McVay, LaFleur … 1/4 … transcripts

Rams Head Coach Sean McVay – – January 4, 2018

(Opening Remarks)

“Injury wise, the only non-participant today was (WR) Mike Thomas and he will be doubtful for the game. Everyone else was full.”

(On if LB Mark Barron will start on Saturday)

“Yeah. We feel good. He’s gone the last couple days, he felt good today. We had a couple full speed periods and then we kind of tempo’d it back towards the end, but Mark is feeling good and like we’ve talked about in the past, I think the weather being so nice out here – I think that does play a factor in terms of his health and the games that he did miss and we’re optimistic and we’re feeling good about his availability.”

(On if he sees this as a big opportunity to take over the landscape of the L.A. sports scene)

“I think it’s a great opportunity for our organization and for our team and we talked about this really when we first got here. Our job is to try to give this city a consistent team that you put a good product out on the field and I think to our players’ credit and to our coaches, they’ve done a nice job of that. To be in games like this is a great opportunity where you’re the only game on a Saturday night in the Coliseum and it’s certainly something that we embrace. We talk about seizing the moment, but we know it’s going to be a great challenge against the defending NFC Champs. I think the season has kind of provided a great opportunity for the city to continue to demonstrate and show their support for us. You look at the atmospheres and I think as the season has gone on, the atmospheres in that Coliseum have gotten progressively better, so we’re excited. We’re hopeful that fans will come out and be cheering and you feel that home field advantage with that opportunity that we do have.”

(On if he is treating this like a regular season game and how does he try to get them not too ramped up)

“The one thing we don’t try to shy away from is what’s at stake. We certainly know that this is a, ‘You win you continue on and if you don’t then your season ends.’ That is something that you don’t shy away from, but in terms of our weekly rhythm, our weekly process, we’ve kept it very consistent. But, I think what’s served us well is that we’ve got a lot of confident players, they expect to play to the best of their ability and we’re excited, we’re not going to shy away from it, but we do have a whole lot of respect for the Falcons, we know what’s at stake and I think that’s where you stay consistent but you don’t shy away from an opportunity to play in big-time games like this that they’ve earned.”

(On what has worked so well to allow QB Jared Goff to have such a productive season)

“Anytime that you see success from the quarterback position, I think it’s a credit to him and his teammates. I think (Offensive Coordinator) Matt LaFleur and (Quarterbacks Coach) Greg Olson have done an excellent job as well. We always talk about becoming an extension of the coaching staff and I think Jared progressively has done that and he understands the intent of the play calls, what we’re trying to get done and I think that’s also a reflection of the unit. You talk about being able to have all five starters up front start every game together, the continuity that they’ve been able to establish – we’ve got really smart skill players that understand and give us the variety to do a couple different things and present different looks to defenses. But, it’s a credit to our offense, but certainly it starts with Jared making great decisions, doing a good job distributing the ball and that ball should go wherever the coverage dictates kind of based on the concept. The maturity that he’s demonstrated for a second-year player is certainly exciting. We can always continue to improve, but Jared has done a great job and we feel good about Jared.”

(On if he will take a longer look at CB Kevin Peterson in this game because of his strong performance against the 49ers)

“Well, I think what it does is it lets you feel very confident in the four corners that you’re going to have up for this game and you know that the variety of different things that Atlanta can present, personnel grouping wise and some of the sub packages that we’ll get into – if Kevin needs to go then he’ll be ready to and I think he can draw on last week as a way to kind of build that confidence. He’s been a guy that’s consistently, whether it be training camp or even out at practices, he kind of has a knack for getting his hands on the ball and you certainly feel him and what he’s been able to do. You also take into account, you look at what a great job (CB) Troy Hill has done with his opportunities, how well he played in Seattle, made some big plays in Tennessee when he had to and then obviously with (CBs) Nickell (Robey-Coleman) and Trumaine (Johnson) that is a good group of four. Then the availability of (S) Lamarcus (Joyner) to be versatile and kind of play both, that’s something that I think our coaching staff has done a great job of developing that depth and that’s a credit to (Cornerbacks Coach) Aubrey (Pleasant).”

(On if he adjusts to what Atlanta does or if he is going to run his game plan and his team and have Atlanta adjust to him)

“I think the one thing is you sure have a lot of respect for the Falcons and what they present. For us offensively, you always want to be mindful of what you’ve run, but we’re always going to try to do things that are favorable for us based on what the defense presents, whether that is from a front standpoint or a coverage standpoint – it might be some things that we’ve already put on tape and then you always try to add some different wrinkles. But, it’s about our ability to execute and I think that’s what makes them so special defensively, is that a lot of times they’re very regulated on some of those early downs, but what makes them elite is their understanding and their ability to play fundamentally sound, tackle well, pursue to the football and then they match things up where every single yard that you get is hard earned. It’s a great challenge, but I would say it’s a combination of both. But, offensively you always want to try to kind of be the attacker and put them on their heels, but easier said than done and we’ll see if we can do that on Saturday.”

