Los Angeles Rams Transcripts - Rams Head Coach Sean McVay - October 4, 2021

Los Angeles Rams Transcripts - Rams Head Coach Sean McVay - October 4, 2021



Rams Head Coach Sean McVay
Rams Head Coach Sean McVay
(On the status of RB Darrell Henderson, S Taylor Rapp, TE Tyler Higbee, and TE Johnny Mundt)
“Yeah, those guys just had their typical bumps and bruises. Don't expect that to affect their game status. You're mandated to give a practice status today, even though we weren't practicing. Expect those guys to be ready to go on Thursday though.”

(On what he saw from the defense after reviewing film from Sunday’s game against the Cardinals)
“I mean, like I said, after the game, I saw a good offense. I saw guys making plays for them and I saw us not really follow a lot of things that we had talked about as far as how we wanted to be able to pursue just some execution things. Everybody had a hand in it. We can all be a little bit better and you give Cardinals the credit, but that's kind of what I saw as kind of what was reflected in when we spoke yesterday as well.”

(On what the key is to for defense to bounce back as they prepare to face QB Russell Wilson and Seattle’s offense)
“Yeah, I think just overall execution. I think getting a good tight plan together, making sure that there's clarity, understanding and playing with an edge that we're excited about an opportunity to respond. That's what we're looking to do. We won't allow one game to define us. It was not the outing that we wanted from anybody, myself included, but fortunately we've got a short week to be able to dust ourselves off, get back up and get ready to roll.”

(On QB Matthew Stafford not playing Seattle in three years and how much of a factor that is for him)
“Well, he's got great experience. I think it's a factor, but he was in here studying. Got four good representative games that they've played this year to be able to utilize playing them three times last year. So, there's a lot of film, but they've done a nice job mixing it up and like anything else, each game takes on its own identity. But, I think the experiences that he can draw on seeing a lot of different defensive structures throughout the course of his career will be beneficial. But want to make sure that he'll do his part. He's a pro's pro and he was in here kind of getting a jump on that preparation this morning early.”
(On how using the first quarter of the season for evaluation in a 17-game season)
“First quarter plus one? I don't know. I haven't really thought about it. I think the big thing that we focus on is being in the moment and being able to move forward the right way - whether it's coming off of a win or coming off of a disappointing outing like yesterday - and you’ve got to be totally and completely present. You have to be able to move on, whether it be good or bad, and that's exactly what we're focused on. I think it'll be good to get a little bit of a break after this, but our focus for the next 72 or whatever hours it is, is solely on the Seahawks and trying to make sure that we put together a good performance that gives us a chance to get the result that we're desiring.”

(On evaluating the calls he left on the board and if they included any fourth down decisions)
“I think some of the red zone calls, you'd like to be able to put our guys in some better situations. There's a lot of things that we can all do a little bit better, but I'm always going to be critical of myself on some of the decisions that I can make - whether it's do you challenge a play when we maybe have scored? Do you go forward on some fourth downs when we ended up attempting some field goals? And I think, like anything else, you don't want to second guess because I do think that trust in your gut and trusting your preparation is important. But you also don't want to be naive to the fact that you do make mistakes and there's things that you have to be able to learn from. And every single game offers an opportunity for me to do that from within the role that I have. Yesterday, the ones that stand out, I think a couple of the red area calls. There's just some things where I felt like I could have put our guys in some better situations. And then there was some moments where I think our players would say we had a chance to maybe come through and execute. And that's the best thing about football is that we can all look at each other, know that we're in this thing together, we're going to do the best that we can to move forward the right way, be mentally tough and fortunately Thursday presents an opportunity for us to respond like I said.”

