{"id":55356,"date":"2016-09-22T09:25:02","date_gmt":"2016-09-22T16:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/?p=55356"},"modified":"2016-09-22T09:25:02","modified_gmt":"2016-09-22T16:25:02","slug":"los-angeles-rams-notes-09212016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/?p=55356","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Rams Notes: 09\/21\/2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Rams\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher \u2013 Post Practice \u2013 September 21, 2016<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

(Opening remarks)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a good today. Today is a significant day in a game plan week because we get a lot in and we did. It was really good that we got some players back. It was good to see \u2018Nels\u2019 (WR Nelson Spruce) run around a little bit, the same with \u2018Coop\u2019 (WR Pharoh Cooper). We had some guys who were banged up a little bit from the game who were able to practice. We had a few guys limited on the injury report, but that was it. We\u2019re in good shape, so they\u2019ll take advantage of tomorrow\u2019s<\/span> day off and come in on their own, study, and then we\u2019ll finish up strong Friday<\/span> morning and be on our way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cA great challenge, a good football team. The more you look at them, the more impressed you are with them \u2013 especially up front. We kind of mirror each other, from strengths up front \u2013 O-line, D-line, things like that, playmakers. Unfortunately, they\u2019ll be without their running back, but the way they ran the ball against us last year, it really didn\u2019t matter which running back was playing. We have to play good run defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On if traveling three time zones affects the team\u2019s approach)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, we addressed it yesterday. We\u2019ll address it each day. Unfortunately, we get in there late, but we\u2019ll let them sleep and let them adjust. That\u2019s the most important thing \u2013 is the sleep and adjust and a little bit of exercise on Saturday<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On if the 4 PM<\/span> Eastern Time start changed anything for them)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNo. That would be 1:00<\/span> our time, right? That one\u2019s a little easier than the 10:00 AM<\/span>, the central time \u2013 noon<\/span> central, 10:00<\/span> our time. It doesn\u2019t really affect it. We have to deal with the elements, as well. It will be 90 degrees, it\u2019s going to be humid, so we have got to address that.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On if having Spruce and Cooper back opens up the offense)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it gives us a chance to create some other match-ups, different match-ups than we\u2019ve been creating. We\u2019ll see, we\u2019ll have a better idea later in the week.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On if LB\/S Mark Barron has changed since the team first acquired him)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIn our defense, we\u2019ve traditionally had the \u2018box\u2019 safety \u2013 we\u2019ve had the free safety and sometimes the down safety. We felt like Mark was better suited for that than what they asked him to do there. Although, I thought he played really well in Tampa while he was there. He was surprised about the move. We\u2019ve kind of morphed into more of a down-safety\/linebacker position. He can still do the things in space, if you need, but he\u2019s so talented and so instinctive around the line of scrimmage that, just let him play.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On if the safety position has changed since he played)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt depends on the system. Tampa, under (Buccaneers Defensive Coordinator) Mike Smith\u2019s system, now the safeties are a little more conventional safeties where they\u2019re playing quarters or halves, playing more in space than the down guys. But they have a designated down guy. It has changed, just because the offenses are just so much more wide open now.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On the problems Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston can present)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the vision, the quick release, the accuracy. He\u2019s got big targets, he uses the heights of his targets. He runs the play-action game really well, you can\u2019t find anything there. And then, if he gets a shot or gets a chance, he\u2019ll pull it down and run it. He\u2019s not a Russell Wilson, but he\u2019s not somebody that you don\u2019t worry about pulling the ball down, because he can extend drives with his legs. We didn\u2019t sack him last year as a rookie, and that says a lot. We put a lot of pressure on him, hit him a bunch, but he kept bouncing right back and put the ball down the field. I thought he played really well against us last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On what percentage of players come in on their days off and what they can learn on those days)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWith the Thursday<\/span> program that we\u2019ve been on now for a year, maybe 100 percent of them. But they\u2019re on their own, they\u2019re going to come in and take care of themselves \u2013 massage and stretch and recover. And they usually get together as position groups and just continue to study.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On if he agrees with offensive coordinator Rob Boras that QB Jared Goff is making big strides, especially in the classroom)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a collective feeling, we feel good about where he\u2019s at.