Los Angeles Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals Transcripts - Rams Head Coach Sean McVay, Rams QB Matthew Stafford, Cardinals Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury, Cardinals QB Kyler Murray - October 3, 2021

Los Angeles Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals Transcripts - Rams Head Coach Sean McVay, Rams QB Matthew Stafford, Cardinals Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury, Cardinals QB Kyler Murray - October 3, 2021


Rams Head Coach Sean McVay, Rams QB Matthew Stafford, Cardinals Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury, Cardinals QB Kyler Murray
Rams Head Coach Sean McVay
(Opening Statement)
“First of all, congratulations to the Cardinals. They did a great job. I've got to be way better for our football team. Make no excuses about it. I didn't do a good enough job to get our guys ready to go. But fortunately for us, we've got a chance on a short week to be able to respond the way that we expect to, the way that we want to. And that's exactly what we're going to do moving forward.”

(On the accepted penalty on third down and if he was tempted to challenge the quarterback sneak play on the goal line)
“I was. I was tempted to challenge the sneak. The first one, you know, moving them back, it put them out of field goal range. They ended up converting and our guys did a -- it didn't work out for us in that instance right there. I felt like that was the right decision at the time. It didn't work out for us. I'll make no excuses about that. I did think about challenging that, but our guys up top felt like he was short. So that's why I didn't. And then we didn't end up punching that in. So there was a lot of decisions, a lot of things I didn't do nearly a good enough job for our football team. I love the way our guys continue to battle, continue to compete. We got the right guys in that locker room. We didn't all of a sudden become a different football team. We didn't play up to our standards, but you give the Cardinals credit and we look forward to responding on a short week. Our work will start right after this.”

(On the importance of consistency and how he explains today’s performance)
“Yeah, they did a great job. You got to give the Cardinals credit. But, also, it's about being able to show up and play the best football you can in that three and a half hours of time you're allotted and you're guaranteed. And, you know, there's a lot of decisions and things that I wish I would have done a better job for our football team with. We'll look at ourselves critically, we'll move forward. And, again, part of being able to do this the right way, is being able to handle the ebbs and flows. You know, things aren't going to go perfectly. This is such a competitive league. Our guys are wired the right way. And those opportunities to be able to show your mental toughness, the resilience that I know exists in that locker room. And we're going to get ourselves up, ready to roll, and be ready to compete on Thursday.”

(On if he thought there could be a letdown this game during the week coming off an emotional win last week)
“I didn’t. But again, I’ll always look at myself first and that’s where the responsibility lies. The beauty of it is, you don’t have a ton of time to sit around and be sorry for yourself. You get ready to go and move forward and that’s exactly what I’m going to do and what our team is going to do.”

(On Matthew Stafford’s performance)
“I thought he was gutsy. There were a couple of things that he didn't play up to his level early on. But you talk about being able to will us down the field when we ended up coming short on that fourth down and one where we just missed Higs (Tyler Higbee). But some of the individual plays that he made, the look in his eye, you know, I'll ride with that guy any day. And I feel that way about our football team. And I think these are the moments you can really see a lot about how people are wired the right way. And this guy is everything that you could ask for in a quarterback and I can't wait to go back to compete with him on Thursday.”

(On WR Van Jefferson’s performance)
“Van (Jefferson) did a good job. He made the most of his opportunities creating after the catch. I was very pleased with Van today.”

(On if he got the sense that our defense was frustrated)
“Yeah, he did a great job. You know, that's the athleticism and just the great playmaker that he is. And there was a couple instances where we felt like we could have been better. But you got to give him credit. You know, he's a playmaker. He's been doing this for the last couple years. But it's especially been illustrated the first three weeks of this season. And it was on display today. Hats off to him. He did a nice job.”

(On if he felt like he had a good defensive plan coming into the game and what he saw fron CB David Long Jr.)
“Yeah, of course I felt like we had a good defensive plan. You know, those are going to be things we go back and we look at. And we'll evaluate ourselves critically, starting with coaches and then seeing, ‘Okay, what can we do better to put our players in better positions.’ David is doing a good job competing snap in and snap out. I've been pleased with him. And there's going to be a lot of things that everybody, to a man, can look at and be better and that's where we'll get a chance to let that show itself on Thursday.”

