Fisher, Foles, Gurley, McCleod, Donald, Jenkins… transcripts

Head Coach Jeff Fisher

(Opening Remarks)
“Well as I told the team, it appeared in the first half, with respect to the offense, that it looked like we had a little bye week hangover. And often times that happens. You worry about timing, and you worry about consistency and continuity. But we rallied, we settled down and we got things going in the second half. So that was obviously the difference. Pleased with the defense. Very explosive offense that we’d seen prior to today on tape with their run game and their passing game. We talked all week about (Browns QB) Josh (McCown). I thought, obviously, the turnovers were a difference in the game and we got the turnovers. We’ve got to start getting better. We’ve got to hang onto balls and protect the football. Again, the same thing that plagued us over recent weeks and most of the year is we have to get things going earlier and get those first downs under our belt in the first half. But we picked the tempo up in the second half and cut (Rams QB) Nick (Foles) loose a little bit and we made some plays.”

(On because of how well the Rams defense played early on, if he felt like the Rams were in control of the game early)
“Yeah. I mean, you could sense the level of frustration in the locker room at halftime. We were up 10-3, we’re up by 7, so I just told them to settle down and just keep working at it and we’ll make some plays. Nobody try to do too much. Eliminate the mistakes, which we did. A few defensive offsides and things, but again, after a win, a lot of things to correct. ”

(On if he has coached a running back like Todd Gurley who has been so successful so early)
“No, and I’ve been around some really good ones. Chris Johnson was outstanding early. Eddie George was outstanding early. I don’t recall them having the numbers that they had after three full games like Todd has.”

(On if this was the first true glimpse of the offense he was trying to run)
“Yeah. I think we’re going in that direction, but we still need more production from the offense. We just can’t rely on Todd (Gurley) all the time. At some point it’s going to get hard to run the football, until we start making some plays on the outside. Now, obviously we did. (WR) Kenny (Britt) made a great catch and then drew the big penalty, because Nick (Foles) got the chance to put it on the outside. And we have to continue to work at that.”

(On the decision to go with the up-tempo offense in the second half)
“It was just a decision I made.”

(On if he saw the first signs of the Browns loading the box for Gurley)
“They’re stout up front. This is a big defensive front. So you saw early the tackles for losses, the penetration. There’s always the element of adjusting in your run game based on what they’re doing to your formation and things and I thought the offense did a good job with that. ”

(On if he had flashbacks to the Tennessee days when hearing the “Gurley” chants)
“A little bit, yeah. I would’ve liked to have been around to listen to the ‘Eric’ chant as well, the Eric Dickerson chant. It’s good. The fans were great today. They helped today with respect to their false starts and the penalties and things like that. I’m sure they enjoyed watching Todd run.“

(On the play of the offensive line to help Todd Gurley succeed)
“Well, the run game is a by-product of everybody. I mean, you all saw (WR) Tavon (Austin)’s block on the long run. All the receivers and tight ends are involved. We’ll look at it.”

(On the secondary’s big hits today)
“Not only the hits, but I think this was one of our better open-field tackling days that we’ve had in a long time. We forced check downs and we didn’t have two guys overrunning and someone cutting back. They’re really good open field runners. (Browns RB Duke Johnson) is a really good open field runner and I thought we did a good job of bottling him up and getting him on the ground.”

(On the play of DEs William Hayes and Ethan Westbrooks)
“We’ve been playing very consistent in the run. Good pass rush; I mean good pressure, collapsing the pocket for us and then we got good pressure on Josh (McCown) today. He stepped up and we had one penalty where he almost became the runner, but I thought our pass rushing pressure was good and they came into the game respecting that. The ball was coming out quick and coming out early. Early on, I was disappointed with their completion percentage against our defense, but we’re getting off the field and the balls are going sideways, which is kind of just an extension of the run game for opposing offenses.”

(On how CB Janoris Jenkins has been playing lately)
“Playing really well. I think they all are, all the way down. We played just about everybody today in the secondary. Talk about Mark (Barron) and tackles that Lamarcus (Joyner) made and ‘Tru’ (Trumaine Johnson) made and you know, we even had Maurice (Alexander) in a package. He got to play some defense. Then something as subtle as Marcus Roberson recognizing when Trumaine had to come in to get an IV, recognizing the little gimmick play and the quarterback pulls the ball down and we get a sack, so it’s team defense playing well together.”

Rams QB Nick Foles

(On getting off to a slow start)
“Yeah, it was a little bit of a slow start. Cleveland was doing a great job in the first half. That’s a really talented team. Watching them on film, we knew them coming in here they’d play well on all sides of the ball. So, they’re a great team. Frist half was slow. We were trying to figure it out and the second half, we made corrections at halftime. Talked about what we were going to do coming out in the second half. We were able to come out in the second half and get some rhythm. Defense played well all night and that really helps you when you keep a team to six points.”

