Fisher, Davis … 10/5 … transcripts & vids

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – November 5, 2014

(On his thoughts on Governor Jay Nixon’s press and how he’s keeping the players from being distracted by rumors that the team’s moving)
“There’s no issues whatsoever with the players. We’ve not discussed anything with the players. Their focus, as well as the staff’s focus, is on the Arizona Cardinals.”

(On his personal reaction to the Governor’s press conference today)
“I haven’t paid attention to it, honestly. Again, I’m focused on this next game, okay. We’ll huddle up and I’m sure they’ll inform me as to what took place. Again, I’m in no place to comment. I’m coaching this team and this team’s playing the Cardinals. That’s where we are with that.”

(On if he thought the Cardinals would have the best record in the league at this point)
“You go back to last year and see what they did and how strong they finished. It doesn’t surprise us. (Cardinals Head Coach) Bruce (Arians) obviously, did a great job in Indy. He’s picked up this team and got them playing really well. They’re playing mistake-free football. Carson’s (Palmer) thrown two interceptions. They’re getting the ball back defensively and they’re playing real good special teams. This is going to be a next big challenge for us, but our guys are excited. We’ll get them back. We’ve got some guys that didn’t practice today. We hope we’ll get some guys back on the field tomorrow. They’re excited to put last weekend behind us and then try to put two in a row together.”

(On how much healthier the team is going into this week compared to last week)
“Last week I think we had 13 guys on the injury report and we had maybe 10 or so that didn’t practice. I think we had six or so that didn’t practice today. Again, each day’s important. We’ll probably get some guys back over the next couple of days.”

(On how he gets the point total back up and the offense back going)
“We had 14 points taken off the board last week. One was a special teams touchdown. One was a defensive touchdown. There’s some points there. Those are hidden points kind of things.”

(On if in his scorebook it was actually a 27-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers last week)
“Something like that, yeah. (WR) Tavon (Austin) had his third punt return called back.”

(On the running back situation and which back will get the start)
“One of them will start back there, unless, we go five wides or something like that, but I don’t know who that’s going to be (laughs). We’ve got good backs and they’ve all shown that at some point. We’ll figure it out.”

(On what he’s seen from RBs Zac Stacy and Tre Mason and their abilities to share reps)
“They just want to win. They want to contribute. They want to play a perfect game. They want to grade out 100 percent in pass protection and route distribution and things. They’re all practicing. They’re all working at it. They’re all very unselfish. I can certainly appreciate how Zac feels after last week, having been the only one to not play in the game. Zac is again, very unselfish and just waiting his turn and he’s an outstanding back as well.”

(On if he’s cognizant of players that haven’t played while the game is going on or is it one of those things that happens)
“It’s one of those things that happens. I was informed Monday that we had 43 of our 46 participate in at least one special teams play. Those things I find out after.”

(On if Stacy will be asked to play special teams)
“He’s done some stuff and is capable of doing things. It’s probably unlikely that we ask him to do that.”

(On if he’s missing WR Brian Quick in the offense)
“Yeah, he was productive. He was very productive until he got hurt. Someone else will have to step up. As I mentioned, we’ve played the second-ranked, fourth-and-fifth-ranked defense in the National Football League the last three weeks. They’re not giving up a lot of points. This team is not necessarily ranked as high in total yards, but in the run game they’re giving up 76-yards a game rushing. That makes it a big challenge for us because it gives them the opportunity to rush the passer, which they do, and you’re not going to have any sacks when you hand the football off. We have to figure out a way to do that against them.”

(On if it’s weird that they’re third in rushing defense and 32nd in pass defense and if he see’s anything on pass defense or are other teams getting garbage yards at the end)
“Yes. They’re getting up and teams are just throwing it and going two-minute. They’re giving up plays just to protect the end zone and things like that. It’s very, very misleading.”

(On the difference between containing 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick and Cardinals QB Carson Palmer)
“When something’s not there he’s going to try to escape, as compared to Carson. Carson is as good as there is in the league right now moving in the pocket and getting rid of the football. He’ll step up, particularly because he’s especially tall he can see. He just does a great job of moving in the pocket. He’s hard to get down.”

(On if the Cardinals secondary is opportunistic)
“Well, they’re creating pressure and they’re making plays. They’re a good man-to-man cover team and everybody’s having opportunities to get their hands on the balls and they’re making the plays.”

