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Head Coach Jeff Fisher and Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer (10-2-14)
Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – Post–Practice - October 2, 2014
(On the challenges of facing an up-tempo offense)
“You’re communicating from the sideline to your middle linebacker. It’s the middle linebacker’s responsibility to repeat the call to everybody. So, there’s a lot of different ways you do that. We’re happy with the ways things have gone the last couple days. The challenge is that it’s difficult to sub. You’ve got to make sure that everybody’s on the same page. What they try to force you to do is to simplify, and then attack your front and your coverage. So, if you can provide an ever changing look, the better chance you have of getting off the field.”
(On if MLB James Laurinaitis’ ability to communicate the plays called from the sideline to the team)
“He’s outstanding. Yeah, this is a smart group. They’ve had a good week. They understand the plan. They’re communicating and now it’s just a matter of going out and executing. It’s hard…we’re going to have to make some adjustments because this offense will change from time to time”
(On from a defensive standpoint what ‘having good eyes’ means)
“Well you have to discipline your eyes and keep them in the right place. You can’t get distracted by a lot of the subtle things that they do offensively. That’s what they’re trying to do, is to get you to go someplace else with your eyes and then they create creases or seams in your coverage.”
(On if Eagles QB Nick Foles had problems last week)
“I wouldn’t say he had problems. The 49ers had a good plan. They just didn’t have the ball very much because of the way they scored. So, they didn’t have many opportunities, but he made some good throws. If people are implying or suggesting he’s struggling, he’s not. He’s very capable of pushing the ball down the field. He had some balls that could’ve been caught. He had some opportunities to make some big plays. As I said yesterday, he’s done an outstanding job in this offense. Taking the ball, putting the ball where it needs to go. You don’t see him as a read option quarterback, but he’s still going to run for six or eight yards and slide and get up and he keeps the drive alive.”
(On if Foles’ ability to push the ball down the field is an underrated part of the offense)
“Well, it’s the first thing that the defense talked about, at some point last week, was how many times that ball’s going down the field. You put it down the field enough times you’re going to hook up and that’s our concern.”
(On what challenges the Eagles special teams unit presents)
“It’s an outstanding group. It’s more of a veteran group, their core. They’ve got (WR) Brad Smith, these guys have done a lot of work in special teams areas. They’ve blocked two kicks this year. They’ve got two returns for touchdowns and one of the blocked kicks was a touchdown. They’ve got outstanding coverage units. They’ve got a good young kicker with a good leg. It’s a unique challenge for our core guys this week.”
(On if the confidence of the offense can carry on)
“Well (QB) Austin’s (Davis) had a really solid couple of days. Has a good feel. It’s just a matter of going out and spreading the ball around, handing it off and making plays. He’s throwing the ball really well right now. He’s different. He’s got confidence. Looking forward to watching him play.”
Rams Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer – Post-Practice – October 2, 2014
(On the Eagles defense)
“They’re very talented. Obviously, start with the two outside guys, (LB) Trent Cole’s been doing a high level for a long time. They went out and got (LB) Conner (Barwin) a couple years ago. Again, I think I say it every week cause we’ve played some good ones but, if (LB) DeMeco Ryans isn’t one of the best inside backers in the league I don’t know who is. Just from an instinctive standpoint, gets them lined up, things like that and then (S) Malcolm Jenkins is playing at a high level. Good defense, they create a lot of problems, 3-4 real multiple with the things that they do. Again, creating turnovers and giving their team a chance to win a lot of games. ”
(On if Eagles defensive front is more mobile and active)
“Again, you hear a 3-4, there’s different ways to play a 3-4. They’ll do some two gap stuff,but they move a lot. There’s a lot of gaines where the end and the nose cross, different things like that that happen up front where you’ve got to be able to pass things off with the offensive lineman, everybody’s kind of involved with that. Yeah, they’re active. They don’t just sit there and let you block them. They’re going to move and try to make us work and communicate. Which is obviously a little bit harder in the noise when you have to pass a game off. But, active defense that create a lot of problems, just cause they’re multiple, do a lot of different things. They’ve flashed at times with the ability to take balls away and create big plays.”
