(East Los Angeles, CA)[From The Editor’s Desk]: The Rams pressed on during their final Organized Team Activity (OTA) day with a great pair of interviews that featured once again, Head Coach, Sean McVay, and his fully healed, rehabilitated, and “ready to go” starting Quarterback, #9/Matthew Stafford, at their Training Camp Facility at Cal Lutheran University this past Wednesday.

Let’s take a good look and give a serious read to what they had to say to the customary media in attendance and to their fans for all new updates regarding the team’s preparations and expectations for the new season.   

Rams Transcripts – Head Coach Sean McVay, & QB Matthew Stafford – 6/14

[Head Coach Sean McVay]

(Opening Statement)…“Okay, it was a good conclusion to the offseason program today. Seems like we came away healthy. We’ll get some guys back healthy once we report for training camp. Don’t expect anybody to be limited once that date starts on July 25th. Hopefully guys get away, get themselves recharged, rejuvenated, and then come back ready to roll and pick up where we left off. (There’s) been a lot of positives. Really enjoyed getting started with this group on this upcoming season.”

(On OT Rob Havenstein)…“Same thing as yesterday, just a little veteran rest day. Wanted to be smart with him, making sure he’s feeling good, so he’ll be ready to roll once camp starts.”

(On OL Logan Bruss playing on the right side)…“I think he’s done a good job. I’ll have to go back and look at the film. I thought yesterday was really sharp. We had less reps yesterday, but that’s where he was comfortable. He played a lot of that position at Wisconsin and that’s where he shined really bright. You don’t minimize how difficult the transition from tackle to guard really is. He did a really good job, so I think it’s something to be able to look at. And ultimately, it is our job to be able to find the best spots that accentuate these guys’ skill sets where they’re most comfortable and where they’re most valuable for our team, so that’s a positive for us. Logan did a nice job over the last couple days.”

(On his assessment of the kickers and punters)…“I think they’ve done a good job. It has been a small sample size and you’re not seeing a real rush on both sides. I’ve been pleased with both kickers. (P) Ethan (Evans) has done a really nice job. I think you’ve been really impressed with him overall, not exclusively as a punter, but also just as a holder. Doing a great job to be able to set up (K) Chris (Dunn) and (K) Tanner (Brown). And so, there’s a lot of things to be done. I’ve also thought (LS) Alex Ward has done a really good job as a long snapper, so you’re talking about four rookies. (Special Teams Coordinator) Chase Blackburn has done a great job as well as (Special Teams Assistant Coach) Jeremy Springer to be able to help get these guys to mature quicker. They love football, you can tell, and I think it’s been a positive step in the right direction and we’ll continue to evaluate it and I think competition always brings out the best in people.”

(On if he sees a difference in WR Van Jefferson’s motivation compared to last season)…“He’s always been motivated. He’s got a great way about himself. You talk about a guy that loves football, pours everything into this. I think he’s now… just more time removed, he’s been so intentional about being able to build up that knee, really strengthen that and the areas around it. Just get more comfortable putting that foot in the ground and really playing the receiver position. He made a lot of big plays out here today. We all know what Van is capable of and you want to just be able to have him stay healthy, continue to just take those steps in the right direction, and he’s going to be a big part of what we’re doing next year.”

(On what it’s like working with the coaching fellows and the importance of the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching program…“Well I think every team in general, because it’s a great way to get exposure to…I think great coaches come from all different types of levels. Just because we’re fortunate enough to be coaching at this level doesn’t mean…some of the greatest coaches I’ve been around were little league, high school, college. You’re getting a lot of these guys that are in college right now. It’s a great opportunity, if opportunities and chances open up here, to find and really be able to get exposure to great guys. You look at (Offensive Assistant) KJ Black who’s on our current staff right now, it was because of this internship that we had in training camp and he’s done an excellent job. And then you get some former players out here. Really loved what (Defensive Line Fellow) Corey (Liuget) has done and then everybody loves (Cornerbacks Fellow Donte) ‘Double D’ (Deayon). He’s a guy that always…his acumen, his ability to communicate, his presence and charisma. If he wants to be able to go into this thing, he’ll be a great coach. And then we will figure out what we want to do to replace (Defensive Coordinator) Raheem (Morris) when ‘Double D’ wants to step in here (laughs).

