Andrew Whitworth won't talk to Sean McVay from Tuesday to Friday during game week
[
theramswire.usatoday.com]
Cameron DaSilva
Andrew Whitworth and Sean McVay have grown close over the last four-plus years together in Los Angeles, with both joining the Rams in 2017. Whitworth is actually older than McVay and the coach admits his left tackle has taught him a lot in their time with the Rams, only making their friendship stronger.
In getting to know McVay, Whitworth has learned that talking to the coach and asking him questions during the week of preparation for a game isn’t the best idea. So Whitworth says he refuses to talk to McVay from Tuesday until Friday afternoon, which is the point when the coach’s mood changes and he relaxes a bit.
Whitworth shared that funny tidbit in a conversation with Jay Glazer.
“In a normal game week from Sunday to Sunday, basically from Tuesday until Friday afternoon at about 4 o’clock, I just refuse to speak to him because the mood he’s in at that point, I’m like, I know better,” Whitworth said. “I know better than to ask him a question that’s going to make him explode. You’re talking to a guy who was in college under Nick Saban. I knew that when you asked the wrong question at the wrong moment, you’re likely to get embarrassed or your head chewed off. I realized that quickly with Sean McVay, that there’s a certain little window that I just, you know what, I’ll let him be until I get him in the window when he comes back to being nice.”
Glazer followed up by asking if McVay is grumpier in the regular season or the playoffs, and Whitworth’s answer was somewhat surprising.
“I don’t know if it’s worse. I think every week’s the same. You really think of who he is and the intensity and the way he does things, really for him, it’s that game planning and then installing everything and then feeling good about what he’s put in. And then Friday afternoon, it’s like a switch. He usually just relaxes and all of a sudden you’ll see him kind of calm down and he feels good about what’s happened and he relaxes a little bit. In all seriousness, it’s just one of those things that playoffs, regular season, it doesn’t matter. I think in some ways, he’s a little better in the playoffs because I think some of the things he wanted to accomplish, he’s done. You’re in the playoffs, you’re having the opportunity to be where you want to be. So it’s less about, will you get into the playoffs? Will you win the division?”
McVay doesn’t have time for dumb questions in the week before a game. He’s trying to win a Super Bowl.
