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Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – Post-OTA – June 16, 2016
(Opening Remarks)
"So we circled up and I spoke with the club, and with the players in particular. It's kind of interesting how back in March before obviously we had the rookies, but we got everybody together and said hey, 'This is what we're doing.' Because at that point they had no idea what we were doing. They didn't know whether we were going to be here or there or wherever. I just complimented them on, number one, their participation, attendance and commitment because it was the best since we've been here. We had a couple minor, little issues here and there and you guys are familiar with that. But by in large, everybody relocated out here and they committed to this offseason program and they did an amazing job. It's just one more step. We're finished now. The next step, as they know, is off time as is the case with 31 other teams that are going to be out there for four or five weeks, or however long that is. So, their responsibility now is to take care of themselves and continue to train and get ready for training camp. We're going to bring our rookies in a few days earlier. Then the vets will come in and we'll hit the ground running at camp. I'm pleased with the progress with respect to some of the injured players. I don't think there will be anybody that's going to be unable to participate in camp, which is good. I'm pleased with the progress of our young quarterback. I think he's done a nice job here over the last week or so. We've moved him up and he got some reps with the first team, as we've talked about, and I think he's flourished in that environment. He's got a lot of work to do over the summer. I'm sure the guys, on their own, will be getting together and throwing the ball around a little bit, so I feel like we're in a good spot. But again, considering everything that we've gone through, I feel like we accomplished a great deal through the OTAs."
(On still managing to have fun at practice, an example was having the linemen catch punts)
"Our organizational philosophy is such that when they park in the parking lot we want them to come in the building because they're looking forward to coming to work because it's fun. It should be fun, it's a game. But most of the time, you've got to work, you've got to focus, you've got to work. But always good to have light moments like that. I've been doing that for years. It's been a while since the offense has won. They struggle with the punts, but we do a lot of fun things that kind of go unnoticed, but this is kind of a tradition that we have at the end of OTAs."
(On CB Trumaine Johnson's status)
"If we were going to practice tomorrow, he would practice tomorrow. That gives you a sense. He'll be fine. He's running, he's training. He's just struggling with getting the helmet on right now because...the contact, the collision was a free collision and he had a laceration and his jaw got rocked a little bit, but he'll be fine."
(On what pleased him and disappointed him the most during OTAs)
"Nothing disappointed me whatsoever. I was pleased, again as I said, with their commitment, their participation, the attendance, the timeliness, the timeliness of their attendance. It's an adjustment. Most of the guys are no longer living here and they're commuting and everybody's on time. So, they're getting used to that, which is a challenge to them in comparison to where we came from."
(On QB Jared Goff's biggest area of growth from the start of rookie camp through now)
"It's intellectually, it's learning the system. He's got all the physical tools, makes all the throws and does all that, it's just learning the system and then applying it to what we would call a fairly sophisticated defensive system. That's hard. You know, if you just line up and play two coverages then things come along quicker, but that's not our nature. We may adjust a little bit during camp, but I thought that was the biggest thing as far as he was concerned. He started figuring some of the stuff out that we were doing defensively and that's hard to do."
(On if he still thinks it is a possibility that Goff will be the starting quarterback for the season opener)
“I also said that we’ll start him when he’s ready. I didn’t say that to imply that he was going to start the opener. I said, we have options. He can start anywhere from the opener to whenever, and we haven’t changed our philosophy on that. We’re going to coach him to be successful and we’re not going to put him in with a chance to fail – that’s the most important thing in developing a young quarterback.”
(On if he has thought about giving Goff all of the first-team reps in training camp)
“No, we’re going to change it up with the reps. (Q
Case (Keenum) is our starter right now, so Case needs the first-team reps. To give Jared the opportunity - and (Q
Sean (Mannion) for that matter - to run with the first-team, it’s easier to evaluate them. We’ll change things up. Once we get in there and we’ll make some decisions as to who plays when and how much in the preseason.”
(On DE William Hayes when he first came into the league and how he has developed)
“He was very quiet. He walked in and he needed to learn the game, needed to learn how to bring his hands with his feet. He needed to understand the position is very, very technical. It took him awhile. Once he started to get it, along came his personality. He has quite the personality. I remember there were days – now, I never paid him, but I offered to pay him 10 dollars a period to shut-up because he couldn’t shut-up (laughs). He was just talking all the time. He now knows what this means (makes the quiet sign with his finger to his mouth), and he re-focuses. He’s been great for us. He’s a leader. He’s there all the time. And on Sundays, he shows up.”
(On how Hayes’ role developed)
“Well, he was splitting time with (former Rams DE) Chris (Long), and they were fresh. When you get a fresh guy out there that knows what to do and then you add the skill set to it, they’re going to be productive.”
(On what has impressed him about WR Pharoh Cooper)
“’Coop’s got a good feel for the inside stuff. He’s got really strong hands and can run after the catch. In addition to that he’s really picked up the playbook well. I expect that he’ll be a household name at some point because he’s a good player.”
(On if they got what they expected out of their time in Oxnard)
“It was much better than what we expected. Everybody here that’s associated with this football team – we’re talking about the food preparation, the housekeeping and the security – everything was outstanding. You can’t appreciate that any more, I thought they did a great job. As far as the football is concerned – the weather is perfect, attendance was great and it was a great experience for us.”
(On LB Alec Ogletree’s transition to middle linebacker)
“It’s been flawless. He has a really good understanding of the defense. He has the skill set to play the position, as we all know. Making all the adjustments, all the checks and everything. He’s not had any issues at all. And he’s put the time in, too. It’s different. He’s come a long way since his rookie year and he understands how important it is to put the time in, and he has.”
