Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – Training Camp Post-Practice – August 8, 2016
(Opening Remarks)
“That was a quick day off, by the way. We looked at the tape and I was really pleased with the practice session at the Coliseum. As I said after practice, everything went smooth and well and so we’re looking forward to this weekend. Day off, everybody came back last night and got up bright and early; we got our meetings in and had a walk-thru. We got a lot accomplished today; it was a little spirited – which we anticipated, just because of the nature of the practice when you’re practicing short-yardage and those kind of things. I thought they handled things pretty well. We didn’t do a lot of running, a little shorter today. Tomorrow we’re coming back out in pads again and we’re going to have a couple of run periods that will also get very competitive. We’re in a good place, we don’t have many issues physically. We’ve got a couple guys that are working their way back now and that should be up and available for the game Saturday. Questions?”
(On if it’s amazing that once it gets to game-week, everything amps up a little bit)
“It does. For them right now, it’s a long ways away. They’re focused on the meetings tonight and what we’re going to do tomorrow. Wednesday, we have a special teams session. I think, as we get into Thursday…there’s a lot of things we have yet to cover. We have to cover pregame warm-ups, the National Anthem and all those things that we cover before. So those things will take place later in the week. We’ll give them a little bit of a head start on the Cowboys, probably just a day or so, maybe 20 reps or 24 reps – so they’ll have some familiarity with their systems.”
(On if DE Quinton Coples getting reps at DT is a skillset they’re trying to tap into)
“Yeah, you’re perceptive. Today was the first time he moved inside. We talked about it this morning. We kind of are going to flip a little bit and give (DL) Ethan Westbrooks some defensive end work and we’ll give Quinton some stuff inside, just as a rusher.”
(On some of the best qualities about QB Case Keenum)
“He’s very athletic. He can run around, extend plays with his legs. He knows what to do. He knows where to go with it. He’s just great in the huddle. If there’s a negative play he’s got it behind him before he calls the next play in the huddle. He’s just very positive – a positive influence on the offense.”
(On describing WR Tavon Austin’s personality)
“I’ve oftentimes joked about this – he’s got two speeds: one’s fast and the other’s sleep. When he’s not sleeping, he’s going fast and that’s how his personality is, also. He’s just going fast all the time. That’s what’s great about him He’s a really smart player, a very exciting, explosive player. He loves to play and compete.”
(On how much other players take their cues from Austin because he’s such a vocal guy during practice)
“Everybody practices different. He wants to score every time he touches the ball and he wants the offense to score every time we call a play and that’s just how he’s wired. Everybody’s different; the other guys are focusing on their assignment and their alignment and technique and things like that.”
(On if they take after Austin because of his leadership)
“Oh yeah. You should see it – it’s one thing to see him on the practice field and it’s another thing to see him in a game. On the sideline, when the defense is on the field, he’s rooting for the defense. He’s excited to have any chance to participate in special teams. He just wants the ball. He’s one of those guys who’s really unselfish from the standpoint of, as long as we get the ball in the end zone, he doesn’t care who does it and that’s the important thing.”
(On how much he will use RB Todd Gurley in the preseason)
“He’ll get a few reps. I’m not going to come in and say he’s going to get 12 carries this week and 16 next week. He’s going to get some reps. I don’t know how much we’re going to do this week with him, but we’ll sit down in the middle part of the week and talk about playing time. We’ll have some more specifics for you, we won’t keep any surprises from you, we’ll let you know how much we’re expecting everybody to play.”
(On how S Maurice Alexander is responding to the opportunity in front of him to start)
“Day one of the offseason program, he was here and ready to go, he really was. In (S) T.J.’s (McDonald) absence, he really stepped up. He really has worked hard, not only from a football standpoint, a meetings standpoint, but he’s worked very hard physically. He’s one of those guys that hung around St. Louis – obviously because he’s from there – throughout the early part of the offseason.”
Los Angeles Rams Media Release 08/08/2016
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