McVay, Goff, Brown, Kupp, Woods, Whit, AD … 10/13 … transcripts

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Rams Head Coach Sean McVay

(Opening remarks)
“Congratulations to the 49ers, they did a good job today. There is a lot of things that…All I know how to do is just go back, let’s look at the film, let’s figure out what we can do to be better. The guys continued to battle, but really, it’s just about let’s stay together, let’s not let this little bit of adversity that we’re going through divide us. It’s my job to make sure that we continue to work as hard as we can to look inward, find the solutions, and just get better. There is nothing we can do about this performance other than learn from it. That’s all that I know how to do, that’s what we will do, and we’re going to work as hard as possible to do that.”

(On how he will navigate through losing three games in a row for the first time in his head coaching career)
“The same way that you navigate through a win or a loss and that’s go back to work, try to find a way to just continue to get better, use every opportunity as a learning experience. Was it a humbling day for us? Absolutely, but it’s something that we’re going to learn from. We’re not going to let it demoralize us. That’s a good football team, they did a nice job, we didn’t do enough collectively. We’ll all look inwardly and we’ll figure out how to be better moving forward.”

(On if he has any injury updates on T Joe Noteboom and S John Johnson III)
“I don’t have any updates on those guys right now.”

(On how much the 49ers defensive line dictated his play calling when the protection may not quite have been there)
“It does. Credit them, they did a nice job. We started out and there was a handful of things that went on. That’s really why you can’t wait to just go back because there were so many situations that took place after that first drive where we had some opportunities, when you get it in there and you don’t punch it in from inside the one (yard line), with a couple chances. There are some things that, really throughout the game, it’s kind a little bit of a whirlwind. No excuses, but we’ll all look at it. We’ll figure out how we can be better moving forward.”

(On what went into the first drive of the game)
“I thought the guys came out ready to go. To be able to have a seven-play drive, seven runs all manageable down-and-distances, there was a good enthusiasm, there was a good juice. That was the way that you wanted to start. We’ve got to do a better job after that of being able to continue that momentum and those are things that we’ll look to figure out how to do that.”

(On the defense having two takeaways and what they were able to provide)
“They gave us a chance. I thought they did a lot of really good things, they played hard. There was opportunities to be had that we didn’t capitalize on. It’s about playing better as a team and that’s what we have to do.”

(On the running by RBs Malcolm Brown and Darrell Henderson Jr.)
“Yeah, I thought really in some spurts – again, until you go back and look at the film, it’s always hard to say, but there were some good, hard physical runs. Clearly the first two runs that (RB) Darrell (Henderson Jr.) had were really exciting where you could see the speed and the athleticism. Then there’s always some things that we can look at to be better at. I think we’ve all got to do that. I certainly am a part of that and that’s what we’ll do. But, I thought those guys had some positive moments and until you really go back and evaluate the entirety of the film, it’s hard to say kind of an overall approach.”

(On if he has a handle on where the team is mentally at this point)
“Yeah, I mean I trust that this is a mentally tough team. We’ve got mentally tough people in our building. This is a real opportunity to be what we say we are. We’re just going to go to work, we’re going to stay together, we’re not going to let the outside and in influences create a divide with us. That’s something that I trust that we will do and we’re going to work as hard as possible just to continue to be solution-oriented and that’s all I know how to do.”

(On the abnormally low passing yards by QB Jared Goff in this game)
“Yeah, it was hard. I mean really when you look at it, I want to say there was maybe six throws we had in the first half. We only had 25 or so plays, so in a lot of instances because we were running it and there were some different things where they did a nice job controlling some possessions that led to that. Then by the time you end up getting into some of those situations where you are throwing it a little bit more, they’ve got a great defense and they’re kind of pinning their ears back and going and it’s kind of hard to be able to get into a true rhythm there.”

(On the adjustments he will make to improve the team’s continuity)
“Well I think really it’s just figuring it out. Just kind of like what you ask is, ‘All right, let’s figure out the best way to maximize guys’ skillsets, get that rapport going,’ and that’s a very vital part of football. Football’s the greatest team sport there is, and we’re going to continue to do that, continue to try to develop guys. That’s the only way that we can go and move forward and try to be, like I said, solution-oriented.”

(On the fumble by Henderson on a pitch in the fourth quarter)
“I think he probably just dropped the ball. Kind of just a very rare occurrence, but when that does happen, that ended up being a big play for the first play of the start of the second half. It just didn’t work out in our favor.”