(On what he thought went wrong defensively)
“Yeah, I'm not really sure. You know, they did a good job throughout the course of the day. There's a lot of things that we'll be able to go look back at and clean up.”

(On the connection between Stafford and Cooper Kupp today)
“We were just a little off. They made some plays. That's the one thing, is, you know, we expect to be better. I have to be better. You know, everybody can be a little bit better. But you do give credit to the Cardinals. They did a nice job and had a good plan. Like I said, it all starts with me.”

(On how we improve inside the redzone)
“Yeah, I think you look at the film and make sure we're making good decisions and then the execution has to be there.”

(On what he saw in Darrell Henderson’s return)
“He did a nice job. I thought Darrell (Henderson) was sharp from the jump. I thought our line did a good job creating some removal. We were running the ball efficiently. It just kind of got out in some of those situations when we weren't able to stick with it when the score got out of hand. But I got to do a better job of being patient and making sure that, again, I'm putting our guys in better spots. But I thought Darrell (Henderson) did a nice job today.”

(On if Kyler Murray and the Cardinals did anything differently)
“No, they did a nice job. But he made some plays. It's hard to simulate and mimic and emulate the speed he plays with the athleticism, the feel, the instincts. And that was on display today. And that's why he's done such a great job during the first month of the season of playing at such a high level. You got to give him credit.”

(On next week’s game in Seattle coming off a loss)
“Yeah, I mean, you got a lot of respect for Russell (Wilson) and the Seahawks organization. They've always done a great job under Coach Carroll's leadership. We know that. But, you know, we're going to do a good job of getting a plan together, put our players into positions, let's go roll it out there and go compete. Thanks, guys.”

Rams QB Matthew Stafford
(On what he saw out on the field today)
“Yeah, I think I just didn't make enough plays. There was some opportunities early in that game for us to score points and, you know, for me to make some throws and I didn't make those. It's obviously disappointing. I don't want to not make those throws. I want to make those for our guys and for our team. I just got to go back and be better. I'm going to have another opportunity. The good thing is we play again on Thursday. So I won't have to sit and think about this one too long. It will be a big challenge going into Seattle here in a couple days. A lot to learn, a lot to unpack, like you said. But I think it boils down to early in that game, missing some opportunities, whether it be on third down or in the red zone to score some points against a team that, frankly, was going to be scoring some points on offense. A really talented group they have over there. And we knew it was going to have to be one of those games where kind of blow for blow, maybe at a certain point. And we put our defense in a bad spot earlier there not coming away with some points.”

(On if he was off today or if it was something their defense was doing)
“No, it wasn't their defense. It was just on me. I got to make those throws. It's pretty plain and simple to be honest with you.”

(On the interception thrown on the deep pass to DeSean Jackson)
“Yeah, (Byron) Murphy (Jr.) did a nice job of playing it, kind of top down. You know, there's a throw out there that gets completed. The one I picked to try and throw, you know, wasn't the right one. You know, maybe a little bit more air and further towards the sideline probably. I felt like he was on top, so I was kind of trying to drive it there and get it there before he could get there. He did a nice job of making a play. You know, that's one of those plays going, ‘Man, I wish I would have seen it a little bit different and put it to a different spot.’ DeSean did a good job of getting open. I just got to find the right throw there and get it to him.”

(On the third and goal pass to Cooper Kupp that resulted in an incomplete pass and a field goal attempt)
“Yeah, definitely. He ran a great route. I tried to hold the safety in the middle of the field and by the time I peeked back, I felt like he was kind of stumbling out of his route a little bit. So I threw it to a spot where I'm sitting there going, ‘Man, I wish I would have just…’ I think right as I let it go, he probably gains his momentum again and he's hauling wide open down the field. So I got to give him opportunities. I think of that one. I think of the early third down to (Tyler) Higbee down the sideline early in the game. Just give him a chance, you know? Don't leave that one where no one can catch it. You know, there's a few in there that I sit and think about those where, you know, those are just physical errors. You don't want to live with them but you kind of have to. And you got to learn from them and figure out why they happened and just go be better from there.”