(On if he wants to continue to expand and evolve in short-yard situations)
“Yeah, I think you're always trying to in those types of situations. I think it's also about execution too - whether you go for it on the fourth down, being able to throw and catch. And I think that's a play that our guys would make a lot more times than not. But then also, right, the versatile personnel groupings that can activate where you have favorable numbers if you decide to run the football, you know? So, there's a lot to unpack in that question. But, certainly that situation in particular, whether it's okay, did we have enough angles to maybe overturn the call if he had gotten in on the second down? On third down probably, I know I could have had a better play than the sneak activated right there. And then the fourth down, can we execute? Do you have a lot of better plays that you can activate? The answer's ‘yes’ on both fronts in that arena. Every single play involves that kind of dialogue, that discussion. And then there's obviously an after-action review that I try to do on myself in addition to with our coaches and players on a weekly basis. It was accelerated, but I don't think you want to minimize the importance of that as you move forward into your fifth game, even if it is packed into a handful of days to get your preparation.”

(On if he likes where the next game is falling in the schedule in terms of earlier rather than later)
“Yeah. That would be my preference, I like having a Thursday game. I think the main reason that I look at that is reflective of, number one for our players, being able to have a short turnaround with what that does to their bodies. The earlier you can have that in the season, the better where there's not that accumulation of the wear and tear, but also, you'd like to see some sort of separation because this serves as a mini bye where the players are mandated to get three days off. And that's the approach that we've kind of taken anyways, giving them Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to get themselves rejuvenated, refreshed. And then if you have a bye, kind of similar to where we have it, feel like it situates itself nicely for our players, most importantly, and then there's an element for the coaches to be able to get some time with their families. But the main reason is, is just earlier is better because it serves as a mini bye. Especially if it's a handful of weeks away from when your normal bye is as well.”

(On if he thinks WR Robert Woods was unhappy with the number of targets he was getting)
“I'm not worried about Robert Wood's demeanor and disposition. He's a captain. He was frustrated because I think that was a flip of, ‘we scored’, but that was a frustrating day for all of us. Nobody wants to be in that situation with the standards, the expectations that we have. But if you look at that drive, you talk about a guy that's competing the right way. He made a handful of plays on that drive. Looked at him compete without the ball on the one screen that we threw to (WR) Van Jefferson. This guy's a stud in every sense of the word. It is important to be able to get a handful of guys involved. That's something that I always want to continue to be intentional about. I think that's one of the benefits that we do have is we've got five eligibles. Want to be able to spread that wealth while also making sure that sometimes I'm calling plays where guys are the primary and the coverage doesn't necessarily dictate where the read goes. So, when Robert's involved, that's a good thing for the Rams offense. That's something that we want to continue to see displayed, but Robert is a leader, he’s a captain and he's been doing a great job up to this point. We just need to get him some more opportunities and that starts with me.”

(On his thoughts about the running game on Sunday and RB Darrell Henderson)
“I don't necessarily think I got away from it. I thought it was effective. I think our guys did a nice job getting removal. I think any time that you have the two turnovers and then you kind of get out of hand where they possess the ball for a good bit of time towards the latter part of the first half and then they had a long possession to start the second half. Then before you know it, it's a 27-13 game. We had a chance to score on a play that we just missed and then we ended up missing the field goal. And then the next thing you know, when it could be 27-20, you ended up getting the ball back, you're down a few possessions, it kind of gets away from you. And so, the situation dictates a little bit different approach. You always want to be able to make sure that you can possess the ball, and then we are able to run it effectively. You want to be able to do that, but ultimately, it's about trying to win the game, and that was kind of the approach. But I was pleased with the way we were able to run the football and I thought Darrell was a real bright spot yesterday.”

(On what his relationship is like with Offensive Coordinator Shane Waldron and how much he pays attention to what they are doing)
“Shane's great. Shane and I have had a great relationship, loved to work with Shane. Shane was an instrumental foundational piece of everything that's gone on since I got here and since we got here as a new staff back in 2017. We were together in Washington. I'm pulling for him a lot to do well except for when we play these guys. And so, I've kept up with them, familiar with what they've done as I would anyways, but you're especially interested because it's one of your buddies. (Run Game Coordinator) Andy Dickerson's there as well, but we still keep in regular touch. I'm really happy for the success that he's had, except for on Thursday this week.”