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Rams QB Jared Goff

(On what the offense needs to do to be more consistent)
“It goes back to the consistency I’ve always talked about. It’s something that we are struggling with right now offensively, and we need to do a better job of it. There’s not one answer to it, there’s not one thing that needs to pick it up. It’s everyone, it’s myself included and I just need to be better and execute better. I think we’re practicing hard, I think we’re playing hard. I think it just comes down to in-game execution.”

(On what losing three consecutive games feels like and how they move forward)
“It’s a gut check. Are you who you say you are? I know this team is – I know these players are – I know these coaches are. We’ve got so much faith and belief in (Rams Head Coach) Sean (McVay) and everyone else. We’re going to get right back on track, we’re going to do it, and, again, it takes a few plays here and there. We’ve seen it, we’ve done it, we’ve watched it on film, we know what we’re doing. We just need to be consistent with it and – play-in and play-out – stay focused and don’t let the little things slide.”

(On if he is surprised with how the recent results despite the team returning most of its offensive and defensive starters from last season)
“No. Every game’s different. It’s a great league, we’ve played a lot of great teams and we need to be better. It has nothing to do with who we have or anything like that. We’ve got the players that we need and we’ve got the coaches that we need. We just need to be better and haven’t been. Again, it’s myself included and everyone else on the offense. We will get it fixed and be better.”

(On what he thought he didn’t do well today)
“I don’t know. We tried to move the ball down the field late in the game. We were running the ball so well early and were trying to stick with that. We just never really got in a rhythm. Their defense was able to settle in and that’s part of it. I’ve had bad games before and try to limit them. It happens and just going to keep building, keep getting better and look inwardly and keep getting better.”

(On what happened during RB Darrell Henderson Jr.’s fumble)
“It was just a mishandle. He (RB Darrell Henderson Jr.) just mishandled it.”

(On if he thought L.A.’s offense could be disrupted like it has)
“No. You never think that’s the case. I think you come out confident every week and we will come out confident again next week. Again, I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it again: we’ve got the players, we’ve got the coaches. We’ve got everybody we need to make it happen. We just need to execute on gameday. We practice hard, we practice smart. We execute in practice, we do everything we’re supposed to do. We just need to come out here on gameday, settle in and do our thing – and we will. I’ll be better, we’ll all be better, and we’ll get it fixed.”

(On the reasoning behind not taking many chances down the field)
“It’s just the flow of the game was really weird. It’s no excuse, but, in the second half, we had that turnover on the first play and then we put ourselves in really bad spots on the next two drives on third-and-longs. On those first two plays not executing. If we execute on first down in that second drive, who knows who type of game it is, because we didn’t on that drive. When we did that three drives in a row, we really put ourselves in a bad spot. It’s those little plays, those little things – the timing, the execution, me knowing where I am in the pocket, everything – there’s a million things that we can be better at, and we will be. Again, I know we have the guys to do it and coaches to do it.”

(On if going on the road for an extended period of time could be a good thing for the team)
“You hope so. You hope it’s galvanizing. We will be in Atlanta for a little while, but it’s one week at a time. We got to go out and get better and do a lot of things better next Sunday to beat Atlanta. They’re another good team and we’ll be in their place. It’s another good opportunity for us and we’ve got a good chance to make it happen.”

(On if San Francisco’s overall improvements this season surprised him)
“No, it’s not surprising. They’ve got a lot of good players, they’ve got a lot of good coaches. They’re coached very well and defensively, they’ve got some dudes up front who do their thing. They’re going to give a lot of teams some problems, but it’s a team that we’re going to play again and hopefully get another shot at and play better next time.”

(On what changes for him when there are multiple changes on the offensive line)
“It’s only been at the guard spot a couple times. It shouldn’t change much. We’ve got faith in those sixth and seventh guys and it shouldn’t do much, honestly. We’ve got a lot of good players and had chances to do some stuff, just didn’t take advantage of it.”

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Rams RB Malcolm Brown

(On how he felt running the ball and how the offense felt)
“It felt great, man. I just prepared myself to the best of my ability throughout the week and got in, try to do my thing and do as much as I can to contribute to the team, and that’s it.”

(On facing so many first-round draft picks on the 49ers defense line)
“We knew they were a solid group. Like you said, they’re first-round draft picks for a reason. Those guys can play, kudos to them. But like I said, we’ve just got to go in and watch the film and see what we can do better.”

