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Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – Post-Practice – June 5, 2014
(On Thursday’s practice)
“It was good. It was OTA no. 2. We had our first one Tuesday. We backed down a little bit yesterday and got them back out. We got a lot done. By the time things are all said and done, we’ll have everything in before we let them go.”
(On if he had to settle the team down mid-practice)
“Yeah, just let them know that we have some rules we have to abide by and we have to learn to protect each other a little better. It was good. It was very competitive. It started out early. (WR) Kenny (Britt) caught those two deep balls in the 1-on-1s. That kind of got things going, but it was good. It was good to see the offense respond.”
(On QB Sam Bradford sitting out Thursday’s practice)
“Sam will be out, you’ll be able to see him tomorrow. We’re going to have him participate in about half of the OTAs. He’ll probably get five of them in. Tomorrow he’s going to throw two 7-on-7 periods. He threw a 7-on-7 period with the 1s on Tuesday.”
(On how Bradford looked on Tuesday)
“He looked great. He looked really good. He’s throwing the ball well and looked really good. We think it’s smart to keep him out of the traffic right now, the team stuff. But, he’s doing well.”
(On if Bradford is moving around well on the field)
“Moving around great. Yeah, he does everything. He does his role. He does his drops and everything. We’ve got a pitch count on not only his arm but also his drops. He’s doing all the drops and the footwork is really good.”
(On of Bradford is bigger in the upper body)
“Yes, while he’s been rehabbing, he’s spent some extra time on the upper body. I think he thinks he looks pretty good now.”
(On how T Jake Long is progressing from his offseason knee surgery)
“Jake is coming along. He’s doing the individual stuff. Jake’s injury was a little bit later than Sam’s. We expect him back somewhere middle part of training camp.”
(On if Long is on pace to return in time for the season)
“On pace to be ready for the opener, yes.”
(On if he has learned anything about Bradford through the quarterback’s rehab process)
“He started the mental process immediately after the injury, even before the surgery. He knew what he needed to do and he’s handled it very, very well. You noticed during the second half of the season, he was side-by-side with (QB) Kellen (Clemens) and his teammates. He’s worked very, very hard. He’s had no setbacks. He’s now in his third year in the offense. He has an excellent understanding of what we’re doing.”
(On if he thinks Bradford is feeling pressure)
“No, I don’t think he’s feeling any pressure at all. He just wants to win. All this stuff that’s being generated...’this is his year’ and things like that, if you do the projections off of last year, had he stayed healthy, he would have had some very impressive numbers. So, no pressure on Sam. No pressure on anybody. We just...get through the OTAs, get to camp and get ready for the opener.”
(On what fans can expect to see with Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams running the defense)
“We’re going to probably be a little more creative. We hope to create some more problems, different types of problems for offenses. In addition to Gregg running the defense, our defense is significantly better just from a personnel standpoint right now.”
(On Britt)
“He’s a very emotional kid. He’s an emotional receiver. He looks the part and he can make the plays. I was really happy to see him come on. He kept himself in really good shape during the free agency period. He came in, has done a great job inside. He’s had no setbacks, feels great physically. He could potentially return to where he was a very productive receiver.”
(On how good the team’s defense can be)
“Well, we have to be good. We have to be very good to compete in the division, and I think we’ve got a chance to do that. We’re still going to bring some young guys along, but our front’s going to be impressive up front, particularly because of what the guys were able to do the last couple of years. But the depth at the position - we've got 10, 12 guys right now that could make our roster.”
(On how Fisher’s knowledge of Britt helped in making the decision to sign Britt)
“It wasn’t difficult at all. I stayed in touch with Kenny during my year off when he was rehabbing. We spent some time together and I tried to help him get some things behind him. He did. He’s got everything straightened out now.”
(On if he thinks Britt is capable of getting back to being highly productive)
“Yeah, that’s what I said. I think he’s back there physically right now. He’s picked the offense up and has a good feel for what we’re doing.”
(On how he balances working his offensive linemen at guard while also filling Long’s OTA reps at tackle)
“We want to go through OTAs and most of camp with players playing the position they’ll play in the opener. You assume Jake comes back so we’ll just plug someone else in out there.”
