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Head Coach Jeff Fisher– Press Conference – August 9, 2014
(Opening statement)
“Alright well, it’s a little different after you’ve seen it, always is the case, especially in the preseason. There was some good things, some good efforts, some good plays, no turnovers. We got two on defense. We capitalized on some turnovers right of the bat. We ended up with balance. When the game was all said and done, we had 34 pass attempts and 32 rushes, the rushing yards are a little skewed because of the punt fake but still, none the less, it was a good run. The bottom line is this: I think we had 18 guys that did not play in the game for whatever reason, nine of whom were starters and this week it looks as if we’ll probably get 15 to 16 of them back. So when you have nine starters that don’t play for whatever reason you end up playing a lot of players earlier in the ball game and when that happens some of the inexperience translates into penalties and we had way too many penalties. We had 14 penalties and I think we had eight on offense, three on defense and three on special teams. I think all but two you can make the case were legit and we have to learn from them. We had some false starts offensively, no defensive off sides, which was good. So penalties became the common theme through the game, after we subbed, as did some mental mistakes and some missed tackles and things like that. So clearly a lot to learn from as we told the team. We’re still kind of in the process of grading things and correcting things with them. All in all I think it was a good exercise. It was great to play with some emotion in the stands from the fans and they got to see some guys make some plays.”
(On if referees were paying more attention to illegal contact and holding on pass defense)
“Lamarcus (Joyner) was called and based on the call, yeah they’re paying close attention to it. I don’t think it was a foul. There was no grab, there was no restriction, there was really no contact. He just kind of reached out. Now I think it was good for Lamarcus because in practice he would’ve grabbed. He started off doing that and grabbing at the top of the route like that so he learned. It’s a hard one. I’ll talk to them about that, I’ll talk to league about that one but nonetheless that is the point of emphasis and they’ll support that call because he did reach out. Other than that from a defensive standpoint the other hold that we had was clearly a hold, it was bad technique by Stew (Phillip Steward) on the running back.”
(On if LB Philip Steward’s penalty could have prevented a touchdown)
“Well, we have safety playing safety help, but from a technique standpoint he’s got to learn. You don’t put yourself in that position, let the back get inside you.”
(On OL Greg Robinson)
“I thought he did good. We had a problem early with communication inside. We turned the nose guard loose, he was supposed to come down. That resulted in a sack but from a run game standpoint he was good. Most of the time the pass protection was solid. He was downfield and I thought he played pretty well considering he played two positions. Aaron (Donald) on the other hand, Aaron played about 35 to 38 plays. Flashed, made some plays, penetrated, got in the backfield. The ball’s coming out quick. That was their plan. Different situations he’s probably got a couple hurries, possibly a sack but got tired. Played a lot and got tired so it’s hard, and that happens. Again, they learn. We should see everybody take big step this week, from week one to week two.”
(On if he saw what he wanted to see in the run game)
“Yeah, our backs all got carries. I mean, Tre (Mason) got more carries than we hoped he would but that’s fine. We had good efforts from the backs and in the passing game as well. We had some breakdowns up front. We saw a lot of things that we really hadn’t prepared for. We didn’t game plan, so on occasion there’s an unblocked defender, there’s penetration or something like that. They, Benny (Cunningham) ran well. Zach (Stacy) ran hard. We had some decent runs called back and the holds weren’t the reason that the runs broke but there was holding on the play. So the way we look at those things in preseason, sometimes the hold will turn it back, create the play. But these holds didn’t so the backs and everybody else were doing their job.”
(On how much credence he gives QB Shaun Hill for last night’s performance)
“Well we expect him to do that, that’s what he’s done for years. Has a good feel for what we’re doing and a good sense for timing and throws a nice ball, a catchable ball. Five-for-7 and good control over what we were doing. That was pretty good, pretty good first effort for him.”
(On if there was a common theme in the run defense that gave New Orleans success)
“Usually, when the runs were popping there was either nine guys doing their job, one guy behind a block where the defense got cut or we just weren’t setting the edge. A couple tackles to the hole that we missed but some guys doing some things that they hadn’t done before in the scheme. But not a big concern. We really didn’t load up, stop the run or pressure to do things. We got caught in a few pass stunts, which created some seams in the defense, which obviously in a normal game situation you don’t think those will happen.”
