Fisher, 10/27 – transcript & vid

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – October 27, 2014

(Opening Statement)
“I’m going to start off by offering on behalf of Stan Kroenke and our entire organization our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Oscar Taveras and to the entire St. Louis Cardinal baseball organization and (Manager) Mike Matheny. It was such a tragic loss that we all learned about late yesterday. He was 22 years old. Such a promising young man. The future that was ahead of him was unbelievable, so we’re very, very sorry. It just shows you how precious each day is and how precious life is. I’ve been in touch with Mike and I know he’ll handle this on behalf of the organization as best as he can.

“I’ll go right to the point: we had six guys leave the game and did not return. You’re already aware of the fact that (T) Jake (Long) has re-tore his ACL. He’ll be out for the remainder of the season. (WR) Brian Quick will also be out for the remainder of the season. He has significant damage to his shoulder. The other four we’re still doing tests on. We’re going to have a number of players that will not be available for practice in the middle of the week, so we’ll just go kind of day-to-day with them.

“As far as the game is concerned, really not much different than what I addressed yesterday postgame. A solid first half, missed opportunities and then we let things slip away. We had difficulty protecting the passer. We got into a one-dimensional game in the second half, and when we have to throw to catch up against a defense like that, it’s difficult, especially considering the fact that we had some changes up front on our offensive line. Objectively speaking, looking at each body of work of each of the players, obviously (G) Davin (Joseph) is experienced. I thought (C) Barrett (Jones) did a nice job inside with his calls. When (G/T) Greg (Robinson) moved outside, he moved outside and handled it for the most part. Obviously he’s our left tackle now. I’ve got confidence, depending on what happens with (G) Rodger (Saffold), and the rest of the guys have confidence in (G) Mike (Person) if Mike has to go in and play this week. We’ll just see. We’ll be making some moves both on the active roster and potentially on the practice squad so we can get through the week.”

(On if he’s ever lost six players in one game due to injury)
“No, it’s not happened to me before. I’ll just remind you that coming into training camp, we’ve also been without our top three corners. We were without (CB) Janoris (Jenkins), obviously without (CB) ‘Tru’ (Trumaine Johnson), so we’re playing younger players. With that being said, I thought (CBs) Marcus (Roberson) and E.J. (Gaines) held their own yesterday. I was proud of the way they played. Both of the safeties were playing well and then we lost Rodney (McLeod). We had one series where we had to make some adjustments. We were anticipating run. They changed personnel groupings and we had a couple issues over the course of a couple plays. We moved (DB) Lamarcus (Joyner) to free safety once (S) Cody (Davis) went down. We’ll definitely have a week’s worth of practice and things will settle down for us. It was highly unusual, just losing the number of players that we did in the game.”

(On if the injuries forced the coaches to simplify things schematically)
“We took a different approach going into the game defensively. I thought the guys did a nice job. The ball came out quick. We handled the run game for the most part until midway to a third of the way into the fourth quarter. Offensively, Barrett did a nice job directing traffic and working with protections. Our breakdowns, they came just on the one-on-one battles as we’re trying to get receivers out down the field.”

(On how T Jake Long was playing this season)
“He had an issue a couple weeks ago, but last week he played really good. He played his best game to date last week. He was off to a great start in this game. He was strong, he was stout. He was playing well. It’s very unfortunate. Everything we said about (QB) Sam (Bradford) when Sam went down needs to be repeated about Jake. Jake worked really, really hard to get back. It was kind of an isolated incident, isolated contact and it was just kind of a freak thing. We appreciate him, as we talked to him after the game…his work and the difficulty associated with that injury. But he’s done it once, he’ll do it again.”

(On if there are any concerns with the rehab process)
“No, it’s just very unique. It’s a coincidental thing. Our guys are top-shelf, they know what they’re doing. They worked really hard. The guys were fine and both knees had braces on them as well. It’s just kind of unusual.”

(On if he had any doubts that he brought Long and QB Sam Bradford back too soon)
“No. There was no second guessing there whatsoever. They were both ready to play.”

(On if he saw anything on the coach’s film that indicated how Long was injured)
“He got hit low on the outside leg by the defensive tackle. There was a defensive tackle, there was a blow to the outside of the…he was planted, he was kicking. He was planted, they were going to start a TE game and the tackle was going down and went low and hit him on the outside of the knee.”

