Fisher, Cignetti, Foles …11/11 … transcripts

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher –– 11/11/15

(On at this rate if he thinks he’s going to cruise to December 1 in shorts at practice)
“It’s easy. Yeah, it’s like 20 days left. So, I should be okay.”

(On how WR Wes Welker looked today)
“He was good. Yeah, he’s picked up a lot. We got him the ball a little bit, so tomorrow will be a good day for him. Its’ the player’s day off, so I’m sure he and (QB) Nick (Foles) will be spending some time together. We’ll just see how it goes.”

(On if he thinks Welker will play on Sunday)
“He’s got a chance. We’ll just have to wait. It’ll probably be a game time decision, a Saturday night decision just based on how much he’s been able to absorb things.”

(On if he likes being outside as much as possible during the week for practice)
“We prefer to stay outside whenever possible, yeah. It’s easy. For us as coaches, you just kind of put an extra sweatshirt on. For you guys, you’re freezing…(laughs) So, it’s okay. We have some rain coming in here by the way, so we timed it up good.”

(On the Bears defense)
“(Bears Defensive Coordinator) Vic’s (Fangio) done a really good job, wherever he’s been. Now, you combine Vic and (Head) Coach (John) Fox and they’ve always had good defenses. Secondary’s playing well. They’re not giving up a lot of big plays. Their run front is good. I mean, they’ve played some good offenses to date. They’ve kept the scoring down. So it’s going to be, like we always say, it’s a big challenge for us.”

(On how he thinks Bears QB Jay Cutler is playing this season)
“Jay’s playing really good. (Bears Offensive Coordinator) Adam Gase and (Bears QB Coach) Dowell Loggains have done a great job with him. His feet, everything in the pocket. He looks like a different guy. So, making good decisions. His numbers are good. They’re running the football well. Their rookie running back looks that he’ll be the running back of their future right now. Then, you add (TE Martellus) Bennett to the equation…Bennett and (WR) Alshon (Jeffery) and he’s got places to go with the football.”

(On what he likes about Offensive Coordinator Adam Gase)
“Well, he’s been in the I guess you could call it the Indy offense, that worked with Peyton (Manning). He’s just got a good feel for it. They turn a lot over to the quarterback on the line of scrimmage. So, run-pass checks and then pass checks. Then, wherever he’s been, they’ve really been good on third down. We’re facing a team that’s well in the mid-40s from a conversion standpoint, so it’s going to be hard on our defense.”

(On how important it is for the Rams defense to keep them off the field)
“It’s important for us to keep the ball. In this case though, you’ve got an experienced quarterback like (Bears QB) Jay (Cutler) who happens to have weapons around him. So, we’re going to have to keep the ball. It’s all about overcoming our offensive difficulties, which are first downs and third downs. So, we’re going to have to keep it.”

(On what WR Alshon Jeffery is doing well to put up big numbers)
“Well, he’s a big target. He’s got a tall quarterback and they trust each other. He just puts the ball up and he comes down with it. He’s running good routes. He’s running double-moves and making big catches on the boundary. I like the match-up. I think (CB) Tru’s (Johnson) a good match-up. I think (DB Janoris) ‘Jenks’ (Jenkins) is a good match-up. We just have to make sure that we’re sound every place else.”

(On what he’s seen from the Bears rookie running back Jeremy Langford)
“I think it was probably close to about 140 yards, all-purpose in the game last week, when you combine his receiving yards and his rushing yards. I mean, he’s quick to the hole. He’s a good receiver out of the back field. He’s protecting well. He understands protections as a rookie, which is not unusual, but it’s always a challenge for a young back. So, he’s doing everything that’s required of a young back.”

(On how Kyle Long is playing at right tackle)
“He’s playing pretty good, yeah. He’s playing really good as a matter of fact. So, happy for the Long family. The move from guard to tackle was brilliant. They’re running behind him. He’s pass protecting. He’s physical. It’s almost as if it’s effortless for him. He fits really well at the right tackle position.”

(On if he would’ve enjoyed the match-up between the Long brothers)
“Oh yeah, we missed it by a few weeks. It’s too bad, but we’ll cut (DE) Will Hayes loose and see what happens.”

(On the status of the injured players)
“Good. I think Friday is going to be a really good day for us. (RB) Todd (Gurley) was just a rest day today. He needed the rest. He’ll be fine. I think we’ll see Rob on the field…both Rob’s, No. 94 (DE Robert Quinn), No. 79 (T Rob Havenstein) on the field.”