(On if he thought he scored on the quarterback sneak play)
“I thought I did. But, I mean, those are so bang-bang, I have no idea. You know, I was trying to get us in the end zone there, fighting for our guys. You know, it's not easy for those guys up front, for our guys on the outside, you know, to be running and blocking, playing basically two-minute football for a full quarter.
I got to give those guys a lot of credit. I told them in the locker room after the game I appreciated the way they played, the way they fought. We didn't score enough points today. We didn't win the game today. We didn't play well enough. There's no question. But I'll ride with those guys any day, man. They were blocking their asses off for me. No sacks against that outfit is pretty incredible. Especially with the position that we put them in, you know, with the guys upfront having to sit back there and pass block, you know, when everybody in the building knew we were going to throw it. I thought it was really impressive by those guys.
And same from our guys on the outside, being able to get open to make some plays there late in the game. We just got to do it earlier in the game and a little bit more consistently. But, you know, it starts with me. I can give those guys better chances, better opportunities. And if I do that, I got no qualms about what we're going to be as a team, what we can be as an offense.”

(On his throw to Kupp down the middle of the field near three defenders and if he thought that play was going to ignite the offense)
“No, this is a prove-it game. You saw it today, right? This is a prove-it game. You got to go out there and do it every time. Just because our team won last week doesn't mean we're going to win this week. Just because we lost this week doesn't mean you're going to lose the next week. And just because I made that throw, doesn't mean I'm going to make the third and goal throw where he's open for a one-yard flat route. You know, I put it over his head. You just got to go out there and prove it and do it every single time. And I wasn't good enough at doing that today. I think as a team, we probably weren't good enough, if you look at the whole grand scheme of things, just going out there every single play and executing it. But, you know, the person with the biggest hand in that is probably me, you know? I can go out there and play better.
When the quarterback in this league plays well, their team has an opportunity to win the games. And, you know, I'll make sure Thursday I'm in the right place, ready to go, and looking forward to it.”

(On the sense of urgency heading into the fourth quarter)
“You know, I just was out there to take what they gave me. I thought our guys did a great job fighting upfront. It's a really good defensive front with blitz packages. I think our guys did a great job of picking up stuff, really all day. We just missed some opportunities, on the perimeter. I thought the guys upfront played well.”

(On how you make adjustments after this loss)
“I think it's easy when you have to turn the page so quickly. You know, the next thing I'm going to be looking at is…I'll finish looking at this one and then, you know, I'll be looking at Seattle as quickly as possible. You know, I haven't played them as much as a lot of other guys in this locker room have played them, so I'll have some homework to do and make sure I'm up to speed, ready to go come Thursday.”

(On if he will put this one to bed tonight)
“Oh, yeah.”

(On the defensive looks they were getting and how they made it difficult on the third down pass to Cooper Kupp)
“Yeah, I think so. You know, I'm just trying to throw the ball where I think it should go, where the coverage dictates. On that play, they were doubling Cooper (Kupp) and playing one hole the rest of the way. So he did a great job of slipping his defender early and running across the field. I was able to get it to him. But I'm just trying to spread the ball around to where I feel like the ball should go. I think those guys do a great job of running and expecting the ball every play. You never know where it's going to go. I'm just happy that those guys were running and doing what they could do. I just wish I could have played better and given them more opportunities.”

Cardinals Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury
(On if there is any excitement or relief in breaking the eight-game losing streak against the Rams)
“No, that was really what we tried to avoid all week. We just wanted to get a week better. We liked how we had progressed throughout the season. I thought we had our best week of practice and so the mantra was just, ‘hey, let's get a week better. We don't have to play outside of ourselves or try to do something spectacular. We get a week better. We'll be in good shape.’”

