(East Los Angeles, CA) [From The Editor’s Desk]: Today’s Rams “Zoom” press conference with Head Coach, Sean McVay, obviously had the media’s attention focused on the team’s key move in claiming QB/Baker Mayfield from the Carolina Panthers on waivers, and then quickly signing him to a contract.
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Please give a very good read of how Coach McVay answered all of the questions asked of him during this very important session. He also gives a brief rundown of the injury-listed players for tomorrow’s big showdown on NFL Thursday Night Football against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Los Angeles Rams Transcripts – Head Coach Sean McVay – 12/7/22
–Head Coach Sean McVay–
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(Opening Remarks)…“For the game (DT) Aaron Donald will be out. (LB) Travin Howard will be out. (LB) Terrell Lewis will be out. (DB) David Long (Jr.) will be out. (WR) Lance McCutchen will be questionable. (WR) Brandon Powell will be questionable. (QB) John Wolford will be questionable and (DC) Troy Hill will be questionable.”
(On the process of deciding to claim QB Baker Mayfield and if he expects him to start on Thursday)…“Yeah, so when you have a player of his caliber come available and you look at just the circumstances in the situation surrounding our quarterback room, we felt like it was the right move for us. He’s a guy that I’ve always respected his game (and I) liked a lot of things that he brings to the table. I’ve known him a little bit, just going back to even when we rode out to the Combine together when he was training in LA. We sat next to each other on the Southwest flight with it being the only direct flight from LAX to Indianapolis. So as far as his status for tomorrow, we’re working through that kind of stuff. We just finished up. He literally just got here last night. (He’s an) incredibly sharp guy. It was good to be able to be around him, but really, we felt like it upgraded our quarterback room. It gives us a chance to have him in the building and we’ll see how it goes and we’ll take it a day at a time.”
(On if they were actively looking to add to their quarterback room)…“No, it’s really a circumstance of he ends up getting his release from the (Carolina) Panthers. Obviously, (QB) Matthew’s (Stafford) on IR (Injured Reserved). (QB) John (Wolford’s) neck is a questionable situation. So you had to address it at some point and it just so happened that the timing kind of worked out in our favor. But it worked out and we feel good about it.”
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(On what he needs to see or talk to Baker Mayfield about for him to possibly play in Thursday’s game)…“Yeah, there’s a lot of things. I think part of it too is seeing how John feels. But really it’s getting to maximize all the time that we have to be able to get him up to speed. There are some similarities to systems that he’s run in previous years and at previous places where there’s a similar vernacular and verbiage or he might have called one thing something and he’s like, ‘Oh, okay, this is what I’ve called it.’ So, we’ll really see. It’s 12 o’clock right now. Literally he just got here about 14 hours ago when we ended up starting to meet with him. So it is very early for me to say anything that would be accurate because (we) still got plenty of time to be able to evaluate and see exactly where that leaves us for tomorrow at five (5:05p.m. PT).”
(On what he wants to see Baker Mayfield work on during his time with the Rams)…“Yeah, he is a tough competitor. I think it’s like anything else. You play each snap as its own separate entity. You want to be able to, when you’re throwing the football play within the rhythm, timing, throw the ball with accuracy and anticipation, understand the intent behind it, get us in and out. There’s so many things that a quarterback’s responsible for, but what I’ve always liked is he’s got the ability to be able to make the throws in the pocket (and) out of the pocket. He can throw on platform (and) off platform. He’s got great upper body twitch. He’s got the ability to be able to create with his legs. From my interaction with him and even just watching him from afar, (he’s) really smart, sharp, cerebral player that has a great competitiveness to him that you can’t help but like.”
(On what makes him and Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen think they can get a full evaluation of Baker Mayfield and the other offensive players on the team)…“Yeah, because I think a lot of the evaluation isn’t exclusive to what you guys might see on Sundays. It’s the weekly rhythm, it’s the daily rhythm, how you practice, how you meet, and then how you put yourself in a position to play well in that window of time. Then just some of the abilities that he has gives you an opportunity to be able to see some different things relative to the skill positions, and maybe open up certain portions of your playbook. I think that’s probably what Liam was alluding to. I don’t want to speak for him, but I know that’s how I feel. Whether or not that’s reflected in him playing tomorrow night or not, I’m not sure. But we’ll know we’ll have at least four games after that if it’s not tomorrow.”
(On if OL David Edwards will be shut down for the season)…“I think that’s most likely the direction we’ll go.”
(On what QB Baker Mayfield would have to show to be able to play against the Raiders)…“It’s not necessarily that, it’s more about evaluating the totality of some of the other layers to the situation. I would lean towards that he’ll be active. Now, whether or not that means that he would play or he would be available in an emergency setting is something that we’re going to continue to work through. Kind of like I said, you’re still trying to give him the appropriate information. There’s so many things that a quarterback’s responsible for, so how do you really try to package enough information to be able to allow him to go play well without overloading him with unnecessary stuff is kind of that balance. I mean it would be unprecedented from my experiences because of everything that a quarterback’s asked to do, to bring him in in such a short period of time and have him go out there. I do think that he’d be capable of it if we ask, but we’ll take that really one day at a time until tomorrow.”