(On what competition he’s most looking forward to seeing at OTAs)
“It’s very hard to evaluate the guys up front without pads, but getting them to understand what they need to do and how to do it is important. There’s competition at a lot of the backup spots at the positions. Whether is linebacker or safety or offensive line, defensive line. We created competition over the last three years and now we have to benefit from it.”
(On if he’d be in favor of the NFL establishing a developmental league)
“I’m absolutely, 100 percent in favor of something like that, yes.”
(On if he sees that happening)
“There’s been discussions over the last couple years. I don’t know what direction it’s going, but I think we have a need for it. I think it would be beneficial from a young players’ standpoint. It would be beneficial to go outside if you have to make an outside roster move to get somebody that’s in shape that you can evaluate on film. In addition to that, it would be extremely beneficial for the officiating department, and coaching for that matter.”
(On if he has any predictions for his charity softball game on Sunday)
“It’s the same. (Offensive Coordinator) Coach (Brian) Schottenheimer is already working on his postgame losing speech. That’s how that works. But as far as runs and things like that, I don’t know how much I’m going to win by.”
Rams QB Sam Bradford – Post-Practice – June 5, 2014
(On how he’s feeling)
“Good. I feel really good. Much nicer out here today, too, as opposed to Tuesday when it was about 95 (degrees). But other than that, feeling really good.”
(On how it felt to step on the field to practice the first time)
“It felt great. To be able to come back out here today and actually participate and throw routes, be a part of 7-on-7. After having to sit there and watch everything last year and not being able to be a part of the group, part of the guys, it just felt really good to be back to normal.”
(On if Head Coach Jeff Fisher plans to have him participate in half of the OTAs)
“Yeah, I think Coach plans to allow me to participate in about half of them. I sat down with (Rams Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer) ‘Schotty’ and we kind of look at the different OTAs and what’s going in in each OTA and what we felt was most important and the ones that he thought I needed to be a part of and that I thought I needed to be a part of. That’s kind of our plan right now.”
(On what he can’t do right now)
“You’d have to ask (Rams Head Athletic Trainer Reggie Scott) ‘Regg.’ I can pretty much do anything. Obviously, they’re kind of keeping some of the contact drills or team drills off right now. As far as working out, running, doing all that stuff. I can pretty much do everything.”
(On if his recovery is on schedule)
“You know, Reggie feels really good about where I’m at right now. Everything’s on schedule and I’m feeling good.”
(On if he feels any discomfort or swelling)
“You know, with anything there’s good days and there’s bad days. Even when you’re healthy, you have good days with your arm or bad days with your arm and now it’s kind of the same thing with my knee. I wake up some days and feel great and other days I feel like I’ve had an ACL repair. I’ve never gone through it before, but to be honest, throughout the process I felt really good and felt better than what I anticipated.”
(On if he has been cleared to run full speed)
“I actually have been doing some straight-line running.”
(On if he ever had any doubts about the team’s commitment to him)
“I didn’t. Throughout the end of last year I was in communication with (Rams General Manager) Les (Snead) and Jeff and they made it very clear what their plan was. Throughout the offseason they continued to make that clear. I knew what my position on this team was.”
(On if he was not concerned about the quarterback rumors during the draft)
“Pretty much because I pretty much knew what was going to happen.”
(On how frustrating it was not being able to play a full season consistently in his career)
“Yeah, obviously it’s really frustrating, especially coming in my first year and taking every snap, playing all 16 games. Obviously, that’s the goal and that’s what I would like to get it back to. Unfortunately, you can only control what you can control. Some of those injuries, there’s not really much you can do about them and you’ve got to deal with them the best that you can.”
(On what he wants to prove to himself, his team, and Rams fans this year considering his past with injuries)
“I don’t think the injuries really change anything. My goal is to come out here, get better every day during the offseason, get better every day during training camp and help this team win games. Obviously, as a competitor you want to be out there every day and every week. So, going into the year, I think the goal is to play every down of every week.”
(On how he handled all of the speculation about Johnny Manziel)
“Like I said, I had been in pretty good communication with Les and Jeff and they had made it pretty clear what their intention was, so I really wasn’t too worried.”
(On if Fisher’s statement to fans at the team’s Pre-Draft event stating he was the team’s quarterback, didn’t have special meaning because he was already aware of that)
“Pretty much, but it’s always nice to hear those things.”
(On if it’s nice to have DE Michael Sam take some of the media pressure off of him)
“Absolutely. I figured that’s where you guys would be today.”