(On his evaluations and expectations of QB Stetson Bennett)…“I think he’s taking it a day at a time, but I’ve been really pleased with him. These settings, especially without the pads on, quarterbacks can’t get tackled, but I think you’ve seen steady progress. (Quarterbacks Coach/Pass Game Specialist) Zac Robinson’s done a great job with him as well as (Offensive Coordinator) Michael LaFleur. But the one thing that does stand out is when the ball is in Stetson’s hands, (the) game makes sense to him. He’s got a good feel for being able to get through progressions quickly. He can feel space on the backend as it relates to just, hey, there’s a lot of different coverage contours that he’s seeing, but he feels open areas and he can get through things quickly. And you love the athleticism, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. But I like his demeanor. He just stays nice and steady, doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low, and he’s a fun guy to be around.”

(On encouraging the rookies to get away and take a break)…“I think you do. They’ll be here for a little bit more time as we…so they’ll be here for another week or so. And I think it is good to be able to just catch your breath. The good thing is, guys like to work out and take care of themselves, but I do think just the mental toll and all the different things that they’ve worked through to be able to relax, be present with your family and friends while still keeping yourself in shape. And then we’ll have a lot of time once you get a couple weeks out from training camp, or really just right before there, for them to challenge them to start doing some stuff on their own. Make sure that we can try to hit the ground running because what you can’t do with some of the young guys is you can’t say, ‘Aright, we’re going to start all over when training camp starts.’ We have to use a lot of the good things that have been accrued for them above the neck and physically and then be able to hit the ground running in training camp. So it’s a combination of both, but I think there’s a responsibility that they know they have. And these guys nowadays, whether it’s your own trainers at home or whether you’re staying around here and you have access to the facilities, there’s certain things that they like to be able to take care of themselves and that’s pretty consistent with the types of guys that we have on this team.”

(On joint practices during training camp)…“We’ll do that with both the Raiders and the Broncos and so that’ll represent four opportunities for us. It’s nice because the schedule lays out where all of our games are on Saturday, so that’ll represent on those game weeks where we’ll get good practice on Wednesday and Thursdays of those weeks. Friday will be separate for kind of our own little walk throughs and then you play the game on Saturday. And so, to be able to get opportunities to go against different schemes, different players, and get real evaluation while the risk for injury is minimized. And we obviously want to be smart, but I’m looking forward to getting connected with (Broncos Head Coach) Sean (Payton) and with (Raiders Head Coach) Josh (McDaniels) and making sure that we do a great job of getting the work that both groups need and that we absolutely have to have to be where we want to be when we open up against Seattle.”

(On what goes into finding ways to get the defensive line to complement each other)…“I think it’s situationally driven. I think it’s based on what type of personnel and front structure that we’re in, but it’s what you said. You want guys to play off one another. Especially when you’re just talking about when we’re rushing, how do we naturally play off of one another? How do these guys complement (DT Aaron Donald) AD’s skillsets? What does it look like, as (Outside Linebackers Coach) Joe Coniglio continues to figure out, what are those best edge rushers? But it’s all predicated situationally, but I think you want to see some of the things that (Former Rams DT) A’Shawn Robinson has shown where he’s been a really productive player over the last couple years. (Former Rams DT) Greg Gaines, I mentioned to you guys yesterday, (DL) Kobie’s (Turner) been a real bright spot. (DE) Desjuan (Johnson) has stood out, but there’s been a lot of guys. (DT) Marquise Copeland is a guy that’s capitalized on his opportunities. And so, I think it’ll really come to life once we put pads on and you start to see us try to get into more realistic situations and settings where you’re going from first down to second down to third down and now you’re having to react. And okay, it’s a two-minute drive. And I think we’re going to find the best players, and it might be more rotations than what we’ve been accustomed to. But I think the fun thing, and I think you guys would agree with this, when you’ve looked at our roster over the last couple years, you probably could have a pretty good idea of, all right, here’s the 53 at this point in the year, and there’s a lot of spots that are up for grabs. And that’s where it’s going to be exciting for us, where you’re not going to predetermine. You’re going to really evaluate one day at a time and continue to figure out what are the best 53 and what are the best guys that can play for us, particularly on the D-line, like you’re asking about.”

