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Rams Special Teams Coordinator John Fassel – Post-Practice – June 17, 2014
(On if not knowing which players he will have to work with during the regular season complicates OTAs)
“Not really. I use everybody so it’s easy to fill out a three deep per team. So the guys that are returning might not get as many as they normally would, but we try to get a look at all the young guys that are third on the depth chart. Over the last two years I went back and looked at the depth charts and there were a lot of guys in OTAs that started out at 3s – Rodney McLeod, Darren Bates, Ray Armstrong, Cody Davis – and now they’re starting for us really all last season. We just get everybody a couple reps and check out any new guys that might give us some new blood.”
(On what DE Michael Sam is doing and how well he is transitioning to special teams work on the professional level)
“Pretty good. For guys that haven’t done it – professional punt protection, professional punt return – it’s different than what they’ve even seen even if they did play in college. So, there’s an adjustment as far as the learning, the technique, but all the young guys are gung ho and they’ll pick it up fast. But, it’s new for them especially when they’re going against the returners that have really gotten really good at some certain techniques and they maybe have advantage.”
(On Sam saying that he needed to drop a couple pounds in order to help add some speed on special teams and if he is encouraging Sam to do that)
“I haven’t talked to him about that but I think that he knows that it’s a fine line because he needs some weight to play d-end, but there’s no doubt lighter weight helps you run better on teams. So it’s kind of finding that fine line between having enough weight to play d-line, but having enough off you to play teams because speed is the name of the game on teams.”
(On how he plans to follow up and maintain last year’s success on special teams)
“You know, we had a good year covering the ball. We haven’t even about last year at all this year. We’ve got a lot of guys returning, which is great and obviously, when we get to training camp and into the season we’ll talk about improving on what we did. I know that’s going to be a good challenge because I thought we did a pretty good job. With the guys that are returning, hopefully we can pick up where we left off and even improve on that because part of last year, the first eight games we had was almost all new bodies out there covering. So with those guys returning, yeah I’d expect improvements on what was a pretty good coverage unit last year.”
(On his expectations for the upcoming season)
“Well if you think about it, I think seven or eight of our players on punt team were rookies and they’re coming back, so I would expect us to be better.”
(On P Johnny Hekker’s performance last year)
“Yeah, he was really good and obviously the goal is to be better. When you look at the all-time net punt record…you don’t want to be worse than that so I mean that’s a high standard. Johnny even knows, there’s some things that I’m not going to tell you that we talked about where he can improve and he knows he can improve. If we can make improvements in a couple of those things that we’ve talked about, then I don’t want to say it because it may give away some different things, but there’s room for improvement.”
(On having some options for a kick returner aside from WR Tavon Austin)
“Today we did kickoff return and you know, I think (RB Isaiah) Pead back there give us some great burst and ball handler, (WR Chris) Givens, (WR Justin) Veltung, (CB Greg) Reid, a couple young guys that you can throw into the mix. (RB Tre) Mason did it at Auburn. So everybody will get a couple cracks at it. I’m very optimistic about our kickoff returner, whoever that might be.”
(On if he wants to alleviate Austin of kick returns)
“Yeah, I think we’ve got great candidates that can do it that can maybe take a couple reps off him per game from a kickoff return standpoint.”
(On what he sees out of WR Diontae Spencer as a returner)
“Diontae, he’s a Tavon build, great quickness, great ball skills. We really have quite a few candidates to do that, so it’s good. It will be competitive and guys will be juiced up so they’ll probably not take any knees in the preseason when they get their rep.”
(On if Pead has picked up where he left off on special teams)
“Yes. I’m really glad you asked me that. Pead has…when you think about him a lot and his development around this season last year, how he really committed to special teams. Not only was he a contributor, he was a high-impact guy for us. I think a lot of people are going to see a lot of growth out of that guy, not only on teams, and I can’t speak for offense, but I just imagine with his maturity, his work ethic, his ability I would imagine he’s going to have a fantastic preseason and really been a good guy. I could speak on him a lot on how proud I am of him and his work ethic and his contributions last year, especially on special teams.”
(On if it’s difficult to get enough time with a large group of players during a condensed offseason)
“No. (Head) Coach (Jeff) Fisher gives us a lot of time on teams. I think we have a good amount of practice time. We go pretty high speed, not a lot of reps, everybody gets a chance. We’ve got meeting times. I know the rules have changed, but it doesn’t feel like it’s different maybe because Coach Fisher has a good emphasis on teams. It’s important to him and we’ve got all the time we need to get whatever we got done.”
(On K Greg Zuerlein’s performance last season)
“We kick twice a week during the OTAs. He just didn’t do it today. I think he was 26-of-28, made about 13 in a row, missed two, and then made 13 in a row. If that’s right I’m not sure. The other thing too, the last three games of the season I think every kickoff he hit was out of the end zone. So from his first year to his second year, he got stronger this past year, I think, as the season went on compared to the first year where maybe he kind of got overused and it was a long year and maybe he weakened. A mature guy going into his third year, building as the season gets going and improving as the season goes on, I would expect him to do that again. I was proud of him last year.”
