McVay … 8/23 … transcript

Head Coach Sean McVay– 8/23/20

(Opening Remarks)
“As we get started, you know a lot of people talk about, especially in this area, this would have been Kobe’s (Bryant) 42nd birthday and tomorrow being 8/24, being able to recognize him. You talk about the guy that epitomizes the mindset and mentality as a competitor that you want to embody. I know there’s so many people that have such a great affinity and appreciation for Kobe in our building players, coaches alike. You know, we’ve implemented when we do a lot of competitive-type periods, we call those Mamba periods. I just wanted to be able to acknowledge that and just say that he’s in our thoughts and our prayers, and so is his family with today being what would have been his 42nd birthday.”

(On confirming the NFL report on the hamstring injury of RB Darrell Henderson and what it means for the other RBs)
“Yeah, you know, it’s tough. Darrell did get a mild hamstring. Those are interesting injuries that you kind of just take a little bit at a time. It’s unfortunate because he’s had a really good camp up to this point. He was on a good run where he was really cutting off the heels of the linemen and you could just feel where he got a little twinge in his hamstring. But we will be hopeful that he’ll end up being able to get back and it won’t affect his availability for the Dallas game. But it does hurt, you know, being able to miss out on some of those reps. But like anything else, it means more reps for cam for (RB) Malcolm (Brown), for (RB) (Xavier) Jones and (RB) John Kelly. And so, (Running Backs Coach) Thomas Brown has done a great job with those guys. They’ll get more reps and then we’ll be excited when we can get Darrell back on the field, but it is an unfortunate setback for him.”

(On what did he like from film on offense and defense)
“What’s interesting about those scrimmage settings and especially just the way that it went yesterday, a lot of it is that there was that consistent noise in the background, we’re trying to manipulate to make sure we get enough plays, you’re not playing tackle, especially with those guys we’re counting on on the 13th. So, I thought there was a lot of good situational ball that we were able to get for both sides. I thought offensively, there was some good drives, some good continuity, a couple instances where there was some big plays and guys— you know, I thought the end of the first half where we kind of had a two-minute situation with the first offense did a really nice job there. And then I thought the defense made a lot of plays in the second half. I thought their communication picked up. I thought they were really good in some red-area situations where we kind of were going in some for four down, first, second, third and fourth down situations and kind of manipulating that just to make sure we get some of those got to have it calls. And then they finished up with a two-minute situation doing an excellent job. But (DL) Aaron (Donald) showed up like we talked about yesterday. You know, (CB) Jalen (Ramsey) continues to make plays. And really, I was pleased with our defensive front as a whole. I thought some of the movement and different things that they were able to get done— it was a real credit to (Defensive Line) Coach (Eric) Henderson in that front.”

(On any additional pressure to maintain the bar he has set with the Rams organization in his first two years coaching here)
“Oh, no, I mean, I think those are things you want to embrace. You know, we’re never going to run away from those things. And like we’ve talked about before, we didn’t do a good enough last year. If your standards are anything less than the expectation to try to win every game and do things the right way, with crisp, sharp operation and execution in all phases, you know, I don’t know what we’re spending all this time here for. So, we’re never going to run away from that. You know, we have high expectations and those things don’t change.”

(On why he decided to cancel practice today and if it had anything to do with outbreak of false positives)
“No, it really didn’t. It had to do with the fact that we got about 150 plays yesterday and wanted to review all of the film. We felt like the important thing was going to be getting all these meetings— I really extended meeting time and because of the workload that we got in, we got a lot more work than even I had hoped for, which was a good thing. (I) wanted to be able to give these guys— they lifted and then they had an activation flush. And wanted to give them another day tomorrow and then come back and have a really good three-day stretch Tuesday through Thursday, kind of tailor it back a little bit Friday and then hit it hard again on Saturday. So, it didn’t have anything to do with the COVID stuff. It was exclusively a result of, you know, getting as many reps as we did, in some instances, because you kind of get excited out on the field, we got a lot more reps than what was originally scheduled. And so because of that, that was what led to just kind of altering the schedule today.”

(On any other injuries as a result of so many reps)
“No. Darrell was the only guy that we expect to kind of be limited in practice in the next couple of days. But you know, I will always connect with Reggie a little bit later on. But nothing other than Darrell.”

(On the the type of resource Rams Sports Psychologist Carrie Hastings has been for the team)
“Yeah, she’s huge. You know, I think that’s one of the things that is so important— is to be able to have people that you can talk to. And in a lot of instances, you know, there’s one thing that I realized about being in this role these last few years. Everybody has their own set of circumstances and things that they deal with, whether it be in this building or outside of that building. And to be able to have somebody that you can share and confide in and have the strength to really be vulnerable to go and spend some time with her, I think, has been a huge part of us encouraging that and anybody that’s met Dr. (Carrie) Hastings, you can see, she’s really special at what she does. She has a great way about herself. And I think it’s an important resource, especially when you just talk about caring about these players and really, you know, everybody that’s a part of our organization. Those are things you definitely want to be mindful of having at your disposal to be able to utilize.”