(On if he approaches this upcoming season differently than he has approached it in the past)…“Yeah, it doesn’t really change much for us. We try to be inside out. There’s been years, our first year, when we had probably similar expectations. And sometimes it’s good to be able to…you can never replicate some of those things or ignore the experiences that you’ve accumulated over the time, but you can be reminded of being inside out. Not worrying about what those things entailed and just doing the best job that you can every single day. Enjoy coaching these guys, it’s a blessing. And continuing to learn from your own mistakes as a coach and give these guys some graces. They’re working through it. And so, that youthful exuberance that you see from a lot of these guys has rubbed off on our coaches. You’re reminded this is fun. This is a good thing for us and you guys know I’ve talked about it. There were times when you reflect back on it, that it wasn’t. And I’m not going to make the same mistakes again in terms of the things that I can control for these players, for these coaches, and we’re going to enjoy this. We’re going to be urgent with our approach, but we’re going to make sure that trying to pursue being great at something, it doesn’t have to be miserable. And we’ll see that come to life and I’m more interested in us modeling the way than anything else.”

(On how RB Cam Akers and OLB Michael Hoecht can continue the success they had towards the second half of last season)…“I think they both have done a really good job of picking up on that momentum that they built towards the end of the season. You talk about a guy in Michael Hoecht that had been playing inside. He had been a core special teams player. Moves to the outside, obviously the relentless effort, but now he’s understanding some of the nuances of playing that outside rusher position. Being able to do things in coverage, so he’s had a great spring. Joe Coniglio has done a great job with him and I’ve loved where Cam Akers is at. He’s physically in great shape. I think Cam shines his brightest when you get into real games where you’re playing tackle football. Whether it be the quarterbacks or sometimes these running backs, it’s hard to evaluate those guys in these settings. But I love the way that Cam finished the year. And I love really the way that both of those guys have used the momentum they established towards the latter part of last season to build it, and they’re going to be key and critical pieces for us this coming season.”

(On the difference of having QB Matthew Stafford available to throw this offseason in comparison to last offseason)…“Oh, it’s night and day. I mean, and he’ll be the first to tell you. You talk about being able to enjoy it. I don’t think I realized it or anybody, and he would never say it because he’s so tough, the amount of pain that he was working through, how limited he was, and he’s a special player. He’s the guy that we all know he is. He’s a mentally, physically tough competitor. He elevates everybody around him. But to have our quarterback out here, the command, the way that he elevates really defensively, offensively his communication skills, it’s been huge for us. He makes a significant difference. He’s our guy and I’ve really enjoyed this offseason with him. It’ll be good for him to be able to get a little break with his family and enjoy his girls and Kelly (Stafford), and then I know he’ll be excited about coming back to compete the right way.”

(On how he uses this time in the offseason to refresh himself)…“Yeah, so I’ll get to travel with my wife. That’ll be awesome. We’ll travel with some friends and really what is important is being able to get the amount of work done that we’ve gotten done where you feel like we’ve made great progress on our installations. You got an idea of what training camp schedule looks like. That allows you to be able to just kind of decompress, but when there’s a lot of stuff on your mind, a lot of things to be able to check off on that to-do list, it’s important to be able to give my wife and really my friends their undivided attention. And that’s what you really strive to do. It’s so easy to say, ‘Hey, let’s be totally and completely present,’ but it’s harder to do. And so, I think when you put a lot of the stuff that we’ve done over the last couple months and you look at and you say, ‘Alright this was what we wanted to be able to get done. There’s a long way to go, but you can’t really do much in the meantime other than get yourself recharged and refreshed, just like we talk about with our players.’ I’ll try to do the same thing and then like anything else once you get a couple weeks out, then I’m ready to go. And so that’s why we go pretty quickly and early in our vacation because Veronika (McVay) knows that’s when she’ll get the most present Sean (laugh).”

[Quarterback Matthew Stafford]

(On being healthy during the spring)…“It was good. It was great. Good to get a bunch of reps. It was good to see some of these young guys out here making plays and doing some good stuff. (I am) excited for a little bit of a break here and then getting ready to go in a month or so.”

(On his connection with WR Van Jefferson after they both dealt with injuries last season)…“Yeah he’s a really good player. It was unfortunate what happened last year, just missing some time and having to battle through what he battled through. He’s a resilient kid and has done a nice job coming back, working himself into the mental position and the shape that he’s in right now. I think he looks great. The more reps I get with him better and I know he feels really confident going into the season. We feel confident in him.”

