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Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – News Conference – October 14, 2013
(On why RB Zac Stacy has had success gaining yards after contact)
“He’s a strong, powerful runner. He’s got good vision and has got that low center of gravity. He’s got excellent lower body strength. It was good to see him…the offensive line did a nice job for him yesterday in a limited number of opportunities. It was good to see the extra yards.”
(On if he wanted to get a look at the other running backs over the course of the first four games before naming Stacy the starter)
“No. Obviously, we started him last week. He played a little bit sparingly. But, we started with Daryl (Richardson), but Daryl had been struggling with the toe. So, we decided that was probably our best option.”
(On if he’s ever had a team score 38 points on 41 plays)
“No. It’s just kind of the way the game went. You watch the coaches’ tape and we have third-and-goal and with eight minutes left to go in the third quarter and the score’s 17-6 or something like that. The next time the offense goes on the field it’s 38-6. As I mentioned yesterday, we actually got word to the offensive players to stay loose on the sideline because it was an extended period of time where they hadn’t been in and I’ve experienced that before where I’ve lost a key player in that situation who did not stay warm on the sideline. So, we’ve got to make sure they were loose because you don’t want to put them in the situation where we get any pulls at the end of the game like that.”
(On if there was any reason why WR Tavon Austin was in for a limited amount of plays)
“No, it’s just the way the game went. We didn’t have a whole lot of plays, didn’t have a lot of opportunities on offense. I’m not concerned about it. He’ll be fine.”
(On if the team is starting to take on his personality)
“I just think it was we didn’t get opportunities early in the season to do that. We tried different personnel groupings early in the season, got behind, and didn’t get to do that. I think we kind of have re-established that over the last couple weeks, which is good. It’s good to see. The activity downfield by the offensive line, the movement of the defensive line, the opposing defensive lines, finishing plays – it’s just good to see. Then of course, defensively, the aggressive nature towards the takeaways and the turnovers has been real good for us. We hope we can continue it.”
(On Texans DE J.J. Watt not recording any statistics)
“He had a hurry I think. The first hurry (QB) Sam (Bradford) slipped a little bit, as did (RG) Harvey (Dahl), but other than that he didn’t have much production there. When that happens other players are productive. There was other production in their defense, but our plan was No. 1 going in, to recognize his ability and his strengths and the fact that he’s an outstanding player, and then try to design an offensive plan where we could either get away from him or not run towards him or get him doubled. I thought the guys executed very well.”
(On if this was DT Michael Brockers’ best game)
“This particular game, yes, was his best game to date as a Ram. He was very, very good. Very productive – run game, pass game, effort, pressure. He was clearly the best tackle on the field yesterday.”
(On offensive red zone production)
“I think one of the things that has helped the red zone production has been our ability to run the football. A number of these opportunities that we’ve taken advantage of have been off of play action, and so we establish the run and now you force the defense to be balanced. We’ve yet, I believe, to score a rushing touchdown this year but that’s coming. But, because we’re running the football a little bit better it’s creating opportunities. Our first touchdown was a good run fake. (TE) Cory (Harkey) did a nice job with his patience and escaping to the flat, so we got people involved and committed to the run but that’s where it’s coming.”
(On if the team is gaining confidence)
“Yeah, they’re better than they were, but they never really lost their confidence. They lost games but they never lost their confidence. They feel OK where they are, but they also know that we have a lot of room to improve. There’s lots of stuff that we can do better on all three phases. Offensively, we didn’t make a lot of mistakes and it carried over from a production standpoint. Defensively, we made numerous mistakes against a good team and we allowed them to cut our defense a number of times and that shouldn’t happen. When that happens against a runner like this and a run game like this, the results are obvious, so we still have a lot of room for improvement.”
(On the team’s red zone defense)
“Well, we were able to do some things in the run game and then create opportunities for them where they needed to throw. Then, when you know that people are going to throw down there, it’s just the opposite of what we’re doing offensively. When you know they’re going to throw, it gives you a chance. With the ends and the production and the rush from the whole defensive line for that matter, there’s not a lot of time to let routes develop. You have to get rid of the football, and that’s one of the reasons (LB) Alec (Ogletree) made a great play because the ball came out a little quick.”
(On QB Sam Bradford’s play)
“Been great. No mistakes. The touchdown to interception ratio is outstanding. He’s managing the game. There’s only two quarterbacks, I think, in the NFC that have more touchdown passes than he and one is (Cowboys QB Tony) Romo and the other’s (Saints QB Drew) Brees. He’s got 13 and they’ve got 14, so he’s coming on. He enjoys what he’s doing. He’s managing the thing and practicing well. His feet are excellent right now in the pocket, so he’s playing well.”
(On if he talked about CB Janoris Jenkins’ decision to return the interception out of the end zone)
“The only thing that was brought up was that it was the end of the game. Normal situations, timing situations, game situations – he stays in. He was just trying to make a play.”
(On if Jenkins made a last minute decision to try to return it)
“He had every intention of taking that ball out. He was just looking for a good place to get out of the end zone, I guess.”