(On was he pleased with the tempo despite frustration with communication issues)
“Yeah, it was really— what I was more frustrated (about) was just what I was hopeful to be able to have for my normal communication on game day. I don’t think our players felt it as much. They did a good job with the operation. But typically, you know, during the game, I’m able to say, ‘Okay, I can click from the offensive line to the defensive line’, especially just getting a comfortable rapport with the flow for (Defensive Coordinator) Brandon (Staley) calling a game, you know, on September 13. And in us being able to kind of just get some experiences in those settings. And that was where some challenges ended up kind of presenting themselves. But I thought our guys did a nice job. And really, the design is to really stress both sides of the ball, you know, because you can kind of pick and choose when you want to be able to press the tempo, especially outside of those two-minute operations. But, you know, you want to look at it like a picture. You know, you don’t always want to go fast, you don’t always want to be slow, but kind of just changing it up and make sure that, defensively, too, we’re doing everything we can to be ready to roll. Because the one advantage that the offense has is they decide within the framework of that 40-second play clock when the ball is snapped, and that’s always been a huge emphasis for us.”

(On does he sub in plays or have a backup hand signal for communication)
“Yeah. You know, we have the ability to visually communicate that stuff as well and sometimes if we’re changing personals you might be able to do that. But for the most part, it would lead to probably visual communication, that’s happened a few short amount of times. But that’s why you do have some code numbers and code words and different things that you can activate that, you know, one thing means a lot to our guys and in some of those situations, especially where you want to expedite the process.”

(On how is (S) Taylor Rapp doing)
“He’s doing good. He’s making progress. I’m hopeful that, you know, within the next week he’ll be able to get back out on the field. So, he’s making the progress that we want. Certainly, we would love to have him out there right now. But I don’t think that anything is going to be threatened for this Dallas game. And obviously, that’s the most important thing is getting ready to go and being as healthy as we possibly can for the 13th.”

(On who would fill in for Rapp if he weren’t ready)
“Yeah, I think that’s to be determined. We’ve got a lot of guys that are doing really well at the safety position. I mentioned those young players, those rookies, but, you know, we’ve got a lot of football left, we’ve got a lot of evaluation, still, to get done, to really identify those guys that are going to carve out roles for the 13th.”

(On possibilities of WR Van Jefferson starting this season)
“Yeah, I think you’re just looking at how comfortable he gets at moving around in the offense. You know, we’ve got guys we’ve got X and Z and F positions, but really we want to be able to have guys that are versatile that can play all over the formation. And I think that’s one of the things we liked so much about Van is he can certainly win isolations outside, he can work inside on option routes where he understands how to work leverages and recognize coverage contours. So, he’s a really good football player. He’s continuing to do a great job of just learning every single day from Coach ‘Yarbs’ (Wide Receivers Eric Yarber), (Assistant Wide Receivers Coach) Zac Robinson. And you can see, kind of like what we’ve talked about ever since we drafted him, he’s got a knack for the game. Football just makes sense to him. He’s got that pedigree, you know, when you look at the history of the success that his dad had as a player and now he’s coaching. And when you’re around Van, that’s what it feels like. You know, it feels like he came from that football pedigree and he sure is talented.”

(On how bright is it on the field at SoFi Stadium)
Yeah, it’s bright because of all those lights and the different things. It’s definitely bright.

(On does he want crowd noise or he rather it be quiet)
“What you’d like to have is something that closely simulates— there’s nothing like having the crowd, I love the crowd noise, but you know that automated crowd noise, if you will, I think trying to get it as consistent as what a home gameday atmosphere or visitor atmosphere would entail. You know, when you look at these great opportunities to go play at some of these other stadiums or what we hope that SoFi will feel like — you know, these fans, they have an understanding of a when offense is at work, you’re quieting it down and when the defense goes, you know, they’re really sustaining and there’s a progressive build up, usually, as that play clock kind of ticks down. That was the only thing that was just not really realistic in my mind, is the constant stream of the noise. And you guys think about when you’ve been out of game, there’s ebbs and flows. And especially when you look at, all right, you have a really good home atmosphere. Usually it’s a build up just exclusive to when the defense is on the grass. And so, those are some of the things— I know the league will do a great job of working through whatever it is, and it’ll be pretty consistent across all 32 teams. But for me, that was the first experience having that consistent noise.”

(On how much of an advantage is it to play at SoFi stadium early)
“Yeah, it’s vital. You know, just getting comfortable with the atmosphere. It’s the first time and, you know, especially because we’ll be doing it so many times. You know, and there’s so many different protocols that they’re still working through. But most importantly, you know, you look at players being able to get their uniforms on, get a feel for it, understand, ‘Hey, what’s the home sideline? Which side will we be able to warm up on? Where’s my locker room? When I get into the stadium, where am I going?’ Those are things that, as much as you can minimize any distractions or unnecessary stressors on game day for the players, that’s our goal. And I think to be able to give them clarity and understand how quickly they can try to establish their rhythm and routine. It’s why we want to be able to do it twice. And I think in a lot of instances, it’s just as good for the coaches. You know, I know next week scrimmage will be reflective of some things that I think we can make the operation sharper, and more crisp from us just being able to give clarity to our players. That’s always the goal and the least amount of distractions and the more that they can just focus on playing football, enjoying it, and having that sense of urgency and focus that we talked about. That’s the goal. And that’s why these two things are extremely important.”

(On balancing the depth of the wide receiver position)
“Yeah, it’s a positive problem. I mean, Josh Reynolds has done a really nice job. You got a couple backs that have really demonstrated. So, we’ve got five eligibles every single play that we can activate. We want to be mixed in our personnel groupings. And we want to be an outfit that spreads the ball around. You know, certain guys in different situations have gotten an opportunity to get a little bit more targets but, I think we’re operating at our best when the ball is being spread around. You’re getting tight ends, you’re getting receivers, you’re getting the backs involved in different ways, especially in the pass game. And you know, the offenses that I’ve been a part of, there’s ball distribution because it’s about the unit and I think that’s what you want to see it reflect, especially with the amount of good players we have that can make plays with the ball in their hands.”