Los Angeles Rams Transcripts - Head Coach Sean McVay - November 5, 2021

Los Angeles Rams Transcripts - Head Coach Sean McVay - November 5, 2021



Head Coach Sean McVay
Head Coach Sean McVay
(Opening Statement)
“I know you guys all want to know about the injury report. A lot of guys to go through, (WR) Robert (Woods) and (Q Matthew (Stafford) today will be limited participants. They're feeling better. They're making good progress. We still want to be smart with them. I don't expect it to affect their game status, kind of like I've mentioned. Nothing's changed. But I want to be smart with those guys. (OL Andrew) Whitworth is going to be (a) full (participant) today. (DL) Sebastian Joseph-Day re-aggravated his peck. Unfortunately, he's going to have to get that thing fixed, so he'll be out on Sunday. That's a big loss for our football team. Whether or not that means he'll return at any point this season, I think we'll have to see after the surgery. But guys will be asked to step up and that's a bummer for us. (DL) Bobby Brown (III) is back after he was missing for non-injury related stuff. We're not going to have (L Von (Miller) go today. He'll be questionable for the game. And we're going to really use all of this time that we have up until kickoff. He'll probably be closer to kind of a game time decision for us. And then (C Jalen (Ramsey) will not participate today, but he just banged his knee up at practice. I think he's going to be ready to go. Don't expect that to affect his game status but erring on the side of caution with him. Then (L Ernest (Jones) is still sick. This stomach bug has kind of gotten our team. It got me a handful of weeks ago. He is going to stay at home today and try to just rest recover and hopefully he'll turn around and be ready to go on Sunday.”

(On when LB Ernest Jones came down with the sickness)
“He practiced. He was a full participant. He did virtual meetings yesterday. But he came out and he was really gutting through. It sounded like he kind of got hit with it pretty hard. (He) Wasn't able to keep anything down. And so hopefully it's just kind of one of those 24-to-48-hour bugs, and we're going to just leave him at home today and try to get him hydrated and get him feeling better.”

(On if he is confident that LB Christian Roseboom could step in if needed)
“We are. But I would be very surprised if (L Ernest (Jones) isn't able to go, knowing that we have a few days. Unfortunately, or fortunately - however you want to look at it - we've had a lot of guys that have kind of had this 24-to-48-hour stomach bug. It hasn't affected anybody's ability to play in these games and hopefully he'll turn over.

(On if DL Sebastian Joseph-Day’s surgery is season ending)
“I'm not sure. It might be something where he's able to come back a little bit later on. I think once they actually do the surgery, we'll have a better feel for ‘Is this something that's going to be a few months? Is there a chance that he comes back later on in the season?’ if we're fortunate enough to play after the regular season.”

(On when the surgery is)
“In the next couple of days.”

(On if CB Darious Williams will play)
“(C Darious (Williams) is a guy that we expect…we're going to be smart with him, but I do expect him to play.”


(On if he is concerned about QB Matthew Stafford not playing)
“I don't just because of the dialogue we've had. He's a guy, you talk about a tough competitor that's worked through a lot of things over the course of his career. And so he's had some things like this that have kind of popped up in previous years and he doesn't seem to be concerned about it. But I think we want to err on the side of caution. When you're a veteran player like him, you kind of let them dictate the terms. And really he's always going to be a guy that's really going to push it. So we've been more cautious with him, kind of held him out. He's going to do a couple of things today, but based on the feedback and the way that he's feeling, I think he's trending in the right direction.”

(On what is the status of LB Von Miller and his ankle injury)
“He’s making good progress. It's hard because we really haven't had a lot of exposure to Von (Miller) and he's so tough. He's such a great competitor. He's always really pushing it. And so we're going to really just continue to let him work with (Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance) Reggie (Scott) and Reggie's group and see how this thing turns over the next 48 hours and then be able to make a decision. But if you asked Von, I think he would say, ‘Hey, I'm feeling better, making good progress,’ and that's all you can really ask.”

(On if managing guys workloads are any different this season compared to others)
“I wouldn't say so. What you have to have is good agility and be flexible, based on where are guys at, who's banged up? How does that modify the practice approach for the team or for a specific individual? A lot of these guys that we're talking about, you certainly don't minimize the importance of that practice time that we have throughout the course of the week. But you feel a little bit better about some of these veteran players, getting them to game day, knowing how sharp and how crisp they are above the neck, to be able to kind of say, ‘Let's physically make sure we do everything,’ and if that means missing a couple of reps, we trust that the experience they've accumulated over time ends up being beneficial for us.”

(On if specifically, with the WRs he manages differently this season)
“If you're saying, ‘Am I managing workloads during the games?’ No. I'm not thinking about those kinds of things. I think you go into a game plan knowing, where can you supplement and give guys a breather accordingly? That's where you have to have your reserves ready to kind of step in, but when our guys are going, they're going. Now after the games, do we get them workload and kind of where they're at, and does that affect and modify the approach we take throughout the course of the week? That definitely is a part of it. Once you get into games, we're doing everything in our power to always protect our guys, but whatever we think is in the best interest of trying to win the football game and when our best players are out there more often than not that's a good thing for the Rams. And that's what we're looking to do.”

