makes his presence felt. He's a very physical player that when he arrives, he arrives violently. Especially now without these fans, when you watch these TV copies, you hear him, where he's thumping people. I think he does such a great job of having ownership on exactly what's going on. He and ‘JJ’ (S John Johnson III) are ultimately probably the biggest communicators on the defense and now (IL Troy (Reeder) will step into that role. Definitely, you'll miss him, but you do feel fortunate that somebody like Troy is able to fill in and do a nice job for us.”

--RAMS--