Fisher, Gurley … 12/10 … transcripts

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – – 12/10/15

(On how practice went today)
“Practice was great. We had a really good day. We got some guys back and (QB) Case (Keenum) was good. We toned down the tempo a little bit just because Thursday, we’re following that schedule, but I thought everybody did well.”

(On if everybody was having fun today at practice)
“Oh, every practice is like this, yeah. That’s how it is. The guys love to practice, love to play, enjoy coming to work and that’s important.”

(On if the team enjoyed the nice weather today)
“Oh, yeah. It’s really nice.”

(On it being a record high temperature today for St. Louis in December)
“I’m aware of that.”

(On if he’s kind of a weather freak)
“Meteorologist, yes. I do some of that.”

(On which injured players practiced today)
“(TE) Lance (Kendricks), he’s still in the protocol but he practiced full. That was good. (CB) Janoris (Jenkins) did not, however. We’ll see how Janoris is tomorrow. (CB) Trumaine (Johnson) was full practice, which was good. (K) Greg (Zuerlein) didn’t kick today. He’ll kick tomorrow, but he kicked really well yesterday. So, we’re encouraged about that.”

(On if he’s made a decision yet regarding the two new roster spots)
“We have not. We’ll probably go to the practice squad for both of them.”

(On S Maurice Alexander getting to start and how far has he come along)
“He’s come a long way. He had a great preseason. When he’s played, with the exception of one touchdown pass that caught him with his eyes in the wrong place, but when he filled in for (S) T.J. (McDonald), he did a nice job. We’re expecting him to finish up the year strong. It’ll be a really good opportunity for him.”

(On his very first game with the Rams being against the Lions)
“Played them pretty good, yeah, we did. We had a couple interceptions. I think Cortland (Finnegan) got one for a touchdown to start it off. We played them pretty well. They’re an outstanding football team. Their defense is playing very, very well. As I’ve mentioned, ‘Tulley’s (Lions LB Stephen Tulloch) playing good. ‘J.J.’s (Lions DE Jason Jones) playing really good and their rusher is outstanding. (DE Ezekiel) Ansah is an outstanding rusher. Their scheme’s difficult. You watch game after game, after game, defensively, they’re taking the run away. They’re pressuring the passer, so there’s not a lot of time to get rid of the football. So, have to be precise up there. Then offensively, they’ve got a little bit back to their run game. But, anytime you’ve got (Lions QB Matthew) Stafford under center and shotgun and (Lions WR) Calvin (Johnson) and (Lions WR Golden) Tate out there, they’re a threat. Both of them have made a lot big plays for them.”

(On if there are any differences between Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald and Lions WR Calvin Johnson)
“I mean, the similarities are they’re both going to be Hall of Famers. They’re different players. They’re different type players. At the end of the day, they’re productive and their results, I mean, speak for themselves. They’re hard to contend with. Now, Calvin’s more of an outside guy than ‘Fitz’. ‘Fitz’ moved back inside in the last couple of years and that’s where he does his damage. Outside, Calvin is as good as there is. He’s just so tall and big catch radius and (Lions QB) Matt (Stafford) knows that and he puts the ball up and makes his plays.”

(On what makes Lions QB Matthew Stafford the quarterback he is)
“He sees very well. He moves in the pocket. He’s more mobile than you think. He’ll extend plays with his legs, but he’s just an extremely accurate passer. He’s very, very accurate.”

(On if Stafford’s playing has changed since the Lions made an offensive coordinator change)
“They had some difficult times. They gave up a play on special teams or had some issues on defense or some injury things and struggled a little bit on offense. They played some good opponents, but since then, you can see he’s settling in. He’s settling in, in the screen game. He’s spreading the ball around. He’s getting the ball out to the backs, the running backs. He’s not in a hurry to get the ball down the field and they’re driving the football and they rely heavily on getting the ball down inside the red zone, plus-20 and throw the ball to Calvin.”

(On how he plans to cover Johnson)
“You have to change things up. I mean, you have to always change things up, whether it’s man or zone or at times, you’re going to have to affect coverage and try to double him. Even though you see team, after team, after team has double coverage on him, he’s still coming up with the play.”

(On how much of an advantage it is for the Lions having a mini-bye now with the Thursday night game)
“Well, I’m sure (Lions Head) Coach (Jim) Caldwell gave them a little bit of time off. So, I don’t know if it’s an advantage or not, we’re looking at that a week from now. So, very disappointed loss the way the game ended against the Packers. They had the game pretty much put away and didn’t happen, but they’ll bounce back. They have a veteran team with some leaders on that team. They’ll bounce back, so we’re going to get them at their best.”

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Rams RB Todd Gurley – – 12/10/15

(On how the week has been with the change at offensive coordinator)
“It’s been a pretty good week. Definitely an adjustment. Like I said, you’ve got to be prepared for whatever.”

(On how it’s been an adjustment and if it’s mainly been in the play calling)
“Playing calling is still the same. Different coaches and just different ways of learning and stuff. But, it’s still the same plays and all of that.”

(On if there will be any shift this weekend come Sunday)
“I hope so. We’ll have to find out Sunday.”

(On if he saw the Hail Mary play the Lions lost on last week)
“Yes, it was crazy. That was crazy.”

(On what kind of problems he expects the Lions to give him)
“Definitely a physical front seven. Linebackers play good. They’ve got some good ends that rush the ball. Definitely got to be prepared and be able to block them.”

(On how he feels he’s come along in pass protection)
“I felt like last game I got a couple of first down plays. (RB) Benny (Cunningham) is usually in it. I felt like I got better last week at it. It’s definitely an adjustment, especially coming from the knee and not being able to practice at it. So, a lot of my reps are game reps.”

(On how important it is to throw a few passes early to open up the running game)
“Like you said, we’re going to do what we do. We always try to get the running game going because that can help balance things out.”

(On if it’s been tough only getting 18 carries over the last two games)
“Yes, but at the end of the day when you put yourself in a situation and get down so early, you’ve got to start passing the ball. You’ve got to understand that.”

(On how he feels about the season up to this point)
“Like I said, it started out pretty good, but things haven’t been what we wanted these five games. Everybody is disappointed. Hopefully we can finish on a good note and have ourselves feeling good coming into the offseason, and back to the next regular season.”

(On if he thought about reaching 1,000 yards as a personal goal coming into the season)
“I really don’t do the personal goals. Definitely you have that in your brain, like 1,000 yards for sure.”

(On if he’s rushing for 1,000 yards then that means he’s helping the team)
“I wouldn’t say all of that. Some people don’t even have 1,000 but the team has a winning record.”