(On what stands out about the Falcons)

“Overall what stands out about them is just their team speed. You look at it, they know what’s going on, but when you look at their front, their linebackers, their secondary – everyone on that field can run. They have a very clear-cut understanding of what they’re trying to get done and how they want to match certain concepts, whether that be in the pass game or how they want to fit certain things up in the run game. Very fundamentally sound. I think that’s kind of a staple of a (Falcons Head Coach) Dan Quinn led defense and then (Falcons Defensive Coordinator) Marquand Manuel in his first year as a coordinator has done an excellent job and you have a lot of respect for these guys.”

(On if he is a big pregame speech guy)

“What would you guess?”

(On guessing that he is a big pregame speech guy)

“I think that the answer is dependent upon the feel for the team, but sometimes I can’t help myself, I get a little excited. So, yes. I would say this, you don’t think a whole lot about it – the players are ready to go, they’re going to bring it, this is an atmosphere and an environment that we’re excited about the opportunity to play and I think some of our best performances are when you just say, ‘You guys are ready to go and now let’s just go get it done.’ It’s not really any words or motivation. I think throughout the week we want to be that process-driven team and sometimes we’ll get a little bit excited, but that’s not something you really predetermine, you kind of just go with the moment and I think that comes off better anyways.”

(On if he knows what he’s going to say to the team before the first playoff game)

“No, I think what’s important is we talk about throughout the course of the week the things that we think are the keys to the game, how we want to do things throughout the course of the week and then when it gets time for that game, those players will be ready to go. I keep saying Sunday because I feel like it’s Friday in my mind, but Saturday at 5:15 (p.m.) and sometimes they don’t need to hear any sort of rah rah, they’re just ready to kickoff and go do it.”

(On if he has any plans of bringing in a motivational speaker for the playoffs)

“We’ve done that in the previous couple weeks. I think you always want to be careful. You want to make sure that you utilize that to your advantage, but you don’t want to ever have your message get watered down. We’ve had an opportunity to have a couple special guest speakers that have come and they’re people that are very much in alignment with some of the core beliefs, some of the core philosophies that we do have. A couple weeks back we had (motivational speaker and former University of Tennessee CB) Inky Johnson come talk to us who (Director of Player Engagement) ‘Jacq’ (Jacques) McClendon played with in college at Tennessee and he’s got a great story, he and I are both from the Atlanta area. He’s got a great demeanor, a great disposition, it was a great message that he said to our team and it just so happened that it coincided right after the Philadelphia loss and some of the things that he really emphasized really were relevant to us at the time and I thought it was really good for us to hear from him. Another guy that we’ve spent some time with is (author) John Gordon who the power of positive leadership, he’s done some different things with coaches before and you just talk about how to help people reach their highest potential. But, for this one right now, we don’t have anything like that planned. But, certainly it’s not something that’s a final decision by any regards.”

***

Offensive Coordinator Matt LaFleur – – January 4, 2018

(On facing his former team)

“I really have tried not to put too much thought into it to be honest with you. It’s another team that’s 11-5. They’re the defending NFC Champions, so we know it’s going to be a great challenge. I think, when Saturday arrives and I start to see a lot of those guys then it will kind of hit you a little bit, but to be honest with you our preparation’s just like any other week.”

(On how different the Atlanta Falcons are this year than last year when he was on their coaching staff)

“I don’t know if they’re necessary different because they’re going to play their scheme. But what I can tell you is they are so much more experienced and it really shows through. I got a lot of respect for all those coaches there and when you look at their players – they’ve got great speed across the board and you can tell that those guys have played together for a while now. They definitely look like, especially from a defensive standpoint, you can see the improvement on tape.”

(On if the Falcons’ culture is similar or different from the Rams’ culture)

“Are you talking in terms of kind of the culture? Yeah I think (Falcons Head Coach) Dan Quinn, obviously, I learned a lot from him in terms of how to lead a football and bring a football team together and play for more than just yourself. I think Sean’s done an unbelievable job here instilling those same values and really changing the culture here and it’s a close-knit group. I know they have a close-knit group, but I think we have a really close-knit group. I’ll tell you more than anything else, the more I’m involved in this profession, it’s truly about people. You want to be around good people. Like I said before, a ton of respect from Dan Quinn, (Falcons General Manager) Thomas Dimitroff, (Falcons Owner and Chairman) Mr. (Arthur) Blank, and I feel the same way here with our guys with (General Manager) Les and (Head Coach) Sean (McVay) and (Owner/Chairman) Mr. Kroenke. I just feel like there’s a lot of good people and it always starts at the top and it trickles down. You talk about our players that we have in our locker room. It’s very similar personalities and a bunch of selfless guys that want to go out and achieve the ultimate goal and that’s to win a game.”

