Fisher/Snead, vid & transcript, 4/28

LA Rams HC Jeff Fisher & GM Les Snead – 1st Draft Press Conference – April 28, 2016

(Opening Comments)

FISHER: “We have been waiting for this moment for some time now since the trade. We are excited to have you all here and are really excited to talk about [Rams first-round pick QB] Jared [Goff]. A lot of work has gone into this decision and your questions are probably, ‘How long have you known?’ And we have probably known for a little while. As you know we have had both Jared and Carson [Wentz] and I spent a lot of time with both of them. We came away after they both left knowing that both would be extraordinary quarterbacks in this league and just felt really good about being in the position to be where we got to choose one of them. We spent a lot of time and we faeel like Jared is our guy. So this is a, I don’t want to say this historic, maybe monumental, but this is a big deal for this franchise to be in a position to where we can have our pick of a franchise quarterback and look forward to years to come with a player that is not only talented, but he is a great person. He is a competitor, he’s a leader, he does all those things. We are going to wish Carson the best and we are going to look forward to our future here with Jared eventually becoming our starting quarterback.”

SNEAD: “I think I’ll add that our vision started with [Owner/Chairman] Stan [Kroenke] at the top, [C.O.O/Executive Vice President of Football Operations] Kevin [Demoff], and Jeff. We didn’t want to just come home, we wanted to come home and contend and contend consistently. I think this might have all started, if you look at our last four years, we have gone from bad to competitive. We have done it with the youngest team in football for the last four years and it was helped a little bit because we kind of did a little reverse. We were on the other side of the coin a few years ago and we got a lot of picks and were able to build a strong core and we were competitive with instability at QB. I give Coach Fisher, his staff, and all those players that have been busting their tail for the last four years or three or two, and that are up at Oxnard now busting their tail for being competitive. Like Coach, said it goes without saying and has been said many ways, QB’s are a key ingredient if you want to contend consistently. Like Coach said, we ID Jared and once we did, we wanted to figure out a way to go get him. I think we had the ammo to do it from a couple of trades and just working the system and that’s what we did. Jared is going to be a key ingredient, but I think those players that I just mentioned and Jeff and his staff are one of the reasons that this was the right thing to do at the right time for us.”

(On some of the things that separated Jared Goff from Carson Wentz)

FISHER: “Well I’m going to talk about Jared. I don’t think we necessarily need to compare him to Carson, but Jared has a skill set that is special. He sees. He’s got a quick release. He understands the quarterback position, he’s going to get rid of the football, and he is extremely competitive. Once you look at his body of work in the red zone, we call it the scoring area, it is impressive. He is going to keep drives alive, he understands, nothing is too big for him, and he is just really exciting. He walks into the locker room and he fits in and it’s his job. Now when that takes place, I can’t tell you. We still have three quality quarterbacks on our roster right now, but he is the quarterback of our future.”

(On what separates Goff from any other quarterbacks)

FISHER: “Well we have had the opportunity over the last two years that we have looked at the quarterbacks. We have done privates and we think Jared has the skill set to be a difference maker at the position. From arm strength to mobility, all those qualities, he’s a difference maker.

(On seeing Goff’s experience turning the Cal program around after a 1-11 start his first year and how it manifested in his personality)

SNEAD: “Well it’s interesting, that is a good question because he became the face of Cal at an early age, 18. He went 1-11, but once you were able to watch him that first year and then go through sophomore then junior, you definitely saw progression not only in his play, but in the play of others. You saw them progress as a team and I guess it consummated with that first bowl game in a while this year. It’s interesting you look at that tem… now this draft is going to occur and they’re going to have some guys get drafted, but starting back with Jared’s freshman year in 2014, there were two players drafted, in 2015 there were no players drafted. Those two years, Cal and Colorado were probably the teams with the least amount of players drafted. I think Stanford lead the Pac-12. You could see that yes, I don’t want to call it playing on a team that was a little undermanned in the Pac-12 and they progressed over the years, but I do think being able to go through 1-11 as kind of the face of Cal and to bounce back and put the thing on his back and get to a bowl is similar to what you are probably going to have to go through in the NFL although we aren’t planning on going 1-11.”

(On if there is an intangible that was seen in Goff to handle playing in this kind of marketplace)

FISHER: “You know he is the kind of guy who is going to come into work every day and is going to deal with whatever he needs to deal with. He is going to come to work and he knows about priorities and so when you say pressure, we’re not putting any pressure on him. There is a lot of undue pressure that is placed on a quarterback on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday during the work week in addition to Sunday and we’re not going to put that pressure on him. We are going to take that away and we are going to protect him and allow him just to play because that’s what he is, he’s a quarterback, he’s a football player. He’s going to embrace this opportunity. He’s got the personality to embrace the market, he’s got the personality to be one of those faces of the franchise, but he also understands that it’s not up to him, it’s collectively up to the rest of the team.”

