McVay, Staley, Goff – transcripts

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Head Coach Sean McVay – September 16, 2020

(On if everyone is practicing today)
“Just got done with a walk-thru, everybody participated in that. We’ll see about (TE) Gerald Everett, and (RB) Malcolm (Brown) will be limited.”

(On why Brown will be limited)
“Just with the amount of touches that he had and just soreness. So, he’ll take part in practice. We’ll just monitor his reps is a better way of articulating it.”

(On what he attributes to the team remaining healthy overall)
“I think guys have taken good care of themselves. Sometimes you can’t avoid some of the injuries that are inevitable just with the physicality of our game. But I think it goes back to guys taking care of themselves and then our sports performance staff doing an excellent job of avoiding the things that you can control – the soft tissues (injuries) and some of those things. That’s been a consistent theme since (Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance) Reggie Scott and his group have been here long before I got here. So, I feel fortunate to be able to work with those guys.”

(On it feeling normal to have game film to review ahead of the game)
“Yeah, it definitely does. Especially because they have continuity at all their coordinator spots with (Eagles Head) Coach (Doug) Pederson calling the plays and (Eagles Defensive Coordinator) Jim Schwartz. It’s good. You’re just ready to get into a little bit of a rhythm and going into Week 2, it’s starting to feel like that.”

(On the travel protocols and if he’s discussed it with the team)
“We haven’t gotten too specific. We’ll do that a little bit later on in the week. It’s more about making sure the schedules and all the parameters when we do travel that we’re in alignment with and at the hotel and things like that. Those will be things that we’ll definitely visit later on in the week. (I) don’t want to kind of overwhelm guys with information that they’ll probably forget if I gave it to them now anyways (laughs).”

(On the run-blocking being a point of emphasis with wide receivers)
“It takes all eleven. In a lot of instances, they’re asked to dig out support or force players. I think when our guys that have been producing at a high level are the examples of what it looks like with (WR) Robert Woods, with (WR) Cooper (Kupp). with (WR) Josh (Reynolds) that becomes what is expected. (Wide Receivers) Coach (Eric) Yarber emphasizes it. He does an excellent job with that, but we talk about it all the time. To be able to run the football efficiently and effectively, it takes all 11 (players) and those receivers are a vital part of our success.”

(On what is looked for to fill gunner roles on punt coverage)
“I would say in a lot of instances, depending upon how the team wants to activate a return, or if they’re going to rush, you’ve got to be able to beat a double. You get a one-on-one, you’ve got to be automatic. You’d like to have some ball skills that if we’re in some of those tight-punt situations to be able to down it inside deepen the opponent’s territory. But those are some of the same things, that you look for a receiver to be able to beat bump man coverage. But in a lot of instances, if they are trying to activate a return and they respect those gunners, a lot of times those guys will have to beat a double and that ends up being where those guys really separate themselves from average gunner to a great one.”

(On WR Robert Woods’ performance on Sunday)
“He did a great job. He had three of his catches on that first drive. Two of them were keepers, one of them was a screen and then he had three more later on. So, I think just with the way that we did spread around our targets, he happened to get six of them. But, three on the first drive and did a great creating after the catch and just executing what was asked on those given plays. But, that’s part of what we try to do offensively is make the defense defend all five eligible (players). Get everybody involved. I feel like that’s a big responsibility of ours as coaches and then the players just go execute the play.”

(On his evaluation of the offensive line on Sunday)
“They did good. I thought they played tough. I liked the way they communicated. I liked the way we came off the ball. Now let’s take it to another level with some of the details, some of the finishes, some of the techniques. But overall, I was pleased with the group and I expect them to be better this next week.”

(On the linebackers’ performance against Dallas)
“They did good. (LB) Micah Kiser played every snap. I thought after he settled in, I thought he was physical. I thought he communicated really well. He did a nice job. And then (LB) Kenny Young played a handful of snaps. You felt his explosion, his athleticism. Both those guys did a really nice job.”

