Los Angeles Rams Transcripts - Head Coach Sean McVay, QB Matthew Stafford, OLB Von Miller - December 1, 2021

Los Angeles Rams Transcripts - Head Coach Sean McVay, QB Matthew Stafford, OLB Von Miller - December 1, 2021
Head Coach Sean McVay, QB Matthew Stafford, OLB Von Miller



Head Coach Sean McVay
(On where the team is from an injury standpoint)
“(C David Long was sick today – non-COVID related. I think he should be okay, but we've had this stomach bug going around for the last couple of weeks. He should be okay. (R Darrell (Henderson Jr.) was a non-participant with his thigh, like I had told you guys the other day. (WR) Ben Skowronek with his back was limited and (WR) Odell (Beckham Jr.) was limited with his hip.”

(On if he thinks RB Darrell Henderson Jr., WR Ben Skowronek and WR Odell Beckham Jr. will be available on Sunday)
“I do. Yes.”

(On if he got to know former RB Otis Anderson Jr. well when was here)
“Just being around him, he had just such a bright smile. He was always so engaged, had a good look in his eye. He was such a joy to be around. Such a shame. Unfortunately it just gives you such a perspective. I think about some of the things that I really get upset about and then you really think about all the different blessings. It was great to be able to be around him. Terribly sorry for him and all the people affected by that and they’re in our thoughts and prayers. (I) loved being around (former R Otis (Anderson Jr.) and he was a real joy to be around.”

(On if he’s seen anything beyond “looking in the mirror” after the Green Bay game)
“I think there's so many different things that go on, but everybody's got a role and a responsibility. I think the challenge right now is let's look at where your role and responsibility is. Let's attack it to the best of your ability. Let's do it with a resilient and a positive mindset and mentality with our eyes forward on the next opportunity that we do have. You don't want to minimize the things that have occurred, but our guys come in. These opportunities present a rare opportunity to really learn about people and you almost appreciate them even more. The way that our guys came in today, the look in their eye, the excitement about the next opportunity. Are we disappointed? Does it sting what has gone on? Absolutely. Those are real emotions, but what we're not going to do is just sit there with our head down and not get ourselves ready to prepare for that next opportunity. That’s what our guys are going to do. There are so many things that go into it, but we want to really continue to focus on our process, our preparation, making sure that it's in alignment with giving ourselves the best chance to go play free, but to play cleaner football, do some things that are more in alignment with what we've done when we've been able to get the result that we want. And then you've got to let the chips fall where they may. There’s a lot of things, I don't know if it really answered your question, but we'll go back to work, look at the things that we can fix. And unfortunately, a lot of the things that have led to us not winning these games, in particularly the last three, are similar themes with turning the football over and just overall efficiency in general.”

(On what he’s seeing and the causes of QB Matthew Stafford’s turnovers)
“Each one of them has a little bit (of a) different story. I think if you look at the ones the other day, it was a good rush by (Packers L Rashan Gary. In a lot of instances, when a guy's able to poke his arm right on your elbow, in that perfect spot, there's a lot of times that the ball is going to come out no matter how good your protection in the pocket really is. They did a nice job right there. And then the other one, (Packers C Rasul Douglas made a nice play, had to move in the pocket, didn't really see them kind of playing deep to short. He made a nice play and jumped it. And unfortunately, some of those turnovers have led to short fields for them or in the second instance, where they end up turning that into points, that’s been difficult. The quarterback position is so difficult. I think every single play he's really played good football. Unfortunately, a couple of those things have been tough outcomes for us. That really puts you behind the eight ball, especially against really good teams. My favorite thing about this guy, he just continues to battle. He's got that same confidence in himself, just like I do in him and the rest of his teammates do. And these are parts of the game. You look at any team. I always love just drawing on other teams that have found a way to fight through adversity. This story isn't written yet, that's what we're going to continue to do. Look no further than the team that just won the World Series in the Braves and where they were at mid-season. You look at who won the Super Bowl last year. Are we going through a little bit of adversity? Are we playing like we're capable of? I don't think so, but we've played the way that we've played and we're going to own that. But now we get an opportunity to see if we can have a good week of preparation and attack the chance to go play against a really tough, physical outfit in the Jaguars this Sunday.”

