Los Angeles Rams Transcripts - Head Coach Sean McVay - October 8, 2021

Los Angeles Rams Transcripts - Head Coach Sean McVay - October 8, 2021




Head Coach Sean McVay
Head Coach Sean McVay
(On injury updates)
“Yeah. So, as far as (C Darious (Williams) - got a little ankle sprain. The severity of it is to be determined, whether that means he'll be able to play next week or whether that means he'll miss next week. (I) don't have that determination yet. But, I think it looks like it's going to be a mild ankle sprain. We'll continue to gather information on that. (Q Matthew's (Stafford) finger feels good. (TE Tyler) Higbee is sore from the stinger that he sustained. At the end of the game, when it looked like (OL Leonard (Floyd) got a little bit banged up, he was okay. He just felt like giving me a heart attack with the way that he was kind of laying there for a second. But, it seems like we came out relatively clean other than continuing to gather information on Darious.”

(On what some of his major takeaways were from planning to execution)
“Yeah, it really came down to execution - the turning the ball over in the red zone and then not coming away with points there, and then just some missed opportunities where we were just a little off for a variety of reasons. But, what I liked the most is it's about how you finish. I'd like to see us play consistent through four quarters. I think that's going to be important enough for us to be able to do that. And for me - not to kind of say the same things week in and week out - but I love the resilience. I love the resolve of this team, but it really boiled down to execution. Then guys just made some plays. I thought there was some incredible individual efforts with guys competing without the ball, guys making plays with the ball, some of the plays that Matthew was able to make, move in, and manipulate guys in coverage but also navigate in the pocket. I thought guys just really made plays in the second half. And then I think the things we didn't do in the first half comes back to some execution and things that we're capable of, but I just want to see us consistently do that at a higher clip from the jump. That's kind of been the narrative for the last couple of weeks.”

(On if he anticipates expanding roles for S Terrell Burgess and CB Robert Rochell)
“(S) Terrell (Burgess) is a guy that you want to get going. I have a lot of belief and confidence in Terrell and you want to see if that's something that comes to life when we get back. I liked the way (CB Robert) Rochell handled himself. And sometimes when you get thrown in the fire like that - he misjudged the one touchdown to (Seahawks WR DK) Metcalf a little bit, but he made a huge breakup on (Seahawks WR Tyler) Lockett on the next drive. He's a mentally tough kid. He's unfazed. It's not too big for him. I like the look in his eye during games too. You can get a really good feel for some of these younger players just by what does it look like? How do they handle the ebbs and flows of a game? And when the stuff really counts - especially in that type of atmosphere and environment, and certainly wasn't perfect, but his competitiveness, his toughness, his resolve, all those things that I think are really important to be a good football player. I thought that was demonstrated yesterday and I think he's only going to improve and get more and more comfortable and confident. What's good about having this early Thursday game, not exclusive to the defense - but really for defense, offense, and special teams - is you always want to make sure that you’re a critical self-scout and that's an ongoing thing. It's not like, ‘Oh until the bye or the mini bye,’ you look at that, but you do get a chance to take a deep breath and really digest those things. We'll get a little bit of a jump on the Giants. These next couple of days will be a good opportunity to relax, but really be critical of ourselves as coaches and what we can do to try to continue to figure out the identity of this team and what's the best way to make that come to life as we attack. However you want to look at it, the next quarter - or whatever the hell it is with 17 games. But after five, this will be a good little break for us to be able to kind of look at it, make the changes, and get the right people involved if we feel like that's best for the team.”

(On how Rochell uses every inch of his body despite is unassuming frame)
“He's a long guy in person and he plays long. There are certain guys that are big that don't play big, but he plays with great length. But he also has the short space quickness and the lateral agilities to be able to play on the perimeter and do the things that are necessary to play the cornerback position at an elite level. He's got tools. He's got those traits for a guy that didn't have a whole lot of experience where everybody wants to use the phrase ‘Oh, he's green.’ I think he's got a great football acumen and a good feel, but that repetition is the mother of learning. I think he uses the reps the right way and understands how to apply it. I really like the relationship that I see him have with (Secondary/Pass Game Coordinator) Coach (Ejiro) Evero, (Assistant Secondary) Coach (Jonathan) Cooley. (Defensive Coordinator) Raheem (Morris) is obviously got a great connection with all those guys on defense, but especially on the back end. That’s what I see in him and I see a guy that's very confident. He's very self-assured. I've heard (C Jalen (Ramsey) reference this, and really I remember my grandpa used to talk about this all the time, was what really separates the great coroners in this league is the short memory. They're put in such a difficult spot at times and if you don't have the ability to move on to the next play, it's going to be a bad movie for you. I thought the best thing that I saw from Robert Rochell was his eyes flashed back. He kind of got caught in no man's land on the goal ball that they hit Metcalf on for the touchdown. But, it wasn't like he was in bad position. He just misjudged it and that's a technique thing. A similar type of play - even though it was a little bit different coverage - comes up where he's isolated on a ball, him and Lockett, and he ends up making a big-time breakup that forced them to settle for a field goal there.”

(On how he approaches an upcoming slate of teams with less wins than teams the Rams faced in Weeks 1-5)
“Even though the records are what they are, there's a reason why every single week there are those one or two results that make you say, ‘I cannot believe that happened.’ It's why people lose a lot of money betting on NFL games week in and week out. You got to show up. I say this to the team all the time, the thing that's so amazing about the NFL is the best team doesn't always win, but the team that plays the best in the three-hour span that you get, is who wins the game. And there's a lot of things that factor into who wins and loses and what happens in that window of time. But for us, we want to always be inside out. I said that a couple of weeks ago, but it is true. We got to be inside out. We focus on our process, our preparation, and let's not lose sight on - I don't care what the Giants’ record is. They're pretty competitive. They're coming off of a really big time win against an excellent football team last weekend. We'll see what they do this weekend, but there's no letdowns in this league. And if you think there are than you get humbled real quickly and that's just the truth.”