(On the similarities within the Seahawks offense since Waldron)
“A lot of the stuff that we've done has always been a collaboration. It's not exclusive to me. Shane and I and the rest of our coaching staff have kind of put it together for what the Rams offense looks like. He certainly has his own spin on things in Seattle where you can see. He's got a long history dating back to his time in New England, when he was at Notre Dame, he's had a lot of great experiences prior to even us connecting together in Washington and then being here for the four years in L.A. He’s doing a nice job marrying the run and the pass. You can see they've gotten some good play action shots going. They've done a nice job of being able to get (Seahawks WR DK) Metcalf and (Seahawks WR Tyler) Lockett involved in a variety of ways. He’s also, like any good coach does, ‘let's tailor the system to our players skill sets’ and always starts with (Seahawks Q Russell (Wilson). I think he's doing a nice job and Russell's obviously made some outstanding plays, but getting Lockett, Metcalf, those guys involved, (Seahawks WR Freddie) Swaine's made his plays and then you could see (Seahawks RB Chris) Carson is a dynamic playmaker. Prior to last week when he was missing, (Seahawks TE) Gerald (Everett) had done some good things as has (Seahawks TE Will) Dissly. So, they've got a lot of playmakers, but I think Shane's putting his own spin on it. There are some elements of some things that would look familiar to you guys. But it’s certainly it's the Seahawks offense for sure. And he's done a nice job for the first four weeks without a doubt.”

(On continuing and building the defense’s philosophy and stopping explosive plays)
“I think you look at a lot of them, specific to the pass game when the balls in the air, I'm not talking about run after the catch, things like that. We still have had a roof of the coverage in a lot of instances, it's just, ‘okay, there's still an isolation to be had.’ And sometimes it's a guy just winning a jump ball situation. You look at a couple of those plays from yesterday, one of them is that you've got deep defenders in their zone and (Cardinals Q Kyler (Murray) just recognizes a one-on-one and throws it up to some big targets that are making some great plays, whether that be (Cardinals WR DeAndre) Hopkins, (Cardinals WR) AJ Green, those guys did a nice job. Then they pop a long run. We were in kind of a different front structure on a third down and a longer situation when they were backed up and that kind of creased us pretty good, but there's a narrative behind all of them. And I think what we're continuing to do is, is figure out alright, there's a philosophy that you want to activate within this deep bench, but it always is about the players. And continuing to find that balance of, ‘alright, how do we really play complimentary football as a team in all three phases?’ That’s the one thing that I think as a head coach, I didn't do a good enough job overall and saying, ‘alright, how do we really put all three phases together to play complimentary football?’ Which I think we've done a fairly good job of through the first three weeks. Yesterday that wasn't reflected. We give the defensive a short field on the one turnover that (R Sony (Michel) put the ball in the ground. We got a chance to really grab momentum of that game. I thought we should've scored a touchdown on the opening drive if we execute a couple plays that guys typically make. We come away with three points. Defense gets a good stop. And then when we've got a chance to be able to hit another shot to (WR) DeSean (Jackson), a guy makes a good play, but we missed an opportunity to be able to really take a choke hold of that game early on. We didn't do those things, they did. The explosives that I think you're probably referring to, each one has a little bit different narrative, but you do feel like the intent’s there. Then it's about making it come to life and some of the execution. You give these offenses credit, they've done a nice job in some instances as well.”

(On having patience with fostering growth on defense)
“I don't think there's any doubt about it. I think that's with any process and any sort of maturation and growth that you want to exist. I think it's also about figuring out that identity that you want to really embody. And I think we're continuing to work through that. Most importantly, with our players, there's a lot of new pieces that we're asking to step into significant roles, whether it be from injuries or just some different things specifically to the back end – you lose some key guys. That's such a vital part of it. And then how do you want to really be able to activate different front mechanics and structures and different things like that to make it all come to life where all three levels of the defense are seeing things as one? This is so much a part of what all of the time that we spend in the office is discussed. I think the one thing that's important for us to do too, is not let a couple of things that didn't go our way yesterday make us feel like there's any need to press the panic button. Let's take a step back, let's take a deep breath, let's look at the totality of it and then be able to make honest assessments and evaluations as we're trying to, most importantly, put our players in the right positions to have success on a weekly basis and then see that consistently be represented through the remaining parts of our schedule that we're guaranteed.”

--RAMS--