(On the offense and defense)
“Yeah, I thought both fronts of ours really played physical and set the tone. Defensive line – we knew we had to get in his face. He's such a great player, (Rams QB Matthew) Stafford, and try to disrupt the timing. They still had some big time plays, but I thought we did just enough to create some turnovers and really turn the tide. And then our offensive line – (OL) Max Garcia stepping in, (OL) Josh Jones sliding to tackle which he hadn't played much. To rush for over 200 yards in an NFL game, that's a big, big time accomplishment.”

(On what kind of statement he believed the Cardinals made)
“Yeah, not a statement. Like I said, we wanted to get a week better. Division game - we know those are important and I think we got better. We’ve got to continue to play better and next week we got San Fran, who essentially knocked us out of the playoffs last year. So, we’ve got to continue to play physical football and clean some stuff up.”

(On how he feels after this win)
“I mean, anytime you win an NFL game, you're excited. There's no doubt. It's hard to get it done. So, you put in a lot of work throughout the week and then that's kind of the time to enjoy it and it's a celebration for all of us. That's how we try to try to treat it that way. Our guys had great juice, got some great veteran leaders that are really fun to be around.”

(On QB Kyler Murray’s decision to throw versus run)
“Yeah, that was big time. He continues to impress me with that - knowing when to take off and when the party's over and throw it away, and then knowing where his outlets are and his shutdowns. Some big time third downs. We were off on third down last week. He came back and was really dynamic on third down with his feet and his arm.”

(On working on that skill with Murray since he got to Arizona)
“No doubt and he's worked really hard at it. (Cardinals General Manager) Steve's (Keim) done a tremendous job in personnel bringing in pieces around him. Y'all just talked to (OL) Rodney Hudson. I cannot tell you how valuable he's been changing the dynamic in that room and whatever pieces we roll through there. He gets them calmed down and he gets them lined up and playing at a high level. Collectively, we're just progressing as an offense and we’ve got a long way to go still, but it was a good step in the right direction.”

(On the growing chemistry of Murray and WR A.J. Green)
“I truly believe (WR) A.J. (Green), the first couple of weeks, was still adjusting to how we play and not huddling. It's a lot until you’ve really done it. We didn't play or start as much in preseason. Now, I feel like he's acclimated to it, the game slowing down for him. He's not thinking as much and they had a great rapport in camp. Now, you're starting to see it come through on Sundays.”
(On where the offensive is at the moment and where it can go)
“We just got to try and keep getting better. We know it's a long season. Defenses continue to evolve and give us different looks. And the biggest thing we're doing is protecting the football. We won the turnover in most of our games and that was a huge emphasis going in the season. So, if we can do that with some of the dynamic playmakers we have just and not turn it over, we feel like eventually we're going to have some breakthroughs and make some big plays.”

(On if he allows himself to enjoy the win when he’s away from home)
“Not so much (laugher). I'll watch Ted Lasso tonight and go to bed. That's about it.

(On if he’s learned anything from Ted Lasso)
“Yeah, there's some real parallels between Ted Lasso and myself, like the epic YouTube dance video. Y'all were at my press conference, it was essentially the same press conference as Ted Lasso had whenever it's like, ‘is this some kind of a joke?’ (laughter). And then he's weirdly positive all the time, so we'll take it. But yeah, I like the show.”

(On if there will be a clearer picture of the division over the next eight days)
“This division, you see it week in and week out. I mean, anybody can beat anybody, and we know that. The talent level is tremendous. The quarterback play is tremendous and so as it progresses, as health changes, things like that, you just never know with the NFC West. It's such a tough league.”

(On if there is a breakthrough that he’s looking for)
“I think just consistency. We're still going three and out too many times, and that's big the way we play – no huddle - you can't do that and put your defense right back in the field. A lot of it is play calling. I got to be smart with what I'm calling, but I think just consistently drive in, drive out, making the routine play.”