(On if he sees QB Baker Mayfield as a long-term option at backup quarterback)…“Yeah, I would say I’ve always really liked him. What I can say in all sincerity is that there’s an excitement about being able to work with him for what we know is five more weeks. Whether he plays in five games or four games is to be determined, but I’m excited about that and I think as we continue to accumulate that information that will answer itself.”
(On what he sees about QB Baker Mayfield that will make him a good fit for the Rams)…“I think it’s just the love of the game, the competitor, all the things that he brings from the traits and characteristics of a quarterback. He’s a natural thrower, like I said, the ability to be able to throw in the pocket and out of the pocket. There’s a lot of things, whether it be in Cleveland or even in Carolina, that he’s been asked to do that are very similar concept carryover to what we’ve been able to do and some of the things that we have as foundational parts of our offense. That makes it a little bit easier eval(uation), but it’s kind of all those things and certainly not exclusive to one of them.”
(On how much he knew about QB Baker Mayfield before the 2018 NFL Draft and if he has heard from any coaches in the division about him)…“You know what, I didn’t really do too much in depth study because we had (former Rams QB) Jared (Goff) as an established player and you knew that he was going to be an early pick. But just seeing him from afar and getting to know (former Oklahoma Head Coach) Lincoln Riley, obviously he’s a huge fan, so can’t speak highly enough about him. As soon as we were able to get Baker, that was one of the first texts that I got was from Coach Riley. I have not spoken to any other coaches in the division, but I’ve kind of known him since then where you kind of casually keep in touch. I’ve always just been a fan of the way that he’s carried himself, the way that he competes, and a lot of the things that he brings to the table so I’m excited to work with him.”
(On if he has any concerns about QB Baker Mayfield)…“No, I don’t have any concerns. The only concern would be making sure we put him in the best positions to be successful as it relates to whether he plays tomorrow or not. That’d be the only thing, but as far as him, there’s no concerns.”
(On if QB John Wolford’s neck injury is the same injury he was dealing with before facing Kansas City and the craziness of the season so far)…“You can’t make it up at this point. You just keep it moving and you don’t allow yourself to stress yourself out with the amazing amount of things that are out of your control, whether it be in that situation or relative to this season in general. What I would say is it is similar. Because it is such a short turnaround, you’re kind of really finding out exactly how he feels tomorrow and that’ll help provide better clarity. We’ve been cautious with him to be able to give him the best chance to be as strong and feeling as good as possible relative to tomorrow. There’ll be some agility and adaptability that’s necessary based on the information that we gather when we go through pregame warmups. How we handle that’ll be on us to have that flexibility, but that’s kind of what this year’s entailed and I’m not going to sit here and complain about it. I feel bad for John (Wolford) that it’s been a thing that’s kind of pestered him because I thought he did a really good job the other day, and we’ll see what that means for tomorrow.”
(On if they signed Mayfield to keep him away from the San Francisco 49ers)…“That’s not true. Those guys are balling, they’re doing their thing. If it was maybe a different circumstance for where our team was at, then maybe that would be something, but it is exclusively a result of just where we’re at and how important it was. We were going to need to add somebody to that quarterback room regardless and he happened to come available and that’s a good thing.”
(On if there is any shifting in the offensive coaching duties with the current running back coach situation)…“(Assistant Head Coach and Tight Ends Coach) Thomas (Brown) will be able to kind of take that over in addition to being able to kind of still work with the tight ends, but guys like (Offensive Assistant) Zak Kromer and (Offensive Assistant) Jake Peetz are able to seamlessly fill in and that’s kind of how we’ll handle that for the remainder of the way.”
(On what leadership qualities he sees in Mayfield)…“I think I see a competitor, a guy that knows how to connect with all of his teammates. I think a guy that is unfazed by good or bad, just stays nice and steady and even keeled and I like the fieriness, that’s kind of what I see. But again, I’m just getting around him for the first time in some of these competitive settings that you kind of get a chance to really view that.”
(On if he thinks a fresh start will aid Mayfield’s career and also help the team move forward)…“I think he’d be better equipped to answer that. I just know that I’ve seen a lot of good things from him. I’ve also seen a guy that fought through a lot of injuries that a lot of guys wouldn’t play through that I think he kind of gets some unfair criticism because people aren’t aware of how much that affects your ability to play the position. But I’ve seen enough good things. Nobody is perfect, and the quarterback position I believe is the most difficult position in all of sports, but this guy’s got the physical capacity, the mental makeup that I think to be a really good player and I think that’s been illustrated in certain spots. And then I think you’ve got to evaluate that football is the greatest team sport that there is. So much a part of those guys shining is a reflection of the circumstances and the settings and I’m excited about being able to work with him. I can’t speak on anything before then, but I am confident that this guy’s got what it takes to be a really good player.”