(On the challenges of preparing for a game with no preseason)
“I think after we’ve had a week of games, it’s the same as any other year where there’s still a lot of football to be played. So, I do think it’s similar in that regard. I mean, what you notice is you see some of those home-field advantages that are really big difference makers for a lot of teams not be as relevant. You see that the (Green Bay) Packers and (Packers QB Aaron) Rogers does a great job using this cadence at Minnesota. He ended up getting a bunch of free plays and some opportunities. So, that’s the biggest difference is just the equal playing field in terms of everybody being able to use their verbal communication on offense and on defense and just have to listen to the irritating crowd noise. But, that to me is the difference and obviously the fans bring so much excitement and energy. That’s where we talk to our players about, we’ve got to be able to bring it, create our own juice. I thought they did a nice job last Sunday night doing that and expect the same at Philly this week.”

(On if anything specific stuck out in Week 1 due to no preseason)
“You know, I think for us as a team, that’s really all I can kind of speak on. I thought we got better at tackling as the game went on, but we did miss a lot of tackles. I thought overall, what I expected in terms of some of the sloppy penalties, pre-snap issues, I thought it was a good reflection of just the caliber of play around the league. There wasn’t as many turnovers, I want to say there was like 33 fumbles, only 14 of them lost. But for our football team, I expect us to tackle better is the biggest thing that I would take away.”

(On his overall assessment of the running backs)
“I thought their front did a good job of making it kind of a dirty running game, where nothing was truly clean. It was kind of physical, tough, hard earned yards putting your pads down and finishing, leveling runs off. I thought the guys did a good job and that’s where I thought Malcolm really shined. You look at his first touchdown punching it in, going through the safety. The fourth down run, that was all him. I mean, there wasn’t anything there. That was such an instrumental play in the game where we hit him on a screen on a third-and-seven, gets into fourth and one – he ends up making that play all on his own. I thought they did good. I think it’s still really a small inventory, especially for some of our younger backs like (RB) Cam (Akers) and (RB) Darrell (Henderson Jr.) to really get too enamored with it. But I thought they protected the ball. I thought they played tough and that was important. Then Malcolm, you could feel Malcolm’s veteran experience. He showed up and he was definitely the star for our crew the other night.”

(On if the artificial noise will affect play-calling)
“I think in some instances it does because if you are limited with your verbal communication, and it’s got to be visual or hand signals, that’s something that you don’t want to shoot yourself in the foot and for everybody to be able to come off. In a lot of instances, when we’re on the road and we’re using our silent count, our tackles are having to (peripheral view) the ball inside and they’re blindly setting on rushers. So, for those guys, it’s a big difference maker, which is why the noise is an advantage for a lot of those defensive fronts where they’re really getting off on your silent count. So, it does change some of your decision making. Like a lot of things, the flow of the game dictates what you would do. Like the other night we had a fourth down, where we didn’t convert on the third and three to try to kind of close it out in a four minute situation, I would have considered going forward if I felt like they had some momentum offensively. But the way that our defense was playing, I felt comfortable to pin them down in their deep with the confidence in (P) Johnny (Hekker). But you know, in a lot of instances you could say, ‘Would you make that same decision again?’ And if the flow of that game was differently then maybe I would.”

(On whether he pays attention to player rivalries, specifically Goff and Eagles QB Carson Wentz)
“No. to answer your question, I don’t pay attention. I mean, you’re not naive back that they were the (No.) one and two picks in the same draft class. But, (QB) Jared (Goff) is going against Philly’s defense. (Eagles QB) Carson’s (Wentz) going against our defense. Their success is completely independent of one another for how they can perform within their role. Ultimately, you’re still trying to get it done and lead your team to a victory. I think those are fun narratives to talk about for you guys, probably, but it’s not something that affects our thought processes in the least bit.”

(On what specifically in tackling the team needs to focus on)
“I thought we got better as the game progressed. To (Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott) Zeke’s credit and to (Cowboys QB) Dak (Prescott) and some of their skill players, those are some of the best skill players in the league. So, you’ve got to give them their due. I just thought in terms of just getting ourselves in position, shoulder leverage, being able to just pursue to the football, those are things you don’t get reps at. And so you could feel it. But as the game wore on, I thought we were better. We were more sure as tacklers. While you give Dallas guys credit, I’m talking about just overall tackling as a unit with the expectations that we have.”

