(East Los Angeles, CA) [From The Editor’s Desk]: To all of our Rams followers, it’s that time once again to read up on how the Rams are readying themselves, through the eyes and evaluations of Head Coach, Sean McVay, and his Coaching Staff, for the opening Week #1 NFL 2024 season against the Detriot Lions.
The Lions are coming right back with another talented squad and are slated to be a Top 8 pick by the experts and sportswriters as a Super Bowl-contending team. Say no more to Coach McVay who knows what his team is capable of doing in big games and he will expect the very best from each one of his committed players.
In addition to Coach McVay, always high on the reporter’s list of interviews is the team’s leader at Quarterback, Matthew Stafford. Read what he answers when he’s asked to reply on a wide array of topics concerning the team’s preparations and full game readiness for Sunday’s Week 1 match-up.
Let’s now give a very good and thorough read of how both men handled all of the media questions asked of them on this Wednesday, 9/4, at their new Woodland Hills Training Facility in the team’s Week #2 there.
– Los Angeles, Wednesday, 9/4/24 –
Head Coach Sean McVay
(Opening Statement)…“As far as participation, the only guys that’ll be limited today will be Rob Havenstein, Darious Williams, and Cobie Durant. Everybody else will be full so we’re in good shape.”
(On whether Williams had a setback)…”No, he’s doing good. He got his hamstring good earlier in camp, but he’s making progress.”
(On whether he expects Havenstein will play on Sunday)…”We’ll see how today’s practice goes.”
(On whether he had to switch practice plans around due to the heat)…”We’ll just have to change how many consecutive plays we go in a row. [Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance] Reggie [Scott] and his group have done a great job being able to adjust with just some of the… you see we have a tent here. We’ll have a tent on the field. It’ll help us, but we also want to be cognizant of making sure that we’re as fresh as possible by the time Sunday night rolls around.”
(On whether CB Tre’Davious White will play on Sunday)…”Oh yeah. He’ll be good.”
(On whether it motivates him to go back to where the season ended last year)…”Every year’s a new year. What I do know is this is an excellent football team. They’re great in all three phases. They have great personnel. They’re incredibly well-coached. It’s going to be a great atmosphere and environment. For that, we’re excited. Every single year is a new year. There has been a lot of time that’s passed. There are a lot of new faces. There are a lot of hopeful development that’s occurred since then. I would imagine they would say the same thing. They’ve made some great additions to their personnel. I know they’ll have some good things schematically. What it is, is a great opportunity for us to start the season against what you know is going to be an incredible, quality opponent.”
(On whether he’s learned anything from the atmosphere in Detroit last season)…”I think it’s just about the importance of the communication. Especially when our offense is out on the field. When our punt operation is out there, hopefully not too often. It’s just really using that experience for the guys that were here. The importance of non-verbal communication. It was rocking. It’s a real credit to that city, those fans, and what that team has earned based on what they’ve done.”
(On what he feels when he hears fans yelling at him on the sideline)…”I think it’s great. I love it. It’s awesome because they’re passionate about their football team. They said some things that you better have some thick skin to be able to handle, but hopefully, they don’t mean them personally. I thought it was an incredibly cool example of a football city rooting for their team. I’m still a fan of this game. Even though you’re the enemy going in there, you walk away, and you say, ‘A ton of respect for the type of environment and atmosphere that those fans created and that team’s earned.'”
(On his enjoyment coaching last year’s team and how much excitement he has about coaching this team)…”A lot because there are a lot of the same people. It was all about the people that we were around. I think a renewed perspective. I think certainly, being a dad has helped me gain an appreciation and the appropriate perspective, really just the experiences. I’m still young, continuing to grow, mature, and try to be better in every part of my life. When you look back on some of the shortcomings or different experiences that you’ve had, you realize that these are all great learning opportunities and what a fortunate blessing it is to be in this role, be around people that I love, and you want to work hard to do right by them, and also balance being the best competitor that you can be while understanding there are some things you can control and some things you can’t. These players, these coaches, they’ve certainly have me feeling really excited about trying to work as hard as I can to do my part to not let them down.”
(On whether he prefers the heat in Woodland Hills over the windy conditions in Thousand Oaks)…”As of right now, no. Here’s what I would say, though. It is part of what you can control, right? This is where we’re at so we’re going to do the best we can to minimize any of the distractions. Now, you can’t deny that this heat is very real. You put the pads on. I think Reggie, his group… really our sports performance has done an excellent job of understanding, alright, what are the things that we can do to counter it? With the hydration, the importance of just moving some things around schedule-wise and then still be able to go attack our preparation the right way. My understanding is that it’ll cool down at some point. We do want it to be as minimal of a distraction as possible but you can’t ignore that this heat is real and the guys feel it. I think we have a good plan in place so that it won’t be any reason for us not to be ready to roll Sunday night.”