(Opening Remarks)
"So we circled up and I spoke with the club, and with the players in particular. It's kind of interesting how back in March before obviously we had the rookies, but we got everybody together and said hey, 'This is what we're doing.' Because at that point they had no idea what we were doing. They didn't know whether we were going to be here or there or wherever. I just complimented them on, number one, their participation, attendance and commitment because it was the best since we've been here. We had a couple minor, little issues here and there and you guys are familiar with that. But by in large, everybody relocated out here and they committed to this offseason program and they did an amazing job. It's just one more step. We're finished now. The next step, as they know, is off time as is the case with 31 other teams that are going to be out there for four or five weeks, or however long that is. So, their responsibility now is to take care of themselves and continue to train and get ready for training camp. We're going to bring our rookies in a few days earlier. Then the vets will come in and we'll hit the ground running at camp. I'm pleased with the progress with respect to some of the injured players. I don't think there will be anybody that's going to be unable to participate in camp, which is good. I'm pleased with the progress of our young quarterback. I think he's done a nice job here over the last week or so. We've moved him up and he got some reps with the first team, as we've talked about, and I think he's flourished in that environment. He's got a lot of work to do over the summer. I'm sure the guys, on their own, will be getting together and throwing the ball around a little bit, so I feel like we're in a good spot. But again, considering everything that we've gone through, I feel like we accomplished a great deal through the OTAs."
(On still managing to have fun at practice, an example was having the linemen catch punts)
"Our organizational philosophy is such that when they park in the parking lot we want them to come in the building because they're looking forward to coming to work because it's fun. It should be fun, it's a game. But most of the time, you've got to work, you've got to focus, you've got to work. But always good to have light moments like that. I've been doing that for years. It's been a while since the offense has won. They struggle with the punts, but we do a lot of fun things that kind of go unnoticed, but this is kind of a tradition that we have at the end of OTAs."
(On CB Trumaine Johnson's status)
"If we were going to practice tomorrow, he would practice tomorrow. That gives you a sense. He'll be fine. He's running, he's training. He's just struggling with getting the helmet on right now because...the contact, the collision was a free collision and he had a laceration and his jaw got rocked a little bit, but he'll be fine."
(On what pleased him and disappointed him the most during OTAs)
"Nothing disappointed me whatsoever. I was pleased, again as I said, with their commitment, their participation, the attendance, the timeliness, the timeliness of their attendance. It's an adjustment. Most of the guys are no longer living here and they're commuting and everybody's on time. So, they're getting used to that, which is a challenge to them in comparison to where we came from."
(On QB Jared Goff's biggest area of growth from the start of rookie camp through now)
"It's intellectually, it's learning the system. He's got all the physical tools, makes all the throws and does all that, it's just learning the system and then applying it to what we would call a fairly sophisticated defensive system. That's hard. You know, if you just line up and play two coverages then things come along quicker, but that's not our nature. We may adjust a little bit during camp, but I thought that was the biggest thing as far as he was concerned. He started figuring some of the stuff out that we were doing defensively and that's hard to do."
(On if he still thinks it is a possibility that Goff will be the starting quarterback for the season opener)
“I also said that we’ll start him when he’s ready. I didn’t say that to imply that he was going to start the opener. I said, we have options. He can start anywhere from the opener to whenever, and we haven’t changed our philosophy on that. We’re going to coach him to be successful and we’re not going to put him in with a chance to fail – that’s the most important thing in developing a young quarterback.”
(On if he has thought about giving Goff all of the first-team reps in training camp)
“No, we’re going to change it up with the reps. (Q
(On DE William Hayes when he first came into the league and how he has developed)
“He was very quiet. He walked in and he needed to learn the game, needed to learn how to bring his hands with his feet. He needed to understand the position is very, very technical. It took him awhile. Once he started to get it, along came his personality. He has quite the personality. I remember there were days – now, I never paid him, but I offered to pay him 10 dollars a period to shut-up because he couldn’t shut-up (laughs). He was just talking all the time. He now knows what this means (makes the quiet sign with his finger to his mouth), and he re-focuses. He’s been great for us. He’s a leader. He’s there all the time. And on Sundays, he shows up.”
(On how Hayes’ role developed)
“Well, he was splitting time with (former Rams DE) Chris (Long), and they were fresh. When you get a fresh guy out there that knows what to do and then you add the skill set to it, they’re going to be productive.”
(On what has impressed him about WR Pharoh Cooper)
“’Coop’s got a good feel for the inside stuff. He’s got really strong hands and can run after the catch. In addition to that he’s really picked up the playbook well. I expect that he’ll be a household name at some point because he’s a good player.”
(On if they got what they expected out of their time in Oxnard)
“It was much better than what we expected. Everybody here that’s associated with this football team – we’re talking about the food preparation, the housekeeping and the security – everything was outstanding. You can’t appreciate that any more, I thought they did a great job. As far as the football is concerned – the weather is perfect, attendance was great and it was a great experience for us.”
(On LB Alec Ogletree’s transition to middle linebacker)
“It’s been flawless. He has a really good understanding of the defense. He has the skill set to play the position, as we all know. Making all the adjustments, all the checks and everything. He’s not had any issues at all. And he’s put the time in, too. It’s different. He’s come a long way since his rookie year and he understands how important it is to put the time in, and he has.”
