Fisher, Snead, & Goff… 4/29 (transcript)

LA Rams News Conference GM Les Snead, HC Jeff Fisher, QB Jared Goff–April 29, 2016

(Opening Statement)

FISHER: “This is so cool. We were sitting, probably 20 or 30 minutes ago, in the back room with Jared and I and (Senior Director/Communications) Artis (Twyman) just kind of going through his last 24 hours, 48 hours and last week. He’s sleep deprived. He slept about three hours last night and that comes along with the territory. We were sitting there going through what we are going to do here and how this is going to work, and Vince Ferragamo and Jim Everett walk into the room. I want to recognize both Vince and Jim back there, thanks for coming by. That was a really special moment for us to have them come in and really be the first people to greet Jared, and it was really cool. That’s the start of a long relationship between you three. We appreciate you coming over. So, here we are, and the quicker we can get to questions, the better off we’re going to be. I am just very, very thrilled, and by the way I am in a good mood. I was not in a good mood yesterday apparently. I’m really happy to introduce our first pick here in LA, our franchise quarterback, Jared Goff.

(On if everything has slowed down since yesterday)

GOFF: “It was a crazy time, and it’s still kind of going fast right now. I’m trying to take it all in, and enjoy it as much as I can, but it’s a little bit of a whirlwind right now, but I am trying to enjoy it.”

(On if it is true that his mom and dad didn’t like that the Rams took a lot of time to present their pick)

GOFF: “(Laughs).”

(On if he has thought about the transition that he has to make coming from college football playing predominantly out of the shotgun and the biggest part of making that transition)

GOFF: “I think it is just getting used to the speed. I have the summer to get more comfortable in center and doing that stuff, but I think just getting used to the speed. It’s going to speed up more, the windows are going to be tighter, the receivers are going to be moving faster, and everyone is going to be moving faster. I think myself, and really everyone coming into the NFL as a rookie, you want to transition to the speed. It is something I am ready for, and excited for the challenge.”

(On his approach to getting his team to buy into what he can do as a quarterback)

GOFF: “At first, just kind of come in and put your head down and work hard, and just kind of stay low and gain their respect. I think you have to do that for a little while and once you do that then you can begin to lead and be the leader that you need to be, and as a quarterback you have to do that. I think I’m going to bring a hard-working mentality, and a hard-working attitude, and start with that.”

(On his demanding rookie year at Cal and the foundation it has built for him today)

GOFF: “It’s big in my development, and I think it is something that I am going to carry with me forever. It is something that I am very thankful now that I went through it, and I can look back on and use those experiences to my advantage if I ever have to go through something like that again. Hopefully, I don’t ever have to, but you always have to go through adversity, and I had to go through a lot of it that year.”

(On the video of his Cal teammates celebrating after he got drafted and what it means to him)

GOFF: “Yeah, I saw that. It was special and really cool to see. It means a lot to me to see how excited they were. They were yelling and screaming and jumping up and down; It was really cool to see that.”

(On landing in LA and the impressions of his new home)

GOFF: It feels like home. Landing back in California, in sunny southern California, and it feels like my home and where I belong.”

(On what his conversation was like with RB Todd Gurley and the first thing they talked about after he got drafted)

GOFF: “Actually he texted me last night and said congratulations, and he’s happy to have me, and ready to get to work and then I told him I am ready to go. I’m excited to be his teammate.”

(On the transition from Northern California to Southern California and if he has received grief from people staying in California)

GOFF: “I’m going to have to make a little bit of a transition here pretty soon, but yeah I have gotten a little bit of grief from that.”

(On if he is going to take Yasiel Puig up on his offer to show him LA)

GOFF: “I will take him up on that. It was a really cool move for him to do that and treat me like that. I do plan to take him up on that, hopefully this summer and go catch a game.”

(On Goff’s expectation of himself being the No 1 pick)

GOFF: “I want to come in and work hard and see what happens. I want to play as well as I can but at the same time, come in and prove myself. I hold myself to a high standard on and off the field, and in the weight room. I expect that to stay the same as I start my NFL career.”

(On the hardest part of working under center)

GOFF: “I think it is just muscle memory. It took me a few days to get used to it, and I’ve been doing it ever since I got out of Cal. It’s not something I think there is going to be too much of an issue with.

(On what the next few days after the draft will bring)

GOFF: “Hopefully I’ll get a playbook pretty soon here and get into that. Start learning some of the stuff and get acclimated with it. After today, I will probably fly back home and decompress for a little bit, relax and finally get some sleep. Then start getting ready for minicamp.”

(On if he has an expectation to be the team’s starting quarterback)

GOFF: “Again, I am going to come in and work as hard as I can. I want to prove myself and ultimately that is up to the coaches to make that decision. I am going to come in and work as hard as I can, and hopefully play well and prove myself.”