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Defensive Coordinator Brandon Staley – – September 16, 2020

(On what was it like to coach in Sofi stadium)
“It was an exciting night, for sure. As you guys saw, that stadium is fantastic. I’ve never seen anything like it. So, to be able to deliver (Owner/Chairman E. Stanley Kroenke) Mr. Kroenke and everyone here with the Rams organization, a big win on opening night was certainly a highlight. There are so many people that have made that night possible and to give them something special was something I think we’ll all remember. Certainly, excited moving forward.”

(On his nerves for the first game being with a new team and for a new season)
“I think we were all excited to finally play a game. I think we were all excited to play someone different. I think that game week felt a little bit more real last week knowing that at the end of the week, you’re going to play somebody different and it was going to count. So, I felt like you had that excitement inside. I felt like our guys managed that excitement really well and certainly were able to adjust well during the game and certainly different because there’s no fans in the stands. You didn’t have that energy from the crowd to feed off of, but I felt like our guys did a really good job staying together from really warmups to the final whistle and we were able to finish the game out.”

(On his takeaways from DL Aaron Donald in his first game)
“I think that it’s just more of what he does every single day as a Ram. I think the more you’re with them, the less you’re surprised by performances like he had in the first game, because it’s just what you see all the time from him. He’s as consistent of a performer as I’ve ever been around as I’ve ever seen. I think that you could list any top performer in any walk of life, and I would put this guy up against him or her, because of his consistency and performance. There were a couple of things that I thought that he did really well in the run game. A lot of people will allude to his sack production in his rush production, but I thought in the run game, he was excellent and allowed us to stop a very prolific running game and one of the best backs in the league.”

(On how he felt calling plays for the defense before the game and during the game)
“I think that I felt a lot like I did in the national semifinal against Wisconsin Oshkosh when I was at John Carroll. I felt the exact same way because I think that as a competitor, every time you get a chance to perform, it means the world to you. That is the biggest moment of your life when you get to perform. So, I felt the same way then as I did on Sunday night. I think that the way I felt, the confidence that I had, it was because of the people that I was with. We’ve got a tremendous coaching staff. We’ve got tremendous players. We’ve got offense in the kicking game that played complementary football. I felt really good going into the game because I felt like we prepared extremely well as a team. I felt like that’s something that stood out to me from the first time we went to warmups to the last whistle, is I thought we were a team the whole night. I think going into the game, I felt really confident in our preparation, but then being our first time in a game-like environment, how well are you going to adjust? How are people going to be on the sideline when something doesn’t go well? I thought that we just kept our composure the whole night in all three phases. We stayed positive, we made our corrections quickly, which is what you have to do in the NFL, make your corrections quickly. I felt like we finished the game playing our best football.”

(His assessments on S Jordan Fuller throughout his first NFL game and at what point did he realize he could trust him throughout training camp)
“I think early on in the acclimation period, we had a strong sense that mentally he was going to be prepared to play in the NFL early. Then certainly you just needed to see him physically hold up against some of the great skill players we have on our team. And as I mentioned in training camp, when you’re performing against (TE Tyler) Higbee and (TE) Gerald Everett and (TE) Johnny Mundt, and then all those receivers that we have, (WR) Robert Cooper, (WR Josh) Reynolds (WR) Van (Jefferson), and then our runners, you get a strong sense of whether he can hold up physically, and he proved that. He was dynamic at times, you know, making plays in the deep part of the field, as well as ‘running the show’. We ask a lot from our safeties running the show, you’ll hear me say that a lot. He could run the show as a young guy. And I felt like the good thing guys is, he played at times like he’s capable of playing, but there’s certainly a lot of room for improvement with his game. He missed too many tackles for the caliber player that we think he is. I know that it was his first NFL game, but we’re, we’re very confident that he can play better and that he will play better. But at the same time, as I said to (Head Coach) Sean (McVay) and (General Manager) Les (Snead) and (Chief Operating Officer) Kevin (Demoff), I’m sure glad we drafted him.”

