McVay … 9/23 … vid & transcript

Rams Head Coach Sean McVay – September 23, 2019

(On the status of OL Austin Blythe and TE Tyler Higbee and how their status influences their practice plan for the upcoming week)
“They’re both (OL Austin Blythe and TE Tyler Higbee) making good progress. They’ll still be day-to-day, but the anticipation, the hope is that they’ll be able to play this week.”

(On how close he was to activating T Bobby Evans ahead of Sunday’s game)
“It was really more along the lines of, because (OL) Austin (Blythe) also fills the backup center role, just looking for more of an interior presence. (T) Bobby (Evans) is a guy that’s continued to do a good job and, really, (OL) Jamil (Demby) did a nice job stepping up in Austin’s absence. Those are things that we’ll continue to look at and hopefully we’ll get Austin back and kind of be able to go back to what was our consistent seven (active offensive linemen) that we had in those first couple weeks. But, those are things that we’re always looking at.”

(On if there are injuries to report following Sunday night’s game)
“No, we came away pretty clean. Nothing different than the typical bumps and bruises, but guys are feeling good.”

(On if he feels the team is ‘winning ugly’)
“I think a win is a win. I think there’s some things when you look at yesterday’s game, you never take for granted a win. Credit for the Browns – they did a great job of making things difficult. I think there were some things, really, that we look at that we think we can expect to execute at a higher level on, specific to offense. There’s some decisions that I certainly can do a much better job with, but I think the confidence, the expectations and the standards that we have for the caliber of players that we have playing, we think that we can do some things a little bit better. Those are things that you always feel week in and week out, but it is about getting the win and we’ll take that.”

(On if he believes the blame falls upon the playcalling to get RB Todd Gurley II going)
“Oh yeah. I think a lot of it starts with, ‘Are we putting our players in positions to be successful based on what the play selection is?’ Certainly, the players will make you right in a lot of instances, but I think our job as coaches – and specifically my job – is to make sure that with some of the play selections that you’re activating, ‘Do these give you premiere answers to some of the looks that you’re seeing?’ Those are things that you always look at yourself and make sure that you’re doing as good a job as you can. This is a players game – they do an outstanding job – but, we feel like we have a role and I feel responsible for trying to do the best I can to help put the guys in those consistently, hopefully good spots.”

(On Demby, T Joseph Noteboom, and C Brian Allen’s progress over the first couple of weeks)
“I think really, being able to evaluate (C) Brian (Allen) over the first three weeks as a center, I think he’s done a nice job with the communication. Especially, when you look at two road atmospheres of our first three games, where we are in the absence of a lot of our verbal communications. For a first year starting center, I’ve been really pleased with him. I think (T) Joe (Noteboom) has made steady progress, and I think (OL) Jamil (Demby) really getting his first action against the Saints last year, stepping in, in a big way when (OL) Austin (Blythe) went down. I thought he did some good things yesterday, and there were certainly some things he will learn from, but I did like the way that he responded from some of those setbacks. He didn’t let that affect his ability to move forward and that’s what we always talk about. I think a lot of positive things from three young linemen that have gotten a lot of experience in these first three weeks of the season.”

(On things the team can get better at offensively)
“There is a lot of things, you really have to go by each play. There are so many little nuances that occur within the framework of, is it third-downs, is it some of the red zone, is it some of our normal down-and-distances, and It’s not exclusive to one spot. Like I said, there is a lot of situations that, when you look at yourself as a coach you say ‘Alright, these are things that I have to make better decisions,’ have a better feel for the flow of the game, get things communicated to our players, so there is clarity on their part of what to expect or what kind of intent the call is. There are so many different ways that I could go with that, but I think ultimately, it’s about everybody doing a little bit better, playing to the best of their ability, and then me and our coaches doing a good job of putting guys in better spots.”

(On if there is a pattern to some of the things he is seeing overall on offense)
“There’s really not, it’s just different things that lead to, alright, some opportunities that we had to be able to create some explosives, make some conversions on some third downs. Then there were some instances, like I said, where really some of the play selections did give us much of a chance. It’s a situation where there is a lot of things that we feel like are very fixable and that’s why we’re excited to move forward and see if we can do that this week.”

(On if he has Gurley II on load management)
“No, we’re not doing anything like that. It’s more along the lines of each week presents a different approach. It’s kind of the feel the flow of the game. We want to get (RB) Todd (Gurley II) involved. I like to do better about being able to give him a chance to really get more into a rhythm than what I I’ve enabled him to do in these first three games. Then you also want to be able to give (RB) Malcolm (Brown) some of his snaps. I think it’s worked out good in terms of the balance, but like I said, I think there is some things you’d like to do a lot better job of giving Todd an opportunity to really get going. Yesterday, I didn’t really represent that chance for him.”