(On what he thinks about the preseason experiment to move the extra point)
“I think in the second preseason game they’re going line of scrimmage to 20 (yard-line) so that would be a 38-yard field goal for just about every team. I think it’s great. I’d imagine our percentage wouldn’t change from the 38-yard line compared to a 20-yarder. But I’m sure it will for a lot of teams, well not a lot, but enough to maybe make a difference. I think it’s fun, you know, try it.”
Rams Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer – Post-Practice – June 17, 2014
(On how the offense looks)
“We’re doing good. We’re seven installations in, I think, and guys are doing good. Lucky things is, we’ve got some new faces but most of them have heard it for the second or third year – that certainly helps. Big thing for us is we’re trying to create competition at all spots. You’ll see different guys working with the 1s. Obviously, the more competition you create across the board, the better you will be.”
(On if this is the second time they have installed the offense this season)
“Yeah, we did some in the phase two that we had. So they’ve heard it for probably the second time. They’ll hear it again in training camp.”
(On competition at running back)
“Well right now, competition is for who’s the starter. We’re just going to let them all roll and see what happens. You saw some guys that worked with the young guys today. Zac’s (Stacy) obviously a really, really good player, but we’re going to create competition for all the guys. That’s a long way off, but we know we have a good stable group of backs and they all have different skill sets, which we’ll try to use throughout the course of the year.”
(On RB Isaiah Pead)
“He’s doing good. He ran with the 1s some today; did a nice job. Obviously again, took a big step up for (Special Teams Coordinator) Coach (John) Fassel on special teams. When a guy does that he’s obviously going to be dressed every day on gameday, which is big thing for us because you don’t get everybody dressed for gameday. He’s really getting better. I think getting comfort in the system helps. Terrific match-up problem for the defense coming out of the backfield and he’s made some big plays for us. Had a nice touchdown down in the boundary today in match-up with (LB) James (Laurinaitis).”
(On if Stacy is not guaranteed the starting job)
“No, not at all. We’re just trying to create competition. (QB) Sam Bradford is going to compete. That’s what we’re trying to do and whoever wins the job, wins the job. But I expect to see multiple guys carry the football.”
(On OL Greg Robinson settling into the guard position)
“I think it’s going to be an adjustment. He’s doing good. New system, new position. He certainly has some help around him with Scott (Wells) and those guys able to talk to him, but it’s an adjustment and it’s going to take a little time. You can see out there how naturally talented he is, how strong he is, how athletic he is, but there’s been some growing pains and there will be.”
(On how much flexibility having guards like Robinson and Rodger Saffold helps with the run game)
“Well, I think we’ve always done stuff with pulling people – that won’t change. You can see maybe a little bit more perimeter stuff where we get guys out on the edge and stuff like that. But again, for us it helps in a lot of regards, not just the running game, but it firms up the pocket inside for the quarterbacks and it’s nice to have those big guys in there that can both get on the perimeter and be athletic, but yet also stone a guy on the line of scrimmage.”
(On the addition of WR Kenny Britt)
“He’s doing a great job. Still learning the system. It’s been a little different for him, but each day he makes one or two big plays. It’s kind of a big-man’s game, that’s what it’s gone to. Very, very pleased with what he’s done so far.”
(On WR Brian Quick)
“I’ll tell you what, probably the most improved player I’ve seen is Brian Quick. He’s doing a great job. Another guy that we’re giving an opportunity to. He’s competing for playing time. He’s made the most of his opportunities. He started today. Again, just moving guys around, in and out of the lineup, trying to create competition and he’s stepped up and again – like Kenny – and made a lot of big plays for us.”
(On QB Sam Bradford)
“It’s nice to see him out here, number one. He obviously has the system down. He’s a little rusty. He’s missed some throws that he’d like to have back. But everything that he’s getting a chance to go through, just working his reads, finding the checkdowns and throwing to the new guys has been big for him. All of this stuff for him really has been bonus. We weren’t sure how much of this stuff he’d get. The fact that he’s been out here and getting work has been good for us.”
(On if they have worked Bradford every other day)
“Yeah, we’re moving things around. It all depends. We just kind of got him on a count of what we want to get done. He feels really, really good. It’s good for him to shake the cobwebs off. He wants to be perfect out here and that’s not going to happen right now. I think where I’ve seen him grow the most is a leadership role.”
(On the difference in WR Tavon Austin from his rookie year to this year)
“Another exciting player. Moving him around to a lot of different spots. You’ll see us hand him the ball, doing some different things. He’s playing so much faster just because he knows what we’re doing. He has the system down cold. Some of the protections that he struggled with last year…when they bring people off his face, he knows what to do now and that certainly helps. But, he had a really good OTA.”