(On if tackling is something they will work on more in practice and will it get better) “I don’t think we could have emphasized it anymore in meetings and on the field. I do not think we could have physically emphasized it anymore. If you guys had tape recorders at practice or in the meetings, it’s just one of those things. I think you have to tip your cap to the Cowboys, they’ve got a lot of really good players. That’s as good of skill group that you’re going to face in the NFL and a quarterback that’s a guy that’s going to break tackles, too. You tip your cap to Dallas, they’ve got a lot of good players. There’s certainly room for improvement. We missed far too many for the caliber of group that I think we have. A lot of it is just angles and timing. I think it’s very difficult to simulate timing in practice when it isn’t truly live to the ground. As much as you emphasize it, as much as you show film and you’re watching people around the league, you study the Cowboys and all these guys, how they break tackles, how they make people miss what their running style is, until your body gets to physically perform that movement, it’s difficult. So, I think you certainly saw that, but I will say, at the end of the game in that second half, I thought we tackled well. I thought in the two-minute we tackled well. (CB) Jalen (Ramsey) and (CB) Darious (Williams) had a couple really big tackles for us to keep the clock moving. I felt like we finished the game tackling better than certainly we started it.”

(On if the matchup against the Eagles offense can be the game where he can use his leverage of plays to his advantage and his thoughts on ILB Kenny Young’s coverage skills)
“Philly’s two tight ends, I’ve got as much respect for them as a tandem, as anybody in pro football. (Eagles TEs) Zach (Ertz) and (Dallas) Goedert are as good as you’re going to find. I’ve personally played against them twice. They’re as good of a tandem in the run game and as in the pass game as you can find in the NFL. (Eagles Head Coach) Doug (Pederson) does a great job moving them around, creating formations that really try to create matchups for those two guys. So, we’re definitely going to have our hands full with those two And (Eagles QB) Carson (Wentz) does a really good job locating and finding them. So, then to your point about (ILB) Kenny Young, I really liked the way he played on Sunday night. I thought that he brought a big presence to us. I thought that we felt like he could do it, but he really showed that, ‘Hey man, this guy can play NFL linebacker’ and there’s room to improve for sure. But he gives us some athleticism and some size, a little bit longer guy. We’re hoping for continued improvement from Kenny.”

(On what he does when he first enters the locker room during half time)
“We get together as a coaching staff first. It’s important for us to get together, give the players the time to catch their breath and then get connected as a coaching staff, make sure that we’re connected on exactly what happened and exactly what we want to convey to the players, because you have such a short amount of time. So, time is of the essence. When we got with the guys, we knew exactly what we needed to correct. And it was really more from that the last drive of the two minute. There were a couple of technical things there that you wish we had back. But I felt like going into the second half, we had a good idea of how they were going to continue to attack us and then what we could do to give ourselves a real good chance to be successful moving forward. So, we kind of gave them a good preview of what the second half of may be like. Then I felt like the communication between players and coach and coach and player was really good throughout the whole game. Then particularly in the second half, we’re able to get to things from a coverage standpoint, from a personnel grouping standpoint that I think allowed us to be successful down the stretch.”

(On what has been affective for containing Eagles QB Carson Wentz)
“Well, the last time I faced Carson was 2017. He was by far the MVP of the league at that time when we played them in Chicago, they were really rolling. This guy’s as good of a player that you’re going find. He’s big, much like Dak (Prescott), he can drive the ball at any part of the field, throwing it, athletic, he can create. I think that he’s really physical for the position. I mean, this guy’s 6-5, 235-240 (pounds). He’s a big man. So, very similar players and they’re both competitors. Much like Dak, Carson really shows up in the ‘got to have it situations’ – third-down, red area, two minute, very much like Dak. So, it’s going to take a team effort to make sure that this guy doesn’t have one of his best games because he’s certainly capable of beating you at any time. You got to be on your game all 60 minutes or however long the game goes, because this guy’s putting pressure on you every single snap. He’s one of those quarterbacks that every single snap he’s putting pressure on you. So, we’re going to have to be able to operate at a high level.”