(On QB Jared Goff getting comparison’s to QB Matt Ryan coming out of the draft and in what ways they’re similar)

“They’re both really talented throwers, that’s first and foremost. You talk about competitors. They both want to compete at the highest level. They worked their tails off to get better every day. I think what was unique about being with Matt (Ryan) is he was in his eighth year in the league before I started to work with him. He nailed his process in terms of his preparation. How he went about his business on weekly basis. It’s fun to see a guy like Jared (Goff) who’s a young guy who’s working through that process and growing. So you can see a lot of growth with Jared as he’s gone about throughout the season. The other thing that I’ll say about those guys that I think is unique to the elite quarterbacks is both of them have battled through adversity. You look at Matt in 2015, some might say he struggled and compared to the standards that I know that he had for himself and then he rebounds and he’s the league MVP. Same goes for Jared. I know his rookie year didn’t go as well for him and then you look at him this year and I think he’s handled himself and has shown improvement on a weekly basis. I think the mindset, the mentality that those guys have is very similar. I would say that the biggest difference is, again, you’re dealing with a guy who’s play a lot of ball. He’s seen everything he’s going to see. And you’re playing with another guy who’s in the infant stages of his career. I think the sky’s the limit for Jared. I really do. I think he’ll continue to grow and really excited what the future holds for him, because I know he’ll attack it the right way.”

(On the differences between the Rams and Falcons team personnel and if he sees any similarities)

“I think there’s a lot of similarities, because when you look at (Falcons RB) Devonta (Freeman) and (Falcons RB) Tevin (Coleman) and then you’ve got (RB) Todd Gurley. All three of those backs are extremely elite. Now Todd’s handled more of the burden as an every down back for us, where those guys kind of rotated in and out. Then you look at the receiver corps and you’ve got (Falcons WR) Julio Jones who we all know is an elite receiver in the league, but you’ve got more than just him – it was (Falcons WRs) Mohamed Sanu, Taylor Gabriel, Justin Hardy, Aldrick Robinson who’s no longer there. Then you look at our guys, (WRs) Robert Woods, Sammy Watkins, Cooper Kupp and then the young guys with Josh Reynolds, Pharoh Cooper, Mike Thomas can add some sparks for us and then (WR) Tavon (Austin). So I feel like when you talk about the skill positions, there are a lot of similarities in that I feel like both of us have two of the more elite groups in this league. There’s going to be a lot of explosive weaponry on the offensive side of the ball that is for sure going into this game.”

(On how the defensive staff has been picking him brain this week heading into Sunday’s game)

“Not too much. They study the film. They know what Atlanta’s going to do. I feel like there’s a happy medium, because you don’t want to just tell them everything. I don’t think you get much out of that. Sure there are some things that they’ve asked me about in terms of some of the scheme. I can’t really get into those specific questions that I’ll share with them. But I just kind of leave them alone. If they have a question, I’m here for them and I’ll try to do the best I can, but it’s not like I’m sitting there studying their tape. Obviously there’s a lot of new personnel on that offensive staff there – mostly with the coordinator. But the (Falcons) Tight End Coach, Wade Harman’s there, (offensive line coach) Chris Morgan’s still there, (asst. head coach/wide receivers/passing game coordinator) Raheem Morris’s still there and they’re all excellent coaches, they know what we did in the past and I’m sure there’s a lot of similarities to what they’re doing this year as well.”

(On the most memorable or impressive thing that he saw Falcons WR Julio Jones do when he was with the Falcons)

“Well, it’s tough to beat those two catches in the Super Bowl. He’s a freak. It shows up all the time and it shows up on the big play reel. We always watch the big play reels from every week in the league. He’s still making big plays, but the Super Bowl would probably be those two catches he had – especially the one at the end of the game.”

(On how you get a quarterback to balance working within the offense when you have a dominant wide receiver like Julio Jones)

“I think it’s very similar here. You try to teach your quarterback to go through his progression. Maybe he is number one in the read and maybe he’s the last guy in the read. But basically, how we coach the quarterback is whatever the defense is playing that might predicate where you start your read. We always talk about decision, timing and accuracy. You’re going to read with your feet and progress through the read and hopefully you can make an on-time throw and throw a good ball.”

(On how he plans to handle his pregame routine before facing his former team)

“That’s always a tough question right there, because it kind of happened similar to last week with San Francisco when I got my brother and a lot of my close friends are on that staff. So you try to get the meet and greet out of the way early and then go back into the locker room and just kind of – just get your mind right for the game. There’s always time for that stuff post game – there really is. I’m sure I’ll stick around a little bit later and talk to those guys, because like I said, I’ve got so much respect for really everybody I worked for on that staff. There’s a lot of good people. Raheem Morris is a good friend of mine and I stay in contact with all those guys. But, we’ll have plenty of time for that after the game. Then, you always get to reconnect with those guys at the combine, or maybe you get together in the postseason. Try not to ever distract from what you’re there to do and ultimately, we’re all there to win a football game.”