Los Angeles Rams Transcripts - Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris, Offensive Coordinator Kevin O'Connell, DL Aaron Donald - October 28, 2021

Los Angeles Rams Transcripts - Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris, Offensive Coordinator Kevin O'Connell, DL Aaron Donald - October 28, 2021





Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris, Offensive Coordinator Kevin O'Connell, DL Aaron Donald
Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris
(On what he want to see at ILB with Kenny Young being traded to Denver)
“We are gonna miss (L Kenny (Young), and not just Kenny the football player, Kenny the guy. Kenny was a well-loved figure here in LA and what he was able to do. And it'd be dehumanized to tell you guys that you don't feel it from a coaching staff, or you don't feel it from a player when you lose a guy like that because of a financial constraint or whatever the case may be. But it does let you know that it's still a business and there's some business aspects to it. We expect the guys to step up, we've invested in (L Ernest Jones, we invested in (L Troy (Reeder). Those two players mainly will come on, and step on, and fill some of those shoes, and fill those roles. But we got some other players behind those guys too, like a (L T (Travin) Howard that can give us some of the speed and some of the things from the dynamic playmaking that we lost from Kenny, that we can gain from those guys and all those guys together. You never can fill - I don't think - one player's role with just one guy. I think it is a collective development. I think it is a collective agreement amongst that room. I think they got high standards amongst themselves in the inside backer room. I'm sure Kenny will be watching them, and they know it. And those guys love each other. So, they'll be out there playing for each other as well.”

(On how LB Ernest Jones has come along)
“Just all of the normal rookie development, the control of the defense, the control of the huddle, the ability to go out there and set the front, set the defense, be able to communicate well with the safeties and talk about where a rotation is coming from, how are we doing it, what we expect from him. I've been really impressed with his constant development and going out there every single week and treating these weeks like he was going to be the starter, whether he was or not. And then to be able to go out there and get a couple of plays in the Giants game and when his number was called upon in some of our different packages. So, I'm really looking forward to him playing well and doing a nice job for us.”

(On how Jones skills compare to Young’s)
“A little bit different, a different player. You're talking about a bigger player, that plays with better length. He's able to use his hands better and get on and off blocks. Not as fast and not as explosive as a Kenny Young. But they have different traits, different reasons. He probably brings a little bit more pop. Maybe Kenny brought a little bit more quick twitch, in-space-tackling type of thing. But I believe the guys fit the mold to the structure in which you go out there and you saw the inside backers. Ultimately, it's guys that love the game and it's ultimately guys that love to go out there and control the game and do things for each other.”

(On what other players around Jones can do to help Jones)
“He’s got a lot of help around him. He's got a lot of guys that know a lot about the game - when you're talking about (DL Sebastian Joesph-Day) ‘Bash’ being out there and controlling that front, and you're talking about (C Jalen Ramsey being that star, or even when you put (CB Donte Deayon) ‘Double D’ inside - a guy that has been around for a while, has a lot of knowledge and a great communicator. And then behind him, Captain (S Jordan) Fuller’ being one of the guys that can talk to him as well, and (S Taylor Rapp) T-Rapp is another guy that's in the box a lot and plays some stuff next to him and alongside of him. And everybody communicates at a high level. So, the guys communicating around him, with him controlling it and him talking to all the guys, I think is the biggest thing. Communication breeds understanding and there is nothing like that when we're talking about a young player.”

(On what he is still evaluating in Jones)
“I think the ultimate evaluation is going to come this Sunday. When you actually put him out there and you put him into the fire. When you put those rookies out there for the first time, you never know what you're going to get. You can only put them in position to simulate what a game feels like and we've been able to put them out there and simulate those things in practice. He's been able to go out there in the preseason, simulate those things in the preseason. Had some success and he's been able to go out there in portions of the season so far and really try to make the best of his opportunities. And now here comes the ultimate opportunity, a chance to go out there elevate your role, be able to go out there and do some things the right way. And I think he'll do those things. I'm fired up about watching him play, sad to see Kenny go. I'm sad to lose a guy like Kenny, but at the same time for Ernest, you're fired up to see him go out there and play and fill those roles and the fill those shoes.”