(On if he has noticed a change in the defense in terms of intensity)
“They create a lot of problems I know that. I wouldn’t say, I mean, our guys always worked hard. It starts up front with the defensive line, they’re always prepared to block. (DT) Aaron Donald has my vote for rookie of the year already. He’s a really good player. In terms of more intense, no. But certainly they create a lot of problems, which is great for us. We get frustrated from time to time, but that’s how we get better.”
(On how Bradford has displayed more of a leadership role)
“I see him working the relationships and talking to guys. When he’s not getting reps, you see him kind of sharing his vision of what he sees and it’s great. I don’t have to watch over him anymore, I know he’s going to be coaching it the way we want it. He’s done a good job. We’re still a young team. There’s still a lot of young guys that don’t know exactly what we’re thinking, so it’s been fun to watch him grab those guys and coach them up.”
(On if he has coached against Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams)
“Yeah, in New Orleans we did and then, of course last year in Tennessee. He was certainly very involved. They just do a lot of good things. Very creative, aggressive. We’ve gotten the chance to throw over their head a little bit, but they do a really good job. They create a lot of problems. It all comes out of the same fronts. It just gives you problems.”
(On if Coach Williams is crazy)
“I don’t think so. I think he’s a great football coach.”
(On how tough it is to evaluate protections)
“Without pads, it’s really hard. When you’re practicing out here, a guy goes a little bit different tempo than someone else – whether its offense or defense – it makes it a little bit hard. We’ll have plenty of time when the pads get on to truly find out which of these guys can do it. They’re all willing to, but there’s certainly a fundamental and technique that goes to it in terms of how you close on a guy, how you set, how you strike and all that stuff. They know who to block right now, now it’s going to come up in training camp and preseason – can they block the guy that’s coming?”
(On if the playbook is much different this year)
“Not really; some wrinkles. Some things we looked at and studied and said, ‘Hey, this wasn’t very good.’ We’ve eliminated some things. Tried to simplify some things for the guys. The big goal has been to play faster, not in terms of the play clock or anything, but just attacking the defense faster. We’ve simplified some things and just addressed some things that maybe we weren’t very good at and tried to get rid of the stuff that was kind of an afterthought, that hey you really don’t need to cloud their mind with it and so that’s been good for those guys.”
(On if QB Shaun Hill has been pretty good at picking up the playbook)
“He’s done a real nice job. Obviously, he and (Quarterbacks) Coach (Frank) Cignetti go way back. Real diligent worker. He’s been getting a lot of reps out here, which is good. I think he knows the competition is there. Austin Davis and Garrett Gilbert are doing a good job as well.”
Rams Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams – Post-Practice – June 17, 2014
(Opening Statement)
“Great temperature, 114 heat index. That was another great thing for us to get through before training camp. I think (Head Coach) Jeff (Fisher) has done a great job on how he’s brought these rookies in, got them acclimated to the vets and stuff, and then all of us getting used to each other. This was just one more building block and you need this before you get into training camp because we’re going to wish for mild days like this once we get into August in the Midwest.”
“I can’t tell you guy I happy I am to be back in Missouri and how happy I am to be back in St. Louis with a good group of guys to coach, a good group of guys to coach with. It’s a lot of fun. Being out here on the grass, getting into the actual practices and getting into the competitions makes us even happier than we can get, than I can ever get. I’m very happy to do that.”
(On what kind of feel he has for the players at this point)
“That’s a great question in respect to...until you get out on the field and see how they battle through stresses and battle through communications and stuff, the film can tell you a lot but you’ve got to go through these things during these times of practices. We try to turn the practices into harder things, harder simulations than games. I believe in the organized chaos theory of practices being very, very hard to communicate, fighting through with reps and all that kind of stuff so that when they get to the games, it’s pretty routine. It’s very simple. This has been a learning curve for them and really been a learning curve for me because I’ve got to try to learn each and every one of them - the veterans, too. It’s a good group. They’ve responded well and I’m excited about taking the next step into training camp once we’ve finished up these next two practices.”
(On if he had to get on the field with the defense before he knew what he had personnel wise)
“Until I’m out there with them, I really don’t get a good feel of, ‘How do you maximize the personnel?’ I think the best coaches in the league – and I’ve always been able to do some of these things is – how do you maximize the strengths of each and every guy. Everybody’s got weaknesses – you, me, them, all of us do – and everybody has strengths. That’s why we play so many packages of people. We’re going to package to situations, package to personnel the other team is bringing on the field and then package to our strengths. It’s a young group of guys but it’s fun to see them have tremendous strengths that I didn’t know about until I got out here and had a chance to compete with them.”
(On if the Rams are as talented on defense as other groups he’s worked with)
“I would say that there’s an awful lot of talent on this defense. We’re all young and we’re still trying to get on the same page, but there’s a good group of guys out there, yeah.”
