McVay, Phillips, Gurley … 10/24 … transcripts

Rams Head Coach Sean McVay, Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips, RB Todd Gurley II – October 24, 2019

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Rams Head Coach Sean McVay

(On CB Troy Hill appearing on the injury report and if he expects Hill to play Sunday)
“Yeah, we do. We want to be smart with him. Anytime that you’ve got those DBs with those soft tissue muscles, you want to be smart about it. He’s making really good progress. He’s had some soreness, but we expect him to be ready to go.”

(On if RB Malcolm Brown will be out for the game on Sunday)
“Malcolm Brown is going to be out, so he’ll be out for the game. He’s making progress on that ankle, but not good enough to where he’s going to be able to do the things necessary to play that running back position. We’ll go into it with the same three that we had last week and feel good about that group.”

(On what he’s seen from RB Darrell Henderson and why he didn’t play a considerable amount of snaps last game)
“Well, I think he did a good job. I think it was a nice little balance. I thought he and (RB) Todd (Gurley) really spelled each other really well throughout the game. Then (RB) John Kelly did a good job kind of coming in and finish it up. I think we’re learning about (RB) Darrell (Henderson) as well. I think you saw some physical runs. You knew that he had the speed and the athleticism to catch the ball out of the backfield. To see him put his pads down and make some good physical runs. I thought the third-and-1, on the third play that we had offensively when (Falcons DT) Grady Jarrett’s free in the backfield, he makes him miss and ends up coming out for a big conversion. I think he took a lot of good steps in the right direction, did a good job in protections. I think he’s going to be a really good player for us.”

(On if he’s reached an ideal balance of the workload between his running backs)
“In a lot of instances, how the flow of, ‘Are we getting plays off?’ You want to be able to get (RB) Todd (Gurley) in the rhythm of the game. I thought we were able to do that while still getting Darrell (Henderson) some touches. I thought that worked out pretty good for us. It’s something that, really, each of theses seven games has kind of dictated different things. When you’re able to have some balance then you’d like to say, ‘Well, yeah you can naturally get Todd a little bit more involved.’ But you see him make some plays in the pass game. At the end of the day, what you’re saying is, you’ve got (RB) Todd (Gurley), you’ve got (RB) Darrell (Henderson) – and then if (RB) Malcolm’s (Brown) available – those are guys that you want to find a way to get involved and make sure they’re getting their work. Todd’s still our starter and those types of things. I think that balance is something that we’re kind of working through and figuring out what is the best formula for success for our team.”

(On if the offense has found its identity now that the team has reached the midpoint of the season or if they’re still figuring it out)
“I think we’re still figuring it out. What’s been good about it is, the guys have been so receptive to the things that we want to get corrected. It’s as much as players and coaches alike figuring out, ‘All right, what are the things we want to do? What are we doing to best suit our skill sets of our players with some of the new pieces that we do have in place?’ I expect us to run the football more consistently. That’s the one thing really, I think really, all in all it’s been tough sledding because – whether it be the game gets out of reach with the Tampa game or just some of those things. We just need to be more efficient in the run game snap in and snap out – and kind of figure out that identity. I think that has been a big reason that we haven’t felt as consistent as what years past have been.”

(On if he can point to anything specifically that’s causing the inconsistency in the run game)
“I think it’s a collaborative effort, the run game. Really, football is the greatest team sport. It takes all eleven (players). There’s not one culprit. Sometimes it’s, ‘Are we putting the players in good spots?’ And that’s where you’ve got to look at yourself and make sure that you can say yes to that. Sometimes, it’s an execution thing. Really, what it’s about is we’ve got to do a better job of consistently playing performances that are indicative of being able to control the football, having some balance, but ultimately scoring points and putting ourselves in a position to win football games.”

(On what T Andrew Whitworth has meant to the team the last couple years and how he’s playing now)
“I think he’s playing well. I thought he played really well against Atlanta, especially. His leadership has been invaluable, and in a lot of instances, I’ve learned from him. He’s been a great sounding board for me. As a guy that has played so long, he’s got such great wisdom and he’s also has a great perspective on things. I think that has been invaluable, really, for our team. He really just looks over his teammates. He can still play at a high level. Then he’s got a great way of being able to find that balance of, ‘All right, here is what needs to get done, if there is something that maybe I can do to help better benefit what we are doing with the players.’ He’s been outstanding. He’s been one of the key parts of why this thing has gone the way it has the last three years.”

(On what kind of practice the team will have on Friday in London)
“It will be more of a modified walk-thru type deal, so we will do a little bit more today. You want to get these guys active and moving around. With the travel and some of those things, you do leave yourself susceptible to some of the soft tissue injuries that can typically occur. So, we want to be safe and smart about that. We kind of have gotten ahead from our install – in terms of what a typical week entails. So, today will represent kind of a combination of a Thursday and Friday. Then tomorrow will be an accumulation of those things in a jog-thru, in a way.”

(On how Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor’s familiarity with the team impacts preparation)
“He’s a great coach. He’s done an excellent job for us when he’s been with us. I would say, the one thing that has helped my perspective on that is when my first year here we played Washington in the second game, and their offense was very similar. You almost realize sometimes you try to give too much information. It ends up thinning out and watering down things when you still have to play your call, make a reactionary check. So, I think we’re mindful of the things that maybe he would be able to help out with and adjust those, so that it’s not exactly what they anticipate. But I do think there is an element of, you don’t want to overthink it because you still make a call. You don’t know when we are going to do it and then there’s a call that they have to react to on defense as well or on offense. Those are the things I kind of learned when we played Washington in a very similar situation.”