(On if Jones will start against the Texans)
“It depends on what package you try to open up the game with. If you open the game at base, he'll be one of those guys out there. And if you open in penny, it'd be a one backer defense, and then you gotta make those decisions based on what you get from the other team. So, he could. I know how this league critiques starters. Is he a starter in my head? Yes. However, you want to look at it. But I don't know if he's going to be the opening-play starter, just based on the personnel groupings that we decide to go with.”

(On how the ILB Kenny Young trade unfolded from his perspective)
“The organization here, particularly, did a great job of communicating. (General Manager) Les (Snead) communicating to (Head Coach) Sean (McVay), those guys constant communication. You see Les buzzing around here every single day, so it's not a lack of communication. Sean communicates with the staff. Last year, Zoom showed us all different types of ways to communicate. We can communicate through text messages, we communicate in person, we communicate through Zoom, we communicate through all types of meetings. And the communication turns into us being able to ask those questions on, ‘What's the next move? How you move forward? How do you go about your business?’ So, when those things come up financially, I don't have to get involved in, but definitely the planning on what you're going to do next, you got to get involved in. You always go through the pluses and the minuses of the situation, how it works out, where you stand and then you move forward accordingly according to the people that are decision makers, which are Sean and Les and (Chief Operating Officer) Kevin Demoff and all those guys I’m sure are involved, our ownership as well, but I don’t have to talk to all those people.”

(On if he just gets a text message from Head Coach Sean McVay)
“No, no, I didn't mean it that way. I meant (I) get the text messages either, ‘Get in my office’ or ‘I need to see you as soon as you can.’ Obviously, it happens when you're preparing for a different opponent, so to be able to go in there and talk with them and go through the process is just so many different ways you communicate it and talk about it throughout the process, not just on the whim and figure out that after it's done. It’s thought about, talked about, well decided by all the powers to be, coaches included – position coaches as well, (Linebackers Coach) Chris Shula’s involved in that and whoever’s position we're talking about. Sometimes you get different opinions from other sides, other walks of life as well. You get all those things done and you get it done that way.”

(On when you’re facing a team that has just one win and is struggling offensively, is complacency an issue)
“No. Last week was a clear indicator of that – when you play teams in a desperate mode, they're going to go out and you just don't know what they're going to do, whether it's an onside kick, whether it's fake punts, whatever the case may be to try to be in those games. They're going to play all to the wall and you're going to get their all every single time. I think in this league, it's just like that in general. We don't have the luxury of playing 180 games and an 80-game schedule. We (have) the guaranteed 17 and all of those games are meaningful. All of those games, you got to bring your best every single week. And you got to give the Detroit Lions credit for going out there and taking their shot. But you also have to give the L.A. Rams credit for going out there being resilient, fighting through it, dealing with it, getting to some of those trouble-like situations that you've been in before as a coach, either side of the ball. Fortunately, I was on that side before as well – when I played Green Bay a couple of years ago as the head coach, we tried to steal some possessions that would have been. (We) kicked three onside kicks, didn't have the success, but certainly I know exactly what that comes from. But you got to be ready every single week. You just never know what's going to happen to get ready to deal. You can't look at records – hint, stats are for losers. You got to go out there and play that team that day and be your very best self.”

(On the curve he set for LB Ernest Jones, if he wants him to evolve quickly into the guy who can take over the single-linebacker role)
“To be honest with you, let’s go all the way back to the beginning, the evaluation of college tape. You look at him and you got to sit down in the room, you got all the decision makers in that room, along with the scouts, along with the people that do the numbers and they run everything in the building, the medical – everybody. You sit there and you tell them. You look at him from a player standpoint from his college days and you say, ‘This is a potential green dot candidate for us that can move forward in this organization and lead this team from the middle of the defense and be an absolute stud for us at some point.’ You just never know when it's going to happen, but you got to go out there and you got to think that about those players when you go out and draft them. Now it's an opportunity for them to go do it and now it’s up to him to make us right.”