(On if having former Saints LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar in St. Louis has been helpful)
“I think it’s good to have him going along behind the scenes, in the locker room and saying I’m not as crazy as everybody thinks I am. You know, it’s funny because you take a look at the intern coaches that are here, two of the three intern coaches played for me in Mike Peterson and Pierson Prioleau. Pierson Prioleau was that guy for me when I took him at Buffalo, I took him with the Redskins, I took him to Jacksonville and I took him to the Saints. His question was, ‘How come it took you four teams to win a Super Bowl?’ So all of the sudden finding the right spot. He was always around in that locker room to answer questions that really coaches hadn’t come up with yet and really like, ‘Is he serious? Is he really serious?’ Jo-Lonn can do that. He does a great job with that, so it’s important, yeah.”
(On where LB Mike Peterson played under Williams)
“I had him in Jacksonville. He does a great job. He’s one of the smartest football players I’ve ever had the chance to coach. Very, very intelligent.”
(On what he means by practice being ‘organized chaos’)
“We constantly are throwing things out at them that we don’t even talk about in the meetings because we want to see them battle through stress. Everybody can calm themselves through relaxed states of mind and relaxed walk-thrus and stuff. You have time to second-guess things, you have time to get back on the same page. But you can’t fake who you are under stress, and that’s who the games are. The games in the National Football League on Sundays and Monday nights and Thursday nights – you’re under stress. So how do we do that in the practices from a communications standpoint? Maybe not physically, but from a communications standpoint, we try to put them through those stressful conditions so that they’ll battle themselves out. All good defenses have great vocal, loud, talking communication. It’s amazing from practice 1 now up here to practice 8 how far we’ve come with that. We still have light years to go, and you don’t get that until you get through the training camp and start getting into the preseason games and get into some heated games that at the end of the games you’ve got to communicate through, too. It’s still a process.”
(On if the organized chaos is what he means when he talks about how practices will be different with him running the defense)
“Practices will be different, yeah, and I am different. I’m different to everybody here and I’m different to Jeff. It’s been 14 years since Jeff and I worked together. He still does a great job, and I’ve evolved a long ways from where we were together before. So now there’s even an acclimation that he and I go through along with the team. But it’s been fun. We’ve still got a long ways to go, but we’ve gotten an awful lot done in this new agreement of how you have to have the phase 1, phase 2, phase 3. Really, we have more time with them now than we ever did. When I started back – what, 25-30 years ago and started doing this – you had two, three-day minicamps and that’s all. Didn’t have an offseason program. Didn’t have anything. All of the sudden now you’ve got to get it ready to go. They’re going to need a break from me, I’m going to need a break from them. I’ve had them for nine weeks of some format. I’ve been real proud of how they responded. You don’t see them in the meetings either. In the meeting rooms...they’ve been doing a great job in the meeting rooms. Their attention to detail, the projects that we’ve been doing on getting up to speed, they’ve been doing a really good job. It’s just a process, and the next step will be training camp.”
(On if it’s an understatement to say that he’s excited)
“I’m excited. I’m happiest on the field. I’m happiest out here. I’m happiest competing. In the meeting room, it’s good too, when the players are around. In the offseason when the players aren’t around and the coaches have to suffer through me...they were so happy when the players got here because they got a break too because now I can start stressing the players instead of stressing the coaches. But it is fun. This is where I’m happiest. Again, in the state of Missouri, back in my home state, here in St. Louis, I can’t tell you how happy I am. This is a good group of guys to be with.”
(On what it will be like to face the Saints in the preseason opener)
“I know the personnel. I have a tremendous respect for them and all that kind of stuff. There’s still a few guys around there that were there when I was there. It will be a fun matchup. It’s a process for them, too, as they step into it. They’ve got a lot of new faces. We’ve got a lot of new faces. It’ll be fun. It’ll be fun to see a lot of those guys.”
(On when and how he relaxes)
“I relax being around my kids, being around these guys off the field. I try to hunt and fish. I haven’t had time to do that. I don’t know if you guys know, I was off a year or two ago, so I had plenty of time to do all of those things. I’ve been here at the office. I’ve been working Saturdays and Sundays. I’ve been working late at nights just because there’s a lot to get caught up and the buck stops with me. Jeff’s brought me back to do those things and it’s fun. To see how far this staff has come with the things we’ve been able to get done. When I put up the projects on the board when I first got here, there was 101 projects and they said there’s no way we could get done with that before training camp. We’re already done. We’ve already got those things done and we’ve been covering all those things and we’ve learned a bunch from them. It’s a fun time. We’ve got two practices left.”
(On how difficult it was to be away from football in 2012)
“Those are just things you have to do. It’s a growing process. What I did was I made a pledge to myself to be stronger, better, wiser and tougher when I came back. This is fun. Last year was really good. Now this year will be even better.”
(On what sorts of things were on his to do list when he arrived in St. Louis in February)
“There are a lot of things from situational defenses to projects to scouting to everything that goes on. There’s an awful lot of things that have to be done if you’re going to be in the top of our profession. We’re looking to move up the ranks. We don’t want to be fourth in the NFC West. This is a tough division. We’ve got a lot of things we’ve got to accomplish. This is a really, really good division. It’s a fun division to be in. We had to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. We’ve come a long ways, but again, it’s a process and training camp will be the next step.”