(On how much the passing game has changed from last season)
“It’s really just kind of been some of those things, just the way that the game has kind of evolved and unfolded. Really, those are things that we always try to look at week in and week out.”

(On how WR Cooper Kupp has played very well for two games in a row)
“He was outstanding. When you look at it, gets targeted 12 times, has 11 catches. Thought his two touchdowns were timely. He had another catch really in that high-red area before he ended up having the 11-yard touchdown where he crosses face. He and (QB) Jared (Goff) have a good rapport. He made big plays snap in and snap out last night. He’s been clutch for us, it’s been great having him back.”

(On what was going on in the play when Kupp was signaling across the line pre-snap)
“He has got elite awareness. We were in a situation where there was some communication where we got a little bit mixed up on what personnel grouping we were in. Guys were aligned in some different spots and Cooper was able to recognize that (WR) Brandin (Cooks) was not covering up the tackle to get into a legal formation from the opposite side of the formation. On a third down and five, he’s signaling with urgency to get Brandin on the line of scrimmage. We just get the play snapped off on a third-and-five and he catches the screen and converts. That play right there, I didn’t realize they had pointed it out, but when we watched it on the tape, that epitomizes one of the many things that’s special about just his overall awareness, how smart he is and then he’s obviously a great player with the athleticism to match.”

(On if Kupp has a role of being a second quarterback on the field)
“I think the players would be able to tell you better than I could, just because so much communication goes on in the absence of coaches interaction when we’re on the sidelines. When you just watch and you see the way that he approaches it week in and week out, he does approach it like quarterback. He wants to understand the big picture, I mean he wants to know what’s going on. He’s thinking of different ways that we can do certain schemes or try to attack different defensive structures. He’s a special player, he’s one of those guys that makes you accountable as a coach because he’s going to have things well thought out and you better have the answers for him. If not, you say, ‘That’s probably a pretty good idea maybe we should think about doing that.’”

(On how he would evaluate QB Jared Goff’s start of the season)
“He’s had some really good moments and I think there’s some situations that really, a lot of it starts with some of the selections and some of the spots that I put him in. Ultimately, the goal is to win games and for us to be 3-0, I think what says as much about him as anything is that we expect to be more consistent throughout the course of the game, start a little bit faster. The fact that he’s been unphased, he’s had the chance to really be instrumental in a lot of touchdown drives. When you look at the two that we did have in the second half yesterday, I thought he did a great job of making some key third-down conversions. Where guys are pressuring him, there’s three guys in his face, he sits in there, he speeds it up and he’s able to deliver accurate balls and keep his eyes down the field. I think he’s shown why he’ a special player and I think like anything else, there’s always going to be some things that we look at that we can improve. I’m excited to do that with him.”
(On S John Johnson III and S Eric Weddle’s chemistry)
“I think two really smart players that have a great feel for the game. I think they enjoy each other off the field. Some of those things can’t be underestimated. Just the importance of the rapport, the camaraderie, being able to compete with one another. I think guys that have a similar skillset, I think when you look at (S) Eric’s (Weddle) experience and the amount of different things that he’s seen and then watching the way that he and (S) John (Johnson III) have ended up kind of connected. I think they have both raised each other’s level of play. You’ve seen it rub off on (S) Taylor Rapp and really both those two have been instrumental in a lot of the success we have had early on in this season on defense.”

(On Johnson’s interception)
“I think it was a big moment in the season up to this point, no doubt about it. There’s a lot of games left to be had, but I thought really for our defense to be able to have four shots from the 4-yard line to stand up, make plays, especially when you look at the personnel, the ability for (Browns QB) Baker (Mayfield) to create off-schedule, some of the guys they have on the perimeter. It was outstanding, I thought that four-play sequence was indicative of the type of night it was. Just finding a way to get it done, remaining mentally tough and executing in crunch time and that’s what our guys did.”

(On his defense going up against Browns WR Odell Beckham Jr. and what goes into preparing to face dangerous receivers like Beckham)
“I think it’s collaborative effort. I think it starts with the coaches being able to put together a good gameplan that’s conducive for trying to limit some of those explosive playmakers. I’ve been really impressed with just their ability to execute because they do a good job of moving (Browns WR) Odell (Beckham Jr.) around a little bit. It’s not exclusively like he’s at one spot. So based on some of the different things that we had, there were some times that we ended up having high and low help on him, but we were always aware of where he was. With the type of playmaker that he is, he can score at any moment and I thought our guys did a great job at executing the gameplan. (Defensive Coordinator) Wade (Phillips) and our defensive coaches putting together a plan that was conducive for trying to limit the effect that a great player like Odell can have on the game.”