(On since he’s gotten here and taken over the #1 rated defense with most of the frontline personnel being gone through free agency, trade, injuries, etc., how much of that has been a headache and how does he relish tackling that situation)
“I think that's the better way of putting it. I don't think it's a headache. You’re put in these opportunities for a reason and you're in these spots for a reason. You're 6-1 football team because some of the people that have been here and some of the people that you got to develop, some of the people that you have to do. I think that's a part of it – the constant evolution of getting better and better and better every single week until it really counts. These guys go out there and you got to find ways to get wins. Keep calling out wins. Keep calling out wins and then you figure out what you're at. Then you take your best shot to go absolutely out here and elevate your game and elevate your people. I love it. It’s just part of the NFL football. You lose people every single year. And just so happens from week to week, your team is not the same. From game to game, your team is not the same. From day to day in practice, your team is not the same. So, all those things are like things that you relish as a coach. All those things you love about what we do.”

(On if he wouldn’t have liked it as much if he had the same 11 guys)
“I would have found a different challenge to love. There’s just different challenges you find for yourself. It’s like, ‘Hey, let's go find a way.’ I don't think we got a bunch of people that sit around and make excuses for different things. I think it's just finding ways to go get wins.”

Offensive Coordinator Kevin O'Connell
(On how they approach playing the Texans, when Houston has been struggling as a team)
“No, we've learned even in the short time I've been here, we've had games where, coach has a great saying, ‘Getting humbled is only a week away in this league’. So every single week you've got to show up and prepare the same way. Make a great plan for these players and allow it to come to life when we get there on Sunday. But our preparations got to be airtight. We got to feel really good about it. Heading down there to play a team that, defensively we've made the point to our guys and our guys notice it watching the tape, they fly around, a bunch of juice in that front to affect the quarterback. The back end, they do what they do, but they do it really well. So, you got to really know your assignments. You got to be ready to adjust if they have any looks that maybe we're not prepared for. And then every Sunday it just feels like a grind, no matter what in this league, just because they're really well coached, they're good players over there. And we got to play really well offensively to do our job to help the team win.”

(On how OL Joe Noteboom has been doing recently considering there’s a possibility that OL Andrew Whitworth might rest this weekend)
“He's been so dialed in all year. I know (Offensive Line) Coach (Kevin) Carberry is really excited about just his own personal growth and the work he puts in that nobody sees before practice, after practice. We still find ways to get him reps throughout the week and take some things off ‘Big Whit’ (OL Andrew Whitworth) throughout the week, leading up to this week. So really no different for Joe as far as his preparation. It's just a matter of preparing like he always does, like he's going to play. And then as we get later in the week and starts to clear up that picture, but I got so much respect for (OL) Joe (Noteboom) and even the time he came in last year. I think about that Tampa game last year on Monday night when best front in the league at the time. More sacks than anybody. And he goes in there and we threw the ball a lot that game, drop back pass. And our confidence in Joe I think was stated that night when we were willing to do that with those types of elite rushers on both edges and he played great. So, a lot of confidence in Joe and really, as I've said, the depth of that whole group coming into camp is what we felt strongest about. Those five guys that have played in every game for us have just made us feel real great about the five guys that are out there, but we still feel the same way about all those guys behind those starters.”