(On if not knowing which players he will have to work with during the regular season complicates OTAs)
“Not really. I use everybody so it’s easy to fill out a three deep per team. So the guys that are returning might not get as many as they normally would, but we try to get a look at all the young guys that are third on the depth chart. Over the last two years I went back and looked at the depth charts and there were a lot of guys in OTAs that started out at 3s – Rodney McLeod, Darren Bates, Ray Armstrong, Cody Davis – and now they’re starting for us really all last season. We just get everybody a couple reps and check out any new guys that might give us some new blood.”
(On what DE Michael Sam is doing and how well he is transitioning to special teams work on the professional level)
“Pretty good. For guys that haven’t done it – professional punt protection, professional punt return – it’s different than what they’ve even seen even if they did play in college. So, there’s an adjustment as far as the learning, the technique, but all the young guys are gung ho and they’ll pick it up fast. But, it’s new for them especially when they’re going against the returners that have really gotten really good at some certain techniques and they maybe have advantage.”
(On Sam saying that he needed to drop a couple pounds in order to help add some speed on special teams and if he is encouraging Sam to do that)
“I haven’t talked to him about that but I think that he knows that it’s a fine line because he needs some weight to play d-end, but there’s no doubt lighter weight helps you run better on teams. So it’s kind of finding that fine line between having enough weight to play d-line, but having enough off you to play teams because speed is the name of the game on teams.”
(On how he plans to follow up and maintain last year’s success on special teams)
“You know, we had a good year covering the ball. We haven’t even about last year at all this year. We’ve got a lot of guys returning, which is great and obviously, when we get to training camp and into the season we’ll talk about improving on what we did. I know that’s going to be a good challenge because I thought we did a pretty good job. With the guys that are returning, hopefully we can pick up where we left off and even improve on that because part of last year, the first eight games we had was almost all new bodies out there covering. So with those guys returning, yeah I’d expect improvements on what was a pretty good coverage unit last year.”
(On his expectations for the upcoming season)
“Well if you think about it, I think seven or eight of our players on punt team were rookies and they’re coming back, so I would expect us to be better.”
(On P Johnny Hekker’s performance last year)
“Yeah, he was really good and obviously the goal is to be better. When you look at the all-time net punt record…you don’t want to be worse than that so I mean that’s a high standard. Johnny even knows, there’s some things that I’m not going to tell you that we talked about where he can improve and he knows he can improve. If we can make improvements in a couple of those things that we’ve talked about, then I don’t want to say it because it may give away some different things, but there’s room for improvement.”
(On having some options for a kick returner aside from WR Tavon Austin)
“Today we did kickoff return and you know, I think (RB Isaiah) Pead back there give us some great burst and ball handler, (WR Chris) Givens, (WR Justin) Veltung, (CB Greg) Reid, a couple young guys that you can throw into the mix. (RB Tre) Mason did it at Auburn. So everybody will get a couple cracks at it. I’m very optimistic about our kickoff returner, whoever that might be.”
(On if he wants to alleviate Austin of kick returns)
“Yeah, I think we’ve got great candidates that can do it that can maybe take a couple reps off him per game from a kickoff return standpoint.”
(On what he sees out of WR Diontae Spencer as a returner)
“Diontae, he’s a Tavon build, great quickness, great ball skills. We really have quite a few candidates to do that, so it’s good. It will be competitive and guys will be juiced up so they’ll probably not take any knees in the preseason when they get their rep.”
(On if Pead has picked up where he left off on special teams)
“Yes. I’m really glad you asked me that. Pead has…when you think about him a lot and his development around this season last year, how he really committed to special teams. Not only was he a contributor, he was a high-impact guy for us. I think a lot of people are going to see a lot of growth out of that guy, not only on teams, and I can’t speak for offense, but I just imagine with his maturity, his work ethic, his ability I would imagine he’s going to have a fantastic preseason and really been a good guy. I could speak on him a lot on how proud I am of him and his work ethic and his contributions last year, especially on special teams.”
(On if it’s difficult to get enough time with a large group of players during a condensed offseason)
“No. (Head) Coach (Jeff) Fisher gives us a lot of time on teams. I think we have a good amount of practice time. We go pretty high speed, not a lot of reps, everybody gets a chance. We’ve got meeting times. I know the rules have changed, but it doesn’t feel like it’s different maybe because Coach Fisher has a good emphasis on teams. It’s important to him and we’ve got all the time we need to get whatever we got done.”
(On K Greg Zuerlein’s performance last season)
“We kick twice a week during the OTAs. He just didn’t do it today. I think he was 26-of-28, made about 13 in a row, missed two, and then made 13 in a row. If that’s right I’m not sure. The other thing too, the last three games of the season I think every kickoff he hit was out of the end zone. So from his first year to his second year, he got stronger this past year, I think, as the season went on compared to the first year where maybe he kind of got overused and it was a long year and maybe he weakened. A mature guy going into his third year, building as the season gets going and improving as the season goes on, I would expect him to do that again. I was proud of him last year.”