(On the performance of WR Brian Quick this season and if this was a breakout year for him)
“It was, it started. He was very productive. He took advantage of all the opportunities. He made tough plays, tough catches, and we’re going to miss him. As is the case when you have injured players, people step up. So we’ve got to have people step up.”

(On Greg Robinson’s move to left tackle)
“I thought he was fine. He had some issues, they had outstanding rushers, but he was strong and stout. That’s what he does. He’ll have a week to work on the footwork and things like that this week. He went out there and knew what to do and came out of the stack on a screen and executed a block. You can see his athletic ability when he made the tackle on the interception. At the tackle position, he’ll be fine.”

(On C Barrett Jones playing after his long rehab stint)
“It’s been a while, yeah. Barrett had difficulty with the injuries. His senior year injury, coming back, then we had the back thing during the offseason. He got out there and did fine. He actually did some stuff on kickoff return for us on the first return, which was good to see. We all know Barrett’s going to know what to do, it’s just can he do it. He showed yesterday that he can handle that spot.”

(On if Jones has the potential to be a starter)
“I think he’s got potential to play for us, yes. At center and/or guard. I have the same feeling with (C) Demetrius (Rhaney), too, who we lost early in the offseason with the injury.”

(On who will step in for Quick)
“(WR Stedman Bailey) ‘Sted’ steps up and he plays. (WR) Chris (Givens) will play. So, we’re going to expect the four of those guys to make plays and they will.”

(On if Quick will have surgery on his shoulder)
“Yeah, he’ll need surgery. It’s currently not scheduled, but he will need surgery. It’s a significant injury to the shoulder. We expect a full return, too. It’ll be a 100 percent recovery.”

(On if DB Cody Davis has to go through the concussion protocol)
“Yes and we had good results this morning. So, he felt better.”

(On how he can combat being outscored in the second half)
“First off, if you go back through the season I think we have six returns for touchdowns in seven games. That’s hard to win when you’re giving up returns for (touchdowns) however they happen. Whether it’s a blocked punt, a kickoff return, whatever, an interception return, fumble return. Those things are hard to overcome. Then second half we need to be able to carry balance in the game. Yesterday we couldn’t. It got out of reach for us and we had to pick it up and throw it. When we’re one dimensional it’s difficult and that’s the case with anybody.”

(If he’s ever had a team that’s been so up and down within the course of a game)
“I’m not going to compare this team to teams that I’ve had in the past. I have confidence in this team. They know how to practice, they love to play. They can work their way through difficult times and we have to prove that again. Tough loss, we’ve got an outstanding opponent ahead of us. That’s the good part about the National Football League, there’s always another game.”

(On if CB Trumain Johnson could be back this week)
“There’s a chance, yeah. He made progress last week. Matter a fact, in the pregame, well before pregame he had a really good workout with (Secondary) Coach (Chuck) Cecil. So, there’s a chance he could come on back. I think (CB) Janoris (Jenkins) has a chance as well.”

(On if Jenkins will practice this week)
“At some point, “yeah.”

(On OL Joe Barksdale’s performance and how unusual it is for him to have a tough day)
“Yeah, he gave up, he was a little light on the inside. He was vulnerable on the inside move and (Chiefs LB Justin) Houston took advantage of it a couple times. We also held the ball, should have gotten rid of the ball a couple times. Sacks are not all Joe’s. Sacks often times are attributed to the offense, to the protection, to the help, to the routes that are run incorrectly. Joe, he’ll overcome this. The tackle position as I say, is hard to play and they’re two outstanding rushers. He’ll bounce back.”

(On if he’s still happy about the running back by committee approach)
“When they got their opportunities they all were productive. The average per carry is about the same. We’ll see. We may settle into something this week.”

(On if it’s tougher for them to get in a rhythm with that system)
“Not their personalities. It may be for some backs, but not these three, not at all. You saw yesterday,(RB) Zac (Stacy) didn’t have any trouble getting started. Neither did (RB) Benny (Cunningham) on the long run backed up on the two yard-line. That was an outstanding run. (RB) Tre’s (Mason) making his plays as well.”

(On him not having much time of possession in the last two games)
“No, we need to do that. Actually, everything starts there. Keep the ball, run the football, and get off the field on third down, which we did in the first half, we didn’t do in the second half. You get your possessions, you get your opportunities.”

(On if he found out about Taveras’ death after he landed)
“Yes. Found out actually when I got home last night.”

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