(On starting slow the past few games which has put them in a hole and if there is anything they can do to combat that)
“I think you always look at yourself, first and foremost. Making sure we can try to establish some rhythm, whether it be running it or just some completion-type plays. Those are always things that we're looking at ourselves on. There's been some different moving parts, but ultimately, I've got to do a better job of helping out and then our players go execute.”

(On if Stafford is physically injured or limited in any way)
“He’s playing through (typical bumps and bruises). You look at just the quarterback position, you get to this point in the season, kind of like I've mentioned before, guys are really pushing through bumps and bruises. He had the back (injury) a couple of weeks ago, but really, he's feeling good. I know he's excited about this week as well.

(On if he can make any connection between the back injury from a few weeks ago to now)
“I don't because I talked to Matthew – we have great dialogue. I think we're on the same page and I don't think that's affected him. And really, I'm totally confident in (Q Matthew (Stafford). (I) love working with him.”

(On what options are available to the offense if they cannot throw the ball away as explosively as they’d like)
“There's different ways to be able to kind of be efficient. If it's not through the run game, there's different things that you can try to do that are higher percentage plays in the pass game. I don't want to get too deep into it because we're kind of working through those things, but it's our job to be able to figure it out. Ultimately it comes down to execution. But then within the coach's control, are we really utilizing our personnel? Are we maximizing the things that give us a chance to attack the opposing defense while also thinking about your players first and then attacking the scheme second? That’s really where we're at in the middle of the week right now, we’re kind of just putting the early parts of our game plan. And then the rest of this week will involve and entail kind of really touching up on all those little things like you're talking about.”

(On if his trend of declined production in November as a coach is something he self-scouts and reflects on)
“I think you can really look deep and dive into a lot of different things. We could talk about every single game and where there's been dips in production and whether it's occurred in November or in December and then you end up having a little bit of a spike. Those are things that we certainly look at. I definitely try to make sure that the first thing you're always doing is looking inward. There's some things that – give credit to the defenses, they do a nice job – however you want to put it, I got to do a better job, especially in (these) particular parts of the season, of helping us be more efficient offensively.”

(On why the pass rush isn’t as effective as people thought it might have been with the addition of OLB Von Miller)
“I think the first thing is, is that we're not doing a good enough job of controlling the tempo of the game and getting leads where you can really unleash your pass rush. Where you see it expressed in its best form is when you get people into their playing from behind, they become one dimensional unfortunately like we've had to become in these last few games. Teams are being efficient. They're able to kind of get the ball out in a quick manner on some of these third-and-manageables. You look at (DL) Aaron (Donald), I thought the Niners did a nice job. Even Tennessee being able to control it. It really goes back to, we’ve been giving them short fields. Those teams have been able to get leads and then they can slow the pace of the game, which minimizes the approach. You look at these good coaches in this league too. Everybody's going to always have a plan for Aaron. You see some of the most unique ways of protecting and doubling and tripling him and lending extra presence for those interior players wherever 99 is. And then you see the ascension of (OL Leonard Floyd over the last couple of years. He's garnered attention. And then obviously (OL Von (Miller), his resume speaks for itself. But I think in its simplest form, we haven't had enough opportunities where you're forcing teams to have to hold the ball and really get into those known passing downs frequently enough. I think a large part of that is because of some of the turnovers offensively where we're really playing from behind. That allows those teams to be able to control the pace of the game and you're not getting as many rush ops.”

(On Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence throwing seven interceptions in his first three games and only throwing two in his last six, if he changed or they changed)
“I think both. I think it's (Offensive Coordinator) Coach (Darrell) Bevell and (Passing Game Coordinator) Coach (Brian) Schottenheimer have done a really nice job of being able to kind of get familiar with what (Jaguars Q Trevor's (Lawrences) skillset is and get him more and more comfortable in addition to the personnel around him. And then I think there's a reason why he's the number one overall pick. Those guys, they've worked through some things, they figure it out, they get better as the season progresses. And that's what you're seeing from him.”