(On how much stronger he is in his upper body)
“I’m quite a bit stronger up top and I think it’s really carried over to the field. I just feel like there’s a little more pop on my ball now. I feel fresher. I just feel really good physically right now, especially upper body wise.”
(On the Rams bringing OL Rodger Saffold back in free agency and adding OL Greg Robinson in the draft)
“I was extremely excited when we got Rodger back. Me and him came in together and he’s been one of the constants since I’ve been here. He’s obviously a great player, especially with the things he was able to do for us last year, moving inside and showing that he can play guard. So when it looked like we were going to lose him, that was kind of tough to take, but fortunately things worked out…Then obviously bringing in Greg, he’s a big man. It’s great to have him on the field right now going through this offseason here where he’s got to learn the offense. I feel really good about those two guys.”
(On if the rehab process has impacted what he’d normally do with the receivers early in the spring)
“I feel pretty good about where our chemistry is. Obviously, it probably has limited the amount of times that we’ve been able to get on the field together. I think that’s why me and Schotty got together a few weeks ago and talked about what we really needed to work on and making sure that I’m a part of those days.”
(On his knowledge of the offense as he enters his third year in the system)
“I feel extremely comfortable in this offense. Obviously, you’re constantly tweaking things and changing things. Whether it be how we read certain plays, new concepts, new protections. I’m still learning in that sense, but as far as our base offense goes, I feel really good with everything.”
(On his early impressions of WR Kenny Britt)
“Obviously, I think you guys saw it today. He’s a big, explosive wide receiver who can make plays down the field. He’s looked good in his time here. I think just watching him and the energy that he comes onto the field with every day has been great. Not only for the offense, but for that wide receiving corps in general. I just feel like he brings kind of a presence and an energy that hasn’t been there in the past.”
(On the confidence the coaching staff has in the team’s young receivers)
“Absolutely, and so do I. I think we have a very talented wide receiving corps. Obviously, they’re still very young. You take Kenny out of there and I think A.P. (Austin Pettis) is still the oldest receiver going into his fourth year. They’re a young group but they do have some experience and I really look for them to make a big jump this year.”
(On Thursday’s practice)
“It was good. It was OTA no. 2. We had our first one Tuesday. We backed down a little bit yesterday and got them back out. We got a lot done. By the time things are all said and done, we’ll have everything in before we let them go.”
(On if he had to settle the team down mid-practice)
“Yeah, just let them know that we have some rules we have to abide by and we have to learn to protect each other a little better. It was good. It was very competitive. It started out early. (WR) Kenny (Britt) caught those two deep balls in the 1-on-1s. That kind of got things going, but it was good. It was good to see the offense respond.”
(On QB Sam Bradford sitting out Thursday’s practice)
“Sam will be out, you’ll be able to see him tomorrow. We’re going to have him participate in about half of the OTAs. He’ll probably get five of them in. Tomorrow he’s going to throw two 7-on-7 periods. He threw a 7-on-7 period with the 1s on Tuesday.”
(On how Bradford looked on Tuesday)
“He looked great. He looked really good. He’s throwing the ball well and looked really good. We think it’s smart to keep him out of the traffic right now, the team stuff. But, he’s doing well.”
(On if Bradford is moving around well on the field)
“Moving around great. Yeah, he does everything. He does his role. He does his drops and everything. We’ve got a pitch count on not only his arm but also his drops. He’s doing all the drops and the footwork is really good.”
(On of Bradford is bigger in the upper body)
“Yes, while he’s been rehabbing, he’s spent some extra time on the upper body. I think he thinks he looks pretty good now.”
(On how T Jake Long is progressing from his offseason knee surgery)
“Jake is coming along. He’s doing the individual stuff. Jake’s injury was a little bit later than Sam’s. We expect him back somewhere middle part of training camp.”
(On if Long is on pace to return in time for the season)
“On pace to be ready for the opener, yes.”
(On if he has learned anything about Bradford through the quarterback’s rehab process)
“He started the mental process immediately after the injury, even before the surgery. He knew what he needed to do and he’s handled it very, very well. You noticed during the second half of the season, he was side-by-side with (QB) Kellen (Clemens) and his teammates. He’s worked very, very hard. He’s had no setbacks. He’s now in his third year in the offense. He has an excellent understanding of what we’re doing.”