(On if he is more understanding about missed tackles because of inexperience)
“Well we’ve practiced tackling since camp started so we obviously have to do a better job. (Mark) Ingram is a fine back. He’s going to make some people miss and he’s going to run over people, he’s been doing that since his college days and that’s not an excuse. But we did miss him a few times. When you’ve got young guys playing defense then you’ve got one guy out of position, then another guy tries to over-react and you’re not playing team defense then it often times results in a missed tackle.”
On his overall first impression of TE Alex Bayer)
“Well, we felt like he had a chance. We liked what we saw, the athleticism, the pass catching ability, he was well-coached there. (Tight ends coach) Rob Boras went out and had a private workout with him a week before the draft. We were kind of hoping he would fall, he did and so far it’s work out for us. He takes a lot of snaps here at camp and played a lot of snaps yesterday. I think he played over 40 snaps yesterday, 45 snaps. He’s hanging in there and continues to make the plays, so reliable. He’s getting to the right spot and the young quarterbacks trust him.”
(On the snap mishap on the final drive)
“Well basically what happened, once you get through it and start talking to people and get to the bottom of things there were some communication issues up front. And (C) Demetrius (Rhaney) wasn’t sure when he was supposed to snap the ball, so he just snapped it. And so, when the ball comes up and the quarterback’s not ready for it sometimes you have problems and that’s what happened to (QB) Austin (Davis). So the ball hit the ground and Austin picked it up and spiked it. So it was a correct call.”
(On if there were any snap issues on the missed 46-yard field goal)
“Our backup (long) snapper (Jorgen) Hus is a good backup snapped and he gets plenty of snaps during practice and was going to get snaps in preseason and we’ll continue to do so. Has not worked a lot with (Holder) Johnny Hekker and (K) Greg Zuerlein thus far in camp and there’s a difference between his ball and (LS) Jake’s (McQuade) ball. So even though you wouldn’t classify them as bad snaps, the snaps were different and that happens sometimes. That can change and affect the whole process and that did last night, so I’m not concerned about Greg. The snaps hit Johnny’s hand a little differently and it just happened. Greg’s having a great camp. And again, there’s a fine line, you’ve got your backup snapper and the ball appears to be a decent snap but the ball is different, the laces are different and the whole routine’s different on the kick.”
(On the value of the amount of real game scenarios that occurred last night)
“We stress, everybody understands how important timeouts are first off. So we go in the first half, unfortunately we start the drive with one timeout and a two-minute warning. Normally we would’ve had both timeouts. I used two timeouts, one in a challenge just to kind of help (Head Official) Carl (Cheffers) just through the process because of the new process of the league. I told him if there was anything close that I would go ahead and throw the flag just go through the experience you’re in the first preseason game, so lost that one, and then I used a timeout just to sub. So we went into the two-minute drive with one timeout and a two-minute warning and then we had the penalty at 2:03. Then (Saints DB Marcus) Ball made some plays. We ended up with third-and-15 or third-and-16 down there and they’re hard to convert. So we handed the ball off and we got points. We executed the two-minute drive right before the end of the half. We nearly executed the two-minute drive at the end of the game, so, we understand what happens and those are the things they learn from. In two-minute studies over the years, the two things that are going to affect an offense drive, one are sacks and two are penalties. And by the way, penalties will trump sacks on offensive drives. So if you have a penalty on a two-minute drive before the half or before the end of the game they are very, very difficult to overcome. And so those are the things that we stress. You have a false start at 2:03 that makes the drive harder, it backs you up. But we still overcame it. As you say, a lot of different situations come up and we take our time this week to go through them.”
(On if a substitution error earlier in the half cost the Rams a time out and put them in a position to have to spike the ball on the final play)
“Right, that’s part of preseason. The guy that’s got the hardest job on the sidelines is the special teams coach…we didn’t have full 90 but when you’re three-deep and you’ve got guys getting hurt and moving guys around. We lost (TE Mason) Mase (Brodine) and then (TE) Justice (Cunningham) went down and then (TE) Alex (Bayer) was down for a minute and it’s hard to keep track of that. So, settle them down use the timeout. But yeah, if you got a timeout remaining then you can trade the timeout for the 10-second run-off.”
(On if QB Sam Bradford will play in the upcoming game against the Green Bay Packers)
“Yeah, he’s going to play. I haven’t decided how much but yeah he’s going to play this week.”