(On if there are similarities between QB Jared Goff and Wentz)
“I think where they’re similar is that they can go and win any game on the schedule. I think they’re quarterbacks that you would consider franchise quarterbacks that you can say, ‘Hey, we can go into that game and win that game. If we’re behind, if we got to come back, if we got to go on the road, we feel good about these guys, leading our football team.’ I think that’s where they’re similar. I think their playing styles are different. Carson is a different stylistic quarterback than (QB) Jared (Goff) is, but they’re both effective. They both have been winners in this league. They both have achieved a success leading their team into the playoffs. And certainly, in every game people are saying, ‘Hey, you know, we got to make sure that, that guy we got a plan for him.’ So, I think that’s where they’re similar. And it seems like both of them are just outstanding people and I think that that’s probably where the similarities lie.”

(On how he feels CB Jalen Ramsey performed in his defensive system against Dallas)
“It’s his defense, it’s not my defense. It’s all right. It’ll never be a coach’s defense. Will definitely always be the players’ defense. That won’t be the last time I say that, but I thought that (CB) Jalen (Ramsey) got better as the game went on. Like a lot of players. I thought he got his legs underneath him. I know that he told me after the game, he can play a lot better and I can coach a lot better. I think that all of us kind of had that same feeling after the game, but I thought in crunch time, he was outstanding. He had a couple of big tackles in the two-minute, had the big break up on (Cowboys WR) Amari (Cooper) on the third down. The thing that I thought he did a really nice job of is communicating from the very first snap to the end of the game. I thought that that was a real strength of his, but there’s some plays that I know that he would like to have back. Some ops that I think he feels like, ‘Hey, I can go finish that.’ And either you make a big play on the ball or make or finish the tackle. So, it was good to get out there with him. He’s really good on game day from a communication standpoint on the sideline helping the younger guys. So very pleased with him and then encouraged that we can get a lot better moving.”

(On his thoughts about DL Aaron Donald making a big play on third down against Dallas while being double-teamed)
“That was a big third-down-and-four. I think if you look even closer, okay, you’ll see, (CB) Troy Hill behind (DL) Aaron, Donald too. And Troy Hill is the reason why Dak Prescott pulled that back. It was not Aaron Donald. Aaron’s in the way and that’s exactly what (Defensive Line Coach) Eric Henderson’s teaching him to do, blocking shots. We feel like we can add that to his game. He’s doing a really good job of it. He’s done a great job in camp, but I think if you look even closer, Troy Hill was really why Dak had to pull that throw back and then I thought that (DT) Michael (Brockers) had a really good individual rush on that left guard. It was a tremendous individual rush. Michael’s been working extremely hard on his past rush and I thought it came alive the other night. I thought that play was indicative of 11 guys doing exactly the right thing, playing with perfect assignment, technique and effort. That resulted in a big, third stop.”

(On Fuller on the four-down stop)
“He performed the right assignment, did it with the right technique. He knew that there was going to be traffic on that particular down and distance. It’s a down and distance where things like that happen. He negotiated it, I thought smoothly and was able to make the play and finish it with a good tackle. Certianly gave us a big lift there for the rest of the game.

(On if this past game performance will give them some optimism on how good they can get)
“I think we’re encouraged, but far from satisfied. I think certainly encouraged that we were able to finish the game. I think the second half was more indicative of how we expect to play. But certainly, through all four quarters, there’s a lot to correct. I think that as a coach and as a player, as a competitor, we’re all in this together. We know that there’s a lot that we need to get going on and that’s what makes competition fun is working at your game. Whether it’s coach, player or as a unit we need to get back to work and that’s why today’s so important. Is that we can get back on the field and we can start that process. So, we’re excited to do that here today.”

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QB Jared Goff – September 16, 2020

(On assessment of his performance against Dallas)
“I liked most of it. I thought we moved the ball pretty well down the field, especially early on. Just being able to get completions and do all the things we want to do. There’s always going to be those throws you want back. I can think of a handful off the top of my head. That last play, I wish I would’ve got my eyes up and tossed that to (WR) Cooper (Kupp) there just down the field. But, besides that, I felt pretty good about it and thought it was obviously good enough for one.”

(On his assessment of the offensive line play)
“Great. That’s great. Really good. I thought they did a good job. They were starting to gel, like I mentioned, during training camp and really starting to feel good about them and they’re feeling good about each other. It starting to go in the right direction.”