(On the challenge of going up again the Lions’ defensive line in addition to the noise in Detroit)…”There are so many unforeseen things to occur, especially in the first game of the year. You have to be able to trust your rules. You have to know some of the things without chasing ghosts. That’s why you have sound foundational rules in place. Some of the personnel that they’ve added are very good. What are the strengths of some of the players that they added? You mentioned [Lions DL DJ] Reader. [Lions DL Alim] McNeil I think is one of the best players in this league that people don’t talk about enough. They have some really good players on the edges. They’re excellent on all three levels. They’ve added really good personnel, whether that be through the draft or free agency. I thought they were really hitting their stride when we played them last year, especially on the defensive side. Their offense is well-documented. As far as what you’re asking, those are questions that [you] can’t really have the answer to until we play the game because there is such a limited inventory of film out there.”
(On how WR Puka Nacua is feeling)…”Yeah, he’s feeling good. He had the knee that he tweaked a couple of weeks ago, but he’s feeling good. He has that good look in his eye and I’m excited for him.”
(On what he learned from the preseason about the new kickoff rules)…”Probably about as much as you. I think that… like I kind of mentioned to you guys, the schemes were incredibly regulated. We saw a lot more returns, but you saw a much more regulated scheme in terms of man-blocking systems. I think you’re going to see a lot of different types of schemes. I think this week will give you a better indicator of what’s to come. I don’t believe the preseason gave us much of a feel for what that play’s going to be.”
(On RB Blake Corum returning kickoffs)…”Yeah, he’ll be back there. It’s a possibility.”
(On coaching his first regular season game without Former Rams DL Aaron Donald and what he would like to see from the defensive line)…”I want them to play the way that they’re capable of the way that they’ve played throughout the offseason, through training camp. I want them to be able to play within themselves. Go enjoy it. I want them to have a great week of preparation so that they can go play with a quieted mind and cut it loose. I really love this group that we’ve been around. We’ve said it over and over, and you know this too. You’re not ever replacing an Aaron Donald and that’s not what we’re asking of our guys. I want Kobie Turner to be Kobie Turner. I want Bobby Brown to be Bobby Brown. Braden Fiske to be Braden Fiske. That’s really what we’re looking for. All the guys around him, this is about ‘eleven as one’. We were so fortunate and blessed to have such a special player in Aaron Donald be around. What I thought was cool is he set a great example for guys that saw him play. I can use him as stories all the time. He was around last week. I just saw him the other day. It’s pretty special that he’s earned the right to be able to be so content, complete, and full to use his words. He’s coaching his son’s football team, loving that. His three-year-old son Aaric had a great birthday at their house the other day. I’m really happy for Aaron. I do miss him but I’m excited about the opportunity for these guys to go do their thing and start to etch their names in this thing.”
(On whether his approach to game planning changes based on his familiarity with Lions QB Jared Goff) …”Jared’s played really well. He’s earned that contract. He takes them to an NFC Championship. [He] did a lot of great things for us here. I think you have an appreciation for what a good quarterback, what command [he has over the offense]. You hear them talk about the ownership that he has and being able to take on more. What a great job he’s done leading an outstanding offense. He and [Lions Offensive Coordinator] Ben Johnson you can see have a really good rapport. I think if there is anything, there is a tremendous amount of respect. It’s been a few years since we’ve been together, but you’ve still seen a lot of the great things that he did here, show up there.”
[QB Matthew Stafford]
(On how he’s feeling during practices)…“[I] feel good. I’m excited. Obviously, a big challenge this week going to a team that was really successful last year and added pieces. It’s a really impressive roster. Obviously, a great coach. The quarterback is playing at a high level [and] the defenses playing…last year coming off a great year. It’ll be a big challenge for us, a hostile environment. We know that. We did it last year. [We] understand what it takes to go in there and operate and try to play at a high level, but looking forward to the season starting and a new challenge.”
(On his opinion about returning to Detroit after the playoff loss)…“To me it’s the start of something brand new [and] something totally different. Like I said, I’m just excited to start this season off. It is no doubt a big challenge to go play their team in that environment. [It] will be a test early for us and it’s something we’re looking forward to.”
(On getting reps with OL Steve Avila at center throughout OTAs and Training Camp and what it’s like now getting reps with OL Jonah Jackson at that spot)…“Yeah, he’s been great. His command of the offense is really impressive for a guy that hasn’t been here for a bunch of years and understands what we’re trying to do from an offensive standpoint. It’s been great. I have some experience with him in the past and then obviously just been talking about it. He didn’t get to practice a whole lot during training camp so when he has been out there the last ten days, or whatever it’s been, two weeks. It has been really good.”
(On whether he benefits mentally or emotionally when returning to Detroit)…“I don’t know. I don’t think so. I think each game we play, no matter where it is or when it is, is its own singular event. Just because something happened a year ago, doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again, good, bad [or] indifferent. That’s how we live our lives and how we have to play. You go to a stadium and beat somebody, [that] doesn’t mean the next time you show up you’re going to go beat them. For me, emotionally it just is a little bit different than the fact that it’s not a playoff game and the fact that if you lose, your season is not over. You’re not going home. [You are] doing everything you can to possibly win the game, but the circumstance of it being a regular season game is a little bit different I guess.”
