McVay … 8/21 … transcript

Head Coach Sean McVay – August 21, 2020

(On whether the end of practice was any different than usual)
“No, that’s been pretty standard. What we did was we were kicking field goals after and did a little developmental period. We had a couple two-minute situations and definitely wasn’t the way we expect to execute offensively. Defensively, did a very nice job. So, two-minute represented the end of practice, but then, it was a quick call up because we got field goals and developmental work after that. We wanted to be mindful of just getting in and out and getting our work done. That was the way we ended practice.”

(On the kicking competition)
“Yeah, those guys are doing a nice job. Tomorrow will represent an opportunity really for all three guys to kick. We’ve basically gone (with) two (players) kick one day and one’s resting. It’s been a consistent rhythm. Today was a good day for those guys. (K) Sam (Sloman) and (K) Austin (MacGinnis) ended up kicking and then we’ll get a chance to see all three of them tomorrow.”

(On any update on CB Jalen Ramsey’s contract situation)
“No, no updates there. No updates on any of that stuff.”

(On LB Micah Kiser’s performance in camp)
“We’ve got good competition at the inside linebacker spot. (Assistant Head Coach / Linebackers Coach) Joe Barry’s done a really nice job, but (LB) Micah (Kiser) has been a guy who has done a lot of nice things. You see the instincts, you see the awareness. Great communication ability. Been attacking at the football, he’s forced a couple out with some good attempts that our guys are coaching really hard. His feel for the game, he’s got an innate feel. Football makes sense to him and it’s been good to see him out here healthy and we’re optimistic that he’s going to be a big contributor this year.”

(On any concern about losing LB Cory Littleton)
“Yeah, (LB) Cory (Littleton) was a great player. I mean, you talk about the epitome of the three-down linebacker that can do a little bit of everything. He can blitz, he’s great in run support. He was excellent in coverage, forced a lot of turnovers. You don’t really replace guys like that. Guys are going to be asked to step up. We’ve got a young group there who doesn’t have a lot of experience, but we have a great coach in Joe Barry who’s done an excellent job helping guys develop. Before, Cory made a name on special teams and then ascended into an All-Pro caliber player at the inside linebacker position. We’re hopeful that Joe will be able to put his arm around some of these guys and help them continue to develop and become big-time players for us.”

(On how much the scrimmage will emulate a real game)
“It will be similar. Basically, what we’ll do is, we’ll have some different situational stuff set up where we want to get at least eight or 10 plays in this sequence. Then we’ll have a phase of special teams in between it. We’ll get some good 1’s-on-1’s competitive work a lot of the time, but we’ll also get a chance to evaluate some developmental guys that will we’ll look to play some live ball with. But, we’re finalizing that. I wanted to wait to put the final touches on tomorrow’s schedule once we got the injury report from today. It’ll basically be a lot of different situations where we’ll try to hit, you know, probably 65-70 plays and we’ll hit every phase of special teams. A couple of them we’ll hit more than once.”

(On if he’s been surprised by the performance of S Jordan Fuller and S Terrell Burgess)
“Yeah, they’ve done a really nice job. I wouldn’t say I’m surprised, these guys were high football IQ guys, great character, really smart, had all those intangibles that enable you to seamless step in and do a great job. The game’s not too big for either of these players. They’ve shown that from Day 1. Certainly, you’d like to have that offseason work, but I think they found a way to maximize the offseason with the parameters and some of the restrictions that we had. Those are guys we’re definitely counting on this year.”

(On how he is addressing special teams without having the preseason to prepare)
“You know, (Special Teams Coordinator) John Bonamego’s been a great special teams coordinator in this league for a long time. So, his leadership is something that in a lot of ways, you defer to making sure that you’re allocating the appropriate practice time for him to get everything that he needs workwise for all the different phases. We know the ones that we spend the a little bit more emphasis on, but he’s done a nice job progressing these guys with the drills, segments then being able to put together full coverage units, full return units, our field goal and our field goal block operations. Tomorrow will really represent a good opportunity to get all those phases on tape in some full-speed settings where we won’t tackle. He’s done a nice job and like you said, everybody’s operating under the same parameters, so I feel really good about the leadership from him.”

(On if the offense was playing to their full potential in practice)
“It was the way that it ended. In the two-minute situation, we were playing for a touchdown, we turned it over and then we ended up not really knowing how to handle it with the second group. Some at the end of the game, when the clock’s running down and change the personnel grouping and you end up trying to get some of these end of the game plays, and we had a lot of guys that panicked, frankly. Those are situations that you never want to see on one side of the football and that’s where guys have to learn from it and that’s part of why you practice. Those things will not be tolerated from us and it’s not good enough. But, great job by the defense.”

(On whether Kiser is in a competition for a starting position)
“We’ve got four guys that are playing and we’re rotating them in and out. When you look at Micah (Kiser), (LB) T (Travin) Howard, (LB) Kenny (Young), (LB) Troy Reeder, all those guys have gotten a lot of action. We’re evaluating them. Everybody’s competing and we’ll see how this thing shakes out over the next few weeks.”

(On if it’s been tough balancing reps between the quarterbacks)
“It’s a good question. It is a challenge because especially when you’re down to 80 (players on the active roster), you want to make sure you’re allocating all the reps to the 1’s and 2’s, but not be blind to the fact that some of these other guys need an opportunity to shine and show what they’ve got. So, with (QB) Bryce (Perkins) and (QB) Josh Love, those are guys that we’ll look to get them a couple of opportunities to compete a little bit tomorrow and continue to try and find creative ways for them to show their stuff. But, the majority of the reps are definitely going to go to (QB) John (Wolford) and to (QB) Jared (Goff).”

(On how much of Saturday’s scrimmage is getting a sense of the new stadium)
“It is. Every day runs together for me right now, it was probably about a month and a half ago that I was there. It was right after they had put the turf down, whatever date that was, I was there just doing a couple things. The stadium is incredible. It’s even more amazing than I could have ever anticipated. It’s been awesome, the few times that I have been over there since it’s gotten to completion. But, tomorrow is about that, and it’s as much as being able to compete. The (August) 29th will truly reflect going through everything that your normal gameday would entail, as far as your pregame routine and all that kind of stuff. Tomorrow will be a warmup to that if you will, where guys are just getting a feel for the stadium and the locker room and all that stuff. But, the 29th will be that true dress rehearsal. Tomorrow will be a modified version of that.”

(On if there will be any special emphasis in warmups to focus on adjusting to a new playing surface)
“Not necessarily, but there is a different rhythm that guys have for their games. As far as how many hours before the game you like to get there, what your stretch routine (is), what your pregame (is), before the pregame — I think you want to allow guys to get into their comfortable rhythm so their first time they’re doing it isn’t September 13. You’re mindful of the surface change, but it doesn’t necessarily change the way you go about your rhythm and routine and your warmup procedure and process and that’s what the (August) 29 will be very valuable for.”

(On if he’s surprised QB Blake Bortles hasn’t signed with a new team)
“I am surprised, just because he’s played a lot of good football in this league. You hope for the best. I have not had much dialogue with anybody else about him, but I am surprised that he is not on a team right now.”