Fisher, 12/18 … transcript

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – – 12/18/15

(Opening statement)
“Short weeks are hard. I think Friday after the short weeks are even harder because you’re up so late and then you get in early and evaluate the game and then cut the players loose for a couple of days. As far as the game is concerned, pleased with all three phases. There were some really good things that happened. Disappointed, like I said last night after the game, in the four-play drive for a touchdown that kind of backed us up against a wall, but we were able to overcome it. Offensively, we hung in there against a good defensive front. We kept them honest with the run game. (QB) Case (Keenum) made some great throws, especially to (WR) Kenny (Britt). A couple of others down the field. Defensively, first half was good. Second half we gave up way too many yards. Fourth quarter was more of a, ‘Watch the clock now,’ which we did, and make them drive the football. Fortunately we came through without any injuries. We’re looking forward to a little break this weekend. Coaches need it. Players need it. We’ll come back and get ready for the Seahawks.”

(On if he sees significant improvement week-to-week in QB Case Keenum)
“Yeah, he’s much more comfortable. He was really at ease in the game. Rhythm was good. Timing was good. Decisions were good. For the most part, this defense did a good job of disguising some things. Typically, (Tampa Bay Defensive Coordinator) Leslie (Frazier) does a really good job as a coordinator with this defense. They’re somewhat simple, but he did some different things, particularly because he was setting things up and defending the run. At times he was daring us to throw the ball. When you do that, you have to disguise a little bit and he did so. He caught Case one time off guard right before half. Other than that, Case was really deliberate with his decisions.”

(On if Keenum is making a statement as far as where he fits in on the team)
“Yeah, we’re going to take the weekend off and put a good plan together and let him go up there and compete against the Seahawks. There’s no harder place to play as a quarterback than up there against the Seahawks, so we’ll see how he does.”

(On if he’s a fan of Browns QB Johnny Manziel this weekend)
“Of course. I’ve always been a Johnny Manziel fan. We had a private workout and had visits. I think he’s an NFL talent and he can win games. It’s going to be a great game. You’ve got two quarterbacks that are similar in that they can run around and make plays.”

(On how Assistant Head Coach/Offense Rob Boras’ nerves were this week)
“He was much better. Much better. He’s still agonizing over the first-and-goal on the 2 (-yard line), second-and-goal on the 2, third-and-goal on the 2. We didn’t get it in, but I told him, ‘That’s football sometimes.’ I was not going to give him the fourth down shot. We needed the points. Beyond that, he was much more at ease. He was in rhythm. There were no issues from a play calling standpoint.”

(On if he second guessed the fourth quarter strategy)
“Well yeah, we’ve got to do things better. We had them backed up and we gave them a big play off a corner blitz on the sideline to the big receiver and then we gave up some shots down the field. I think defensively we could’ve done a better job running time off the clock. It was a strange coincidence from a timing standpoint because you’re up by whatever amount of points we were and they have a four-play drive touchdown. We run the kickoff back and we get the 2-yard line and we run three plays and kick a field goal and you look up at the clock and there’s only three minutes has run off the clock. That’s not how you protect leads. We did get a chance to run the football. We got them to use their timeouts. We have to play better defense there. But as I said, our goal going into the game was to score points to try to get them into one dimensional offense, because that changes things because they’re an outstanding rushing football team. We just didn’t want it to carry balance until the end of the game and allow them to run the football. Putting it in the hands of (Tampa Bay QB) Jameis (Winston) is as it turns out, was not the ideal thing, but at least it gave us a chance. Jameis, looking at the tape, he’s special. They’re going to win a lot of games with him. He’s an outstanding player.”

(On the defense pressuring Winston a lot)
“We hit him many times, yes.”

(On the reason for getting the tight ends more involved last night)
“Well, it was some of the things that we’d seen, some of the things that they’d shown. We felt like we had some opportunities, some tight windows to get the ball into. Case made those plays. A couple plays to (TE) Lance (Kendricks) on the run-action fakes were good, but the shots down the field, in particular the deeper one to ‘Cookie’ (TE Jared Cook) was a great throw and in a tight window. It was part of the…when you’re running the football and the defense is committed to stop the run, you go outside often times, but tight ends are the ones that are going to make those plays typically in the run-action fakes.”

(On the video chat the team had with WR Stedman Bailey before the game)
“It was something that I’d never experienced before. It was really special. Really special.”

(On Bailey’s status)
“He was great. I haven’t had a chance to see the TV tape, but my understanding is they did use it on the network. Yeah, we had it set up and really, it was special. Guys didn’t anticipate it and he wished them well. As a matter of fact, gave him a chance to talk and said, ‘Do you have anything to say to your teammates?’, and he said, ‘Yeah, go kick their ass.’ So, must mean he’s getting better.”

(On the video chat inspiring WR Tavon Austin)
“Oh, it did. They’re close. There’s a number of guys…we’ve got a handful of guys that are going to go down and see him this weekend, check on him.”

(On if he’s going to start the window of time for LB Alec Ogletree to return)
“Yeah, we’re going to start the window and see how he is. He ran outside last week. He’s not ready to play, but we’ll start the window next week and we’ll just see how it goes.”

(On how G Cody Wichmann is doing)
“He’s coming on, yeah. Each week, he’s getting better. He’s a strong inside player. He’s smart. He’s been playing some good three-techniques and some good defensive tackles, so he’s hanging in there. He understands angles down field and he’s getting to the second level. He and (T) Rob (Havenstein) are doing a good job communicating. It’s valuable playing experience for him.”

(On the importance of continuity on the offensive line)
“It’s important. I mean, our sack numbers are down compared to years past and that’s a tribute to ‘Bou’ (Offensine Line Coach Paul Boudreau) and to the offensive line and what we’re doing. Case took the one, which he needed to take, that he had to take that one right before half. Once you get a group that’s working together for an extended period of time, then you get results. So, it’s been good for us. I mean, they’ve got a huge challenge obviously next weekend, but especially when you’re playing young guys up there and you can’t hear. So, it’ll be…certainly they got their work cut out for them.”

(On if he liked the color rush uniforms)
“I was this close to putting some sunglasses on. Very bright, yeah.”

(On if he’s superstitious now because of winning in the color rush uniforms)
“Not many coaches wear sunglasses in indoor facilities, but I was very close.”

“I’ll tell you, I will raise this point – what was difficult for us was identifying their personnel groupings with the numbers on their jerseys, as I imagine it probably was for you. I will mention that to the league office. It was really difficult for us to tell who was coming on and off the field because the numbers weren’t displayed on the uniforms, so I think they need to take that into consideration. From my standpoint, I think that’s a competitive advantage. I mean, you had no problem telling who we had on the field, but we had difficulty telling who they had on the field.”