(On what he appreciates the most from this win on a short turnaround)
“Just that. The way the guys handled the short turnaround, the way that they didn't let one bad performance turn into two, the mental toughness, the resolve, the ability to be able to move on quickly, and not let things lag and drag. I thought that was reflected. And I thought what happened was, you don't want to have too many opportunities where you're having to overcome adversity, but it is great we did that. I like the way that we're picking each other up as a team. The defense did a great job getting some stops. I thought to miss that field goal, for them to really tighten up, the draw the holding when they looked like they had hit Lockett for a touchdown. For us to make a play a couple more snaps. To handle that end of the half situation the right way. And then it leads to them not getting any points. To go down 7-3 was a big deal for us as opposed to it being 10-3 or 14-3. Then obviously in the second half, there was a lot of good things and a lot of things we can improve on as well.”

(On how he handles this mini bye in terms of time away, and when you get players back)
“The way that the rules are set which we would do anyways, you're kind of limited in terms of, they have the next three days off per the CBA. We'll come back on Monday, we'll review this. We'll be able to get a little bit of extra work in and then get back into our normal rhythm and routine starting on Wednesday. Players will have Tuesday off, but we'll be back in with them on Monday and kind of provides a little good, rest and relaxation, a chance to of look at ourselves as coaches over the next couple of days. Let guys get their legs back and their bodies back.”


(On WR Robert Woods being a veteran and a leader)
“It shows how steady he is, that he's just so ready to deliver when his number is called. The receiver position and really when you're a perimeter skill player in general, sometimes you're trying to get guys involved. It doesn't always work out that way, but he just stayed patient. He epitomizes a great competitor that does so many different things for our team. The way he's gone about it, he's a guy you want to fight for, you want to battle with, you want to make sure that you do a good job of trying to take advantage of all the things that he can bring to the table, especially as a playmaker with the ball in his hands. I think what says as much about (WR) Robert Woods as anything is that he just kept going about his work. He and I had a great conversation earlier in the week where it was the most unselfish call that you could ever get from a player just saying, ‘Hey, I'm happy to contribute. How do you really see my role? What can I do to maybe be more of a factor in the pass game to try to help influence and effect our offense plan at a higher clip?’ It was really a pretty cool thing to show the maturity, the composure, the leadership that he possesses for us to be able to have that conversation, and then for him to deliver in a big way like that was pretty special. I think it's something that we can build on and I thought it was great for Robert and Matthew to show that rapport because a lot of those were some incredibly important timing and rhythm throws over the middle. Thought he made some really tough contested catches. He was without a doubt, the player of the game offensively for us in a big way yesterday.”

(On how the bye week works for him and the coaching staff in terms of pacing)
“I feel like I say this to you guys every year, talking about the balance. But through this point in the season, I have taken better care of myself in terms of getting more rest. I'd like to think I'm a little less irritable, even though most people would probably just say, ‘Hey, this guy's crazy, no matter what.’ But it's been better. I think it's about really trusting the people that you work with. Knowing that in a lot of instances, what's really come to life for me is sometimes a lot of the work you do when you're so tired, you're better off going to sleep and having a fresh mind because you end up having to repeat that work in the morning anyways when you're not doing a very good job with a clear mindset and in a clear thought process. So, I think it's just trying to have that balance of getting a little bit more rest. The balance thing is always going to be something that I strive to do, but the beauty of this too, is I love what I do. Like I'm excited about being able to kind of take a deep breath, but also do a little bit of a deep dive on some of the things we can do better. Check out what's going on around the league a little bit. I'm excited to be a fan on Sunday and probably sit at home all day, watch the RedZone.”

(On the development of the relationship between RB Sony Michel and RB Darrell Henderson Jr.)
“I think it's been great. I think it all starts with (Running Backs Coach/Assistant Head Coach) Thomas Brown. His leadership, the command that he has, the ability to connect with these guys is, is really vital to the success of that room. And I think (R Darrell (Henderson Jr.) and (R Sony (Michel) are both two great guys, and I think their skill sets really complement one another. I was talking to my dad about this earlier today. I thought they both did an excellent job. I thought it was good to get the run game going, but what you saw from both those guys too, that I think epitomizes the toughness of their coach is watching them stick their face on people and protection. Both of those guys had huge blitz pickups that we ended up creating explosive plays from. And Matthew did a great job being able to move off of it. And these are some of the better blitzing linebackers in the whole league. With the (LB Bobby) Wagner, with the (LB Jordyn) Brooks’ of the world, these guys do a great job with some of their internal pressure packages. And those backs were asked to step up in a big way, but you're talking about two special human beings who had a great coach leading the way for them. And those guys are only going to get better. I thought Darrell ran hard too. I think you see Sony levels, runs off, he falls forward. I thought Darrell ran really tough last night, he's playing tougher. And I’d love to be able to see that from Darrell, was great to be able to see him the last two weeks. I think he's been a real bright spot for us.”

(On how Henderson looks now compared to this time last year)
“I still see an explosive playmaker. I think you've seen a guy that's rounding out his game, being more complete. Like I mentioned, the protection stuff sticks out. I think the way he's able to level off runs has stuck out. He's made some plays in the pass game when he's been asked to do that, which he's always done that, but I just think you're seeing a more mature player. I think you're seeing a stronger player, a more decisive guy, a guy that's playing smarter. I think he's only going to get better and I think both of those backs are going to continue to improve. And that's going to be a vital part of our success offensively and for our football team as we progress forward throughout the season.”

--RAMS--