(On how QB Austin Davis has settled into the starting job and how it helps the offense continuity)
“I think obviously Austin’s played really, really well . I think he’s comfortable, he’s been comfortable no matter what. Again, the more he plays the better I think he’ll get. Playing very, very well and again we expect him to do the same thing this week against Philly. He played well on the road in Tampa. The thing that we like that he’s doing he’s moving the team certaintly. Getting the ball out of his hands and throwing completions and that’s really the job of the quarterback is to move the team, make first downs, throw completions. ”
(On if he’s surprised about Davis’ willingness to make deep throws)
“He’s obviously got some good weapons. We have big guys that can run, I think you saw that all spring, all training camp. I think it certainly helps to have those guys that can do that. No we’ve always thought he threw the ball well down the field. Again, he’s as comfortable as I’ve ever been around a guy that gets thrown into that situation. He hasn’t blinked from day one and again, I think this just speaks to the confidence we have in him. I think he knows the group trusts him and believes in him but he hasn’t hesitated or blinked at one time from the moment he went in and had to play in the first game. I think that’s a tribute to him.”
(On if he thinks the reason why they don’t have to expect a close game anymore is due to Davis and the offensive maturity)
“I think you have to start with the group as a whole. Obviously, the weapons that we’ve added or developed. Bringing (WR) Kenny Britt in has helped. He can make a lot of plays for us down the field. (TE) Jared Cook in year two, big development. (TE) Lance Kendricks has gotten a lot better. Just different guys doing it. Certainly, Austin’s played very, very well. That’s a big part of it. But, the credit goes to these guys for the way they’ve worked more than anything because again, this is nothing that we haven’t seen. We saw it spring, we saw it all training camp against our defense. We’ve got weapons that have the ability to make plays. Again, I think Austin certainly benefits from that but again the trigger man is going to be the guy that gets a lot of the credit but also is going to take the blame. From day one like I said, big moments he’s stepped up. In big moments he’s stepped up. The throw he made to (WR Brian) Quick last week is a quick count, three-shot to ‘Quickie’ and that’s just a great throw. The guy was kind of bearing down on him. He stood there and threw it. So, I think it’s a combination of, a number of things. ”
(On if WR Tavon Austin will return this week and if he will have his entire receiving core Sunday)
“Obviously, we’re going to try to rotate guys through. Our goal is whoever’s active is going to play. You see that with the backs, you see that with the receivers, tight ends. He’s moving around pretty good out here today. Again, tomorrow’s another day. Again tomorrows kind of what we call fast Friday so we go out there, it’s not very long but it’s full speed and we’re rolling. So we’ll see what tomorrow looks like but, whoever’s active we’re going to play and we’ll certainly roll them through. If he’s up and active then we’ll certainly have a plan to get him the ball.”
(On if Philly is a heavy blitzing team and how he would characterize them)
“Yes, 3-4 teams usually have a lot of things that they do. They bring quite a bit of pressure and they can be multiple because of the 3-4 defense. They can bring interchangeable parts and in third-down the numbers go awfully high. I think they’re sixth in the league in third-downs (conversion) one of the things that they’re best in statistically. A lot of man to man and a lot of pressure, trying to make quarterbacks and receivers create separation and make throws.”
(On if he sees a growing confidence on the whole offensive unit and can that carry forward)
“I hope so. Again, each week’s different. I mean you never know. Philly creates some problems different than Dallas, Dallas creates problems different than Philly. But again, we’re to the point now where we don’t really worry about the opponent as much as we worry about ourselves. It’s our execution. It’s the things we’re trying to get done. So far, another good practice this week. When we practice well,we generally play well. It certainly won’t come easy. We’re trying to build on the success we had against Dallas and carry that over. I think our guys go into this game with some confidence that we should be able to do that.”
(On the importance of time of possession when playing an offense like the Eagles)
“Yeah, we’ve talked about it. Obviously we have a plan of attack based on the team, how we plan on trying to win the game. As far as when you give them the ball, it doesn’t take them long sometimes to score. Dallas led the league in time of possession last week, we were able to keep it away from them two weeks ago, and that’s a big part of it. Again, we feel good about being able to sustain drives and a big part of that’s been our ability to convert on third down. We know they’re explosive on offense and that the more time we can have the ball, that helps us. Then again, more opportunities for us to create explosive plays and put points up on the board. You’ve got to score points to win in the league. There were things we could’ve done against Dallas that gave us a chance to win the game. That’s what it comes down to, scoring one more point, whether it’s 7-6 or 34-31, you’ve got to find a way to score more than the opponent.”
s.
Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – Post–Practice - October 2, 2014
(On the challenges of facing an up-tempo offense)
“You’re communicating from the sideline to your middle linebacker. It’s the middle linebacker’s responsibility to repeat the call to everybody. So, there’s a lot of different ways you do that. We’re happy with the ways things have gone the last couple days. The challenge is that it’s difficult to sub. You’ve got to make sure that everybody’s on the same page. What they try to force you to do is to simplify, and then attack your front and your coverage. So, if you can provide an ever changing look, the better chance you have of getting off the field.”
(On if MLB James Laurinaitis’ ability to communicate the plays called from the sideline to the team)
“He’s outstanding. Yeah, this is a smart group. They’ve had a good week. They understand the plan. They’re communicating and now it’s just a matter of going out and executing. It’s hard…we’re going to have to make some adjustments because this offense will change from time to time”
(On from a defensive standpoint what ‘having good eyes’ means)
“Well you have to discipline your eyes and keep them in the right place. You can’t get distracted by a lot of the subtle things that they do offensively. That’s what they’re trying to do, is to get you to go someplace else with your eyes and then they create creases or seams in your coverage.”
(On if Eagles QB Nick Foles had problems last week)
“I wouldn’t say he had problems. The 49ers had a good plan. They just didn’t have the ball very much because of the way they scored. So, they didn’t have many opportunities, but he made some good throws. If people are implying or suggesting he’s struggling, he’s not. He’s very capable of pushing the ball down the field. He had some balls that could’ve been caught. He had some opportunities to make some big plays. As I said yesterday, he’s done an outstanding job in this offense. Taking the ball, putting the ball where it needs to go. You don’t see him as a read option quarterback, but he’s still going to run for six or eight yards and slide and get up and he keeps the drive alive.”
(On if Foles’ ability to push the ball down the field is an underrated part of the offense)
“Well, it’s the first thing that the defense talked about, at some point last week, was how many times that ball’s going down the field. You put it down the field enough times you’re going to hook up and that’s our concern.”
(On what challenges the Eagles special teams unit presents)
“It’s an outstanding group. It’s more of a veteran group, their core. They’ve got (WR) Brad Smith, these guys have done a lot of work in special teams areas. They’ve blocked two kicks this year. They’ve got two returns for touchdowns and one of the blocked kicks was a touchdown. They’ve got outstanding coverage units. They’ve got a good young kicker with a good leg. It’s a unique challenge for our core guys this week.”
(On if the confidence of the offense can carry on)
“Well (QB) Austin’s (Davis) had a really solid couple of days. Has a good feel. It’s just a matter of going out and spreading the ball around, handing it off and making plays. He’s throwing the ball really well right now. He’s different. He’s got confidence. Looking forward to watching him play.”
Rams Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer – Post-Practice – October 2, 2014
(On the Eagles defense)
“They’re very talented. Obviously, start with the two outside guys, (LB) Trent Cole’s been doing a high level for a long time. They went out and got (LB) Conner (Barwin) a couple years ago. Again, I think I say it every week cause we’ve played some good ones but, if (LB) DeMeco Ryans isn’t one of the best inside backers in the league I don’t know who is. Just from an instinctive standpoint, gets them lined up, things like that and then (S) Malcolm Jenkins is playing at a high level. Good defense, they create a lot of problems, 3-4 real multiple with the things that they do. Again, creating turnovers and giving their team a chance to win a lot of games. ”
(On if Eagles defensive front is more mobile and active)
“Again, you hear a 3-4, there’s different ways to play a 3-4. They’ll do some two gap stuff,but they move a lot. There’s a lot of gaines where the end and the nose cross, different things like that that happen up front where you’ve got to be able to pass things off with the offensive lineman, everybody’s kind of involved with that. Yeah, they’re active. They don’t just sit there and let you block them. They’re going to move and try to make us work and communicate. Which is obviously a little bit harder in the noise when you have to pass a game off. But, active defense that create a lot of problems, just cause they’re multiple, do a lot of different things. They’ve flashed at times with the ability to take balls away and create big plays.”