(On what he likes about Van Jefferson)…“He kind of does everything. He’s got good size, got great speed down the field, catches it great, is sudden at the line of scrimmage, blocks in the run game, conscious. He just fits the room perfectly and I’m happy to have him on our team.”

(On what rotating centers does for Stafford and for the offensive line in practice)…“It’s not too much different for me. I think we’re kind of rotating a bunch of guys in there. We’ve got some new guys at tackle this week for this deal. It’s been a lot…a bunch of competition, a bunch of rotation in there. I know at some point we’ll settle into what we want to get to, but right now I think all that’s good. As far as for me, I’m lucky to play with both of those guys. They’re really great centers, have a great command of the offense, what we’re trying to do, are professional snappers of the football, and all that kind of stuff. It’s not too much of a big deal to me.”

(On how he would assess the receiving corps and his impressions of QB Stetson Bennett)…“Stetson’s done a nice job. Obviously It’s a lot to process and a lot to learn for a young guy. He’s done a nice job. He’s got great athleticism, throws it really well. He does a lot of things really well, so I’m happy for him. As far as our receiving corps, there are so many guys on it right now. It’s a deep group. We’ve got a good mix of veteran guys and young guys, guys that have played a little bit, guys that have played a lot. I know all of them are hungry to get better and learn, which is what you want as a quarterback. They are always communicating with me and the other guys, just trying to make sure that they’re doing what we think the offense should be doing and being in the right place at the right time.”

(On how he feels physically)…“I feel pretty good.”

(On what it does for him to have a complete offseason and be able to participate in OTAs and Mini Camp)…“Yeah, it’s nice. I love to be out here and practice and compete, play with these guys. So it’s tough to sit on the sideline like I did last year for so much time and just not getting any kind of reps. So it was great to get a bunch of reps this offseason. I feel good and excited about getting back in July.”

(On there being an emphasis on leadership for players like him, WR Cooper Kupp and TE Tyler Higbee this year with so many young players on the roster)…“You know, I’m going to continue to be myself and lead the way that I know how, as I know those other guys will as well. It is really fun being around all this youth, all these guys that bring a bunch of energy. They’re hungry to learn which is awesome and I think bring their own personalities to our team, which is going be a lot of fun. But you know, as far as my role, I feel like as the quarterback, you’re always the leader of the team and just doing everything I can to try to get us going in the right direction.”

(On how the defense has been encouraged to make a play within their technique so far in the spring workouts and what that does for the offense and the energy overall)…“It’s been great. You know, I think our guys in the back end and really up front as well are doing a really nice job. You know, ‘Rah’ (Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris) has a bunch of good stuff going in and they’re doing a nice job at executing it and then playing, like you’re saying, within their technique using their instincts. Some guys that were here last year have been around (Former Rams DB) Jalen (Ramsey) and some of those great players that have been able to pick their brain and learn from those guys. And then (the) safety position has been playing at a really high level too. So a lot of fun to watch, a lot of fun to compete against. They’re doing a nice job.”

(On his assessment of the running backs)…“Yeah, I mean, (RB) Kyren (Williams) did a really nice job for us as well. This is the hardest part of the year for evaluating running backs. I mean nobody’s tackling anybody, so if you break a tackle, nobody knows, you know? So we’re just looking for sound assignments, guys’ eyes in the right place and I think we’ve got a deep group there that is talented.”

(On the importance of this last break before training camp mentally and emotionally)…“Yeah, it’s definitely a part of it and I think it’s different for everybody too. I mean, you think, ‘Oh, all these rookies have all this energy, they should be good to go but at the same time, they need a little bit of it too. I mean, they’ve done nothing since their college season ended except for prepare for the combine. Then you go to the Draft and you do all this stuff. I mean, they’ve been grinding as well so there is a balance. Those guys lean on us to kind of give them guidelines and then they make it work for themselves. But I know it’s important for me as well to make sure that when I come back in this building in July, I’m, refreshed and ready to go and not already slugging away because there’s plenty of that during the season.”

(On how he feels about the external expectations this year)…“I don’t pay too much attention to it. I know what we’re trying to do is build a really good football team here and that takes work. Whether people think it’s going to happen or not doesn’t matter to us. Just because people said we should win the Super Bowl two years ago didn’t mean we won it. We put the work in and executed. So that’s the mindset that we’re taking and happy to be where we’re at.”

–RAMS–