(On if he has bragging rights of Rams Head Coach Sean McVay now)
“No. I mean, he's still beat me a lot more than I beat him. He’s a tremendous coach. One of the best coaches I've ever seen or been around, and he'll have that team ready to roll.”

(On having success against the Rams defense)
“It's huge. They got to pick their poison when you're running it like that. (Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line) Coach (Sean) Kugler had a tremendous plan particularly plugging in those two offensive lineman and still rolling like he did. That set the tone for the entire game.”

(On how long it takes to transition and get into a routine)
“I think the first year you're trying to figure out the process and what works, what doesn't work. Second year, you can throw out what didn't work and really improve upon what you think you got going for you. And then you just try to continue to add the right pieces and go from there. But I would say after year one, I felt pretty good about our process. We didn't finish last year like we needed to, but I like how we built it so far and we just got to keep getting better.”

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray
(On being 4-0 and finally beating the Rams)
“I was pretty confident coming into this game with the game plan we had, the week of practice that we put together and probably the best game plan, I think personally, that we’ve had since I've been in the league. So, with that, being confident in all the guys, this team, I was just confident just going out there and letting it ride and the guys did the same. I can't be more proud of them. As far as being 4-0, I'm trying to go 1-0 each and every week. We did that this week, but we've got another good team next week. (I’ll) celebrate this one, but like I said, it's a tough league, we know that.”

(On what it says about the Cardinals being able to execute their game plan and being the more physical team against the Rams)
“I think that’s something that we've known as a team, but we have to continue to prove it. I'm not really too worried about what other people think. I think the guys in the locker room understand what we're doing, what we're capable of and where we can take it.”

(On what made the game plan that good)
“I can’t tell you that, but it was a good one.”

(On what he was thinking on the 54-yard play)
“I knew it was going to hit. If you go back and watch it, the way they were aligned at that moment, backed up, thinking about throwing it, but really just trying to run the clock out, take some time off, help the defense. I loved it, the look, and then running it and once I handed the ball off, I knew it was either going to be (Cardinals R Chase (Edmonds) or me. It was good.”

(On being surprised winning in the fashion that the Cardinals did)
“They’re a great team. They (have) a lot of great players. Great coach. They've been there, done it. But, no, it was good. It was a good game. Good game. We executed well, we fought from start to the end. I’m proud of the guys.”

(On how much of his game is predicated on patience)
“I don't know. I just go play.”

(On how big of a win it was to win against the Rams for the first time)
“No monkey on my back, no monkey on my back. I just go play. Like I said, the past is the past, but we don't live in the past. It is what it is. It was a good one today and I’m proud of the guys.”

(On if it was important to win this game to confirm what they have in the locker room)
“Every game is important. I understand the hype around this game, a division game, haven't beaten them, all that stuff. Every game is important and that's how I see it. And that's how the guys in the locker room see it. This isn't the Super Bowl. We’re not going to treat it as such. Like I said, we came in here today, executed and that's that.”

(On if there is a different attitude in the locker room)
“I think with the additions that we added to this team and the guys we added to the team, it allows you to do more. They brought that physicality. If you go look at the guys who we brought here, they're used to winning, they've played in great organizations that are used to winning and then they brought that over here. No surprise by the physicality.”

(On how the run game’s performance helps the rest of the offense)
“It's dangerous as far as the weapons that we have. Me being able to move the ball, our O-Line blocked their ass off today, the defense played well. You saw a little bit of it today. We had some flashes of some of the old stuff, many penalties and stuff like that, but for the most part we overcame. We fought through the adversity that we faced today but it was good.”

(On if Cardinals Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury’s personality is going to show more now that they’re winning)
“I don't think anybody can be too happy with you when you’re getting your ass beat (laughs). So it’s a little different for sure.”

(On how the team did against Rams DL Aaron Donald)
“He's a great player, if not the best in the league. I think today, like I said, our offensive line blocked their ass off today. It was a good plan.”

(On how different it is running read options in the NFL as opposed to college)
“You just read the man in front of you. If he crashes, you pull. If you don't, hand the ball off.”

--RAMS--