(On how his seen CB Jalen Ramsey involved as a player and person over the last two years since the Rams have acquired him via trade)
“I think as a player, I think the first thing that you're seeing is he's always an elite, shutdown corner that affected the game in a variety of ways. I didn't have a whole lot of experience playing against him other than when we played against him in 2017 earlier on in the season. You could see, he’s a special player. (I) didn't know much about him other than he had a charisma and a presence about himself. Getting around him, just watching him really continue to just grow into a leader, mature as a person – just no different than the way that hopefully I'm two more years more mature as you learn from your experiences. But (he’s a) special player, special person. I think the thing that I've really noticed about (C Jalen (Ramsey), he cares a lot about the people that he's around. He goes out of his way to really help, to share, he cares about his teammates, he cares about winning. That's the one thing is he's demanding. He's a great, elite competitor. He’s got one of the best gameday demeanors of anybody I've ever been around in terms of a fearlessness, but a confidence. He's got a controlled aggression during the course of games that I think is really impressive. And then he's bringing people with him, like I've mentioned. And so, I've been really impressed with Jalen.”

(On Stafford saying he sometimes has stretches like this, if there is something about Stafford’s game that he as the head coach will accept that there will be times like this)
“I think any great competitor doesn't fear failure. And as a quarterback, there's a lot of things. Not all of those interceptions are exclusively on him. What I want guys to do is learn from the mistakes, but not make it make you afraid to go compete and let stuff rip. And that’s what he's not afraid of and that's what I love about him. I have total confidence in him. Are there going to be (bad days)? You look at any great quarterback around this league, nobody goes the whole year without turning the football over. How can we minimize those while also understanding that sometimes it's out of our control? But the things that are in your control that you can avoid, the decision-making, the location, the timing and rhythm in the pass game, those are the things. Like we always talk about decision, timing and accuracy from a quarterback perspective, some of those things that have resulted in negatives, he's checked the boxes on all those and it hasn't worked out. And then some of them you're saying, ‘Okay, I can do a better job in this regard.’ But what I want all of our players to do when a mistake occurs (is) let's learn from it, but let's keep swinging. Let's not let it affect your ability to continue to compete with a fearless mindset and mentality. And that's one of the things that I love about him is he's a great competitor that doesn't let previous plays affect his ability to go let it hang out and go play smart but is still aggressive.”

QB Matthew Stafford
(On how he is feeling, how his body recovered after Sunday and if he expects to be a full participant this week)
“I feel good and yes I will be out there.”

(On if he is hurt)
“No, I’m good. Haven’t been on the injury report. I’ve been able to practice as much as I wanted to practice. So, I'm not really worried about that, to be honest with you. I just want to play football.”

(On what he makes of the turnovers from the last few weeks)
“Yeah, a couple of them are unfortunate things. Couple of them are bad mistakes on my part. Some of them are physical. But as a team, and myself included first and foremost, just doing everything I can to look in the mirror to make sure I'm making sharp decisions every single play. And make sure that when I do put the ball in the air, it's not in harm's way and trying to make sure that we're still explosive and efficient and all those kinds of things while taking care of the football.”

(On if starting slow is a symptom of anything, as it seems to be a recent trend)
“Definitely the last couple of games we for sure have played from behind a little bit, which is not fun in the NFL. It's a whole lot easier when you get out to a big lead, let our defense that has got great pass rushers, really get after the other team's quarterback and do all those kinds of things. So that's part of playing complimentary football, something that we can do a better job of and as a team being able to start faster, that's something that is definitely a big goal of ours.”

(On if as the season moves has the amount of play action that is game planned changed intentionally or as a byproduct of other decisions)
“No, with my conversations with (Head Coach) Sean (McVay), we're just trying to do what we feel like we're best at. Certain games have played out certain ways where, you get down in the game, play action probably has a little bit less effect than on a defense than it would if you were up in a game. But it wasn't something that we consciously talked about, or I think that he consciously thought. He's doing everything he can to call those games, the way he feels they need to be called. And he's done a really good job, but we've got to go out there and execute it a little bit better.”

(On how the evolution of his personnel is going now with WR Odell Beckham Jr. and without WR Robert Woods)
“Yeah, it's going. It's still a work in progress. He's an extremely talented player, you saw that on the long touchdown catch. He can still go by people and make catches and make great plays. So, we just got to continue to iron out all the details of the other stuff. In the passing game, it's about details and execution from everybody involved. The more detailed that we can get and the better execution that we have as a unit, the more successful we'll be.”

