Sun Aug 19, 2012
Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher
(On what he saw in QB Sam Bradford in the first team offense)
“What happened tonight was directly related to what happened last week. We had a really good week of practice, not that we didn’t practice well before the Colts game, but we put some more things in and things started to fall together for us during the week. Sam did a good job. Great throws, the one to (WR) Danny (Amendola) was a great throw to start the game. We ran the football and threw it effectively with the first group. I was pleased with the outcome there and with the defense for that matter. Our 1s played, they got out and then we were very fortunate that our 2s got good work against their 1s, which sometimes is hard to get, but that was real good work for us.”
(On if he planned to let the starters play more than a quarter)
“No, we were thinking about a quarter. It ended up working that way. We ended up finishing, then we had to finish the drive on defense with third-and-15 to get off the field. Instead we allowed them to convert it so we had to finish the drive and they played a few more plays. Then we started subbing and different guys made plays throughout the game.”
(On how nice it was to see the team get 31 points)
“We needed points and we need explosive plays. Anytime you get four turnovers good things happen. I think there’s a lot of good things to learn from this tape. There’s some things that definitely have to be corrected. We had some mistakes out there, but that’s part of the preseason process.”
(On if the team executed better this week, or if he installed more)
“I think it was both, it was a combination of both. We had some different things in. We protected well. We knew we had to protect with their rushers. So Sam, when got the time, he made the plays.”
(On what he was most happy with about this week’s performance compared to last week)
“I’ll just say our penalties again. We had four again, I think, tonight. We tackled well. We tackled well on defense. We tackled well on special teams. We were just tackling, contact tackling, which is important and when that happens the ball comes out, as you saw. But I just think overall, I think it’s just the step we took this week.”
(On TE Lance Kendricks making the play in the end zone)
“We had some big plays, big catches, tough catches out there. Danny’s, with the contested touchdown catch where there was DPI (defensive pass interference). Even (TE) Mike McNeill made two tough catches there at the end to keep the drive alive.”
(On the team’s health after the game)
“We’re ok. (WR Brian) Quick had back spasms and we’ll check him out. Then just a couple of bumps and bruises, but so far so good. We should get (WR Brandon) Gibson back this week, (S Darian) Stewart back this week, (C Scott) Wells back this week.”
(On RB Isaiah Pead being more comfortable in the game)
“Yeah he was comfortable. He didn’t really get a lot of opportunities just because of their front and his attempts. He got knocked backwards a couple times, had a 9-yard loss. But he was more comfortable. He used good awareness on the punt. He scored a ball up and got the ball out of bounds, which saved us some significant field position. He’s making progress. It’s good to get Daryl (Richardson) in there. You see how explosive Daryl Richardson is when he hits the hole.”
(On how he liked the work of the rookies overall)
“They’re getting opportunities to play early and we felt like they were going to contribute. I have to look at the tape to look at the big men on both lines, both (DT Michael) Brockers and (LG Rokevious) Watkins, but it looked like they were getting the job done.”
(On if he’s excited about winning the Governor’s Cup)
“Yeah, for the new people in that locker room, including myself, it’s a great tradition. So we’ll see if we can keep it for a few years.”
Rams QB Sam Bradford
(On his connection with WR Danny Amendola)
“Obviously, it was nice to start the game with a big play. Just come out, gain some momentum early and it was especially nice to put the ball in the end zone twice. It was something that we talked about last week. Obviously, we felt like we moved the ball fairly well, but didn’t end up with any points on the board. So, it was definitely nice to see that.”
(On the offensive line)
“Yes. I thought those guys played great tonight. I don’t think I got touched once. Anytime that you come out of a game and you’re not sore, it’s a great feeling. So, props to those guys. They played great tonight.”
(On WR Danny Amendola)
“Obviously, besides last year, he’s been here since the beginning. We spent a lot of time together with him being in Dallas (in the offseason). I would say probably I’ve thrown more with him than probably anyone else on our team. I definitely feel like we have a good chemistry. I trust him, he trusts me, and it’s been good.”
(On how important it is for a quarterback to trust his wide receivers)
“It’s extremely important. The fact that I trust that I know where he’s going to be – it’s everything. There’s times where I lose sight of him, but I know where he’s going to end up and that’s where I put the ball and he’ll go get it.”
(On if he saw improvement in his offensive line leading up to this game)
“Absolutely. I thought they had a great week. We practiced yesterday. We got after it this week. There were a lot of 1s-on-1s periods against us going against our defense. I think it was great work for us. I think they had a really solid week and I think it showed up tonight.”