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On how he makes sure the team stays united with the defense performing well and the offense having not scored a touchdown)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very easily put to the team from the standpoint of the defense is going to need the offense at some point. They\u2019re going to need the offense to score points. You just kind of reflect back to Sunday\u2019s<\/span> game, this was a three-phase win, we won together. Sometimes special teams will have a mishap, most of the time we\u2019re making the big play to help contribute, but it\u2019s not hard with the personalities that you have. I told them this morning, I was running around the building with the move and everything, looking for some things that I hadn\u2019t been able to find yet for my office. I found a box and I showed it to them \u2013 it was full of touchdowns. So we watched some touchdowns today. The defense got a kick out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On keeping things light)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt has to be fun, this business has to be fun. Tough losses, you have to get them behind you and you have to have fun or you can\u2019t bounce back. As long as they\u2019re doing the work and focused and executing and doing the things we ask them, it\u2019s okay to have some fun here and there.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On if that particular issue was to take the pressure off and not press so much)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what it was, yeah. It happened to be against Tampa Bay last year, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On what he thought of the throwback uniforms on Sunday<\/span>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAll around the league, at this time of the year, the early games, the home teams elect to wear, during day games, they elect to wear the lighter uniforms because they\u2019re not quite as hot or warm. We had to take advantage of the home opener and the throwbacks. It was a little additional challenge, but it didn\u2019t affect us. The guys loved them, they love that. Hopefully we\u2019ll break them out again sometime.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On if he liked the way they looked)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah. I like them better than the uniforms that we wore in the Thursday<\/span> Night<\/em> against Tampa.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On the uniforms the team wore against Tampa Bay last year)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe hard part is you couldn\u2019t tell jersey numbers of your opponent. They\u2019re substituting on and off the field and you couldn\u2019t see the numbers, couldn\u2019t tell who was coming on and off the field. We won\u2019t have any trouble with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rams Offensive Coordinator Rob Boras \u2013 Post-Practice \u2013 September 21, 2016 <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

(On his thoughts regarding the offense in Week 2)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a step in the right direction. Obviously, it\u2019s just a step. We need to take bigger strides. The thing we challenged everybody with is making some plays down the field, and I think you saw a combination of (QB) Case (Keenum) and (TE) Lance (Kendricks), and Case and (WR) Kenny (Britt). It\u2019s hard to drive and score points four yards at a time, and the fact that we pushed the ball down the field, I thought was a good thing. Even if it was defensive pass interference, we\u2019re gaining chunks of yards. You see the run-game starting to come. Obviously, that\u2019s a hard defense to run against\u2026personnel, and then also their scheme. But, you see it\u2019s right on the verge. There were a couple ones\u2026(Running back) Todd (Gurley) had 11, 12, (yard runs) that are potential explosives coming up right there. Again, it was a step in the right direction. We know we need to take some bigger strides, but we\u2019re going to focus on the positives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

(On how concerned he is that the offense hasn\u2019t scored a touchdown)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWell it\u2019s concerning, that\u2019s our job, so I\u2019d be ignorant to say otherwise. Again, we see it; the guys are going to trust the process that we\u2019re going. Obviously, the more plays that we have, that means converting on third down and, in the first game, eliminating turnovers. The more plays that we have, the more opportunities we\u2019re going to have to score points. This week is a new challenge with Tampa Bay and the guys have accepted it, they recognize that we\u2019ve fallen short. We\u2019re going to see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On if the team throwing on running downs early on Sunday<\/span> was because of how the defense was lining up)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cObviously you want to start fast. Our opening series, we went down and got points \u2013 I understand it was only a field goal and we wanted a touchdown. But after what we had done the week before, starting that game with a field goal was good for us, was good for everybody\u2019s mentality and for them to understand that we can go there and go toe-to-toe with them. Whether it was run or pass, obviously we\u2019re going to try to take advantage of what they have and we\u2019re going to try to break tendencies. But at the end of the day, we\u2019re wanted our quarterback to start fast and we were determined to get the ball to some guys early and that\u2019s what happened. It\u2019s not away from the running game \u2013 again, we can start the game with four run eventually, but that was just what we decided to do that game. Again, we finished with points, which is always a good thing on that opening drive.