Fisher, 8/17 – transcript & vid

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – August 17, 2014

(Opening statement)
“I can confirm now that Isaiah (Pead) will be lost for the season. He has torn his ACL which is very unfortunate as I said yesterday as we suspected. He worked very very hard to get in the position to where he was a very productive special teamer for us and we had high hopes for him doing some things out of the backfield for us as well. So he’ll be undergoing surgery in the next 10 days to two weeks which, is typical with these injuries. So he’s got a long road ahead of him but I’m confident that as he’s matured over the last couple years that he’ll get back in good shape next year. Anyway, we’ll wish him the best though his rehab. As far as the game is concerned, if you get past the score and the statistics and things like that, which we had to do this morning, we saw some improvement in a number of areas. Obviously Sam (Bradford) doesn’t fall in the category of improvement because he didn’t play last week but certainly as I said, Sam played very very well for us. He and Scott (Wells) were dead on as far as communication and protections and all those kind of things so we were pleased with that. Saw some improvement up front, I thought Greg (Robinson) improved. He played tackle, he got a chance to block two outstanding rushers and then he moved into guard and played well and was productive at guard. And we thought, the staff felt that Davin (Joseph) played very well at right guard as Joe (Barksdale) did at right tackle so we saw some improvement up from those that played. Same thing defensively. Despite the fact that we were in a hurry up in a no huddle, and remained fairly basic, we saw some good things out of some players on defense. When T.J. (Mcdonald) came in for the second series he was very productive, very efficient at tackling and showing up around the line of scrimmage. Then of course we saw some good things on special teams as well from some of the young guys. So as I mentioned to you and I mentioned to them this week’s a different week. We’re going to do a little more this week on both sides of the ball as we need to. We need to put the players under little more stress from a game plan standpoint and so the coaches will prepare to do that and it looks like we have an exciting opponent this week.”

(On OL Demetrius Rhaney’s MRI)
“Yes, we got good news. We suspected the worse but we got good news. He has no ligament damage whatsoever. Cartilages are good, solid, no cartilage damage. He’s got severe bone bruise I would guess I would classify it and he’s going to be out for some time. These things typically take time but I can’t tell you whether it’s going to be four weeks or six weeks, but I would not expect him back within the four week time period.”

(On if he is looking to bring in new players due to Pead and Rhaney’s injuries)
“No not necessarily. I think we’re good right now. We’ve got depth, we’ve got flexibility. Mike Person, for example, played all three offensive positions, played 71 snaps yesterday and played tackle, guard, center so we’ve got depth there. We’re going to look. This is the time you typically continue to evaluate the bottom half of your roster and watch the waiver wire and we’ll make room with Isaiah’s spot and if someone’s out there then we’ll consider it but not looking to replace position for a position at that point, no.”

(On when the feeling of emergency kicks in during the preseason)
“No, there’s no urgency as far as that’s concerned. We look at it from an individual standpoint across the board and look at every player. Although you want to win games, it’s important, you want to play well and be productive and score points. I think the thing that’s most important is just the individual improvement.”

(On if there is one segment or segments that will receive a heavier emphasis based on what they’ve seen in the first two preseason games)
“Well, like I said, we’re going to put a little bit more on the game-plan cover sheet than we have had. That doesn’t necessarily mean that were going to call it, but we’re going to do that. You go across the board across the league, people are…opening day in the National Football League is a lot different than preseason games from a standpoint of what you do. As long as, in our eyes, we’re continuing to do those things well on the practice field and we elect not to do those things in the game – there’s not a sense of urgency. But, you play to win games at all times and we didn’t play well in the second half. The young offensive line struggled in the fourth quarter. We move (T Sean) Hooey from right tackle to left tackle. He had not played in a game there before and he had his hands full. He graded out very well at right tackle when he was in the game. So, those are the kind of things that you look at.”

(On how you calm down a player like Hooey that is struggling in the game)
“Well, (Offensive Line Coach Paul Boudreau) Bou’s really good at that, staff’s good at that, his teammates are good at that. We slid. We tried to slide to get him some help and he didn’t kick as quick as he should have. Then, of course, we did not slide and we got beat in the pass-rush game, in the TE (tight end) game, so that stuff happens. But, when he comes back in the building tomorrow, for example, you talk about the right tackle and how well he played at right tackle. He graded out much better there. That’s a hard place to play out there on the left side.”

(On keeping five running backs on the roster last year and if Pead’s injury will open up an opportunity for a player like RB Trey Watts)
“Well, Trey did some nice things at the end of the game for us, as far as the run game is concerned. We’re going to allow him to get significantly more carries over the next couple weeks. We want to see what he can do. Now, he’s been slowed by the hamstring, so he’s missed time, but he’s back on the practice field. He had a number of special teams reps in the game and did well. He can run, and so yes it opens a door. Now, it doesn’t necessarily mean, there’s no guarantees just because we kept five last year, means we’re going to keep five this year. We may use that spot at another position where there’s maybe depth, but it’s certainly going to give him an opportunity.”