(On what he thinks about the preseason experiment to move the extra point)
“I think in the second preseason game they’re going line of scrimmage to 20 (yard-line) so that would be a 38-yard field goal for just about every team. I think it’s great. I’d imagine our percentage wouldn’t change from the 38-yard line compared to a 20-yarder. But I’m sure it will for a lot of teams, well not a lot, but enough to maybe make a difference. I think it’s fun, you know, try it.”
Rams Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer – Post-Practice – June 17, 2014
(On how the offense looks)
“We’re doing good. We’re seven installations in, I think, and guys are doing good. Lucky things is, we’ve got some new faces but most of them have heard it for the second or third year – that certainly helps. Big thing for us is we’re trying to create competition at all spots. You’ll see different guys working with the 1s. Obviously, the more competition you create across the board, the better you will be.”
(On if this is the second time they have installed the offense this season)
“Yeah, we did some in the phase two that we had. So they’ve heard it for probably the second time. They’ll hear it again in training camp.”
(On competition at running back)
“Well right now, competition is for who’s the starter. We’re just going to let them all roll and see what happens. You saw some guys that worked with the young guys today. Zac’s (Stacy) obviously a really, really good player, but we’re going to create competition for all the guys. That’s a long way off, but we know we have a good stable group of backs and they all have different skill sets, which we’ll try to use throughout the course of the year.”
(On RB Isaiah Pead)
“He’s doing good. He ran with the 1s some today; did a nice job. Obviously again, took a big step up for (Special Teams Coordinator) Coach (John) Fassel on special teams. When a guy does that he’s obviously going to be dressed every day on gameday, which is big thing for us because you don’t get everybody dressed for gameday. He’s really getting better. I think getting comfort in the system helps. Terrific match-up problem for the defense coming out of the backfield and he’s made some big plays for us. Had a nice touchdown down in the boundary today in match-up with (LB) James (Laurinaitis).”
(On if Stacy is not guaranteed the starting job)
“No, not at all. We’re just trying to create competition. (QB) Sam Bradford is going to compete. That’s what we’re trying to do and whoever wins the job, wins the job. But I expect to see multiple guys carry the football.”
(On OL Greg Robinson settling into the guard position)
“I think it’s going to be an adjustment. He’s doing good. New system, new position. He certainly has some help around him with Scott (Wells) and those guys able to talk to him, but it’s an adjustment and it’s going to take a little time. You can see out there how naturally talented he is, how strong he is, how athletic he is, but there’s been some growing pains and there will be.”
(On how much flexibility having guards like Robinson and Rodger Saffold helps with the run game)
“Well, I think we’ve always done stuff with pulling people – that won’t change. You can see maybe a little bit more perimeter stuff where we get guys out on the edge and stuff like that. But again, for us it helps in a lot of regards, not just the running game, but it firms up the pocket inside for the quarterbacks and it’s nice to have those big guys in there that can both get on the perimeter and be athletic, but yet also stone a guy on the line of scrimmage.”
(On the addition of WR Kenny Britt)
“He’s doing a great job. Still learning the system. It’s been a little different for him, but each day he makes one or two big plays. It’s kind of a big-man’s game, that’s what it’s gone to. Very, very pleased with what he’s done so far.”
(On WR Brian Quick)
“I’ll tell you what, probably the most improved player I’ve seen is Brian Quick. He’s doing a great job. Another guy that we’re giving an opportunity to. He’s competing for playing time. He’s made the most of his opportunities. He started today. Again, just moving guys around, in and out of the lineup, trying to create competition and he’s stepped up and again – like Kenny – and made a lot of big plays for us.”
(On QB Sam Bradford)
“It’s nice to see him out here, number one. He obviously has the system down. He’s a little rusty. He’s missed some throws that he’d like to have back. But everything that he’s getting a chance to go through, just working his reads, finding the checkdowns and throwing to the new guys has been big for him. All of this stuff for him really has been bonus. We weren’t sure how much of this stuff he’d get. The fact that he’s been out here and getting work has been good for us.”
(On if they have worked Bradford every other day)
“Yeah, we’re moving things around. It all depends. We just kind of got him on a count of what we want to get done. He feels really, really good. It’s good for him to shake the cobwebs off. He wants to be perfect out here and that’s not going to happen right now. I think where I’ve seen him grow the most is a leadership role.”
(On the difference in WR Tavon Austin from his rookie year to this year)
“Another exciting player. Moving him around to a lot of different spots. You’ll see us hand him the ball, doing some different things. He’s playing so much faster just because he knows what we’re doing. He has the system down cold. Some of the protections that he struggled with last year…when they bring people off his face, he knows what to do now and that certainly helps. But, he had a really good OTA.”
(On if he has noticed a change in the defense in terms of intensity)
“They create a lot of problems I know that. I wouldn’t say, I mean, our guys always worked hard. It starts up front with the defensive line, they’re always prepared to block. (DT) Aaron Donald has my vote for rookie of the year already. He’s a really good player. In terms of more intense, no. But certainly they create a lot of problems, which is great for us. We get frustrated from time to time, but that’s how we get better.”