(On the interception and whether the play was sent to the league for review)
“Yeah, it was sent to the league and I mean, you can imagine what they said, but it doesn’t take anything back. It’s part of the game and sometimes we get some on our side, sometimes they get some. Ultimately, that one won against us.”

(On Eagles QB Carson Wentz)
“I’ve got a lot of respect for (Eagles) Carson (Wentz). I see him on film quite a bit. I think he’s a hell of a player. He’s done a great job and we’ve kind of had this friendly rivalry ever since we got into the league, just being in the same class, training together and always just want to be competitive. I’m sure he’s thinking the same thing when he plays us. It’s no different. At the same time though, I’m playing their defense and he’s playing our defense and I wish him the best. Hope he plays well enough, but we still win. You know, I wish him the best, but I hope we still win, obviously.”

(On whether he often touches base with Wentz)
“Basically, when we play each other, I mean, there’ll be sporadically. I’m sure, you know, some stuff with our agents or if he’s ever in California, I mean, we text a couple of times a year and stay in touch. But, again, I’ve always wished him the best.”

(On what he sees in Wentz as a quarterback)
“A lot of stuff. He’s always been extremely elusive and really, really good off-schedule. I think that’s part of what makes him really special is how good he off-schedule and how strong he is, how strong he is in the pocket and how smart he is. He’s always been a smart guy. I think a lot of stuff when, this is five years ago, we were training together, a lot of that stuff you can see carry over.”

(On how RB Cam Akers did in his first game as a rookie playing his first game)
“He did great. He did really good. I thought we had a good plan for him and getting him the ball, getting him involved. I thought he did a good job. You know, there’s always some things, the rookie mistakes, that you’re going to want to clean up. But for the most part he did a good job and he’ll just continue to go on the right trajectory, and we feel good about him.”

(On what it’s like to see RB Malcolm Brown shine)
“Yeah, it’s cool. He’s always been, obviously, behind (Falcons RB) Todd (Gurley) for however many years now, but he’s always done a great job and we’ve always been able to rely on him, whether it’s third down or various runs and different things. So, we weren’t not expecting him to play well. I mean, he’s always played well, but for him to get out in the forefront, get a lot of carries and be able to score those two touchdowns for us, that was huge. I’m happy for him. And again, I think his trajectory is going to continue to go up.”

(On what crossers like WR Robert Woods can do to a defense when you can run them multiple times successfully)
“(WR) Robert (Woods) does a great job getting open. I think that’s part of what he’s always been really good at. I think the play you’re referring to is the one over the middle. He’s always been really good at that play. We’ve ran it for quite a bit now and had some success with it. So anytime it gets called you get a little excited about it. Me and him have a really good feel for each other on that play, and a lot of plays. I mean, this is now our fourth year together and we feel really good with each other.”

(On if Woods runs like a fullback)
“Yeah, he always looks like he’s running down a hill if you ever see him. I know it’s kind of cliché to say running downhill, but he does. He looks like he’s on a slope running. You know, whether it’s a handoff in the run game that we give him from the receiver position or you saw the screens he’s running, he’s a really good what we call, ‘slash runner’ and just making one guy miss and staying downhill. He’s probably one of the best in the league at it.”

(On how much Sunday’s win against the Cowboys uplifted the team emotionally)
“It’s really been like this. I mean we expected to win. It’s nothing that, you know, gets us too excited. I mean, we were excited after the game and excited for 24 hours, but today’s Wednesday and we’ve got a new opponent. So, ever since I’ve seen people, which is really since this morning and a little bit on Monday, it’s been fairly even-keeled. We expect to win. We go out every week and expect to win and that’s just how we are.”

(On Philadelphia being known for having loud fans, and from a quarterback’s perspective if not having fans there due to COVID-19 levels the playing field)
“I don’t know. Everyone’s got eight home games, eight away games this year, so it’ll even out for everybody. I know some people have fans and some people don’t, but I guess for some teams that rely on that home field advantage, it can be a disadvantage for those teams. I’m not referring to the Eagles specifically, but there are teams that win a lot more at home and there’s a reason why. So yeah, you can see that as a disadvantage for some teams.”

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