(On what his line to walk in terms of slowing down versus being as aggressive as possible)
“We try to change tempos on people a bunch. We try to change whether we're running the ball, play action, we're trying to get the defense as much to look at it as we possibly can. I feel like that's everybody in the NFL. On offense, I think we do a great job of that. From a decision-making standpoint for me, I still want to aggressively take what the defense is giving me. If they're giving me chances to go over the top, I want to take those chances. I think of the long touchdown to (WR) Van (Jefferson), it's third and eight or nine, whatever it is, something like that. And do we have maybe a chance to get something at the sticks? Absolutely. But Van Jefferson one-on-one with no safety help over the top, I'm going to take that shot. So, I don't ever want to lose that. I don't think I will. I've been playing this game a long time, been throwing it down the field a long time, so I want to continue to do that. But when defenses do a good job of playing you deep to short and forcing you to take the underneath stuff, I want to make sure I do that as well.”

(On if he thinks rhythmic plays could at times help the team start sustaining drives)
“I think every game kind of plays out different and what the defense has given us. Sean has probably the best feel I've ever been around in game of how the defense is getting called and what we know they're trying to do to attack us. And so, if he feels and our coaches feel like the best thing for us to do is go fast right now. We're going to go fast. If they feel like the best thing we're going to do is slow it down and run play action, we're going to do that. So, I have all the faith and trust in the world in our coaches and in Sean to get us into what's going to help us be as successful as possible. On offense it's just on us to go out there and execute those plays a little bit better, no matter what they are.”

(On if he feels turnovers on defense can help their own quarterbacks get back on track and if he feels his teammates desire to do so)
“I think every time our defense is out there, they probably want to try and get a turnover. I don't know. I don't think too much about that kind of stuff. I think every play is individual for me. Is there a momentum in a football game? Absolutely. Can we work to retain that momentum by not giving the defense or not turning the ball over to the defense or giving our defensive short field or whatever that is? Absolutely. So we got to be more consistent, in my decision-making and where the ball goes and how it gets there and all those kinds of things. Not too worried about our defense getting us a turnover to help get us out of a slow start or a slow third quarter or whatever that is. I think every time they go out there, they probably want to get a turnover. Every time we go out there, we want to score a touchdown. So, I understand where he's coming from, but at the same time every play is its own entity and I've got to go out there and execute that individual play.”

(On what he wants the identity of the team to be and how does he get there)
“There's a bunch of guys that have been here for a long time. They've created a great foundation, coaches included, of a resilient group that's really detailed, executes on game day extremely well, fast and physical, a smart football team. We have some new guys that we have brought in over the past few weeks, that have done a great job of kind of jumping in and immersing themselves in that atmosphere. It's just on us as leaders to bring those guys on as fast as possible, and then continue to do our job at a high level. And push those around us.”

(On if the transfer of responsibilities after the recent injuries has been understated and if it is a challenge)
“I don't know how people see it from the outside. I know that in those two guys, we lost two really veteran guys that you can plug and play at a lot of positions. (They) have been around here, know the offense, know the ins and outs of it at a high level and are really good, physical players as well. So, when that happens in the NFL, which it does for every team, we've got to find ways to have other guys step up and I feel like guys are growing into those roles and doing that at the moment.”

(On if he is shocked at the recent skid compared to the hot start this season)
“Yeah, you don't ever want it to happen where you have games in a row or really games multiple games in a season where you're turning the ball over multiple times. Has that happened to me? I'm sure it has. But the best thing you can do is just continue to look at yourself in the mirror and find ways to be better, continue to work on your fundamentals as much as you possibly can, decision-making, all those things go a long way. So, I just continue to trust the process that I have to get ready for football games and get ready to go out there and play at a high level on Sunday and let the chips fall where they may at that at that point.”

