(East Los Angeles, CA) [From The Editor’s Desk]: With the first, featured, and winning  game of Week 14 that was played with the Rams vs. Raiders on Thursday Night Football, the team has had a very good time-off to prepare for their next featured game on Monday Night Football, 12/19 in Green Bay to play the Packers.

Here for your in-depth reading of the team’s recent victory over the Raiders and the understanding of its strong preparation for the Green Bay Packers on Monday, is the full transcript of Head Coach Sean McVay during his weekly Zoom Press Conference with all of the local media that covers the Rams.

Los Angeles Rams Transcripts – Tuesday, 12/13/22

-Head Coach Sean McVay-

(On an update with DT Aaron Donald’s injury and his practice status for the week)...“No updates on Aaron right now. We’re just taking it a week at a time. I wouldn’t rule that out, but no updates on him.”

(On what he’s seen from their offensive line the last two games)…“I think they’ve done a good job. I think there were some bright spots where we were able to get the removal that we wanted. I thought in a lot of instances, in some of those known passing situations against an excellent formidable rush, there was great competitiveness. But when you look at the last two weeks, I think there’s been some positive things that we can try to build on.”

(On an update on WR Cooper Kupp’s injury after his reaction on the sideline)…“Yeah, you won’t see Cooper (Kupp) this year. Aaron, there’s a still a possibility, but Cooper I would be hard pressed to see any scenario that he would play again this year.”

(On what a normal week looks like after onboarding QB Baker Mayfield into the system)…“Yeah, I think you still just take it a day at a time. I think the important thing is making sure… I think things are learned best in bite-size increments and then you build off of that. There is a foundational understanding that he has with some things that he’s done in his past that made it a little bit more seamless in terms of the vernacular and some of the abilities for us to be able to communicate with him. But you just take it a day at a time. I think it was good, especially just what a whirlwind it was to be able to allow him and (his) wife Emily (Wilkinson) to kind of just be able to take the weekend. Really it was good for the coaches too, because those Thursday games, especially this late in the season, can be a real quick turnaround. Then it’s actually kind of a good thing that we’ll have an extra day. So we had the guys in here today and then tomorrow will kind of be like our normal Tuesday if we were playing on Sunday. But Baker will be able to get some extra time with our coaches and hopefully it’ll allow us to get a good jump on the game plan and allow him to have a good foundational understanding. But it was impressive, so he set the bar pretty high.”

(On where Baker Mayfield’s post-game head butting celebration came from)…“I don’t know, you’ll have to ask him. I saw him doing that earlier when Carolina (Panthers) had beaten Atlanta (Falcons) on Thursday Night Football too with all of his linemen. So that is a question that he would be better to answer that. But I think he’s smart about where he knows how to do it right at the top of his head where it’s hard and you can sustain. But the facial expressions from people that are in proximity to him…you look at (Director of Rehabilitation) Byron Cunningham’s face when he did that to (DB) (Robert) Rochell, that was pretty classic.”

(On when and what went into the decision of shutting Cooper Kupp down for the season)…“I wouldn’t say it’s not anything that’s been made. It’s really just the timing of the injury and how long it would take for him to get back to even being medically cleared to return to performance. He is making good progress, but to see him jumping around and then actually be able to play NFL football… to see him have good energy on the sidelines, and then going and playing professional football with the toll that leg takes on it with the way that he plays, I still think you’re probably anywhere between three and four weeks away and you’re talking about you got less than a month of football remaining even though we’ve got four games. So that’s why I say that. I’ve got to be careful speaking in absolutes. I think it would be surprising if he was able to play again, but I don’t want to say there’s a 0% chance of that. That’s probably a better way of articulating that. But it really hasn’t been anything different. It was just a result of what that injury was, you get surgery on it, and how you appropriately rehab it and making sure that you’re doing what’s best for Cooper for not only for this year, but for the long-term.”