(On if he noticed OL Joe Noteboom taking a little extra time after practice with some of the younger guys and what he makes of that)
“One thing about Coach Carberry you're going to know I think he prides himself on being the last group off the field every day. Quarterbacks, we try to hang out for a little bit, get our extra work in, but always we're walking by those guys as they're still in the middle of things. And (Q Matthew (Stafford) will tell you, he gets his extra work in, but he's a little on the older side. So, we like to save some throws and get them off the field. But we always see those guys and whether it's Coach Carberry with the whole group, what I love about it is you'll see the tight end stick around and work on combination blocks with those guys. You'll see the backs over there sometimes with those guys blitz pickups and things like that. Any moment we can have with those guys on the grass they're so in tune to being coached and getting better every day no matter what the result, good or bad was the previous Sunday. And I think that’s what's been really, I think for our whole offense, whether it's guys staying after for extra throws, pitches and catches, the front working together. Because when you're trying to gel a group, different fronts, different looks every single week, literally every moment matters in a game week preparation. And those guys, we’re so lucky to have the work ethic we do. Not only up front, but across our whole unit that helps us be at our best on Sunday.”

(On if there was anything that he saw in WR Cooper Kupp’s preparation that would hint to such a great start)
“Really it goes back to last year. I can remember some football conversations when I first got here. He plays at such a high level with his ability to separate and all the things that he does. But what people don't see is his preparation. He's watching tape with the quarterback, he's trying to understand through the lens of the quarterback, so when he's running these routes man zones, whatever it is, he can be on the same page with Matthew so they can play fast and the ball can come out. And we've had some unbelievable --just last week you think about the improvement just between Matthew and him throughout the season of getting on the same page, but the throw he catches kind of on that corner ball early on was the same look we had early on in the Seahawks game. And a little bit better execution. Cooper kind of doing it a little bit more how Matthew saw it. Matthew turning it loose well before Cooper comes out of that cut and the ball drops in there like, ‘Oh, they must’ve done that a thousand times together,’ but in fact, that was the first time they actually got to do that since the Seattle game. And you just see the growth. But I think everybody wants to make of it so much about the things Cooper—maybe, ‘What's he doing?’ He's just a really good football player and I think he's one of the best receivers in this league and really has been for a long time. He's connected with this quarterback and those guys are taking us as an offense to kind of a different place.”

(On what he sees in QB Matthew Stafford that makes him so elite)
“He's got this ‘make it right factor’ where those plays that, I can think back last week we were kind of facing it's almost the end of the third quarter there. We did not have the lead at the time. And we get a third and 12 and (Head) Coach (Sean McVay) dials something up and him and (WR) Cooper (Kupp) making that come to life for another explosive down the field in those third and 10 plus, second and 10 plus situations where most offensive coordinators are looking at the sheet. We call them ‘get back on tracks’ or you're trying to, maybe a safe call to play the field position game, get a punt off, see if our defense can get a stop. That's not how we operate. We're trying to convert. We're trying to go down the field. We're trying to do different things that helps set up the other phases of our offense to keep defenses off balance. Really, when I see those guys and I see Matthew with that, I call it the ‘make it right factor,’ what he's doing. He's making a big time play in a moment where our team really needed it and he's done that all season long. And I know people can see that just watching the game. Anybody can see that watching the game, but it's what leads up to it that really separates him and the dialogue he has with not only Cooper, but how we pick up pressures, the nuances to how guys are going to run routes, how (WR) Robert's (Woods) going to win on that critical third down early. All those things lead to what what's happening on the field right now. It's a lot of fun to be around and a lot of fun to watch him do what he does on Sundays.”

(On if Stafford’s calm demeanor is normal, especially after getting to witness him being mic’s up)
“You witness it from the sideline and then I get to talk to him after every series. But it's the real time audio, the dialogue between him and (OL) Brian (Allen), where you're exactly right. Nobody loses their composure. Everybody's calm, cool, and collected. And we're dealing with looks sometimes it may be we're relying on our training camp blitz walkthrough from the second week in Irvine, or maybe it's a look that we got four or five weeks ago versus an opponent that maybe we didn't give them a full speed rep of it in practice. But those guys within the confines of the play clock, I think that's the most unique thing that people need to realize is all that's going on. And we're trying to make sure we don't take delays, don't go backwards, but still get really good plays off versus the looks we want to get. And that's all controlled by Matthew and how we built it from the first day he got here and his ownership of it, and his ability to, like you said, to just kind of continue to operate calm, cool, and collected, get us into the right looks, plays, protections. It's absolutely huge.”