(On how QB Austin Davis has settled into the starting job and how it helps the offense continuity)
“I think obviously Austin’s played really, really well . I think he’s comfortable, he’s been comfortable no matter what. Again, the more he plays the better I think he’ll get. Playing very, very well and again we expect him to do the same thing this week against Philly. He played well on the road in Tampa. The thing that we like that he’s doing he’s moving the team certaintly. Getting the ball out of his hands and throwing completions and that’s really the job of the quarterback is to move the team, make first downs, throw completions. ”
(On if he’s surprised about Davis’ willingness to make deep throws)
“He’s obviously got some good weapons. We have big guys that can run, I think you saw that all spring, all training camp. I think it certainly helps to have those guys that can do that. No we’ve always thought he threw the ball well down the field. Again, he’s as comfortable as I’ve ever been around a guy that gets thrown into that situation. He hasn’t blinked from day one and again, I think this just speaks to the confidence we have in him. I think he knows the group trusts him and believes in him but he hasn’t hesitated or blinked at one time from the moment he went in and had to play in the first game. I think that’s a tribute to him.”
(On if he thinks the reason why they don’t have to expect a close game anymore is due to Davis and the offensive maturity)
“I think you have to start with the group as a whole. Obviously, the weapons that we’ve added or developed. Bringing (WR) Kenny Britt in has helped. He can make a lot of plays for us down the field. (TE) Jared Cook in year two, big development. (TE) Lance Kendricks has gotten a lot better. Just different guys doing it. Certainly, Austin’s played very, very well. That’s a big part of it. But, the credit goes to these guys for the way they’ve worked more than anything because again, this is nothing that we haven’t seen. We saw it spring, we saw it all training camp against our defense. We’ve got weapons that have the ability to make plays. Again, I think Austin certainly benefits from that but again the trigger man is going to be the guy that gets a lot of the credit but also is going to take the blame. From day one like I said, big moments he’s stepped up. In big moments he’s stepped up. The throw he made to (WR Brian) Quick last week is a quick count, three-shot to ‘Quickie’ and that’s just a great throw. The guy was kind of bearing down on him. He stood there and threw it. So, I think it’s a combination of, a number of things. ”
(On if WR Tavon Austin will return this week and if he will have his entire receiving core Sunday)
“Obviously, we’re going to try to rotate guys through. Our goal is whoever’s active is going to play. You see that with the backs, you see that with the receivers, tight ends. He’s moving around pretty good out here today. Again, tomorrow’s another day. Again tomorrows kind of what we call fast Friday so we go out there, it’s not very long but it’s full speed and we’re rolling. So we’ll see what tomorrow looks like but, whoever’s active we’re going to play and we’ll certainly roll them through. If he’s up and active then we’ll certainly have a plan to get him the ball.”
(On if Philly is a heavy blitzing team and how he would characterize them)
“Yes, 3-4 teams usually have a lot of things that they do. They bring quite a bit of pressure and they can be multiple because of the 3-4 defense. They can bring interchangeable parts and in third-down the numbers go awfully high. I think they’re sixth in the league in third-downs (conversion) one of the things that they’re best in statistically. A lot of man to man and a lot of pressure, trying to make quarterbacks and receivers create separation and make throws.”
(On if he sees a growing confidence on the whole offensive unit and can that carry forward)
“I hope so. Again, each week’s different. I mean you never know. Philly creates some problems different than Dallas, Dallas creates problems different than Philly. But again, we’re to the point now where we don’t really worry about the opponent as much as we worry about ourselves. It’s our execution. It’s the things we’re trying to get done. So far, another good practice this week. When we practice well,we generally play well. It certainly won’t come easy. We’re trying to build on the success we had against Dallas and carry that over. I think our guys go into this game with some confidence that we should be able to do that.”
(On the importance of time of possession when playing an offense like the Eagles)
“Yeah, we’ve talked about it. Obviously we have a plan of attack based on the team, how we plan on trying to win the game. As far as when you give them the ball, it doesn’t take them long sometimes to score. Dallas led the league in time of possession last week, we were able to keep it away from them two weeks ago, and that’s a big part of it. Again, we feel good about being able to sustain drives and a big part of that’s been our ability to convert on third down. We know they’re explosive on offense and that the more time we can have the ball, that helps us. Then again, more opportunities for us to create explosive plays and put points up on the board. You’ve got to score points to win in the league. There were things we could’ve done against Dallas that gave us a chance to win the game. That’s what it comes down to, scoring one more point, whether it’s 7-6 or 34-31, you’ve got to find a way to score more than the opponent.”
s.