(On what he would like to see happen in the offseason for Cooper Kupp’s recovery)…“I think it’s the same thing. I know I’m not really helping you with the question, but I think the appropriate thing for me in the given time is to focus on this team finishing out this season the right way. I couldn’t be more proud of the way that guys have handled this year, the way that they’ve played. I’ve seen improvement over the last couple weeks especially. I’ve seen an energy on the sidelines. I’ve seen an authentic approach to the preparation. Then I think it’s leading to some good things as it relates to how we’re playing during games and that’s been as rewarding as anything. It’s because of those players. I think the coaches have done a great job of being consistent and steady with their demeanor and their ability to try to help these guys reach their highest potential. And really, I think Matthew and Cooper are really an extension of the coaching staff right now. You listen even when (WR) Van (Jefferson) was mic’d up to some of the points that Cooper’s giving him as they’re looking at some of the still shots on the sideline. You listen to the way that Matthew is able to communicate during the game. So I think these guys are doing a great job of contributing in the ways that they’re capable of given their circumstances. That’s exactly kind of where my focus and concentration is. Then all the other stuff, we’ll deal with that when that time comes.”

(On if there are any injured players that he expects to come back and if DB Jordan Fuller is out for the season)…“(DB) Jordan (Fuller) is somebody…I got to talk to (Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance) Reggie (Scott).I had a good conversation with Jordan about a week and a half ago and it’s making good progress. Whether that means he actually will return to play is something that we’ll talk about. As far as just the overall injuries, we’ll continue to monitor (LB) (Terrell) “TLew” (Lewis), (QB) John (Wolford) will probably be out this week with his neck, (DT) Marquise Copeland ended up having a high ankle sprain, we’ll see what his availability looks like for this week, and then I had mentioned to you guys already about (WR) Jacob Harris.”

(On if there will be a third active quarterback in Green Bay)…“It’ll probably just be two if I was guessing right now. I would imagine, unless there’s a quick turnaround for John, it’ll just be (QB) Baker (Mayfield) and (QB) Bryce (Perkins).”

(On what he’s seen from the Green Bay Packers so far and what the challenge of playing them is)…“They’re always a formidable outfit. Obviously, (Packers Defensive Coordinator) Joe (Barry), very familiar, great coach, great communicator. I think you’re just kind of getting into these guys, but they’ve got great personnel on all three levels. I think they’ve done a great job, when you look at it offensively, they’re running the football really efficiently. You’ve obviously seen the rookie receiver (Christian) Watson has really come to life from the Dallas game on, (QB) Aaron Rodgers is still Aaron Rodgers. I think they’re healthier up upfront, they look really good just across the line of scrimmage, and then you see playmakers on all three levels of their defense. (DT) Kenny Clark, (LB) Preston Smith always makes his presence felt, I’ve always thought (LB) De’Vondre Campbell is an underrated player. He finally got some of the recognition that he deserves last year, and then they got a bunch of guys that can make plays on the ball in the secondary with (CB) Jaire (Alexander) and (CB) Rasul Douglas. I think (S) Darnell Savage is an excellent player and (S Adrian) Amos, so there’s a lot of guys that are very good football players. They’re very well coached. (Special Teams Coordinator) Rich Bisaccia has done a great job on their special teams, and so, again, I don’t care what the record says, this is a really good football team.”

(On how receivers Tutu Atwell, Brandon Powell, and Van Jefferson are coming along with the addition of Mayfield)…“Yeah, and I think that’s a big thing. You just look at it, even in that last drive where you’re going to tie it and then ultimately (K) Matt Gay’s extra point puts you over the top, you see (WR) Ben Skowronek making a great play on the sideline, catching a shallow cross, you see (WR Tutu) Atwell on the second down and ten make a big-time catch to get it to a third and two, (WR) Van (Jefferson) obviously finishing out the drive. When we’ve gotten (WR) Brandon Powell involved, he’s done a lot of good things. I think confidence is a such a powerful thing in this sport, and really in general, and I think a lot of those guys, all three of those guys, can really take a lot of confidence from what they did last week and let’s continue to build on it and continue to establish a good rapport with Baker. But I was really happy. I think (Wide Receivers Coach) Eric Yarber and (Senior Offensive Assistant) Greg Olson have done a great job with that group. (WR) Austin Trammell is another guy that’s had some good, positive contributions and so when you look at it as a whole, it’s going to be exciting to see the six receivers that we’ll have up continue to do a good job and helping us win games.”