(On how he talks to players like WRs DeSean Jackson and TuTu Atwell and RB Sony Michel who don’t get as many snaps)
“I think they see it sometimes because a lot of times we use tempo. We can't sub. We're trying to dictate, apply different pressure to the defense on different phases of the game. But those guys I think can see the benefit of it and if I'm ever in there, I gotta be ready to go. And I think with (WR) DeSean (Jackson), he affects the game so many different ways where maybe it doesn't show up on the stat sheet, but I can think back to a couple of looks last weekend where he took the top shelf off the defense and we had a ton of room to work either underneath or across the field, whatever it was. And I see (WR) TuTu (Atwell) getting better every single day. But also making sure I remind them every day at the walkthroughs, practices, make sure you're watching how Cooper or Robert or (WR) Van (Jefferson) or DeSean operate. So, when the time comes for you - cause we're going to need everybody at some point that he's getting better every single day and can just go in there. And we expect him to seamlessly go in there and execute and have the same success. I mean, we have a lot of confidence in all those guys.”

(On if he has ever been around an offensive lineman that does his pre-warmups barefoot)
“I have not. Are you referring to (OL Austin Corbett) Corbs?”

(On OL Brian Allen doing pre-warmups barefoot)
“Brian? Well, I also just noticed today walking into our team meeting, Corbett was barefoot and I said, ‘This trend is starting to spread amongst the O-Line room. I haven't seen (OL Andrew Whitworth) Big Whit walking around barefoot yet, but I'm sure if it keeps going the way it's going, I'm sure all those guys will be. I think that's just the unique ways guys prepare. I have not seen that before. My biggest concern is making sure he doesn't get stepped on, so we're not having a hobbling center throughout the game. It's great you notice that, but you could really notice all of them in their own way. That's what makes that group so special, whether it's at the end of a practice or before a game, they're not wasting a moment or doing anything counterproductive to help them play well.”

DL Aaron Donald
(On what he’s asking from other defensive linemen since DL Sebastian Joseph-Day has been out and what he’s been seeing from those guys)
“(DL) Greg (Gaines) has been out there playing. We trust him to step up and make plays if Bash (DL Sebastian Joseph-Day) doesn’t play. Bash is trying to find ways to get himself together. (He’s) getting some cardio (in), making sure he's good if he is up. We got guys that (are) going to step up and fill the slot if need be.”

(On Joseph-Day being amongst the leaders in run stops)
“He’s just stout. He's the big guy in the middle helping us set everything upfront and has been making a lot of things happen in the run game. That’s just who Bash has been. I think he’s been doing a good job of rushing the passer this season, too. So, him transitioning and becoming more of an overall football player, it’s good to see his growth.”

(On how he feels about the loss of ILB Kenny Young and if LB Ernest Jones is ready to step into that role)
“He’s got to. There ain’t no choice to that one. We’re going to miss (IL Kenny (Young). Wish nothing but the best for him. It’s just a part of the business. You just never know what can happen. (L Ernest (Jones) has got to be ready. We trust that he’s going to be ready, prepared. He’s going to help us make a lot of plays out there.”

(On if there is anything that he’s seen from E. Jones that gives him confidence)
“He’s athletic. He’s fast. He moves around. We’re going to see him when it’s live.”

(On how E. Jones has grown)
“He is just a little bit more comfortable. You see that, obviously we still got to wait to see how he plays in the game. But just seeing him out here at practice hearing the calls, making the calls and feeling comfortable out there to know what's going on, flying around. So, he just has to translate that to Sunday and we will be fine.”

(On how they prepare for games where the Rams are heavily favored)
“It's the National Football League. Anything can happen no matter what their record is. So, we got to go in with the mindset that it's going to be a dog fight. They still are a good team, even though their record doesn’t show. So, we just got to go out there and play our game and execute.”

--RAMS--