(On why RB Zac Stacy has had success gaining yards after contact)
“He’s a strong, powerful runner. He’s got good vision and has got that low center of gravity. He’s got excellent lower body strength. It was good to see him…the offensive line did a nice job for him yesterday in a limited number of opportunities. It was good to see the extra yards.”
(On if he wanted to get a look at the other running backs over the course of the first four games before naming Stacy the starter)
“No. Obviously, we started him last week. He played a little bit sparingly. But, we started with Daryl (Richardson), but Daryl had been struggling with the toe. So, we decided that was probably our best option.”
(On if he’s ever had a team score 38 points on 41 plays)
“No. It’s just kind of the way the game went. You watch the coaches’ tape and we have third-and-goal and with eight minutes left to go in the third quarter and the score’s 17-6 or something like that. The next time the offense goes on the field it’s 38-6. As I mentioned yesterday, we actually got word to the offensive players to stay loose on the sideline because it was an extended period of time where they hadn’t been in and I’ve experienced that before where I’ve lost a key player in that situation who did not stay warm on the sideline. So, we’ve got to make sure they were loose because you don’t want to put them in the situation where we get any pulls at the end of the game like that.”
(On if there was any reason why WR Tavon Austin was in for a limited amount of plays)
“No, it’s just the way the game went. We didn’t have a whole lot of plays, didn’t have a lot of opportunities on offense. I’m not concerned about it. He’ll be fine.”
(On if the team is starting to take on his personality)
“I just think it was we didn’t get opportunities early in the season to do that. We tried different personnel groupings early in the season, got behind, and didn’t get to do that. I think we kind of have re-established that over the last couple weeks, which is good. It’s good to see. The activity downfield by the offensive line, the movement of the defensive line, the opposing defensive lines, finishing plays – it’s just good to see. Then of course, defensively, the aggressive nature towards the takeaways and the turnovers has been real good for us. We hope we can continue it.”
(On Texans DE J.J. Watt not recording any statistics)
“He had a hurry I think. The first hurry (QB) Sam (Bradford) slipped a little bit, as did (RG) Harvey (Dahl), but other than that he didn’t have much production there. When that happens other players are productive. There was other production in their defense, but our plan was No. 1 going in, to recognize his ability and his strengths and the fact that he’s an outstanding player, and then try to design an offensive plan where we could either get away from him or not run towards him or get him doubled. I thought the guys executed very well.”
(On if this was DT Michael Brockers’ best game)
“This particular game, yes, was his best game to date as a Ram. He was very, very good. Very productive – run game, pass game, effort, pressure. He was clearly the best tackle on the field yesterday.”
(On offensive red zone production)
“I think one of the things that has helped the red zone production has been our ability to run the football. A number of these opportunities that we’ve taken advantage of have been off of play action, and so we establish the run and now you force the defense to be balanced. We’ve yet, I believe, to score a rushing touchdown this year but that’s coming. But, because we’re running the football a little bit better it’s creating opportunities. Our first touchdown was a good run fake. (TE) Cory (Harkey) did a nice job with his patience and escaping to the flat, so we got people involved and committed to the run but that’s where it’s coming.”
(On if the team is gaining confidence)
“Yeah, they’re better than they were, but they never really lost their confidence. They lost games but they never lost their confidence. They feel OK where they are, but they also know that we have a lot of room to improve. There’s lots of stuff that we can do better on all three phases. Offensively, we didn’t make a lot of mistakes and it carried over from a production standpoint. Defensively, we made numerous mistakes against a good team and we allowed them to cut our defense a number of times and that shouldn’t happen. When that happens against a runner like this and a run game like this, the results are obvious, so we still have a lot of room for improvement.”
(On the team’s red zone defense)
“Well, we were able to do some things in the run game and then create opportunities for them where they needed to throw. Then, when you know that people are going to throw down there, it’s just the opposite of what we’re doing offensively. When you know they’re going to throw, it gives you a chance. With the ends and the production and the rush from the whole defensive line for that matter, there’s not a lot of time to let routes develop. You have to get rid of the football, and that’s one of the reasons (LB) Alec (Ogletree) made a great play because the ball came out a little quick.”
(On QB Sam Bradford’s play)
“Been great. No mistakes. The touchdown to interception ratio is outstanding. He’s managing the game. There’s only two quarterbacks, I think, in the NFC that have more touchdown passes than he and one is (Cowboys QB Tony) Romo and the other’s (Saints QB Drew) Brees. He’s got 13 and they’ve got 14, so he’s coming on. He enjoys what he’s doing. He’s managing the thing and practicing well. His feet are excellent right now in the pocket, so he’s playing well.”
(On if he talked about CB Janoris Jenkins’ decision to return the interception out of the end zone)
“The only thing that was brought up was that it was the end of the game. Normal situations, timing situations, game situations – he stays in. He was just trying to make a play.”
(On if Jenkins made a last minute decision to try to return it)
“He had every intention of taking that ball out. He was just looking for a good place to get out of the end zone, I guess.”