(On what the last few days have felt like and if it feels like they have a new life going into the last games of the season)…“I think some positive momentum, no doubt. I think the biggest thing that I would say is, you’re just so happy because you see the players be able to see the work that they’ve put in and then get some tangible rewards. But I thought they played really well against Seattle too. I thought there was a lot of good things. We really try to focus on the process more than anything. Seeing that improvement, seeing guys really just commit to trying to be great in that day, in that moment and striving for that improvement and see how that translates on the grass. But to say that winning doesn’t make it more fun and enjoyable, yeah, of course. I think you could see that and you know that, but it’s an exciting thing to see those guys be rewarded for that and then there’s a positive motivation. I think the important thing, you want to be steady and you want to be consistent in your approach and we’ll remain that way for the remainder of this season, but to say that you don’t want to go in to compete to try to go win those games, that’s obviously something that we’re striving to do, but there are things that are out of your control that end up leading to those outcomes and if we focus on the process, I think we’ll give ourselves the best chance to get the results that we’re hunting up.”

(On at what point this season he was checking in on the players and what those conversations were like)…“I don’t know that you could really put an exact time on it, but I think it sometimes is when you go through this stuff you might think that you’ve got it figured out or you’re ready to handle it and the truth is that you’re always learning. These are first time experiences and I think it’s being willing to acknowledge where your role and responsibility lies within the framework of trying to be better for these players. I don’t know that you could put an exact timetable on it, but I think it’s really more about you realize this is why you do it (and) focusing on the things that you can control. I think there’s an important thing that when things go so different than maybe what you expected for a variety of reasons, alright well let’s really reset on what are the things that we can control? How do we pour into these guys? How do we make sure we’re connecting and helping them reach their highest potential instead of letting the outside-in and circumstances dictate your overall being and how you approach it and attack it the right way with the expectations you have for yourself as a leader. There’s been moments where I’m not afraid to admit that I’ve definitely let that affect me more than I should have. I think you’re in a better place and when it becomes about those guys and you’re reminded about what your job is and really what allows you to feel fulfilled in terms of pouring into these guys, seeing them get better, and making sure that you’re doing everything in your power to help the opportunities that they’re granted be as positive of experiences as possible, that’s when it’s easy. This has been consistent with me coaching in general, when it becomes more about you and less about all the people that you do this for, that’s when you don’t handle things the way that you want to. That’s been consistent in previous years when we’ve been getting more of the results we want and that’s been consistent this year. But I do feel like you never regret when you do the stuff the right way as the leader or whatever that role is that you have for these players and for the coaches. It hasn’t been perfect by any stretch, but I’ve been pleased with the overall approach that this team, these coaches and we’ve taken the last couple weeks.”

(On what moments in the season he let the outside noise in and had to recalibrate his approach)…“I think more than anything, you make the convenient excuses of these injuries or whatever. It’s wasting your emotional energy on things that you have no control over. Knowing and feeling are very different things and I’ve learned that this year more than ever. But I do think that being around people that have a similar approach and being able to be authentic, be real, but then being able to keep it moving and not dwell on that stuff I think has been at least a healthy balance for me. But it’s all about being surrounded by the people. The easiest way to be reset is to see the way that these guys come back in the building consistently, even after some of the setbacks. I can’t tell you how impressed I was where you see the energy that was expended on the Sunday game against Seattle and to see these guys come back in here on Tuesday and Wednesday and work the way that they did, be locked in in meetings, be intentional about the walkthroughs or even the practice that we had on Wednesday, and then see them go perform the way that they did. That to me, when you’re reminded of that, that’s easy to get up for those guys. Their steadiness and their consistency have definitely been such an incredible, positive influence on me. I can’t speak for others, but I can speak for myself, and it’s been pretty awesome. In the midst of what has been a challenging year, there has been growth and for that I’m grateful.”

(On if QB Baker Mayfield is doing anything extra in preparing for the week)…“(Offensive Coordinator) Liam (Coen) and (Offensive Assistant) Zak (Kromer) connected with him today a little bit and I did briefly. But it’ll be something that you still want to be mindful of giving it to him in the appropriate increments so that it can all be digestible and understandable. I do think having a little bit more of a normal weekly rhythm, having an extra day this week will be beneficial to him. I kind of mentioned it a little bit before, he does have some familiarity and some concept carryover he just might have called it something different. But the details at which things were coached with the timing and rhythm and the way that you want to distribute the field, or even like he talked about with some of the protection things when you’re dropping back and throwing the football, there are some similarities to what he’s done in his previous stops. I think it’s making sure that we’re on the same page, but the good thing about having a game plan is that you’ll be able to kind of give it to him in those incremental parts so that it can be digested in the right way. That’s kind of the approach that we’ll take and it’s just one day at a time.”

##RAMS##