(On how Bradford has displayed more of a leadership role)
“I see him working the relationships and talking to guys. When he’s not getting reps, you see him kind of sharing his vision of what he sees and it’s great. I don’t have to watch over him anymore, I know he’s going to be coaching it the way we want it. He’s done a good job. We’re still a young team. There’s still a lot of young guys that don’t know exactly what we’re thinking, so it’s been fun to watch him grab those guys and coach them up.”
(On if he has coached against Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams)
“Yeah, in New Orleans we did and then, of course last year in Tennessee. He was certainly very involved. They just do a lot of good things. Very creative, aggressive. We’ve gotten the chance to throw over their head a little bit, but they do a really good job. They create a lot of problems. It all comes out of the same fronts. It just gives you problems.”
(On if Coach Williams is crazy)
“I don’t think so. I think he’s a great football coach.”
(On how tough it is to evaluate protections)
“Without pads, it’s really hard. When you’re practicing out here, a guy goes a little bit different tempo than someone else – whether its offense or defense – it makes it a little bit hard. We’ll have plenty of time when the pads get on to truly find out which of these guys can do it. They’re all willing to, but there’s certainly a fundamental and technique that goes to it in terms of how you close on a guy, how you set, how you strike and all that stuff. They know who to block right now, now it’s going to come up in training camp and preseason – can they block the guy that’s coming?”
(On if the playbook is much different this year)
“Not really; some wrinkles. Some things we looked at and studied and said, ‘Hey, this wasn’t very good.’ We’ve eliminated some things. Tried to simplify some things for the guys. The big goal has been to play faster, not in terms of the play clock or anything, but just attacking the defense faster. We’ve simplified some things and just addressed some things that maybe we weren’t very good at and tried to get rid of the stuff that was kind of an afterthought, that hey you really don’t need to cloud their mind with it and so that’s been good for those guys.”
(On if QB Shaun Hill has been pretty good at picking up the playbook)
“He’s done a real nice job. Obviously, he and (Quarterbacks) Coach (Frank) Cignetti go way back. Real diligent worker. He’s been getting a lot of reps out here, which is good. I think he knows the competition is there. Austin Davis and Garrett Gilbert are doing a good job as well.”
Rams Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams – Post-Practice – June 17, 2014
(Opening Statement)
“Great temperature, 114 heat index. That was another great thing for us to get through before training camp. I think (Head Coach) Jeff (Fisher) has done a great job on how he’s brought these rookies in, got them acclimated to the vets and stuff, and then all of us getting used to each other. This was just one more building block and you need this before you get into training camp because we’re going to wish for mild days like this once we get into August in the Midwest.”
“I can’t tell you guy I happy I am to be back in Missouri and how happy I am to be back in St. Louis with a good group of guys to coach, a good group of guys to coach with. It’s a lot of fun. Being out here on the grass, getting into the actual practices and getting into the competitions makes us even happier than we can get, than I can ever get. I’m very happy to do that.”
(On what kind of feel he has for the players at this point)
“That’s a great question in respect to...until you get out on the field and see how they battle through stresses and battle through communications and stuff, the film can tell you a lot but you’ve got to go through these things during these times of practices. We try to turn the practices into harder things, harder simulations than games. I believe in the organized chaos theory of practices being very, very hard to communicate, fighting through with reps and all that kind of stuff so that when they get to the games, it’s pretty routine. It’s very simple. This has been a learning curve for them and really been a learning curve for me because I’ve got to try to learn each and every one of them - the veterans, too. It’s a good group. They’ve responded well and I’m excited about taking the next step into training camp once we’ve finished up these next two practices.”
(On if he had to get on the field with the defense before he knew what he had personnel wise)
“Until I’m out there with them, I really don’t get a good feel of, ‘How do you maximize the personnel?’ I think the best coaches in the league – and I’ve always been able to do some of these things is – how do you maximize the strengths of each and every guy. Everybody’s got weaknesses – you, me, them, all of us do – and everybody has strengths. That’s why we play so many packages of people. We’re going to package to situations, package to personnel the other team is bringing on the field and then package to our strengths. It’s a young group of guys but it’s fun to see them have tremendous strengths that I didn’t know about until I got out here and had a chance to compete with them.”
(On if the Rams are as talented on defense as other groups he’s worked with)
“I would say that there’s an awful lot of talent on this defense. We’re all young and we’re still trying to get on the same page, but there’s a good group of guys out there, yeah.”