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Rams Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips

(Opening Remarks)
“Cincinnati, obviously (Bengals Head Coach) Zac Taylor is there. He’s familiar with our defense from being with us. Also, they put in an offense that’s really throwing the ball really well, which we expected when he went to Cincinnati. (Bengals QB Andy) Dalton’s a really good quarterback and they’ve got really good receivers. The running game hasn’t been as good as he wanted, I’m sure, but they do have the leading rusher, (Bengals RB Joe) Mixon, was the leading rusher in the AFC last year. Again, the passing game, we know is going to be good because it comes from ours, really. They can take advantage of it.”

(On how Taylor’s knowledge of L.A.’s offense changes his approach)
“You have to do what you do well no matter what. But, you have to change a few things as far as when you call things or things like that. You have to play what you play and play it well enough so they can’t run things against you. It’s always that case whether they’ve been with you or not.”

(On how the addition of CB Jalen Ramsey enables the defense to maneuver)
“(CB) Jalen Ramsey’s come in and we’ve certainly changed a few things with him. We played a lot more man defense than we played throughout the season. It worked well for us. His forte is he can play man-to-man, so you want to utilize that. He did a really good job, but also the mentality last week – up against a really good passing team, I thought we played really well.”

(On how man-to-man coverage in the secondary affects the pass-rush)
“It’s a combination of both. If you can cover man-to-man, they may have to hold the ball a little bit longer and it gives the defensive guys a chance – the front guys a chance to rush. We play zone, too, but we did play more man-to-man and I expect to do that.”

(On how the defense has performed so far this season)
“About 4-3, yeah. That’s about how we’ve done. Some games we played really well. We haven’t been as consistent as we want, but I thought last game was an up-tick against a good team. We have played good run defense throughout the year. I think our run front is strong – probably stronger than we did last year. That helps us in that if we can force them in the passing game, we’ve got to play good pass defense.”

(On how he measures DT Aaron Donald’s success)
“Well, he’s a great player and plays great. That’s what I look at, he’s been playing great. That’s what we expect from him, that’s what he expects. Sacks aren’t everything. Certainly, he disrupts so many things and he helps other people in that when he gets double teamed, certainly other people are one-on-one and he’s double teamed a lot, we know that. But, he also dictates protections for them, which gives us a chance to rush better in some of those situations. You look at the film, he’s still a dominant force. Whether he gets 20.0 sacks or not, he’s still a dominant force.”

(On OLB Dante Fowler Jr. turning up to another level)
“Yeah, he had a great game last game. (OLB) Dante (Fowler Jr.) had a tremendous game in the run and the pass. That’s’ what we expect from him. He’s not going to get 3.0 sacks every week, but we expect him to play well and he did.”

(On if it’s rare in the NFL to find cornerbacks that can play man-to-man defense)
“It’s rare to find shut-down corners, yes. You can have man-to-man corners. If you have a guy that’s at another level, obviously he can help you.”

(On why that makes such a rare quality)
“Well, because there’s so many great athletes at wide receiver. To match up with those kinds of guys, it’s not easy. There’s some good man-to-man players, but then there’s a few great ones. Those are the guys that you can say, ‘Hey, he’s got it no matter what and can help somebody else.’ Some guys can play blitz coverage and other guys help somebody else. You basically eliminate one guy for us as far as what’s going on with us now. We didn’t completely eliminate the guy last week, but we did in a lot of situations – on third-downs and stopped them quite a few times. That’s the way it goes.”

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Rams RB Todd Gurley II

(On how it’s been to be back in Georgia for the week)
“It’s been cool. Got some love, got a chance to play against the Falcons – had some Falcons supporters/Gurley reporters, so it was cool.”

(On if he was able to see friends and family while in Atlanta for the week)
“That’s what I’ve been kind of doing all weekend. Just spread it out each day, just try to do something different and see everybody for the most part.”

(On if he’s looking forward to the trip to London)
“Yeah, a little bit – little bit, little bit. I like London, but during the season – I wish we could’ve been there all week, but it was cool that we got a chance – at least we’re not in Jacksonville.”

(On the environment and atmosphere in London)
“It’s cool. A lot of energy. Those fans are a little different over there – pretty much get excited for everything. It’s cool just to be able to have the opportunity play an international game. This is something you can look back on and half the team, a lot of us aren’t going to go to London just to go to London, so a good opportunity for a lot of guys to get a little stamp on their passport and go over there and experience everything.”

(On his thoughts on his touchdown reception against the Falcons)
“It was just during the game. It’s literally what we do every day. We even do pat-and-go before the game. Just happened to be a touchdown in the game on a pretty good player in (Falcons LB) Vic (Beasley). It’s really just one of those things, ‘Just catch the damn ball,’ really.”

(On being able to keep his feet in bounds for the touchdown catch)
“We never get the opportunity. You give us the opportunity and we’ll be able to do it. We got like four or five great receivers, good tight ends, so I don’t get that opportunity as much – which I understand. We have great players – we got (WR Cooper) Kupp, we got (WR Brandin) Cooks, (WR Robert) Woods, (WR) Josh (Reynolds), (TE Tyler) Higbee. I let them guys do that.”

(On if he felt he and RB Darrell Henderson Jr. were able to get into a flow on Sunday)
“It was cool. Obviously, my first game coming back from the contusion, so we had a plan and we were able to get things going and rotate and stuff like that.”

(On if Henderson Jr. is getting over his rookie apprehensions)
“Well, just getting more reps now. The more reps you do, the more comfortable you are. That’s just like with anything – you got a job, but you can’t really do it and you don’t really know how to do it until it’s time to do it. Just like I told him (RB Darrell Henderson Jr.) before, when the opportunity opens up, you just got to be prepared for it and be able to just go out there and perform. That’s just how this league works.”