(On if he expects WR Robert Woods and QB Matthew Stafford to play)
“Yep. I expect them to play. Yes. Yes.”

(On if he could go over what happened with WR DeSean Jackson and the plan moving forward)
“So, really kind of similar to what I had mentioned, you feel good about the group that we do have. It goes back to just the opportunities and just being what we felt like was in the best interest of the team. (We are) very grateful for what (WR) DeSean (Jackson) did. He made huge contributions against the Bucs, against Seattle that were really instrumental, game-changing plays that helped us win those football games. But as you start to get a little bit more inventory we talked about it, he wanted some more opportunities, which I think he wasn't wrong to feel that way. And we felt like it was going to be in the best interest. But I love DeSean. I got tremendous respect for the resume, the body of work that he's established. And unfortunately, that didn't work out the way that I think either of us had hoped and anticipated.”

(On if the Rams have interest in pursuing WR Odell Beckham Jr., who released from the Cleveland Browns today)
“We're not going to get into those kinds of things.”

(On if he would want to add Beckham Jr. to the roster)
“I would never say never on anything like that. So that's where I'll leave that. How's that for you? (laughter)”

(On what is development process is going forward on fourth down)
“(I) really just tired of having you guys criticize me for not going on fourth (down) (laughter). No. I think a lot of it is a reflection of the confidence I have in those guys. If I kick a field goal, it doesn't mean I don't have confidence. So much of it as a feel for the flow of the game. Is analytics a part of it? Yeah. It's a part of it, but it's not the totality of what dictates and determines whether or not we're going to go for it. I felt like last week, on the fourth down and one that we didn't convert on the second drive, had good momentum from scoring on the first drive. Our defense got a stop. You're saying worst case scenario, if we don't convert this, they're going to be pinned deep and I felt really good about the defense. In best case, you ended up going up 14, nothing right there. Then there was another one later on after we got stuffed on the third and one where we went forward on a fourth and three. (WR) Van (Jefferson) draws the PI (pass interference) and then we're able to score a couple of plays later. So, it's the feel for the flow of the game, but it also is a reflection of the confidence I have if you give (Q Matthew Stafford and our offense one more opportunity. I think that's something that if you put yourself in the defense’s shoes, you're thinking, ‘Man, that puts a little bit more pressure on those guys’. I'm not naive to the fact of the landscape of the league. You see a lot of these teams have success with it. I'm certainly not going to pretend to have all the answers, but you definitely want to be mindful of, ‘Okay, that's been a good, positive approach. Does it fit for us?’ And that's had part of an influence on me as well.”

(On if he has expanded the offense)
“Yeah, I would say part of what we do is always reflective of you’re preparing for the upcoming opponent, but you’ve got to be mindful of all right, ‘What are the things that we've put on tape? How do you make sure that you're always having complimentary mixers off the things that you're doing?’ And I think you're seeing us be able to expand on a lot of those things because of the success that our guys, offensively, have had in a variety of different things. There's different phases of our offense that we're calling, where you talk about marrying the run and the pass and then the drop back inventory. So all of those things, you want to make sure that you have things playing off of that so that you're not just predictable to the defense as well, knowing what they're doing to prepare. And so, I think we've been able to expand that, but I do think it's still important to be mindful of having an identity and something that our players can hang their hat on to feel really confident and comfortable.”

(On now knowing what to expect from the Tennessee Titans since RB Derrick Henry is injured)
“What they do a great job of is they're a really physical football team. That embodies the personality of (Titans Head) Coach (Mike) Vrabel, who’s done a great job since he's been there. That's really what shows up in all three phases. I do expect them to still take a similar approach, offensively. You’re not naive to the fact that (Titans R Derrick Henry has been producing at a level that's unmatched over the last couple of years, but they've done a really nice job. You look at the way that they've been able to run the football. I think they're an excellent offensive line. They play with great continuity. They’ve got tight ends and receivers that are willing to compete without the ball. (Titans WR) A.J. Brown and (Titans WR) Julio (Jones) are obviously really big-time threats on the perimeter. But I do think that they'll take a very similar approach, regardless of whether Derrick's playing or not. Whether it's (Titans RB Adrian) Peterson, (Titans RB Jeremy) McNichols - they've got some guys that can really put pressure on you.”

(On if CB Jalen Ramsey knows how to pick apart defenses similar to Colts CB Kenny Moore)
“(C Jalen's (Ramsey) an excellent football player. The thing I've talked about a lot this year with Jalen is he's so physically gifted, but he's so mentally gifted as well. He's got high football IQ and intelligence. That's demonstrated by the versatility, but for him to be able to understand how to make the picture blurry to the quarterback. In a lot of instances, he's very in tune with that. He understands based on some of the defensive structures we're in, all right, ‘What are we talking people out of? What does that mean?’ He can anticipate. And I think, those types of things are where you really see him show. And very similar to (Colts C Kenny Moore, who is a guy that I have tremendous respect for just his feel at that nickel position or that star - however you want to look at it. I think it's a good comparison. And Kenny did a great job on that.”

--RAMS--