(On DE Michael Sam’s performance)
“Mike played pretty well, got tired as well just like Aaron did. But, he was in the 35 to 39 play range. Played with effort, made some mistakes…I would expect him to play much better this week after he gets whatever it is behind him like the rest of the rookie class, first-year guys. First preseason game is a little nerve racking but I think he’ll settle down.
(On DE Ethan Westbrooks’ performance)
“He was good. He was productive. Made some good chase plays down the field had some good rushes. Got to the quarterback, got some hurries. He played both end and tackle for us.”
(On why he made that challenge)
“Yeah and I asked him before the game, how things work. One of the interesting things with respect to the officiating department is yesterday was the first time that they had their communication devices on and they’re going to go to them full-time this year. Carl can talk to his whole crew, the other six officials on the field.”
(On if they have ever had the official communication devices on the field before)
“No, this is the first time. We experimented last year in the preseason for a couple games. The SEC went to it a couple years ago and they liked it. So, yesterday was the first time and I was really impressed as to the system itself and how quickly they were able to enforce penalties. For example, on Lamarcus’ penalty, the holding penalty down the field. Normally what happens is the back judge is going to run all the way over to tell the referee I got a hold on No. 20. By that time you’re waiting for him just to make the announcement. It was that fast and Carl says we’ve got defensive holding on No. 20, automatic first down. They’re communicated with the device, I thought the enforcement part of it was excellent. It’s nice because I can walk up to a wing official and grab his mic and say ‘Carl, get your (butt) over here.’ (laughs) It’s a good system. It was new to them and I thought they did a nice job with them.”
(On if he used a sideline officials’ microphone to contact the head official)
“No, I didn’t.”
(On if they have ever had the official communication devices on the field before)
“In addition to the system, yes, yesterday was the first time that this crew was going to potentially communicate with New York. So, I just said if there’s anything close I will go ahead and challenge it for you to see how it goes.”
(On if he disagreed with the challenge ruling)
“No, I thought it was a good spot, I was standing right there. That was (LJ) Jeff Seeman that made the spot. Also, Carl’s rookie year, his first preseason game, his first year as referee I had him his first preseason game and I did him a favor and I put him under the hood as well, about five years ago, he didn’t forget that.”
(Opening statement)
“Alright well, it’s a little different after you’ve seen it, always is the case, especially in the preseason. There was some good things, some good efforts, some good plays, no turnovers. We got two on defense. We capitalized on some turnovers right of the bat. We ended up with balance. When the game was all said and done, we had 34 pass attempts and 32 rushes, the rushing yards are a little skewed because of the punt fake but still, none the less, it was a good run. The bottom line is this: I think we had 18 guys that did not play in the game for whatever reason, nine of whom were starters and this week it looks as if we’ll probably get 15 to 16 of them back. So when you have nine starters that don’t play for whatever reason you end up playing a lot of players earlier in the ball game and when that happens some of the inexperience translates into penalties and we had way too many penalties. We had 14 penalties and I think we had eight on offense, three on defense and three on special teams. I think all but two you can make the case were legit and we have to learn from them. We had some false starts offensively, no defensive off sides, which was good. So penalties became the common theme through the game, after we subbed, as did some mental mistakes and some missed tackles and things like that. So clearly a lot to learn from as we told the team. We’re still kind of in the process of grading things and correcting things with them. All in all I think it was a good exercise. It was great to play with some emotion in the stands from the fans and they got to see some guys make some plays.”
(On if referees were paying more attention to illegal contact and holding on pass defense)
“Lamarcus (Joyner) was called and based on the call, yeah they’re paying close attention to it. I don’t think it was a foul. There was no grab, there was no restriction, there was really no contact. He just kind of reached out. Now I think it was good for Lamarcus because in practice he would’ve grabbed. He started off doing that and grabbing at the top of the route like that so he learned. It’s a hard one. I’ll talk to them about that, I’ll talk to league about that one but nonetheless that is the point of emphasis and they’ll support that call because he did reach out. Other than that from a defensive standpoint the other hold that we had was clearly a hold, it was bad technique by Stew (Phillip Steward) on the running back.”
(On if LB Philip Steward’s penalty could have prevented a touchdown)
“Well, we have safety playing safety help, but from a technique standpoint he’s got to learn. You don’t put yourself in that position, let the back get inside you.”