Rams QB Austin Davis – November 5, 2014

(On if he likes the later practices)
“Yeah it’s nice to get a little sleep, get a little rest. I think (Head) coach (Jeff Fisher) understands how important that is for us to sleep it a little bit, especially as we get later in the season.”

(On facing the 7-1 Arizona Cardinals)
“Arizona, their record speaks for itself, really good. Obviously, they’ve been doing some good things on offense. We’re focused on what they’re doing defensively. They’ve been very multiple, they’ve been very good, they’ve gotten after the quarterback. Huge, huge challenge for us. It’ll be a good test to see where we’re at. Another division game.”

(On if it’s accurate to say that he struggled early in Sunday’s before settling down later on in the game)
“Yeah I would say. You just make some bad plays and you’ve got to find a way to kind of calm yourself. Makes some good plays at the end to try and win the game. They’re not all going to be pretty. They’re not all going to be perfect. Hats off to our defense the way they played, just dominated the game, really. It’s awesome to come out of there with a win. Tough place to play.”

(On the running back situation with the emergence of RB Tre Mason)
“I think the running back by committee’s something we kind of stuck to. All of those guys have done a great job and Tre’s a young player coming into his own, getting a lot of carries and doing a heck of a job.”

(On if the team is affected by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon’s conference call that occurred this morning)
“I think we’re so focused on what we have in front of us and the task is so large we really don’t think about it. It’s far out of our control. Those decisions are way above us and we’ll just keep focusing on Arizona and worry about those things when they come.”

(On if the team talks about the stadium issues)
“Not really. Like I said, we’ve got too much going on, too much in front of us and way bigger fish to fry.”

(On how the Cardinals are 7-1)
“They’re a good football team. Their defense is number one in takeaways, so they create turnovers. We’ve got do a great job of protecting the football and that starts with me making better decisions and the running backs holding onto to the rock and the receivers doing the same. Create some turnovers and they’ve got great players. That’s what good football teams are made of. They combine that with a good scheme. They play confident. We’ve got to find a way to play a solid game. Go in there and do what we can do.”

(On if it affects him when he hands the ball off to the three running backs on different occasions)
“No, we work all those guys. We work on consistency. They’re all in the same places, for the most part. It’s not really an issue at all.”

(On if he will change his approach because the Cardinals are number one in takeaways)
“Yeah, I think a lot of their turnovers have come from pressure looks and guys just making bad decisions. I think we can do a good job of getting balls completed in those looks. There’s a lot of grass to run. It’s kind of a high risk, high reward type of defense. So far this year’s been a lot of reward.”

(On what challenges the Cardinals defense presents)
“I think the thing that’s consistent about what they do is they come in with a plan and they stick to it. It’s just going to be out ability to find out what that plan is and then adapt to it. There’s no way to prepare for it because you don’t know what it’s going to be. You see on film the things they do differently, it’s specific to one game. So, they do one thing…that was the (Philadelphia Eagles) ‘Philly’ game or that was this game. We’re anticipating anything. The way we handle that is we trust our rules, trust our training, and then we adapt as the game goes along.”

(On if the Cardinals defense plays with more four-man fronts than they have in previous years)
“Yeah they’re three-down personnel but a lot of four-down fronts. A lot of the offensive line covered, all five guys covered, call that a jam front. So, they’ll do all those things.”

(On the Cardinals run defense being ranked third in the NFL)
“I think they commit a lot of guys to it, a lot of guys to the run game. Play post-safety defense and trust their corners. They don’t have to have an extra guy in coverage because they trust those guys on the edge.”

(On the Cardinals pass defense being ranked 32nd in the NFL)
“I think stats can be very misleading. You never know the way games go, situations of games. Obviously, their record’s great so teams are down so they’re throwing the ball more late in the game. They’re softening up and giving up yards. We don’t look a lot at the stats. They’re definitely really good at stopping the run and we’re going to have to throw and complete the ball and do some things in the passing game.”

(On if he’s wondering if he will ever play a crummy defense after playing so many top defenses in a row)
“I don’t think any of them are crummy in this league. That’s what you learn right away every week’s a different challenge and a tough challenge.”

(On if he can tell when he’s playing an ‘elite’ defense)
“It’s a confidence thing. I think they play with a lot of confidence and if you allow them to keep that confidence throughout a game they’re going to be really tough to handle. We’ve got to do some things and move the ball and kind of frustrate them a little bit. Play our game.”