(On RB Tre Mason having some issues with pass protection and if that is an area most rookie running backs struggle with when they transition to the NFL)
“Yeah, there’s two issues. One is recognition – who you’ve got – and then two is actually going out and executing the block. It starts with the recognition and that’s where there was a breakdown. We gave up (Shaun) Hill, the quarterback. I think, that’s one of the biggest challenges for the position, as we talk about it, is learn how to play without the football. Guys have run skills, he can carry the ball and run and do those kinds of things, but it’s playing without the football. It’s protection, it’s getting out to the right spots in the route at different times to be the checkdown or be where he’s supposed to be when the quarterback needs you – that’s the challenge at the position. Tre needs to keep working at it.”

(On if RB Zac Stacy has improved in his pass protection abilities)
“Yes he’s not been put in position in preseason games yet. In the first two weeks he’s not been put in a position where he’s had to protect, particularly because they elected on third down when he was in there not to blitz or whatever. But, he’s certainly shown it on the practice field. In the drills that we’ve had he’s done very well with it.”

(On if there is any chance for DT Michael Brockers, LB James Laurinaitis, OL Jake Long and OL Rodger Saffold to play this week)
“I think there’s chance for all those four.”

(On how close is OL Barrett Jones to returning)
“Barrett’s going to be weeks away. Barrett has had some minor surgery on his back so he will not participate in the preseason. Beyond that I don’t know. It depends on his rehab.”

(On DE Ethan Westbrooks)
“He’s making plays. He’s playing well against the run. He’s got pass rush ability he’s shown, he’s put a lot of pressure on the passer. He’s an effort guy and he even got a chance some special teams on kick return. It looks like he has a chance to that.”

(On the difficulty to evaluate players based on certain matchups)
“Well you have to take that into consideration. For example, one of the first things I asked was who is (Green Bay DE Jayrone) Elliot that had three sacks at the end of the game. Where’d that guy come from? He played well, he’s a good pass rusher. So it is, you have to look at that and who the matchups are against, the corners and the receivers, or the linebackers and the tight ends and the running backs. And even from that standpoint on special teams. It is important to us, we already did this as a staff today. As a total staff we watched the special teams tape. So the offensive line coach gets a chance to watch at the DBs and may be asked to grade the DBs and certain positions on special teams. So that’s the one key thing that you look at, it’s the matchup, the 1-on-1 matchups and the athletic abilities as you’re evaluating the younger players.”

(On if he’s concerned about the run game)
“It’s a combination of things. They had, really it’s not an excuse, but it looked as if there was an extra guy on the line of scrimmage most of the time yesterday. So as we grade this, our run philosophy is we really don’t care how many guys are on the line of scrimmage we need to run the football. Well we haven’t necessarily worked against those types of things we saw yesterday. We were close, real close on several different runs that didn’t look good, very close to having significant gains.”

(On if QB Sam Bradford did anything that surprised him in the game)
“No, thats what we said. He just carried everything on from the practice field right into the game. That was a great throw and catch to (TE) Lance (Kendricks). It’s a hard a throw and a very, very difficult catch. And same thing the guys helped him too. ‘Cookie’s’ (TE Jared Cook) fourth down catch was a good catch too, contested catch which was good.”

(On if Bradford’s workload will change in the game next week)
“He’ll play a little bit more, a little more than he did. We’re expecting (OL) Jake (Long) to play which will be good. We’ve got to get Jake in there and get Jake and (C) Scott (Wells), make sure they’re surrounding (OL) Greg (Robinson) and get three of them, because that’s how we’re practicing right now. We just have to get them together in a game.”

(On if he told the team if they committed seven or less penalties in the game he would break camp)
“We’re still in camp. I’m a man of my word. We are still in camp. We’ll be breaking camp on Wednesday.”

(On if the veteran players have the option to stay at home)
“Four years or more they have the option to stay home. Anybody three years or less we keep them in the hotel and they have a curfew.”

(On how he handles all the penalties that are called and if he thinks it will continue into the regular season)
“Well it’s a point of emphasis and we have to assume it’s going to continue. We’ve got to teach our players to avoid those things. Same thing with the hands to the face. That’s a point of emphasis. The committee looked at a lot of plays, talked to the players association, talked to physicians, and the safety panel and everything and we got to get the hands down off of the headgear and those types of things. So, that’s a point of emphasis. As is the case any year with points of emphasis, there are going to be things that look that them that weren’t and that’s what we’re dealing with now. We had several yesterday that weren’t hands to the face and we had several contact plays down the field that the contact was so minimal. But, nonetheless we’re going to have to continue to work with our players.”

(On what lessons defensive backs can learn from giving up the big plays yesterday)
“Well we had a young defensive back that kind of lost track of his responsibility on the deep ball. He should’ve carried that coverage. But that’s a good lesson to be learned in that instance.”

(On if that young defensive back was CB Lamarcus Joyner)
“It was a young defensive back and his jersey number was in the 20s. That’s all I’ll say (joking).”

(On in that coverage is that young defensive back supposed to follow the receiver)
“In that particular concept yes. It’s a good learning experience for Lamarcus.”

(On CB Greg Reid’s performance)
“He made some plays on defense. You kind of trust him. He’s got a knack as a returner. He has a good feel for fielding punts, fair catching balls. He’s got some run skills.”

(On the run defense not giving up too many big plays but the Packers were still averaging about four yards per carry)
“Yeah they were, and (Green Bay QB) Aaron (Rodgers) had one too I think that was probably 15, 18 yards or so. Again we kept things very basic. We tackled better but we gave up some plays that were pretty much scheme related I think.”