(On RB Todd Gurley)
“Just an animal, really. The guy’s an extremely, talented, hard-worker. His vision, when he runs, like I’ve said before, just watching him run, he’s special. There’s not many people that can run like that, that have ever played this game. So, he’s a young guy that keeps working hard. So, the skies the limit to what he can do throughout his career.”

(On Cleveland’s determination of trying to stop Gurley early in the game)
“No, they were playing their ball. I mean, they were trying to play. They were playing their ball. They were doing a really good job executing. We had to go back and make corrections and look at what they were doing. With our fundamentals and techniques, just fix those and come out in the second half. We got some stuff going.”

(On mixing in some no huddle calls throughout the game)
“Yeah, it’s just a way to try to show them something a little different. Just try to go fast and put pressure on the defense and get some rhythm going. We were able to create some rhythm throughout our offense and create some big plays.”

(On if he liked that style of play)
“I love it. I love it. I have a big history in it. It’s what I did in college, high school, even in Philly. So, I love the offense we’re playing. I think it’s great to be able to do that. I think it really helps open things up and create some rhythm. So, it’s fun to go out there and do that.”

(On what he saw on the deep pass play to WR Kenny Britt)
“The safety was over a little left. It was man coverage. Kenny did a great job outside releasing a guy, and I was just able to get a ball over the top. Safety wasn’t in the play. So, it was really just a one-on-one opportunity and Kenny made a great play.”

(On how he sees this team right now)
“A team that wants to continue to progress. The first thing we all said amongst each other after the win was we have to keep working. Of course, we’re excited. We just beat a great team, but the big thing was, ‘Hey, we have to keep working.’ Enjoy tonight with your family, but tomorrow we come back and we have to be ready to work. We have to be ready to get better. When you have a bunch of people with that kind of mindset, that’s what you want. You have to keep working to get better in this league. If you ever get complacent, that’s when bad things happen. So, just to hear that from my teammates and just hear that preached, that was something that was really special, that now we have to go do it. I’m not a big guy about talking. I want to go do it. So, we have to make sure we do it this week.”

(On how he thinks the offensive line played today)
“They’ve been playing hard. They’re been working hard. They opened up some seams. On the run game, got some stuff going. In the pass game, we were able to get some completions when we needed them. So, they’re working hard. They did a great job.”

(On how turnovers are a big point of emphasis for the offense)
“Yeah, I mean, when you get a turnover, you really want to make it into points because when you’re an offense and you turn it over and then you see the other offense go down and score points, it’s not a fun thing. So, our defense did a tremendous job today of creating turnovers, limiting them to points, but also having them run the clock down. Our defense is playing as hard as anyone and they have so much talent. They work well together. So, it was a team win, but it was exciting to see that. It’s like I’ve told y’all before, I’m very fortunate to have them as our defense.”

(On limiting the amount of turnovers on offense today)
“Yeah, I mean, you want to win the turnover battle. You win the turnover battle, most of the time, you’re probably going to win the game. It’s not always true, but if you can keep clean and hold onto the ball and not give them the short field and give them the ball back, it really helps your percentage of winning.”

(On if this was a game that he felt he was in control of the offense)
“Yeah, I think first half the execution went well. Our defense was on the field way, way too long. But, I think once we got in the second half and really got that rhythm, that’s when we really just said, ‘Hey, let’s go. Let’s go.’ That’s when I really thought we started picking it up and really started executing.”

Rams RB Todd Gurley

(On what this victory means to the team and what his performance means to him)
“It means a lot coming off the bye week and you know we had the loss to the Packers so we just wanted to get this win and get back to .500.”

(On if things are coming easier than he thought)
“I wouldn’t say easy, it’s definitely hard. I mean, you saw the first quarter. I had like minus 5 yards but I have to give credit to the offensive line doing a great job and the receivers blocking all of the secondary.”

(On what it felt like to hear the ovation as he came off the field)
“It’s definitely a cool thing. You’re just excited to give the Rams fans a win at home so you know, it’s a good feeling.”

(On how good it felt to perform so well at home)
“It was good. Like I said, we just wanted to come home, it’s been a while and get a win so we felt good about that.”

(On if he could hear the fans chanting his name during the game)
“Yeah, I heard it. It was cool, but we just wanted to get a win.”

(On his expectations to excel on third and one situations)
“It’s just what we practice. The coach has confidence in me and I’m just grateful to be in the game on third-and-one. You know it’s just that mentality that we have to get it.”