(On how close he thinks DE Chris Long is to returning)
“He’s close. I’m guessing maybe…I think he’s ready to go out and run on land now, so could be a couple weeks.”

(On the importance of having a loud crowd on Sundays)
“Oh, they’ve been great. They’ve helped our defense significantly from the standpoint of false starts and things like that. So, yeah the fans that are there have been great. We’re hoping they come out again. The Bears travel very well, so it’ll be a big challenge for us. The Bears traveled, incidentally, very well in San Diego. The Chargers had to go to silent count in San Diego. Most people travel well in San Diego, but we’re expecting a rowdy Bear crowd. But, I think our fans will win that battle.”

(On if he expected the offense to be further along at this point)
“Yeah, we’re not satisfied. But, we just need a couple breakout games, and then we’ll get caught up. Not satisfied with the first down production and the third down efficiency and the points scored, but we’ll get caught up.”

Rams Offensive Coordinator Frank Cignetti – -11/11/15

(On if being outside during the week helps when they play in the Edward Jones Dome on Sunday from a weather standpoint)
“It helps to get out here, absolutely.”

(On how WR Wes Welker looked today)
“Wes looked good. He’s a pro. (He) brings a lot of experience to the team.”

(On if he expects Welker to play on Sunday)
“That’ll be determined as we go. We’ll see how the week goes.”

(On if he’s getting everything out of QB Nick Foles that he wants to)
“Yeah, Nick’s doing a nice job. Like I’ve said from day one, every time we come out here, you see growth. You see Nick making progress.”

(On what he thinks Foles can do better)
“Well, it’s just not Nick, but any quarterback that plays the position. You’d always like to have a few plays back. You’d always like to have a few decisions back. It’s natural. Goes with every quarterback in the league.”

(On if he was hoping for more progress by the offense by now)
“We’re very optimistic. We’ve got a great group of coaches. We’ve got a great group of players. We’re at the midway point. Our expectation is to move forward and play better.”

(On how much he thinks Welker will be able to help the younger receivers because of his experience)
“His experience, and just Wes being a pro is going to bring a lot to a young group. It’s great to have him in the building.”

(On what he sees on the third down conversion issues and how can he fix it)
“We came out here today. We worked hard at it. We have to find a way to get more productive. That’s what we’re working on in the building; coming out here and practicing more third downs.”

(On if he can trace the third down issues to anything specific)
“Football is an ultimate team game. You have to do better on first and second down and when third down comes up, you have to execute.”

(On what he sees from the Bears defense)
“Tough, physical, great group. Very good football team.”

(On what he sees the Bears doing right on the back end)
“Well, back end starts up front, right? We all know that. Very good defense. The front seven’s active. The guys on the back end are excellent players, well-coached. They do a great job.”

(On if he’s frustrated with the offense)
“We’re doing just fine. As coaches, we’ve got total belief in ourselves and in the players. We’re at the midway point and every time we come out here, we expect to get better. Every time we step on the field on Sunday, we trust our preparation and we expect good things to happen.”

(On if he feels like the offense is due for a breakout game)
“We always believe we’re ready to breakout.”

(On how he thinks G Andrew Donnal performed Sunday at Minnesota)
“Andrew did a really nice job. Played well. Coach (Paul) ‘Bou’ (Boudreau), Coach (Andy) Dickerson had him very well prepared. We’re very pleased.”

(On what he likes about Donnal at guard)
“He’s athletic. He’s smart. He’s athletic. He can bend. He’s tough. Once again, he played well.”

(On what type of defense the Bears run)
“They do a very nice job mixing it up, especially in their sub-package. They do a nice job mixing the coverages.

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Rams QB Nick Foles – – 11/11/15

(On what he sees from the Bears defense)
“Really good defense. Really well-coached. I think the big thing they do is, they really hustle to the ball. They hustle through the whistle. When you play against a defense like that, you’re really going to have to, you always play to the whistle, but you know they’re going to be aggressive. You know they’re going to be playing hard. I’m really impressed with what I see on film.”

(On what the Bears pass defense is doing well)
“I think they’re just doing a good job. No busted coverages. Sometimes defenses that give up a lot of yards will bust a coverage every now and then. You can tell they know what they want to do. They do it well. They do a great job of disguising different coverages, rotating the safeties at the last second, stuff like that. Pre-snap reads are huge, but post-snap reads are even more important.”

