Fisher, Schottenheimer … 10/30 … transcripts & vids

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – October 30, 2014

(On today’s practice)
“It was a great practice. They really benefited from yesterday’s schedule and we got a lot of players back. Many more participated today that would not have participated yesterday, so it was a good practice. We’re ready to go.”

(On if CB Jemea Thomas is back on practice squad)
“He’s on the practice squad, yes. We got him back to practice, which is good. Moves are finally done.”

(On if there were 18 transactions this week)
“Yeah, it was a busy couple days.”

(On if the 18 transactions was a personal best)
“I wouldn’t call it best. It was something that needed to get done. Appreciate all the help from (General Manager) Les (Snead), (Chief Operating Officer) Kevin (Demoff) and the staff getting everything done. But, we got it done.”

(On what he can improve on at the start of the second half)
“We stress it. We have to come out and have a good drive, whether we start on offense or whether they go on defense. Defense is a three-and-out and offense should be at least a field position change and/or a score. Those are very, very important drives. We understand where our issues are, where our problems are and we’ve got to fix it.”

(On if he believes that the last couple minutes of the first-half and first few minutes of the second-half are very important in games)
“Every minute in a game is important. Yeah, you get in a two minute situation, if you get a two minute win or a two minute stop at the end of the first-half, you either get points or you keep points off the board, that’s important. We’ve always felt that the first drive or two of the second half really sets the tempo. We’re getting significantly outscored in the second half, specifically third quarter and we’ve got to do better there.”

(On how disappointing it is to have multiple injuries against a division opponent)
“Our guys are healing up. If we’ve got guys that can’t play because of injury, someone else is going to step up and play. Everybody’s dealing with injuries. We’ve probably got a little more than most, especially last week. You can’t consume yourself with that. We’re not going to be thinking about who’s hurt and who’s not at 1:00 on Sunday.”

(On in terms of the nicked up guys does he still have to decided who will get playing time)
“We’re not. I can’t say with precision who could play right now and who can’t. We may even have some pregame warm-up decisions to make early Sunday.”

(On injured players whose playing time will be decided Sunday morning in terms of working guys out early)
“Who’s up and who’s not.”

(On DE Chris Long and if he still has a while before returning)
“He’s a little ways away. We’re very encouraged with where he’s at. Very encouraged, as he is too. We just want to make sure…he’s just dealing with the fact… two issues right now, the surgical procedure, which is not an issues for him right now. That’s good. It’s just the fact that he was non-weight bearing and in a cast. So, you’re dealing with the natural atrophy and so he has to get all the strength back.”

(On S Mark Barron and how he’s adjusting)
“He spent a lot of time here last night and this morning. We worked him in, particularly because we got some guys that didn’t practice. He was on the field with the defense. He’s got a really good understanding of defensive concepts. It’s just a matter of him relating what he’s use to and translating into our terminology.”

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Rams Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer – October 30, 2014

(On the injuries across the offensive line)
“We’ll see if we can get five to dress. Obviously, we are. We’re kind of used to it a little bit. Obviously, (OL) Greg (Robinson) playing tackle, he’s comfortable with that. (OL) Mike Person’s played guard before. Obviously, (OL) Davin (Joseph), but again, those guys will be ready to go. They’re going to play hard. Again, I think Greg’s playing a position that he’s very, very comfortable with.”

(On what adjustments Robinson has to make after moving from left guard to left tackle and how a full week of practice helps)
“Well I think it certainly helps, just being out there working on your pass sets, more than anything fundamentally. System wise, he’s done an amazing job with that. He’s light-years ahead of where he was even probably a month ago with the system. I think that comes from playing. Just being out there is a little different. Your sets are different. You get more space you have to deal with. He played well last week when he had to go in there. He’s working through a few things. The comfort level, he’ll get right back into it.”

(On if it’s an easier transition from guard to tackle for Robinson considering the level of communication required at the positions)
“Yeah, things happen really fast at guard. At tackle, sometimes it’s you’ve got a guy, ‘Hey, I’m blocking that guy.’ You don’t have to adjust to many things. It’s certainly not easier, because you’re blocking some of the best athletes in the game, but he obviously doesn’t have quite as much to think about. Again, a guy like Mike that’s smart, it’s good to have him sandwiched in there. Again, I’m blown away with what’s he’s done in terms of picking up the system. He’s done a great job.”

(On if playing the 49ers with a two-week ago span help QB Austin Davis’ preparation)
“Again, the pieces are still the same. Obviously, they’re still a really good group. One thing that’s good about playing them again is they don’t change much. There’s not much that they do different. It’s almost like you kind of go and you look at your plan you say, ‘Hey we did this. What do we like? What do we not like?’ We’ll change some things up, we certainly did that. Again, I don’t say it helps you. Again, he’ll be comfortable with just the fact that he’s already played them before.”

(On if it’s possible to surprise a team the second time you play them in a season)
“Not really, especially in the division. We’ve been going against them for a couple years. They know what we do. We know what they do. It comes down to execution. Obviously, going out there two-day trip and things like that. Again, we need to pick back up where we were in the first half against them. Obviously, they did a nice job adjusting some things in the second half against us to have success.”

(On if he held anything back in the game-plan in their first meeting against the 49ers because of the second game was only two weeks away)
“Not really. Again, you kind of go through your checklists after you play them. On (Tuesday) after the game you look and say, ‘Hey, we did this. We liked that. Maybe next time we play them we need to think about that.’ That’s more beneficial than anything. After you’ve played them you kind of make some notes, ‘Hey, we liked this. We saw this. Maybe next time we should try that.’ Again, it’s really been a normal week for us.”

(On what the offense can do to overcome the team’s recent struggles in the second half)
“I don’t know. We obviously have started really fast in the first half. I think opening-drive success has been great. We’ve talked about some different things, maybe looking at the ways we start the second half with openers things like that, listing the plays and stuff. Again, I think it comes down just to focus and execution. Unfortunately for us, it’s just been some games where there’s been a negative play here or there that we haven’t handled it very well as a group–coaches and players alike– and we can’t do that. We’ve just got to know it’s going to be a 60-minute ballgame. Most games in this league are going to come down to the last few minutes. I think more than anything, it’s just focus and execution.”

(On if defenses are making adjustments and taking specific things away)
“Yeah, I think we all try to adjust as a staff. Defensively I think, last weekend, we knew if it was going to get into a passing game, it was going to be a hard game with those two guys they have on the edge. The score got a little bit out of hand, so we knew that would be hard. But I don’t think so. We’re going to do what we do. You try to mask things with formations and personnel groupings. They do what they do. Again, when you look at last week or this week, there’s things you can learn from and try to adjust, but for the most part I don’t think they’ve taken things away. I think we’ve missed some plays here. There’s some calls I’d probably liked to have called something different, but that’s just part of the game.”

(On how ready WRs Stedman Bailey and Chris Givens are to take on an expanded role in the absence of Brian Quick)
“I think they’re obviously never excited to see a teammate go down, especially a guy like Brian that’s worked so hard and played so well. For them, it creates an opportunity. I think Sted’s had a great week of practice. Chris obviously has stepped up before. The Seattle game jumps to mind. Both guys that are excited about the opportunity. Wish it would have happened probably under different circumstances, but again I think you’ll see them both make plays that’ll help us hopefully win the game.”