(East Los Angeles, CA) [From The Editor’s Desk]: The NFL’s week number three is already here and the Rams are waiting just another two days to take on their Northern California/Bay Area rivals, the San Francisco 49ers (1-1), this Sunday at SoFi Stadium. The kick-off is scheduled for 1:25 pm and can be watched on Fox 11 TV. Fans can also listen to it on ESPN LA 710 AM, Tu Liga 1330 (En Español), and 93.1 JACK FM Radio.
To go along with the Rams fans imagining the outcome of this highly competitive divisional match-up, they can give Head Coach, Sean McVay’s 9/20 transcript a thorough read and see how they can factor all of the gameday information that he has shared with the media groups who are assigned to cover him and the team. So, get ready for your weekly session of Coach McVay’s preview of the game, right here with us at East L.A. Sports Scene.
Rams Transcripts-Head Coach Sean McVay
{9/20/24-Friday}
[Head Coach McVay]
(Opening Statement)
“From an injury perspective, Davis Allen, poor guy’s back is still bothering him so he’ll be out for the game. Cooper Kupp will obviously be out and then Josh Karty, Cobie Durant, and Bobby Brown III will be listed as questionable. I won’t really know about Josh until we see how he handles today, but hopefully, he makes it. If not, then Tanner Brown will go.”
(On how Brown III injured his ankle)
“He did it in practice yesterday, tweaked his ankle. [It was] kind of a little scare in terms of getting rolled up on with some foot traffic but it seems like everything’s going to be okay.”
(On whether the technique-teaching process of defending the run has changed this week)
“I think a lot more emphasis, certain front mechanics, getting aligned, and then obviously the techniques and the fundamentals. How do you want to take on double teams? How do you want to defeat individual blocks? Arizona did a good job with a lot of their schemes, but those are things that we expect to play better and more efficiently and be more competitive. I’ll tell you, [Defensive Line Coach and Run Game Coordinator] Giff Smith and [Assistant Defensive Line Coach] AC [Carter] and really our defensive coaches have as a whole have really had an increased level of urgency. I’ve really appreciated their attention to detail and the right vibe with their approach. The players have responded in a great way. Ultimately, what a great challenge. San Francisco has a bunch of different, multiple looks and things that they can present from a run game scheme. I think [49ers Head Coach] Kyle [Shanahan] and [Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach] Chris Foerster do as good a job as anybody and they have the players to be able to execute it. What a great challenge for us to see on Sunday.”
(On how he measures the sense of urgency by the coaches to improve the defensive scheme)
“I think and really probably more appropriate way, I don’t know that there’s an increased urgency, more of an attention to detail in terms of alright, some more walkthroughs, more time on the grass where you’re putting guys physically through it. You’re making an emphasis on maybe some things that… wow, maybe wasn’t an issue as much in Week 1 and then hey, we have to be able to address it. That’s probably a more appropriate way to articulate that. You’re getting some guys up to speed. Neville Gallimore, he’s a guy that got here really late, some of the front mechanics based on different personnel groupings based on just the different looks that can be presented by the opponent whether that’s Arizona or what we anticipate ‘San Fran’ might do. Those are key and critical factors that have a variety of different things accompanied with that based on what we’re doing on the second and third level behind those guys. That’s probably what I should have said.”
(On how he plans to improve the run game on offense this week)
“When you look at it, and you mentioned it, the two games have been very different tales of why that didn’t…You have ten snaps offensively and before you have your eleventh snap it’s a 21-0 game. That game was very different last week. It’s really about the efficiency of the execution, the ability to hit blocks, no different than what Adam was asking in terms of how we stop the run. Well, we have to do that to be able to sustain and run the ball efficiently, get a hat on a hat, and then hopefully we’ll be able to throw it as you see Matthew [Stafford] in the background working some techniques right there as he’s loosening up.”
(On ensuring that players understand the necessary changes that are being implemented to improve the scheme on offense and defense)
“I think clarity of communication. That’s why you practice. That’s why you have all these meetings. We have a lot of young guys who are playing and being in these positions for the first time, but how quickly can we accelerate it? How can we make sure that we’re reaching them? How are they able to communicate back to us so that we understand where they’re at? Ultimately, they show us when we get out into these practice settings and on the games. The most important thing really for our group right now is alright, how disciplined can we be with our competitive stamina, our ability to stay within the moment, our ability to prepare and do everything that’s in alignment with giving ourselves a chance to be the best version of ourselves for this team where real growth can occur? That’s the challenge that I have really for myself, for our coaches, [and] for our players as we navigate some of the unique circumstances that we’re in the midst of early on in the season.”
(On whether he is satisfied with the points put up by the Rams compared to other teams around the NFL)
“It’s hard for me to say. I know that our scoring is down and that’s been my main focus and concentration. We’ve got to do a better job of being able to collectively and consistently move the ball, sustain drives, and then ultimately be able to finish them. I think defenses are doing a great job. You see an uptick in there’s more rushing yards [and] less passing yards. I just think you’re seeing a heightened awareness on limiting explosives [in] some of the coverage contours. These defenses do a great job but I also think two weeks is a really small sample size in general as you guys know. Those would be a couple of the things that I would kind of point [and] maybe why that’s the case.”
(On how OLB Jared Verse, DE Braden Fiske and other young players are adapting to the NFL)
“That’s a good question. I think anytime that you transition… both [of] these guys are resilient. Their stories lend to a credibility, a toughness and an ability to be able to work through different unique circumstances whether it’s watching from where they went to college right out of high school [then to] where it led them to. They’re competitive though. I think we all want to have this growth mindset and you’ve heard me say it before, it’s really how you handle the storms. We’re in the midst of a little bit of a storm right now and we learn a lot about people when you go through it. There’s an accountability that we have to each other in the types of men that we expect in terms of how we handle this. Those guys are really in alignment with what we’re looking for as they’re continuing to grow, as they’re continuing to try to influence and affect positive change with their impacts, with how they move throughout the course of the week and then ultimately how they play on Sundays. There’s been some really good things and there are going to be some things that they’re going to continue to learn from. That’s really, whether it be for Braden Fiske or Jared Verse, that’s consistent for me [and] for everybody. If we can keep that approach, then I do know that it’s going to give us the best opportunity to play the caliber of football that we want for us to be shaped the way that we want to as people and as players and coaches. That’s my main focus and concentration.”
(On not being desperate despite being winless)
“I think you have to be inside out. It’s easy to say all these things I’m saying but ultimately, it’s how do you move and how do you make sure that you’re doing the things that are in alignment to stay resilient, to stay strong [and] to not allow those circumstances to change your ability to attack things with an enthusiasm [and] with a competitiveness though as well? Don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean you sit here and… raise your hand if you’re happy to be in this situation. Nobody’s raising their hand, but I do know from experiences that pressing the panic button isn’t the way to get out of it either. It’s going back to work, doing it with the right authentic spirit, the right enthusiasm, the right kind of vibe, the right focus, and concentration with how you implement daily, weekly, and hourly rhythms that are in alignment with improving and playing the best quality of football that we’re capable of with the guys that are playing. How quickly can some of these guys develop? How much can we strain when we get these opportunities within practices or when we get to Sunday against a great opponent? What does that look like? That’s what I’m most interested in evaluating. If we do that, then that’s going to give us the best chance to get the result that you’re hunting up as well.”