(On whether he was aware that Fisher was trying to call timeout on the third and one touchdown run)
“I had no idea, you know I’m looking that way (forward), not back there (the sidelines).”

(On what it felt like to finally score a touchdown)
“Oh man, it felt good to get my first two. Credit to the offensive line, they did great all day. Hopefully, we can keep this thing rolling.”

(On if he got the ball back from his first touchdown)
“I think it’s right here, I think Jared (Cook) got it, unless one of you got it and I’m going to have to get it back.”

(On if he saw the block from Tavon Austin on his second touchdown run)
“Oh yeah, I saw it, I definitely saw it. I was running and I saw two receivers and I just cut it back and I saw the little crackback from the corner of my eye.”

(On the effectiveness of Austin’s crackback block)
“Yeah, that means a lot. It’s important to the team for guys as little as he is to block.”

(On if he could sense Cleveland’s excitement at stopping him early in the game)
“Oh, yeah. They’re a great defense and they’ve been playing very good. That’s a team that could have won two more games this season so they’re a very good defense.”

(On if he wore a knee brace)
“No, I didn’t have a brace on today.”

(On how much better it felt not wearing the knee brace today)
“It definitely felt better. Usually I’ll be on the sidelines messing with the straps and stuff like that, so yeah it definitely felt a lot better today.”

(On if he ever heard his name chanted in college at Georgia)
“I think a couple of times but I’m not quite sure.”

(On how it felt to hear RB Benny Cunningham tell him he was going to be a star on TV today)
“You know we just support each other and do a great job of getting each other better every week. It’s definitely good to have a guy like him in the running back room.”

(On how he gets better going forward)
“I just have to keep working hard. You know, it’s not all me. Like I said, it’s the offensive line, the offensive coordinator Coach Cig (Frank Cignetti) giving great plays so we just need to keep improving and executing.”

(On needing to get off to a faster start)
“That’s what Coach (Jeff Fisher) harped on this week is coming out from the gate and just going instead of waiting to get momentum going during the game.”

Rams S Rodney McLeod

(On his fumble return for a touchdown)
“It was just a screen play that we’ve seen on film a lot. They came out, recognized the formation, ‘Jenk’ (CB Janoris Jenkins) made a great play putting his hat right on the ball. I just… running to the ball, made a good play, put seven on the points for the team.”

(On how it felt to score a touchdown)
“It was a great feeling. I haven’t touched the end zone in a while, so it was a great feeling. Just to set the tone like that for the game, it was a big play.”

(On alerting CB Janoris Jenkins the play was coming)
“It was a formation we’ve repped all week. The came out in it, good recognition and good play by Jenks. He made a great play and I was there to capitalize on the opportunity.”

(On the importance of winning the turnover battle)
“It’s huge. It’s something we stressed all week. From last week during the bye week actually to this week, about getting turnovers and getting the ball back for our offense and putting them in better positions. That’s our focus for the remainder of the season.”

(On how the defense played overall)
“I think we played great. Giving up six points is great. You can’t ask for anything more than that. Got turnovers. Obviously, there’s always things we need to work on. They kind of broke loose on a couple runs and a big pass play, but I think for the most part we did a good job getting sacks and getting our hands on the ball.”

Rams DT Aaron Donald

(On how much it gives a boost to the defense when they score)
“It’s a momentum changer. You get the whole crowd into the game, get our team into the game. That’s momentum we get early in the game and keep it going through the rest of the game.”

(On scoring 17 points off turnovers)
“It’s huge. As long as we keep getting the ball back to the offense, they’re going to put points on the board. That’s what it’s about.”

(On how RB Todd Gurley has helped the defense out)
“He’s a playmaker. He’s got to keep working, keep going. He’s been a huge help and a big spurt for the offense. The sky is the limit for that guy if he keeps working.”

Rams CB Janoris Jenkins

(On how it felt to set the tone on defense)
“I mean, it feels good. (Defensive Coordinator) Gregg (Williams) told us to come out and get our head onto more balls and make more turnovers than we’ve been making and we took pride in that this week. We just happened to come through.”

(On the defensive effort)
“I feel like we played pretty good. But, there’s always room for improvement. Our zone coverage, we could be a little tighter. But, it’s zone, so that’s how that goes.”

(On if he saw something to step in on the forced fumble and if that’s something he was ready for)
“(S) Rodney McLeod gave me the alert. I gave him a little hand like I didn’t hear him, but I heard him and I just played for the bite.”

(On the defensive line)
“They’re doing what they do – getting pressure. Just tackles for losses and hurrying the quarterback up. I respect those guys highly and I just want them to keep going.”

(On S Mark Barron having a lot of tackles)
“I think that’s a great spot for Mark. Hard-nose hitter, loves to be around the ball, high energy.”