(On OL Greg Robinson)
“I thought he did good. We had a problem early with communication inside. We turned the nose guard loose, he was supposed to come down. That resulted in a sack but from a run game standpoint he was good. Most of the time the pass protection was solid. He was downfield and I thought he played pretty well considering he played two positions. Aaron (Donald) on the other hand, Aaron played about 35 to 38 plays. Flashed, made some plays, penetrated, got in the backfield. The ball’s coming out quick. That was their plan. Different situations he’s probably got a couple hurries, possibly a sack but got tired. Played a lot and got tired so it’s hard, and that happens. Again, they learn. We should see everybody take big step this week, from week one to week two.”
(On if he saw what he wanted to see in the run game)
“Yeah, our backs all got carries. I mean, Tre (Mason) got more carries than we hoped he would but that’s fine. We had good efforts from the backs and in the passing game as well. We had some breakdowns up front. We saw a lot of things that we really hadn’t prepared for. We didn’t game plan, so on occasion there’s an unblocked defender, there’s penetration or something like that. They, Benny (Cunningham) ran well. Zach (Stacy) ran hard. We had some decent runs called back and the holds weren’t the reason that the runs broke but there was holding on the play. So the way we look at those things in preseason, sometimes the hold will turn it back, create the play. But these holds didn’t so the backs and everybody else were doing their job.”
(On how much credence he gives QB Shaun Hill for last night’s performance)
“Well we expect him to do that, that’s what he’s done for years. Has a good feel for what we’re doing and a good sense for timing and throws a nice ball, a catchable ball. Five-for-7 and good control over what we were doing. That was pretty good, pretty good first effort for him.”
(On if there was a common theme in the run defense that gave New Orleans success)
“Usually, when the runs were popping there was either nine guys doing their job, one guy behind a block where the defense got cut or we just weren’t setting the edge. A couple tackles to the hole that we missed but some guys doing some things that they hadn’t done before in the scheme. But not a big concern. We really didn’t load up, stop the run or pressure to do things. We got caught in a few pass stunts, which created some seams in the defense, which obviously in a normal game situation you don’t think those will happen.”
(On if he is more understanding about missed tackles because of inexperience)
“Well we’ve practiced tackling since camp started so we obviously have to do a better job. (Mark) Ingram is a fine back. He’s going to make some people miss and he’s going to run over people, he’s been doing that since his college days and that’s not an excuse. But we did miss him a few times. When you’ve got young guys playing defense then you’ve got one guy out of position, then another guy tries to over-react and you’re not playing team defense then it often times results in a missed tackle.”
On his overall first impression of TE Alex Bayer)
“Well, we felt like he had a chance. We liked what we saw, the athleticism, the pass catching ability, he was well-coached there. (Tight ends coach) Rob Boras went out and had a private workout with him a week before the draft. We were kind of hoping he would fall, he did and so far it’s work out for us. He takes a lot of snaps here at camp and played a lot of snaps yesterday. I think he played over 40 snaps yesterday, 45 snaps. He’s hanging in there and continues to make the plays, so reliable. He’s getting to the right spot and the young quarterbacks trust him.”
(On the snap mishap on the final drive)
“Well basically what happened, once you get through it and start talking to people and get to the bottom of things there were some communication issues up front. And (C) Demetrius (Rhaney) wasn’t sure when he was supposed to snap the ball, so he just snapped it. And so, when the ball comes up and the quarterback’s not ready for it sometimes you have problems and that’s what happened to (QB) Austin (Davis). So the ball hit the ground and Austin picked it up and spiked it. So it was a correct call.”
(On if there were any snap issues on the missed 46-yard field goal)
“Our backup (long) snapper (Jorgen) Hus is a good backup snapped and he gets plenty of snaps during practice and was going to get snaps in preseason and we’ll continue to do so. Has not worked a lot with (Holder) Johnny Hekker and (K) Greg Zuerlein thus far in camp and there’s a difference between his ball and (LS) Jake’s (McQuade) ball. So even though you wouldn’t classify them as bad snaps, the snaps were different and that happens sometimes. That can change and affect the whole process and that did last night, so I’m not concerned about Greg. The snaps hit Johnny’s hand a little differently and it just happened. Greg’s having a great camp. And again, there’s a fine line, you’ve got your backup snapper and the ball appears to be a decent snap but the ball is different, the laces are different and the whole routine’s different on the kick.”