(On if he thinks Bradford is feeling pressure)
“No, I don’t think he’s feeling any pressure at all. He just wants to win. All this stuff that’s being generated...’this is his year’ and things like that, if you do the projections off of last year, had he stayed healthy, he would have had some very impressive numbers. So, no pressure on Sam. No pressure on anybody. We just...get through the OTAs, get to camp and get ready for the opener.”
(On what fans can expect to see with Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams running the defense)
“We’re going to probably be a little more creative. We hope to create some more problems, different types of problems for offenses. In addition to Gregg running the defense, our defense is significantly better just from a personnel standpoint right now.”
(On Britt)
“He’s a very emotional kid. He’s an emotional receiver. He looks the part and he can make the plays. I was really happy to see him come on. He kept himself in really good shape during the free agency period. He came in, has done a great job inside. He’s had no setbacks, feels great physically. He could potentially return to where he was a very productive receiver.”
(On how good the team’s defense can be)
“Well, we have to be good. We have to be very good to compete in the division, and I think we’ve got a chance to do that. We’re still going to bring some young guys along, but our front’s going to be impressive up front, particularly because of what the guys were able to do the last couple of years. But the depth at the position - we've got 10, 12 guys right now that could make our roster.”
(On how Fisher’s knowledge of Britt helped in making the decision to sign Britt)
“It wasn’t difficult at all. I stayed in touch with Kenny during my year off when he was rehabbing. We spent some time together and I tried to help him get some things behind him. He did. He’s got everything straightened out now.”
(On if he thinks Britt is capable of getting back to being highly productive)
“Yeah, that’s what I said. I think he’s back there physically right now. He’s picked the offense up and has a good feel for what we’re doing.”
(On how he balances working his offensive linemen at guard while also filling Long’s OTA reps at tackle)
“We want to go through OTAs and most of camp with players playing the position they’ll play in the opener. You assume Jake comes back so we’ll just plug someone else in out there.”
(On what competition he’s most looking forward to seeing at OTAs)
“It’s very hard to evaluate the guys up front without pads, but getting them to understand what they need to do and how to do it is important. There’s competition at a lot of the backup spots at the positions. Whether is linebacker or safety or offensive line, defensive line. We created competition over the last three years and now we have to benefit from it.”
(On if he’d be in favor of the NFL establishing a developmental league)
“I’m absolutely, 100 percent in favor of something like that, yes.”
(On if he sees that happening)
“There’s been discussions over the last couple years. I don’t know what direction it’s going, but I think we have a need for it. I think it would be beneficial from a young players’ standpoint. It would be beneficial to go outside if you have to make an outside roster move to get somebody that’s in shape that you can evaluate on film. In addition to that, it would be extremely beneficial for the officiating department, and coaching for that matter.”
(On if he has any predictions for his charity softball game on Sunday)
“It’s the same. (Offensive Coordinator) Coach (Brian) Schottenheimer is already working on his postgame losing speech. That’s how that works. But as far as runs and things like that, I don’t know how much I’m going to win by.”
Rams QB Sam Bradford – Post-Practice – June 5, 2014
(On how he’s feeling)
“Good. I feel really good. Much nicer out here today, too, as opposed to Tuesday when it was about 95 (degrees). But other than that, feeling really good.”
(On how it felt to step on the field to practice the first time)
“It felt great. To be able to come back out here today and actually participate and throw routes, be a part of 7-on-7. After having to sit there and watch everything last year and not being able to be a part of the group, part of the guys, it just felt really good to be back to normal.”
(On if Head Coach Jeff Fisher plans to have him participate in half of the OTAs)
“Yeah, I think Coach plans to allow me to participate in about half of them. I sat down with (Rams Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer) ‘Schotty’ and we kind of look at the different OTAs and what’s going in in each OTA and what we felt was most important and the ones that he thought I needed to be a part of and that I thought I needed to be a part of. That’s kind of our plan right now.”
(On what he can’t do right now)
“You’d have to ask (Rams Head Athletic Trainer Reggie Scott) ‘Regg.’ I can pretty much do anything. Obviously, they’re kind of keeping some of the contact drills or team drills off right now. As far as working out, running, doing all that stuff. I can pretty much do everything.”
