Fisher, Davis … 10/29 … transcripts & video

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – Post-Practice – October 29, 2014

(On the addition of S Mark Barron)
“We obviously liked Mark coming into the league. He was an outstanding college player. We thought he had a lot of ability and whatever the reasons are down there, we had an opportunity to take advantage of getting a good football player. I spoke with him last night after we put the deal together. Obviously he surprised and shocked but excited about a new start. He just walked through the field there during the middle of the walk thru. He’s got a lot of catching up to do. He’s going to be in time a very good player for us.”

(On if Barron could play this week)
“I wouldn’t rule it out whatsoever, whether it’s special teams or a role on defense. It really depends on…I mean, he’s just meeting people now for the first time. So, we’ll see how quickly things go this week.”

(On if Barron has a chance to contribute because of the Rams’ injury situation)
“It’s an opportunity to get a good player on this roster for the future. Whenever and wherever he plays, I can’t answer that right now. But we’ve got a good player.”

(On the team having a walk thru rather than a full practice today)
“I had 13 people on the injury report and I felt like we needed to back down today. Our focus is having them ready at 1:00 on Sunday.”

(On the difficulty of the challenge this week considering the opponent and the Rams’ injury situation)
“We’re going to bounce back this week and go out and we’re going to play as hard as we possibly can against a good football team that we had a chance to beat here but we let slip away. I’m not blaming anything on the injuries or anything. We’ll have some people come back as the week goes on, but the big thing for us is to…when you play an opponent twice in three weeks, you run the risk of taking for granted, ‘Oh, we’re familiar with them. We played them a couple weeks ago.’ We’ve got to get to know them even better right now. That’s our focus. That’s their challenge. Learn from the mistakes that happened in that ballgame. Carry a respect in for your opponent and go play hard. That’s our focus right now.”

(On if he’s in a ‘wait and see mode’ to see how the injured players progress this week)
“Yeah, they’ll be on the injury report today. Because you don’t practice full speed, you have to estimate had you had a full practice what would they have done. We went ahead and did that and we’re accurate with that. We’ll get some players back tomorrow I’m sure and then more and more players back on Friday.”

(On what he likes about Barron as a safety)
“He’s a smart, instinctive football player. He’ll hit you. He understands angles. Gosh, he was a first-round pick and for whatever reason it didn’t work out or they felt like it didn’t fit in the system. We’ll find a way to fit him into our system at some point. I don’t know whether that’s a week for six weeks or next year. But we need depth at the position and we’re banged up a little bit. It was an opportunity that we couldn’t pass up.”

(On the roles Barron and T.J. McDonald could have together)
“I’m not going to speculate the moves and things like that. We got a good player. I’m going to spend some time with him and talk about where and how he fits at some other point.”

Rams QB Austin Davis – October 29, 2014

(On preparation for the 49ers playing them two weeks after the first meeting)
“It is kind of strange to play a team twice in one year but not only to do that but to play them kind of back to back. You know what they’re going to do but obviously they’ll do some things differently. We’ll do some things differently, too. It’s a new game. You approach every game and every week differently. It’s the next one up and we’ll be prepared.”

(On how he’s preparing for the 49ers in the film room)
“You watch the previous game. What did they do that we were able to take advantage off? What did they do that gave us problems? You expect to see whatever they did to give us problems, you expect to see it again. We’ve got to have some answers for it.”

(On the second half of the game against the Chiefs and the new offensive linemen)
“It was challenging. I thought the guys that did come in really stepped up and did a great job and really fought. I told them that after the game. I was really happy with the way they came in. That’s hard to do. It’s hard to come off the bench and play. I’ve been there. I appreciated the way those guys came in and fought. Very confident with the guys that are going this week. We’ve got a good game plan for what we need to get done. Keep moving forward.”

(On if the starting O-line has been crystallized for the game on Sunday)
“I don’t think it’s crystallized. We’ll see who recovers and who doesn’t. Just kind of as the week goes along we’ll get a better idea of what the plan is. We’ll be ready to go by Sunday. We don’t have to be ready today.”

(On what the week has been like with all the roster moves that have occurred)
“It has a different feel to it but at the same time it’s all about Sunday. We’ve got to be ready to play Sunday. Today’s a little different day with the walk-thru. Just trying to get mental reps and focus. The focus is on the physical health of the football team to get everyone ready to play. The fact that it’s a familiar opponent helps in this type of week. But, at the same time every game’s a different game.”

(On OL Greg Robinson moving from LG to LT)
“Greg’s doing a great job. He’s getting better every week. Again, I don’t evaluate the offensive line play. Felt very comfortable in whatever formation, whatever lineup we have up there.”

(On if they ask him to grade the offensive line)
“They don’t.”

(On if he can speak to the dramatic differences between the first and second halves)
“One of the things we have to focus on is being able to play a complete game on both sides of the football and be able to put it together. Offensively, we talked about the details. Just letting things get away whether that’s my drop or my eyes and receiver routes, just the details of everything that we do. It’s easy to lose those details as you get going during the season. But, when you watch a game that you don’t play so well those are typically the things that can get away from you and cause you to struggle.”

(On if it is frustrating that the offense struggles in the second half)
“I think that’s the hardest part about being a really good offense and defense as well, is can you do it consistently. Can you do it every quarter, every play, both halves. That’s what we’re focused on and we’re still getting better and better. That’s what we got to do this week.”

(On if he notices that past opponents have made adjustments or have taken away certain things in the second half)
“I think in watching tape, they don’t take as much away as you think they do. I felt at times that I’ve gotten kind of thrown off a little bit and missed some things. They cover one thing, then all of a sudden you think they’re covering everything, but they’re really not. We’re getting guys open, run game’s been good. We’ve just got to stay the course and continue to do what we do. And, like you’ve already said put two halves together and play a complete game.”

(On how significant third down conversions are)
“It’s a big part of it. We talk a lot about third downs and just staying on the field. There’s a time of possession battle. There’s a confidence that comes with converting third-downs and the big focus for us is staying out of third-and-long. Third-and-eight-8/9/10-plus is really hard to convert in this league. I don’t care how good you are on offense. We’ve got to be better on first and second down to get us into third-and-manageable, third-and-2/3s and that’ll give us a better chance to convert, stay on the field and kind of build momentum and play confidently.”