(On whether he draws on previous experience with changes at center to help him navigate changes at that position this year)…“No, I just continue to play, continue to try to push and help these guys grow as much as they possibly can. They do a great job at doing it themselves. I don’t know how many guys we played at center in 2022. I took snaps from all sorts of people so I’m not too worried about it. Obviously, have to have to cover that kind of stuff, but from an internal standpoint, we’re excited about where we’re at.”
(On challenging himself to grow from the last game in Detroit)…“I think every season you go back, you look at it, you find ways to try and get yourself better. I think every year for me now is just how I can get myself back to as close to zero as I can physically as quickly as I can. That takes more time every single year and then also emotionally letting myself refill the tank. It takes a lot out of me to play this position and do it for a bunch of years now so I just try to make sure I step away, get away, and when I did come back, [I] make sure that I was all in [and] ready to go.”
(On challenges with communications during the last year in Detroit and whether he expects that to improve in that atmosphere this year)…“Well, I think we did a pretty good job last year getting in out of a lot of plays. I can’t think of one off the top of my head where we had a delay in a game or any of those kinds of things. We want to continue that. We want to continue to make sure we don’t have any delay of games, we don’t have any pre-snap penalties, any of those things that are going to get their crowd going [and] set us back first and 15, just continuing to do that at a high level. Communication in an environment like that is such a key component, both for us on offense. They have to do it on defense with the noise, we know that. On the other side of the ball, it should be nice and quiet. I think for us it’s just continue to pick up where we left off [and] make sure that we’re verbally and non-verbally on the same page as much as we can be.”
(On what he’s seen from WR Cooper Kupp leading up to the season)…“I think he’s done a fantastic job of getting his body back to where he wants it to be as far as feeling good, going out there, running, and doing all the things it takes to be Cooper Kupp. I’m just happy for him [and] the way that he’s feeling. The way that he can go attack a week from a mental standpoint on, ‘Hey, how am I going to go execute? How am I going to go play?’ Rather than, ‘How am I going to get myself ready to play? How am I going to find a way to be out there for the guys?’. [I’m] just happy for his health at the moment and hopefully it continues to be that way.”
(On whether the positive vibes carried over from last season)…“I think there’s so much turnover in the NFL. I don’t know if it does. I know that we have a new set of guys and a new set of coaches and so many new faces around. We got a new building we’re in. We’re all doing everything we can to work to put ourselves in the best chance to win. The vibes, as you say, that comes with winning football games so we’re going to continue to try to do that.”
(On challenges that he goes through physically in his mid-thirties, what he thinks the advantages he has now are, and if there are any older QBs he’s watched throughout the years and how they handled it)…“I’m always watching the game [and] studying the guys that came before me. From a physical standpoint, everybody has their own stuff going on. My injury history isn’t the same as somebody else’s. I’m doing whatever’s best for me to try to be physically as ready to go as I possibly can be, try to pick up as much as I can mentally watching the game and how can I create advantages before the snap, after the snap [and] get our guys in good positions to go be successful. [I] try to make sure that when my opportunities to make plays come that I can still do that, and I feel like I can. [I] feel like I did a decent clip last year and am looking forward to the challenge of trying to do it again this year.”
(On whether he hears fans pregame and specifically last year in Detroit)…“Yeah, I feel the crowd, one hundred percent. [It’s a] motivating factor. [I] love it. I’m one of the guys that walks into the opposing stadium [and] everybody has their headphones on. I don’t. I want to hear all of it. I want to smell it. I want to feel like it’s football and that’s part of football, especially going to an away game. That stuff just motivates me.”
(On his feelings returning to a different locker room last year and if that will be different this year)…“Possibly. I’ll let you know afterwards. I’m going to be one more game comfortable being an opponent in that field than I was I guess last year.”
(On what still motivates him at this point of his career and what he does to get motivated)…“I love to compete. It’s so much fun to have an opponent to dial in on, to spend a week preparing for and to try to get a plan together that everybody feels laser sharp on. I can try to help lead the way from the guys that are on the field, try to get us into the right place and let us go and cut it loose. That’s what it’s about. You spend all week preparing night and day trying to figure out, hey, get yourself ready to go physically, get the team ready to go mentally, get the offense operating at a high level and then you go cut it loose and let the chips fall where they may. Sometimes it works out for you, sometimes it doesn’t, but I love that opportunity.”
(On what WR Puka Nacua can do to improve his skills)…“I think it’s just another year of experience, right? He’s going to find ways to hone his craft and play his game at the highest level that he possibly can. He’s a kid that’s always looking for, how can I get better? How can I work an edge here? How can I make it easier on myself mentally here, there [or] whatever it is. Every season is different. You go out there and play. He’s going to be a big part of our team, we know that. [I’m] excited that he is back on the grass with us.”
– – RAMS —