(On if they are predominantly man or zone defense)
“They’re going to mix it up. Every team verse us is going to try to mix it up. They’re going to try to make their man look like zone, zone look like man. We’ll try to give keys on what we see. They’re going to mix it up. They’re going to mix up two-high, one-high, stuff like that. They’re going to try and keep us off balance, that’s what teams do in the NFL.”

(On if he’s happy with where he’s at and where the offense is at right now)
“No. I think we always want to improve. We have a long ways to go. We have to keep improving. Me as a player, that’s why we work every day. We work to improve. I’m nowhere near where I want to be and probably never will be. That’s how I’ve been throughout my career. I’ve always wanted to get better and better. Us as an offense, we come out here every day wanting to improve. We’ve got a lot of young guys right now that are working every day. We’re improving. A lot of new personalities, so we’re just continuing to bond. We have a great team here that plays well together. I’m excited about where we’re heading.”

(On if he feels like he’s getting close to being in tune with WR Wes Welker)
“Yeah, to add Wes to the group is great. A veteran guy. He’ll be great for that receivers room, just to help them out. Yeah, absolutely. I feel like I’m on point with how he runs his routes and how he does things. He’s one of the best to play the game at that position, so it’s great to work with him.”

(On how Welker can help on third down)
“I think just adding him to the mix in general, just what he can do. Just his ability to get open, his ability to play. Really his ability to impact the receivers will be great. Third down, that’s something we’ve got to work on. Just continuing to push forward. I know that’s been a thing every single week, you all have asked me is third down. We’re continuing to work on it. We’re continuing to excel. We just want to go into the game and be efficient and convert all of our third downs, so we’re continuing to work on that.”

(On if he sees a common denominator on third down that is keeping them from converting)
“I think the big thing is we all just got to be in sync. Defenses have done a lot of different things on it, trying to mix up the coverages and mix up the look. It comes down to execution. We’ve been out-executed as an offense. We’ve got to make sure we go out there and I have to be accurate with the throw, receivers do a good job getting out of their breaks. It’s a group effort as an offense. We just have to continue to work on our fundamentals and stick together and make sure we’re all on the same page, which we’re doing every day. We’re continuing to grow.”

(On if first down production and staying ahead of the sticks has been an issue)
“That helps third down a lot. First and second down, staying inside of the sticks, not getting to third-and-7 plus. The percentage of converting on those isn’t nearly as high as on a third-and-2/4. Staying inside of the chains will help us a lot. First and second down are huge for us.”

(On if he’s noticed how Welker has had an impact on the receivers group already)
“Yeah, I think you have a lot of young receivers that have been in the league for a few years. (WR) Kenny (Britt) has been in the league for a while. It’ll just help him out. We’ve got (WR) Tavon (Austin) who does a great job with all of the quick stuff. I think just having him in there to teach the young guys maybe how to run different routes versus different coverages or little things he’s picked up along the way or just the wisdom of anything is huge for those guys.”

(On if he thought there would’ve been more progress by now)
“Hey, we are where we’re at. I’m not going to say one thing or another. I know the guys are working hard to improve. We’re a young group that’s working to improve each and every day. I know that everybody is going to look at a stat sheet and look at different things, but football is not an easy sport. We love the game. We’re fortunate to play it. But, we’re going to work every day to get this thing rolling and get this better. We have to coaches to do that. We just have to keep going through this process and keep working, keep fine tuning what we’re doing and eventually it’ll all click together and we’ll be ready to roll.”

(On how he avoids getting frustrated)
“Because I’ve been there before and I’ve overcome it. And I think from experience, I’ve been in a position where we’re in right now where we fought to try to get things going and then we just kept going through, kept working, kept believing in each other and eventually you just break out. Once you break out, you’re ready to roll. So I’ve been there, I’ve done it.”

(On how much losing WR Stedman Bailey affects him)
“That’s sad to lose Sted. He’s a guy that since I’ve been here has been tremendous to me. He’s a talented player that does so many great things.”

(On if he’s spent extra hours with Welker the past couple of days)
“Just trying to get him up to speed. He’s a smart player. He’s been around the league, so he catches on fast, so it hasn’t been too hard. He catches on really fast.”

(On how much it helps the receivers to have a veteran presence)
“I think it’s great for the guys. I think it’s great for all of us to add another veteran. Any time you can learn from someone who’s been there and had success, it’s huge. It’s huge for me. It’s huge for the receivers. Just having him here will be great for us.”