OLB Von Miller
(On different counters they can do that they’ve seen historically up front)
“Story of my career. Quarterbacks throwing the ball quick, like you said, that's what they always try to do to counter, to rush. What's effective is getting our hands up and trying to bat a ball down. Hey, it doesn't happen all the time, especially when you're trying to rush the quarterback. You're not really thinking about like putting your hands up and knocking the ball down. It's just one of those things you just got to keep rushing, keep going at it. You never know when you'll get your opportunity in a game. (Packers QB Aaron Rodgers) was throwing the ball quick, throwing the ball quick, and then he held the ball for four seconds. Those are opportunities where we got to get there. We got to take advantage of that. We weren't able to do it in the game, but I'm super excited to be here. I'm super excited to rush beside (DL) Aaron Donald and have (OL Leonard Floyd and (DL) Greg Gaines and all of these guys. Man, I'm super excited. I know the stats haven’t said it. I know we haven't got the wins, but if you watch closely, man, we're getting really, really, really good rushes. I'm excited, man. It's just taking a little bit more time than we anticipated. We wanted to come in and have a sack party the first game we got back. It doesn't happen like that. It's pro sports. But I still got all the money on the Rams. I still got all the money on this Rams rush. I'm really excited to see what we do in the future. We got six games left, man, and I'm happy being here. I woke up a Ram and I'm still excited about it.”

(On the different ways to make a guy uncomfortable when rushing)
“I think we're doing it. I don't think you would get a quarterback like that each and every week. Even A-Rod (QB Aaron Rodgers), he was rattled a couple of plays, even though we didn't sack him. He was rattled a couple of plays. We had the pocket really, really condensed on 90% of the plays, you know? And like I said, I got 99 next to me, Leonard Floyd on the other side. If there’re any sacks to be had, we’re going to get them. If there's any play where we could get a sack, we're going to get it. It's just me, Aaron Donald, Leonard Floyd. If there's anything out there for us to get, we’re going to get it. I'm really excited for our team going forward. We got (C Jalen Ramsey and this really, really tight secondary. Things are going to go our way. We’ve just got to keep pushing, man. It's a hard time that we’re in right now. I'm used to these times (laughter). I'm used to these times. Been in these towns for the last four or five years. So, I'm used to it and I know how you get out of it. And we've got all the tools necessary to push through this lull that we're in and I'm super excited for the Rams, for sure.”

(On if anything changes considering they’re going from playing against Rodgers to a rookie Q
“It doesn't change. We got to have the same mindset that we had last week and the week before. And it’s going to hit for us one of these games. We just got to keep going. I played the Jags earlier in the season and they're not as hard to sack as you would think. They're pretty good blocking up front. Got a lot of respect for (OL) Jawaan Taylor and (OL Cam) Robinson on the other side. Like I said, I’ve played these guys before, earlier in the season. It's my new team now playing them again. So, they're not just going to lay down and let us sack them—even though I would love to do that (laughter). They're not just going to let us do it, and I think there’ll be extra emphasis on getting the ball out - of course like previous weeks that we had - and we just got to keep on rushing. Rush and coverage go together, and we're still gelling. I got all the faith in this football team, all the faith in the defense for us to turn this thing around.”

(On why Head Coach Sean McVay would say he has a greater appreciation for him off the field going through this adversity)
“I appreciate it coach. I mean, I just try to be the same Von each and every day. I've been fortunate to be around great leaders like (Hall of Fame Q Peyton Mannington, (Former Broncos Q Tim Tebow, (Former Broncos OL DeMarcus Ware. I've seen the way these guys handle adversity and I just try to do my best impression of those guys, whenever I'm going through the same thing. It’s just something that I've seen before. You can't really let it get you down. It's tougher when you don't have all of these stars on your team, but we have all these stars, man. It's really not that tough, man. I really got all the faith in these guys and then I got all the faith in (QB Matthew) Stafford, and (WR) Odell (Beckham Jr.) and our offense and offensive line. It’s going to happen for us. We’ve just got to keep pushing and we’ve got to continue to stay together. That's really just been my message to the guys, man. Don't let the negativity in the outside world get us down. Really, this is the time where we really got to just double down on our team, double down on our energy at work, double down on our purpose and our intent while we're here. And it's not a time for us to just start (inaudible), it's a time for us to get even tighter and you make this push towards the playoffs. This is why we're all here. This is why this team is assembled. It's why I'm here. This is why Odell is here. That's why we got this excellent coaching staff and all of these guys is for playoff push. It's not about right now and these last three games. I feel comfortable, like I said multiple times in this interview, I feel comfortable about the Rams and where we are and where we're going forward.”