(On the value of the amount of real game scenarios that occurred last night)
“We stress, everybody understands how important timeouts are first off. So we go in the first half, unfortunately we start the drive with one timeout and a two-minute warning. Normally we would’ve had both timeouts. I used two timeouts, one in a challenge just to kind of help (Head Official) Carl (Cheffers) just through the process because of the new process of the league. I told him if there was anything close that I would go ahead and throw the flag just go through the experience you’re in the first preseason game, so lost that one, and then I used a timeout just to sub. So we went into the two-minute drive with one timeout and a two-minute warning and then we had the penalty at 2:03. Then (Saints DB Marcus) Ball made some plays. We ended up with third-and-15 or third-and-16 down there and they’re hard to convert. So we handed the ball off and we got points. We executed the two-minute drive right before the end of the half. We nearly executed the two-minute drive at the end of the game, so, we understand what happens and those are the things they learn from. In two-minute studies over the years, the two things that are going to affect an offense drive, one are sacks and two are penalties. And by the way, penalties will trump sacks on offensive drives. So if you have a penalty on a two-minute drive before the half or before the end of the game they are very, very difficult to overcome. And so those are the things that we stress. You have a false start at 2:03 that makes the drive harder, it backs you up. But we still overcame it. As you say, a lot of different situations come up and we take our time this week to go through them.”
(On if a substitution error earlier in the half cost the Rams a time out and put them in a position to have to spike the ball on the final play)
“Right, that’s part of preseason. The guy that’s got the hardest job on the sidelines is the special teams coach…we didn’t have full 90 but when you’re three-deep and you’ve got guys getting hurt and moving guys around. We lost (TE Mason) Mase (Brodine) and then (TE) Justice (Cunningham) went down and then (TE) Alex (Bayer) was down for a minute and it’s hard to keep track of that. So, settle them down use the timeout. But yeah, if you got a timeout remaining then you can trade the timeout for the 10-second run-off.”
(On if QB Sam Bradford will play in the upcoming game against the Green Bay Packers)
“Yeah, he’s going to play. I haven’t decided how much but yeah he’s going to play this week.”
(On DE Michael Sam’s performance)
“Mike played pretty well, got tired as well just like Aaron did. But, he was in the 35 to 39 play range. Played with effort, made some mistakes…I would expect him to play much better this week after he gets whatever it is behind him like the rest of the rookie class, first-year guys. First preseason game is a little nerve racking but I think he’ll settle down.
(On DE Ethan Westbrooks’ performance)
“He was good. He was productive. Made some good chase plays down the field had some good rushes. Got to the quarterback, got some hurries. He played both end and tackle for us.”
(On why he made that challenge)
“Yeah and I asked him before the game, how things work. One of the interesting things with respect to the officiating department is yesterday was the first time that they had their communication devices on and they’re going to go to them full-time this year. Carl can talk to his whole crew, the other six officials on the field.”
(On if they have ever had the official communication devices on the field before)
“No, this is the first time. We experimented last year in the preseason for a couple games. The SEC went to it a couple years ago and they liked it. So, yesterday was the first time and I was really impressed as to the system itself and how quickly they were able to enforce penalties. For example, on Lamarcus’ penalty, the holding penalty down the field. Normally what happens is the back judge is going to run all the way over to tell the referee I got a hold on No. 20. By that time you’re waiting for him just to make the announcement. It was that fast and Carl says we’ve got defensive holding on No. 20, automatic first down. They’re communicated with the device, I thought the enforcement part of it was excellent. It’s nice because I can walk up to a wing official and grab his mic and say ‘Carl, get your (butt) over here.’ (laughs) It’s a good system. It was new to them and I thought they did a nice job with them.”
(On if he used a sideline officials’ microphone to contact the head official)
“No, I didn’t.”
(On if they have ever had the official communication devices on the field before)
“In addition to the system, yes, yesterday was the first time that this crew was going to potentially communicate with New York. So, I just said if there’s anything close I will go ahead and challenge it for you to see how it goes.”
(On if he disagreed with the challenge ruling)
“No, I thought it was a good spot, I was standing right there. That was (LJ) Jeff Seeman that made the spot. Also, Carl’s rookie year, his first preseason game, his first year as referee I had him his first preseason game and I did him a favor and I put him under the hood as well, about five years ago, he didn’t forget that.”