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On whether he takes the experience of scoring no touchdowns in the opening two weeks personally)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe all take it personal \u2013 players and coaches. We understand that\u2019s our responsibility \u2013 that\u2019s why we\u2019re here, that\u2019s why we came back. Today\u2019s Wednesday<\/span>, that was probably one of the better Wednesday<\/span> practices I\u2019ve been around. Guys were in full pads, they worked hard, we were in and out \u2013 I thought we were efficient in practice. We understand the challenges and we all accept that responsibility and we\u2019re ready to move forward with it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On not being able to get RB Todd Gurley unleashed yet) <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a combination, right, it\u2019s the ultimate team game, it takes 11 guys to protect the quarterback, it takes 11 guys to be able to run the football. It\u2019s just like anything, when things aren\u2019t going well in business or in football, it\u2019s not always the same guy. It\u2019s one guy has a break down here, one guy might have a break down there. When we\u2019re going to hit on 11 cylinders, which we\u2019ve done in the past and we\u2019re going to continue to do, you\u2019ll see the success that we\u2019re going to have.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On what QB Case Keenum has to do to take the next step)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was a really good step for him. Again, the ability to push the ball down the field, our completion percentage will get higher \u2013 there were some that we all saw \u2013 probably three or four others that we complete right there and we love our completion percentage. It\u2019s for all of us, not just the quarterback, not just Todd, just for all of us coaches and players, just keep going in that direction and keep working.\u00a0 Again, I thought it was a very positive step for Case . He started against that team twice, which is a really good defense and he\u2019s got to victories. Again, it\u2019s a team game and we recognize how good our special teams and defense played. That\u2019s why it takes all three phases.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On the benefits of having WR Nelson Spruce and WR Pharoh Cooper coming back from injury)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cObviously those are two young guys that were having a bunch of success through training camp and the preseason while they were able to play. It\u2019s just adding two more weapons to the offense. It\u2019s going to take them awhile to get their legs underneath them. But I think those are two guys that both through college and then the limited exposure that we\u2019ve had with them can produce for us. The more weapons you have, now instead of having a four wide receiver rotation, you get maybe some fresher legs and some other guys playing. It\u2019s exciting to see those guys back out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On how to judge whether QB Jared Goff is getting better when he is not playing in games)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, you have to trust your eyes with what you see out here. He\u2019s getting the scout team reps, he\u2019s getting reps with the offense. Again, it\u2019s as much the classroom as it is out here on the field. Again, through your experience of coaching and just being around football, you have to trust what you\u2019re seeing and how fast his feet are moving and his brain is processing information. We all recognize that it isn\u2019t game reps and game speed, but these are still reps against a really good defense that he\u2019s practicing against \u2013 you just have to trust it that way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On whether he\u2019s seeing that progression in Goff)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYes. It\u2019s definitely going in the right direction \u2013 without a doubt. He\u2019s accepting everything, he\u2019s going the right way. It\u2019s fun to see the maturation process right there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On the Buccaneers defense under defensive Coordinator Mike Smith)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, it\u2019s a new coordinator that hasn\u2019t coordinated for a while.\u00a0 He was out of football last year, and then the Head Coach of Atlanta. Going back to Baltimore, he was running the defense. Again, it\u2019s very sound. He\u2019s going to put his players in good position. They\u2019re a talented group on defense. I\u2019ve always thought the world of Coach Smith and what he does. The two regular season games, you see it there with what they\u2019ve done and then those four preseason. There is obviously a lot of wrinkles that he still has that he hasn\u2019t shown yet \u2013 that\u2019s part of why we just have to believe in what we\u2019re doing \u2013 our rules and our process.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On how important WR Kenny Britt is to stretching the field on offense)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cKenny\u2019s one of many guys that we\u2019d like to keep stretching the field with Kenny has played really well the first two games. I think Kenny\u2019s game has elevated and it\u2019s just like anything, when your quarterback, whom ever that is, starts to have confidence in a player he\u2019s going to continually look that way. When the quarterback has looked in Kenny\u2019s direction, he\u2019s produced for us and he\u2019s created separation and made even contested catches. That\u2019s why he\u2019s having success right now. Obviously it\u2019s exciting to see the direction that he\u2019s going \u2013 just the relationship that he and Case have created or built over these first two games and hopefully it continues to go in that direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On how Britt has elevated his game this year)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s playing fast, he\u2019s being decisive. I think his technique and everything is really good at the top of the route. Ultimately, it\u2019s just competing every play \u2013 you see that in practice, as well as what\u2019s happening on either Monday<\/span> or Sunday<\/span> nights.