RB Steven Jackson
(On if tonight’s win was a direct result of a great week of practice)
“That sounds about accurate. We were very confident coming in based off the practices we had all week, and we felt really good. We wanted to come out and be explosive as an offense as well.”
(On if it was important to get the fans going early with the long pass to begin the game)
“We knew that more than likely KC would probably expect a run. We used a play-action pass and it was big time between Sam (Bradford) and (WR) Danny (Amendola) hooking up and hopefully we can see a lot of that this season.”
(On if he expects to touch the ball a lot this year)
“I don’t know. I’m expecting just to be who I am and play hard, run hard, and whatever else Coach Fisher and his staff needs.”
(On the play of the offensive line)
“They were very aggressive. They won the line of scrimmage, the battle there. You always want to do that week in and week out. I thought they did a great job at the point of attack of opening some lanes for me to run through.”
(On the play of QB Sam Bradford)
“He looked pretty poised out there. He threw the ball well. We mixed it up, quick game. We actually had some five, seven step drops for him as well to work. Our protection was up. We allowed for him to step into his throws and he made them.”
(On the difference between this week and last week)
“I think last week we had some self-inflicted wounds with some penalties, and we were pretty much penalty free all game. I think that was a huge difference between this week and last week.”
(On if the win this week will improve the team going forward)
“I think so. I think we have something to build off of off this win. We want to be a tough team whether we’re at home or away, but it’s a good way to open up the season at home.”
LB James Laurinaitis
(On how enjoyable it was to watch the offense have so much success today)
“Yeah, they looked good. They looked really good. 3-9 (Steven Jackson) looked great. Sam (Bradford) looked great obviously, Danny (Amendola). It was good to see them rolling, and they’re probably saying the same thing over there.”
(On what it means to win the Governor’s Cup)
“When you leave college, you think you’re done with the trophy games. It’s nice to have one. It’s nice to have something to play for, especially in the preseason. When you’re playing a state team, it definitely makes it a little sweeter.”
(On the Rams’ defensive performance)
“After last week’s game, we came out and had a great week of practice on defense, and I think it showed tonight. Next week, we have to put an even better week of practice together. The natural tendency is to say, ‘Hey, we had a great outing, let’s just…’ No, we have to have a better week than we had last week.”
(On the team’s confidence in Coach Fisher’s vision for the team)
“Absolutely. He has a big vision, we all have a big vision of what we want this to be. One game, even today, this isn’t going to slow us down. Nobody is going to get complacent in this locker room over this game. Preseason games, they don’t count but they matter. This is something that was good for us. It will be great for us to really learn from it going forward.”
Defensive Tackle Michael Brockers
(On the difference between last week and this week)
“We wanted to come out and dominate. We just prepared very well this week.”
(On if he’s fitting in well as a rookie)
“Oh yeah, totally. Last week, my heart was pounding when I first got in there with the big guys. Now, I’m a little more comfortable as I go on this whole journey. Hopefully I’ll get a little more comfortable where it doesn’t really get to me anymore. That’s my goal now, is to get comfortable and make more plays.”
(On what has been the hardest part about getting up to game speed at this level)
“Just going through the motions, just communication. I think that’s the one thing I felt like we needed to get better with, as a D-line, to be honest with you. We had some stunts snared that we didn’t really have communicated. But besides that, I’m very comfortable and we’re moving along pretty well.”
(On getting his first experience of a home NFL game)
“It felt good. I hadn’t experienced a St. Louis Rams game at home yet, but it felt really good to have the fans behind us and we came out with a victory.”
RB Isaiah Pead
(On his strange stat line)
“I guess it’s what it was, negative six yards. We had to get some pressure up front. We kept trying to get things corrected, and every time we would the defense would throw a different blitzer in or someone else to fill the gap, so it was kind of hard to get going early, but we finished out strong. The second group, third group came in and we got a win.”
(On jumping over the defense to score a touchdown)
“That type of situation, you can’t come away less than with a touchdown. We practice that every day in practice, and it paid off today.”
(On if that type of play is his signature)
“It wasn’t a signature. It’s something new. Change is always good.”
(On if he needed to score to gain confidence)
“Definitely. You want to get in the end zone every game, and for it to be early right now in the preseason and how the game was going, it also gave us some points and gave us all encouragement.”