SNEAD: “When we called him tonight, the first thing he said was ‘How’s it going Les’ so that was what he said to me. So, that kind of shows you he is calm, cool in the midst of being the first pick.

(On Fisher not looking happy)

FISHER: “I don’t look happy? (Laughs)”

SNEAD: “He never looks happy, you’ve seen that scowl.” (Laughs)

FISHER: “I am so excited. You should have seen us in the room there, did you see it? I’m happy, are you kidding me? We just drafted a franchise quarterback with the first pick in the draft. I’m trying to contain myself right now. It’s a great opportunity for this franchise, all the work that has been done by everybody it’s just going to be fun. You will get the chance to meet him tomorrow in person and you will be very impressed with him.”

(On what has been seen in Goff coming from an air raid offense in college)

SNEAD: “If you look at his college, I think there is a natural instinct to anticipate, to get the ball out quickly, to read coverages quickly, get to the second and third reads. People who can do it as fast as he can, I don’t want to say you are born with it, but mom, dad, God, somehow there is a DNA that comes natural. Whether you are an air raid or however we are going to name it, I think you kind of notice that in players, whether they have that special quality or not.”

(On how soon before the combine did they identify Goff as a player they wanted to make a move for)

FISHER: “Both started there. Les did a great job staying in touch with Tennessee. As we started evaluating players, we knew that if we could find a way to get this done, we knew we would get a really good player here. We probably made our mind up a couple of weeks ago on which one, but it’s an ongoing process.”

SNEAD: “We did schedule private workouts with him relatively earlier, I don’t know the exact [time], but probably about a week after the combine we narrowed it down to two if we were going to move up. We went to see them relatively soon.”

(On why the team didn’t announce the first pick earlier in the process)

FISHER: “It’s an organizational philosophy, it’s what we do. People work really hard and you never know what’s going to come up or what’s going to happen. We just felt like he was the right guy. So once you identify the player, then you have to do the due diligence that gives you the reassurance that he is the right guy. We wanted time to make sure that that was the case and it worked out.”

SNEAD: “And then they were throwing the rock at the PLAY 60 event yesterday, so we wanted to make sure that they got through that unscathed. I texted the agents to tell them that they could quit throwing now.”

(On how they expect Goff to work out)

FISHER: “He is going to work out the way we expect him to work out. We have a running game, we’ve got a good offensive line, a good defense, and those are the ingredients that contribute to allowing the quarterback to be successful.”

(On not announcing that Goff is going to be the starter from Day 1 like other teams have done in the past)

FISHER: “Well everybody is different. Jameis [Winston] is different than the next quarterback. We have always had the philosophy that we are going to play them when we think they are ready. We aren’t going to subject them to fail, so whenever that is you are going to see him under center. We aren’t going to come out Day 1 and announce that he is a starter. It’s going to happen pretty soon, sooner than probably later. We have some things to do coaching wise, he’s got to learn our offense, he’s got to get to know his teammates, get in sync with his receivers. So when that happens, I don’t know, but that has always been our philosophy.”

(On the comparisons between Goff and any other quarterbacks)

FISHER: “That’s a good question. Over the years I have tried not to draw comparisons from one player to the next. He’s unique, and I’m hoping that at some point along the way that someone will draw the comparison to Jared Goff.”

(On how much they talked to Goff about what’s ahead for the franchise beyond football)

SNEAD: “It was interesting is when we had him in on the top 30, I think both Jeff and I probably spent close to an hour with Jared. When Jared came to me after Jeff, and I’ll let Jeff tell you, was that Jared was sharing to me that that’s what Coach spent a lot of time doing, not just relocation issues, but life in the NFL as a rookie quarterback. I think you could tell when I was chatting with Jared that whether he was going to be a Ram or not. He was like ‘Wow I learned something today, I got insight today, and that was pretty cool him sharing that with me. I think you probably spent an hour not quizzing him, but coaching him, that’s what you do.”

FISHER: “He was curious about the quarterbacks that I have had the opportunities to coach over the years, and he wanted to know. He’s that deep thinker type. Again I’ll just reassure you that there is nothing too big for Jared; it’s football. It’s early in the morning until whatever time he has to put in, he’s going to be there. He’s going to get it done. He is going to handle everything that he has to handle. What he wants to do is win games and we are going to equip him to do that.”