(On if he can see those tweaks being implemented in practice that are going to get them out of the three-game losing streak)
“You can see it in practice. You can see it all over the place. You can see it in the game. You know, it was just a couple of plays here and there that - I mean, that's all-pro sports, all-pro football especially. Just a couple of plays here and there that really put us behind the eight ball and it's a different game. It doesn’t matter who you got on a team. If you’re behind the eight ball, it's pretty tough to get out of. I've been playing golf since April, right? If you mess up the score card early, it's kind of tough to really bounce outside of that on the back nine. So, we want to stay as close to perfect as we can, and we want to let the other teams make mistakes before we do. That way we’ll have the position on these guys. And towards the end of the game, we will be able to play our style of ball and then we'll be able to get it done. And that's what my message has been.”

(On what he has learned about Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris and what he has gathered about his coaching style)
“I've been in the (National Football) League 11 years, so I'm pretty familiar with all these coaches - even though I haven't been coached by any of them. But (Defensive Coordinator) Coach Morris, for sure. I'm pretty familiar with him. (Former NFL C Aqib Talib - I played with him four years and, Aqib Talib, he loves he loves ‘Rah.’ He loves Raheem. And all the stories that Aqib Talib told me about how good a coach he was and how relatable he was to that team, man, it’s times that. It's plus 10 actually being here witnessing, man. He's a really good coach. He relates to the players really, really well. It's been a treat to have him as my defensive coordinator and to get to know him as well.”

(On what causes a quarterback to go through an inconsistent period)
“I really think that I'm a quarterback at heart (laughter), I really do. That’s my first position. I chase quarterbacks. I chase quarterbacks, it’s my job. So, I really feel like I have a really good perception on quarterbacks - really good quarterbacks, especially. Sometimes they just go through a tough time. It's kind of like a shooter in the NBA. Like (Golden State Warriors Stephen) Steph Curry will have like a couple of games where he's not sharp, but the ball flight and the ball is still there. He’s just got to go to another game and put him in. You can't really put your finger on why - especially elite - quarterbacks struggle when they've been elite so long. You can't really put your finger on it, you’ve just got to trust that they'll be able to get through it. And you see this with (Chiefs Q Patrick Mahomes, you saw it with Aaron Rodgers earlier in the season. It's just part of the game and I got all the trust in the world at (Q Matthew Stafford, man. I been watching him for a very long time, been a fan of his for a very long time. It's a treat to be here, and watch him practice, and watch him go through his process at practice man. He really leaves no stone unturned. He's been battling injuries and going through a lot of stuff and I'm sure he wouldn't use that as an excuse. So, I'm not going to use that excuse for him as well. I just feel like he's going to be able to get through this. He’s just got to keep on pushing it. I've got all the faith in the world in that guy, man. I wouldn't want any other guy being my quarterback right now other than him. And it's been a treat to watch him go through the motions and watch him go through his process. He’ll turn it around. He’ll be good for us. I think Matthew Stafford’s best games are coming forward for sure.”

(On how much of their losing streak has to do with defenses doing different things)
“I don't know about those defenses. I'm sure - our defense - we can put them in better situations for sure. If we can get a turnover, if we could get them a short field - that's what all these other teams done for their elite quarterbacks. You see the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes. They help him get through his struggles. They just give them a short field, get a turnover, and help him get the ball in that way. And we’ve got to do the same thing for our guys, man. We’ve got to create a short field for him, make it easy on him, help him get out whatever funk he’s in right now. When it gets out, man, NFL lookout, once again. For sure.”

(On if there is a different kind of rhythm and plan when getting used to how he rushes in a different rushing coverage)
“It just takes time. We just got to continue to gel as a defense. I'm here, and you got ‘AD’ and we got this secondary, and it just takes a gelling period. It's like having the (Miami) Heat when they first got (Former Heat Center/Power Forward and Hall of Famer Chris) Bosh and (Former Heat Small forward/Shooting Guard and current Laker) LeBron (James) and (Former Miami Heat Shooting Guard Dwyane Wade) ‘D-Wade’, it just took a couple of games for them to figure it out, man. And we're doing the same thing here, man. It's going to take a couple of games for us to figure it out. And when we do, man, I'm super excited about this team, and this defense, and this rush, and this secondary, man. It's going to be fun to watch on this home stretch.”

(Closing statement)
“I appreciate you guys. Thank you.”

--RAMS-