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On getting the ball in RB Todd Gurley\u2019s hands)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cTodd\u2019s a special player. Obviously, it\u2019s easy to turn around and hand him the ball \u2013 those are easy. But there\u2019s other times we\u2019re trying to get him the ball in space in the pass game. But he\u2019s such a creative playmaker that any time we can get him the ball in space, it\u2019s good things for the Rams. We\u2019re going to take what the defense gives us, but obviously we need to get him as many touches as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Rams QB Case Keenum \u2013 Post Practice \u2013 September 21, 2016<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On the transition from Week 1 and Week 2)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, I think we moved the ball a lot better, really, in key situations when we needed to move the ball. We didn\u2019t punch it in, at times, but we flipped the field. We had them starting inside the 20 (-yard line) quite a bit. Obviously, it helps when you have an All-Pro punter, like Johnny (Hekker). But, we gave him a shot to do that. It was some situational stuff we did well, and did enough. That\u2019s the name of the ballgame sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On the team\u2019s need to do to score touchdowns)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNegative plays in the red zone, whether its penalties, negative runs, sacks, those are all really big mistakes that you can\u2019t make. You have to have a really good play to make up for those. We\u2019ve got to get better at that, we got to get better at red zone, explosive plays, and then stringing together those plays. We had some good plays, but we couldn\u2019t string enough together to put a drive in the end zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On how does the Buccaneers head coaching change alter the team\u2019s preparation or game plan)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re the same, but different. They\u2019ve got some of the same players, but have made some additions on defense, secondary wise, a couple of guys up-front. Obviously, a different scheme, so we got our work cut out for us in that aspect. A little bit different than, say, watching the film last year. Personnel, you can watch the film from last year. But really, you got to focus on them this year, because they have a new defensive coordinator with Coach (Mike) Smith there. A little different too, is he hasn\u2019t been a defensive coordinator for a while too. Preparation wise, we got to do a good job.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On if he bears the burden of the team not scoring a touchdown)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s a burden. The burden for me is winning, and if you were to tell me right now that we\u2019re not going to score another touchdown, but we\u2019ll win every game, I\u2019d be ok with that. I like throwing touchdowns, I like touchdowns, I love winning. I think that\u2019s quite a bit more important, but I believe we\u2019ve got to score touchdown to win in this league. They kind of go hand-in-hand, most of the time. Our defense did a great job last week. Moving forward, we really do\u2026we need to execute on third downs, and in the red zone\u2026crucial areas. I think giving guys chances; they\u2019re a couple of passes that I\u2019d like back, where guys are going to have a chance to score. The one to (WR) Kenny (Britt) there, when (Seahawks CB Richard) Sherman is guarding him, I got to give him a chance. He did a great job winning; throwing it off my back foot. But, I got to give him a chance to make that play.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On what he likes about WR Kenny Britt)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got a great mindset during the week. He\u2019s working during the week, and it shows up on Sundays. It\u2019s been really cool to see. I\u2019ve been around Kenny now two-and-a-half seasons, kind of. To really see him turn it on, from this offseason, from us throwing during the summertime, to him getting back healthy, to being the dominant player that I know he can be, it\u2019s been fun to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(On if the time he\u2019s spent with WR Kenny Britt in the offseason is starting to pay off for him)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, and I hope it continues to grow that way, too. I think that he\u2019s a guy that is one that continues to show up on film, getting open. As a quarterback, you tend to look towards those guys a little bit more. I think we\u2019re gaining chemistry. It\u2019s like I\u2019ve said all along, the more you do this, the more you see, the more I can watch those guys getting out of breaks, and that non-verbal communication, where I see what he\u2019s doing with his body, and I can know this is where the ball needs to go before he gets there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher \u2013 Post Practice \u2013 September 21, 2016<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories-news-notes-around-professional-football"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=55356"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55357,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55356\/revisions\/55357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=55356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=55356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=55356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}