(On if his recovery is on schedule)
“You know, Reggie feels really good about where I’m at right now. Everything’s on schedule and I’m feeling good.”
(On if he feels any discomfort or swelling)
“You know, with anything there’s good days and there’s bad days. Even when you’re healthy, you have good days with your arm or bad days with your arm and now it’s kind of the same thing with my knee. I wake up some days and feel great and other days I feel like I’ve had an ACL repair. I’ve never gone through it before, but to be honest, throughout the process I felt really good and felt better than what I anticipated.”
(On if he has been cleared to run full speed)
“I actually have been doing some straight-line running.”
(On if he ever had any doubts about the team’s commitment to him)
“I didn’t. Throughout the end of last year I was in communication with (Rams General Manager) Les (Snead) and Jeff and they made it very clear what their plan was. Throughout the offseason they continued to make that clear. I knew what my position on this team was.”
(On if he was not concerned about the quarterback rumors during the draft)
“Pretty much because I pretty much knew what was going to happen.”
(On how frustrating it was not being able to play a full season consistently in his career)
“Yeah, obviously it’s really frustrating, especially coming in my first year and taking every snap, playing all 16 games. Obviously, that’s the goal and that’s what I would like to get it back to. Unfortunately, you can only control what you can control. Some of those injuries, there’s not really much you can do about them and you’ve got to deal with them the best that you can.”
(On what he wants to prove to himself, his team, and Rams fans this year considering his past with injuries)
“I don’t think the injuries really change anything. My goal is to come out here, get better every day during the offseason, get better every day during training camp and help this team win games. Obviously, as a competitor you want to be out there every day and every week. So, going into the year, I think the goal is to play every down of every week.”
(On how he handled all of the speculation about Johnny Manziel)
“Like I said, I had been in pretty good communication with Les and Jeff and they had made it pretty clear what their intention was, so I really wasn’t too worried.”
(On if Fisher’s statement to fans at the team’s Pre-Draft event stating he was the team’s quarterback, didn’t have special meaning because he was already aware of that)
“Pretty much, but it’s always nice to hear those things.”
(On if it’s nice to have DE Michael Sam take some of the media pressure off of him)
“Absolutely. I figured that’s where you guys would be today.”
(On how much stronger he is in his upper body)
“I’m quite a bit stronger up top and I think it’s really carried over to the field. I just feel like there’s a little more pop on my ball now. I feel fresher. I just feel really good physically right now, especially upper body wise.”
(On the Rams bringing OL Rodger Saffold back in free agency and adding OL Greg Robinson in the draft)
“I was extremely excited when we got Rodger back. Me and him came in together and he’s been one of the constants since I’ve been here. He’s obviously a great player, especially with the things he was able to do for us last year, moving inside and showing that he can play guard. So when it looked like we were going to lose him, that was kind of tough to take, but fortunately things worked out…Then obviously bringing in Greg, he’s a big man. It’s great to have him on the field right now going through this offseason here where he’s got to learn the offense. I feel really good about those two guys.”
(On if the rehab process has impacted what he’d normally do with the receivers early in the spring)
“I feel pretty good about where our chemistry is. Obviously, it probably has limited the amount of times that we’ve been able to get on the field together. I think that’s why me and Schotty got together a few weeks ago and talked about what we really needed to work on and making sure that I’m a part of those days.”
(On his knowledge of the offense as he enters his third year in the system)
“I feel extremely comfortable in this offense. Obviously, you’re constantly tweaking things and changing things. Whether it be how we read certain plays, new concepts, new protections. I’m still learning in that sense, but as far as our base offense goes, I feel really good with everything.”
(On his early impressions of WR Kenny Britt)
“Obviously, I think you guys saw it today. He’s a big, explosive wide receiver who can make plays down the field. He’s looked good in his time here. I think just watching him and the energy that he comes onto the field with every day has been great. Not only for the offense, but for that wide receiving corps in general. I just feel like he brings kind of a presence and an energy that hasn’t been there in the past.”
(On the confidence the coaching staff has in the team’s young receivers)
“Absolutely, and so do I. I think we have a very talented wide receiving corps. Obviously, they’re still very young. You take Kenny out of there and I think A.P. (Austin Pettis) is still the oldest receiver going into his fourth year. They’re a young group but they do have some experience and I really look for them to make a big jump this year.”
