Fisher, 8/26

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – August 26, 2014

(On QB Shaun Hill’s performance today)
“He was fine. We had a walk through earlier and he did fine. He got a few reps today, so not concerned about it.”

(On if he has decided the amount of snaps Hill will play on Thursday)
“Yeah I have.”

(On if he would like to share how many snaps he Hill will play)
“No I won’t.”

(On what he sees out of QB Austin Davis)
“Well Austin’s mobile. First off, he’s smart, he understands what we’re doing. He can extend plays if he needs to. He’s gotten much better at keeping his eyes downfield, and that’s a hard thing to learn. It’s almost a trait. But, when you can step, feel around the pocket with your eyes down the field you’ve got a chance to make plays.”

(On the position battle between DE Ethan Westbrooks and DE Michael Sam)
“I think they’re both doing well right now. No different than any other positional races on this football team. They’re both doing well. You know me, I’m not going to say who’s one or who’s two.”

(On the possibility of keeping 10 defensive linemen)
“It’s possible we can keep 12.”

(On Westbrooks’ performance in training camp and the preseason)
“He’s been very productive from the time camp started. He came in at great shape and making plays. He’s playing all four positions right now.”

(On if Sam can contribute on special teams)
“I’ve went on record over the last couple of weeks about Michael Sam and his special teams contributions and it’s really unfair to have expectations of him to be productive at that because you just don’t…as a defensive end, you’re not asked to do those things. And he’s not a ‘tweener’ as people have referred to. He’s a defensive end, not a linebacker, and it’s rare that you get a defensive end that’s going to go out and contribute on all four of your core special teams. We have one defensive end on our team, Eugene Sims, that is on our punt protection team and that’s it. So, special teams is not part of the equation for Mike. We’re giving him every opportunity to do so and he’s participated in special teams practices and everything but that’s not going to be part of the criteria for the evaluations.”

(On if Sam’s roster spot is purely based on his defensive performance)
“That’s correct.”

(On if he has any idea of how long the starters are going to play on Thursday)
“We’re working through it. We feel like we just finished up the Cleveland game. We’re going to be selective and some may play more than others. Really that’s all I can say now.”

(On CB E.J. Gaines performance in practice)
“E.J. has done a nice job. He missed last week, he’s been off for about 10 days but he’s back. He feels good, he’ll play. He’s done a nice job both at the corner spot, the nickel spot and on special teams.”

(On if Sam participated in special teams in games this preseason)
“He was on kickoff return. We use linemen on kickoff return but we usually use offensive linemen. So it’s part of our practice and camp preparations.”

(On if Sam volunteered to partake in special teams drills)
“Nobody volunteers. We have expectations for everybody. So, he’s willing to do whatever we ask him to do right now.”

(On the defensive line depth)
“Well it’s good. We’re healthy, which is good after our scares from last week. It’s good I think we’ve got depth, we’ve got youth, and we certainly have flexibility.”

(On DE Robert Quinn’s performance this preseason)
“Well Rob’s not played a whole lot for obvious reasons but he’s played enough. He’s practicing very well. I think he’s better now than he was last year when we finished up. Because that was a goal of his at camp.”

(On how the veterans have handled things since QB Sam Bradford’s injury news was broken)
“I’ll use this analogy: you lose a tough regular season game, you put it in perspective. You almost have a 24-hour rule, you come back and get ready for next week. That’s how players are and that’s what their mindset is today. They are ready to go, they are ready to do everything they possibly can to help Shaun be successful.”