(On if having former Saints LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar in St. Louis has been helpful)
“I think it’s good to have him going along behind the scenes, in the locker room and saying I’m not as crazy as everybody thinks I am. You know, it’s funny because you take a look at the intern coaches that are here, two of the three intern coaches played for me in Mike Peterson and Pierson Prioleau. Pierson Prioleau was that guy for me when I took him at Buffalo, I took him with the Redskins, I took him to Jacksonville and I took him to the Saints. His question was, ‘How come it took you four teams to win a Super Bowl?’ So all of the sudden finding the right spot. He was always around in that locker room to answer questions that really coaches hadn’t come up with yet and really like, ‘Is he serious? Is he really serious?’ Jo-Lonn can do that. He does a great job with that, so it’s important, yeah.”
(On where LB Mike Peterson played under Williams)
“I had him in Jacksonville. He does a great job. He’s one of the smartest football players I’ve ever had the chance to coach. Very, very intelligent.”
(On what he means by practice being ‘organized chaos’)
“We constantly are throwing things out at them that we don’t even talk about in the meetings because we want to see them battle through stress. Everybody can calm themselves through relaxed states of mind and relaxed walk-thrus and stuff. You have time to second-guess things, you have time to get back on the same page. But you can’t fake who you are under stress, and that’s who the games are. The games in the National Football League on Sundays and Monday nights and Thursday nights – you’re under stress. So how do we do that in the practices from a communications standpoint? Maybe not physically, but from a communications standpoint, we try to put them through those stressful conditions so that they’ll battle themselves out. All good defenses have great vocal, loud, talking communication. It’s amazing from practice 1 now up here to practice 8 how far we’ve come with that. We still have light years to go, and you don’t get that until you get through the training camp and start getting into the preseason games and get into some heated games that at the end of the games you’ve got to communicate through, too. It’s still a process.”
(On if the organized chaos is what he means when he talks about how practices will be different with him running the defense)
“Practices will be different, yeah, and I am different. I’m different to everybody here and I’m different to Jeff. It’s been 14 years since Jeff and I worked together. He still does a great job, and I’ve evolved a long ways from where we were together before. So now there’s even an acclimation that he and I go through along with the team. But it’s been fun. We’ve still got a long ways to go, but we’ve gotten an awful lot done in this new agreement of how you have to have the phase 1, phase 2, phase 3. Really, we have more time with them now than we ever did. When I started back – what, 25-30 years ago and started doing this – you had two, three-day minicamps and that’s all. Didn’t have an offseason program. Didn’t have anything. All of the sudden now you’ve got to get it ready to go. They’re going to need a break from me, I’m going to need a break from them. I’ve had them for nine weeks of some format. I’ve been real proud of how they responded. You don’t see them in the meetings either. In the meeting rooms...they’ve been doing a great job in the meeting rooms. Their attention to detail, the projects that we’ve been doing on getting up to speed, they’ve been doing a really good job. It’s just a process, and the next step will be training camp.”
(On if it’s an understatement to say that he’s excited)
“I’m excited. I’m happiest on the field. I’m happiest out here. I’m happiest competing. In the meeting room, it’s good too, when the players are around. In the offseason when the players aren’t around and the coaches have to suffer through me...they were so happy when the players got here because they got a break too because now I can start stressing the players instead of stressing the coaches. But it is fun. This is where I’m happiest. Again, in the state of Missouri, back in my home state, here in St. Louis, I can’t tell you how happy I am. This is a good group of guys to be with.”
(On what it will be like to face the Saints in the preseason opener)
“I know the personnel. I have a tremendous respect for them and all that kind of stuff. There’s still a few guys around there that were there when I was there. It will be a fun matchup. It’s a process for them, too, as they step into it. They’ve got a lot of new faces. We’ve got a lot of new faces. It’ll be fun. It’ll be fun to see a lot of those guys.”
(On when and how he relaxes)
“I relax being around my kids, being around these guys off the field. I try to hunt and fish. I haven’t had time to do that. I don’t know if you guys know, I was off a year or two ago, so I had plenty of time to do all of those things. I’ve been here at the office. I’ve been working Saturdays and Sundays. I’ve been working late at nights just because there’s a lot to get caught up and the buck stops with me. Jeff’s brought me back to do those things and it’s fun. To see how far this staff has come with the things we’ve been able to get done. When I put up the projects on the board when I first got here, there was 101 projects and they said there’s no way we could get done with that before training camp. We’re already done. We’ve already got those things done and we’ve been covering all those things and we’ve learned a bunch from them. It’s a fun time. We’ve got two practices left.”
(On how difficult it was to be away from football in 2012)
“Those are just things you have to do. It’s a growing process. What I did was I made a pledge to myself to be stronger, better, wiser and tougher when I came back. This is fun. Last year was really good. Now this year will be even better.”
(On what sorts of things were on his to do list when he arrived in St. Louis in February)
“There are a lot of things from situational defenses to projects to scouting to everything that goes on. There’s an awful lot of things that have to be done if you’re going to be in the top of our profession. We’re looking to move up the ranks. We don’t want to be fourth in the NFC West. This is a tough division. We’ve got a lot of things we’ve got to accomplish. This is a really, really good division. It’s a fun division to be in. We had to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. We’ve come a long ways, but again, it’s a process and training camp will be the next step.”
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