(On when exactly Goff was told that he was going to be the first pick and what was his reaction) FISHER: “I kind of addressed it subtly via text during the week. I don’t know when he got it. You will have to ask him, but it was, ‘Travel safe, enjoy the experience in Chicago, you earned it.’ Then I asked him earlier today if he had any plans for tonight and he said, ‘No, I don’t have anything going,’ so I said, ‘Good, maybe we’ll talk later.’

(On Goff getting threatened to be fined if the word got out that he was the No. 1 pick)

FISHER: “I did not. He gets it, he gets it believe me.”

(On what they have learned from Sam Bradford in terms of supporting a franchise quarterback and if they feel comfortable with what they have right now around Goff)

SNEAD: “Definitely. Anytime something doesn’t work out, the best thing you can do is look back and see what might have gone wrong and learn from it. Whatever you learned from it, you definitely apply to the next situation, and that’s probably how you get better and that’s how you innovate. I think, yes, as Jeff mentioned, probably to both QB’s when they left the building, don’t worry about throwing the ball, you have to learn to turn around and hand it to 30 [RB Todd Gurley]. I think what we have done the last few years is try to address the

, let that thing evolve and let those guys grow together, become that basketball team, and not just a bunch of individuals. The running back helps, we have a nice weapon in [WR] Tavon [Austin]; we’ve got [TE] Lance Kendricks, and are expecting big things out of him. Yes, you’d love to keep adding to the offense. [Offensive Coordinator Coach Boras] is in the back, I’m sure he would love to as well, and we will keep trying to get that thing better and keep putting weapons and solid players around him.”

(On if they’ve had a chance to talk to any of the current players about the draft)

FISHER: “I have not had specific conversations with them, but we have gotten feedback. They’re really really excited. They are extremely excited about the trade. They have a sense for what it takes. Most of them were very excited about it, we will see next week and as we move through the offseason program they are going to understand why we made this decision.”

(On what he would consider at the end of the season as a success with the No. 1 pick)

FISHER: “I have never been one to predict. If I were to say I expect us to go 12-4, then what would I tell the players about the other four? So I’m not going to make a prediction from a win/loss standpoint. I will tell you that this team is getting better. This team is competitive. I think you all understand if you have followed what we have done over the past three or four years is this team is competing in the division and we are very, very close. So I would expect this team to get better.”

(On the expectations of Goff being the star of the team)

FISHER: “He may start the opener on Monday night, we don’t know, but that’s the goal. If he doesn’t, as it stands right now, [QB] Case [Keenum] will do it, and Case has won games for us. We understand the environment, believe me. He does too. We have had lengthy conversations about it. If I had concerns about Jared being able to handle this then we probably wouldn’t be talking about Jared right now. He can handle it, when he steps under center? I can’t tell you.”

SNEAD: “We will do what’s right to develop him so he’s ready when he goes on the field on Sunday. I don’t know how you go about giving the guys the stars on that sidewalk, but I have a feeling that they did something to earn it, and I think in sports you earn the star, the billboard, or whatever it is. In our league on Sunday afternoons, Thursday nights, or Monday nights, our goal is to get him ready to be successful on those days.”

(On not announcing that Goff is going to be the starter from Day 1 like other teams have done in the past)

FISHER: “Well everybody is different. Jameis [Winston] is different than the next quarterback. We have always had the philosophy that we are going to play them when we think they are ready. We aren’t going to subject them to fail, so whenever that is you are going to see him under center. We aren’t going to come out Day 1 and announce that he is a starter. It’s going to happen pretty soon, sooner than probably later. We have some things to do coaching wise, he’s got to learn our offense, he’s got to get to know his teammates, get in sync with his receivers. So when that happens, I don’t know, but that has always been our philosophy.”

…

(On the expectations of Goff being the star of the team)

FISHER: “He may start the opener on Monday night, we don’t know, but that’s the goal. If he doesn’t, as it stands right now, [QB] Case [Keenum] will do it, and Case has won games for us. We understand the environment, believe me. He does too. We have had lengthy conversations about it. If I had concerns about Jared being able to handle this then we probably wouldn’t be talking about Jared right now. He can handle it, when he steps under center? I can’t tell you.”

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I don’t know where this idea comes from that I see around the net that they definitively said back in April that they would start him day 1. It was pretty obvious that they were AVOIDING saying that (though they left it open as a possibility). What you see in the actual words is that they were avoiding getting locked in about when he would start.