(On how much of the gameplan was to run the ball and not get into third-and-long situations)
“That’s definitely important for us. We want to run the ball and be efficient with that. I don’t call the plays or make up the gameplan, so whatever play is called, that’s what we’ve got to do.”

(On if it surprises him that the Rams did not have more success against the 49ers after the way in which they scored on their first drive)
“We definitely always want to win, but those guys are professionals as well. They make adjustments to what we’re doing and, like I said, we’ve got to go in and make some adjustments ourselves and try to get better from this.”

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Rams WR Cooper Kupp

(On how they move forward from here)
“We just stay together. We have a process about how we handle things and we just have to go back, look at the process and the process is going to tell us a lot about this thing moving forward. We hold ourselves to very high standards, we just have to go back to them and we just have to be better. We have to execute better, it’s just part of the game.”

(On if there was a concern going into the week that maybe they wouldn’t bounce back from their two losses)
“No, no way. It’s a game of adjustments – that goes in your preparation as well. You make sure that – whenever the practice plan is coming into it – things change, you have to make sure you’re focused. You have to get the most out of it regardless of whether you’re getting full-speed reps or you’re getting those mental reps. You just have to be locked in and be able to get it done.”

(On if he feels like they are in trouble in any way)
“We know where we’re at, we know that there’s adjustments – there’s things that we have to do better, but in no way is there panic. We just have to continue to stay together. Like I said – the guys I know are in this room, the guys there – there’s no animosity towards each other. It’s about coming together, pushing each other, playing for each other and we’re going to do just that.”

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Rams WR Robert Woods

(On if it feels different losing three games in a row)
“Not really, I feel like it’s a lot of games left. Just got to turn it around. It’s like at what point are we going to finally click and turn it. I feel like we’re right there just got to stay connected, stay consistent, pay attention to the film, pay attention to the corrections and capitalize fix the problems.”

(On the amount of success they have had and if the losses are shocking)
“We can pick right up and just keep it going. It’s the NFL you make changes and adjustments. Teams have made adjustments to offense. I think we just got to be better and make some adjustments as well. Kind of limiting our offense, limiting our passing game. The struggle with that I feel like if we turn that around I feel like it turns around our offense, turns around this team and it’ll pick up and starts this bus.”

(On the team being on the road for nearly a month)
“I think that might be better for the team. Isolation – stay connected, just worry about ourselves. Go into some hostile environments and all we have is ourselves, our brothers who we’ve been working with in the weight room all season. Just play together, stay connected, play connected. Really just no outside factors should be an impact. It’s all Rams, all brothers and it’ll all come together.”

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Rams T Andrew Whitworth

(On how to get out of the division hole)
“Just continuing to harp on the fundamentals. The techniques the things we want to do every week to execute. Just keep your head down. Some of that is you executing fundamentals, some of it’s the ball starting to go your way and things starting to happen. You know what we’re in the middle of both kind of going against us right now. We just got to keep our heads down, stay stubborn, be relentless and just keep preparing in a way that we know it’s going to break through at some point.”

(On what was wrong with the passing game)
“It’s one of those things where you want to execute well enough just like the running game. If you don’t complete passes and throw the football successfully in the NFL you’re going to have a hard time winning. We weren’t able to do that.”

(On the way they ran the football on opening drive and what happened the rest of the game)
“I think they adjusted a little bit and then we didn’t adjust as well back. Honestly, we just started having limited opportunities. Fumbled a ball, had a bad snap here and there, a penalty to get you out of running situations. Or you put yourself in situations where you run it and… These short yardage type of things you don’t get. Those little things add up and the bottom line is like I said you know it all comes down to trying to execute well enough to win.”

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Rams DT Aaron Donald

(On what they have to do to get out of their slump)
“We just have to play better. I still have to watch the film to see, but we have to play better as a team – try and eliminate the mistakes and try to make big plays. We have got to watch the film and see what happened.”

(On if they are getting to be in panic mode)
“Well, you want to win and you never want to lose three games straight, but with the players we have and the team we have, with the coaches – we’ll be fine. We just have to get ourselves going, keep playing as a team. There’s going to be a lot of talk, a lot of things outside this locker room – we just have to stay together, stick together and keep working, trying to get better.”

(On if he feels his team is in trouble in any way)
“No, we’re fine. I think we’re still in a good position. Three losses, still early in the season. We just have to get ourselves back on track.”

(On the kind of mistakes that he has seen the past couple weeks)
“Just penalties, little mistakes, communication things and things like that. We have to clean that up.”