(On what point in his career did he think he’d be the No. 1 draft pick and if it is a dream come true)

GOFF: “It’s a huge dream come true for me and something you can’t really put into words. It is awesome. The phone call last night is something I will remember forever. The whole experience is very surreal, but I know it comes with a lot of responsibility. I am ready for that and very excited for it.”

(On why the quarterback position so difficult to evaluate)

SNEAD: “That’s an excellent question. I’ll start with there probably are not enough QBs on the planet to meet the demand. As you move up levels from pee-wee, to middle school, to high school to college – you really don’t know until you take that next step and play. That is the hardest thing. It is two different systems and two different games. It’s just a hard position. I call it one of the most rewarding jobs on the planet, but it’s probably one of the toughest. Each step you move up the ladder it gets tougher. I’ll end it by saying there just probably aren’t enough QBs on the planet to meet the demand.”

(On how much control Goff had over the line of scrimmage and how it will help his transition)

GOFF: “I was in control pf a lot as far as protections, route combos, running plays and everything in between. At the line of scrimmage, I was changing a lot of stuff. I think it is something that will transition well and I can carry with me to the next level.”

(On how Fisher will temper enthusiasm for getting Goff into action)

FISHER: “It’s really simple. We are going to have our rookie minicamp this weekend, an orientation. Then the guys come back, stick around and visit with the coaches. We’ll have OTAs (organized team activities) and training camp practices. That is really all our focus. That is where it all starts. It’s about football. It’s about winning games and preparing Jared with the rest of his teammates to get ready for the season. The enthusiasm, the excitement and everything we are experiencing here now in LA is great. It’s going to carry over into attendance and all that. It will help us win games and sign players, but our focus is football. That’s what we do. That’s why we are here.”

(On what the moment meant to meet Jim Everett and Vince Ferragamo)

GOFF: “Really really cool, real special. Obviously, I grew up watching those guys and those guys being former Rams quarterbacks, and now me stepping into that role, it’s really cool to get a chance to meet them and hopefully get a chance to pick their brain a little bit later.”

(On managing the potential distractions of being in Los Angeles)

GOFF: “I think it goes back to what Coach Fisher was just saying. My main focus is going to be winning games and playing well on the field. All that stuff is great, like you said for attendance and hype. At the same time, I’m going to be really focused on being the best player I can be, the best teammate I can be, the best leader I can be, and let all that all that stuff take care of itself.”

(On what Fisher sees in Goff that reminds him of what he saw in Steve McNair)

FISHER: “As I have mentioned through the process that each and every candidate or quarterback, if you will, is different. They have different skill sets and things like that. So you have to be very careful to compare, but we did go ahead and take Steve off the draft board as the first quarterback in the draft. Similarities in their production on the field, the wins, the red-zone efficiency. Steve, people don’t realize this, but he did play under center his junior year in a pro-style system, and then got in the shotgun his senior year. We were very patient. We were very patient with him and he was asked numerous times, ‘When are you going to play?’ and it’s the same thing that Jared said, ‘When the coaches say I’m ready for it.’ I think we handled it well. We’re not going to follow that same model because he’s got a different skill set than Steve does.”

(On what it means to be a part of this historic moment in franchise history)

SNEAD: “Well in our business, like you’ve mentioned, and it has been said a lot, the quarterback position is very important. Long-term stability there definitely helps us achieve our goal of consistently contending. On this side I can see the history of it, you’re moving up. I think on our side, the football side, it really boils down to…a lot of times you try to identify guys like Jared who can help you but the hardest thing of the equation is actually being able to go get him. So I think for us in the building in football, that’s what we remember. A lot of times we say ‘Aw, we’d love to get that guy,’ but you just can’t. Somebody else wants them and you can’t go up and get them. It just happened that in 2016 that Jared made himself eligible for the draft and I’m sure (Cal Head Coach Sonny) Coach Dykes wished that you didn’t. He did a nice job developing and guess what? The Tennessee Titans were picking No. 1 and they drafted a quarterback last year. Like you said, we had identified Jared as a guy we wanted and once we did that, we were going to go try our best to get him and you know what? It worked out. Even if it took eight minutes into the ten, it worked out. (Laughs)”

(On if ay part of him is nervous considering all of the hype of the trade)

GOFF: “I think I am just more excited and ready for the challenge. Like I said, I know being the (No.) 1 pick brings a lot of responsibility. It’s something I’m ready for and very excited for, and ready to really just get back to football, get back to playing. I haven’t played football, I feel like, for forever, this whole long interview process for four months or so. I really just want to get back to playing and just being a teammate and being with the guys again.”

(On how he would quantify a successful rookie season)

GOFF: “I don’t know. I think that’s going to be something where I go in and I’m going to work hard like I’ve said and see what happens. Again, it’s not my decision, it’s up to the coaches and I don’t know if there is an exact win number, whatever it may be. I want to go in and prove myself and gain the respect of the guys, prove myself to Les, Coach Fisher, and (Rams owner/chairman) Mr. (Stan) Kroenke that they made the right decision.”