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Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – Post-Practice – September 18, 2013
(On how practice went)
“Practice went well.”
(On RB Daryl Richardson’s status)
“He didn’t practice today, but we should have him back on the field tomorrow. There were a number of players that didn’t practice I think probably could have. Then, there were several that they may not have been able to, and we’ll just see how they are tomorrow.”
(On if they keep in mind that they have a short week after Sunday’s game)
“Yeah, anticipation of both games. Yes. We talked about it with the team late Monday about what our plans were and how we have to not look past the Cowboys, but understand what the challenges are with the short week next week.”
(On his comfort level with T Joe Barksdale)
“Joe’s done fine. He’s gone out there and done fine. He had a very, very productive day last year against the Packers, mainly Clay (Matthews). When he’s gone in he’s done a good job. It’s just a matter of getting the practice reps. You get the practice reps during the week and you prepare and you end up playing better.”
(On when they claimed Barksdale from the Raiders)
“We had coaches involved, our scouts involved, and it was important to us. We felt like from a timing standpoint when he became availability based on the fact he played every position on the offensive line for them at some point, in addition to how Coach (John) Fassel was at Oakland on special teams we had kind of inside information, felt like he’d help us.”
(On if he has a time table for when RT Rodger Saffold will be back)
“No, I don’t.”
(On Saffold having tough luck with injuries)
“Yeah. He’s lucky in this case. He was rolled up, so we’re just going to see how he is. He’s day-to-day.”
(On if he wants to get WR Stedman Bailey more involved on offense)
“From an offensive standpoint, yes of course. He’ll get his opportunity, but he’s really done a nice job on special teams for us right now. He’s playing on two or three of the teams and he’s making plays for us. So, it’s good to see.”
(On how to tighten up the pass defense)
“I think everybody in the league is trying to get a better pass defense. That’s just part of this game, balls going down the field you’ve got to make the play. We’re working technique. We’re working fundamentals. We’re working communication. We’re working scheme. We’re doing everything.”
(On if he anticipated the impact that LB Alec Ogletree is making so far)
“We anticipated that he would improve each week, and he’s done that. I still think he’s got a long way to go, but he’s been productive for us. You see improvement every week since really the first preseason game.”
(On how he prepares the players to play on the road in the Cowboys’ stadium)
“We don’t make a big deal of it, same approach that we took last week with the noise in Atlanta. We didn’t dwell on it. It wasn’t a big deal. The biggest thing for them is taking the field walking through the ‘happy hour’ bar where everybody stands and yells at you. But, you get past that. It’s not a big deal.”
(On their success of the no-huddle)
“I’m very pleased with the production we got out of it. You’re down by 11 against Arizona, we’ve got to catch up. We hurry up. We score points. Same thing last week, we got down by 21 and we had to score points to catch up. You don’t necessarily like to get down, but fortunately we were in a position to make games out of both of them because we uptempoed the offense.”
(On why the game has shifted so dramatically in favor of passing)
“Well, I think you’re putting all the emphasis on the quarterback, number one. Secondly, there’s not enough time. I think our offseason programs are limited. Training camp is limited. So, early in the season offense is going to have their advantage. It’s hard to find safeties. It’s hard to find linebackers. Teams are loading up the skill players on offense, and as a result, scoring is up.”
(On if the running game is less important in the game than it used to be)
“I haven’t looked at the numbers, but there may be fewer carries across the first two weeks than there have been. Everything tends to level out over a course of time. You look around the league and look at team that had leads that tried to protect leads and play keep-away and keep the ball away from an opponent in the 4-minute offense – it didn’t happen. Defense got the stops. Teams are throwing the football, stopping the clock. I think at some point, obviously, you’ve got to have a run game to finish games off.”
(On short passes serving as a replacement to running the ball)
“Yeah, in a normal situation, but in the game situation if the ball hits the ground the clock stops.”
(On how RB Isaiah Pead did in the two-minute offense)
“He did fine. He understands that part of the game. He creates some matchups. He made some catches. He shows he’s got run after catch ability.”
Rams QB Sam Bradford – Post-Practice – September 18, 2013
(On running the no-huddle offense)
“I like it. I think we had success last week with it. Obviously, we were down. They were playing a pretty soft zone (coverage), so it was easy to get a lot of completions. I think it put them on their heels a little bit. Any time you go fast, it just forces them to think quicker than they’re normally having to.”
(On if the no-huddle offense was what made him successful in college and the No. 1 overall pick)
“I wouldn’t go that far. We ran a no-huddle offense in college, but it wasn’t at that tempo most of the time. We obviously had fast multi plays, but for the most part it was just a slowed down no-huddle offense in college.”
(On TE Jared Cook being double teamed against Atlanta and if it was good to see other receivers stepping up to fill the void)
“Absolutely. I think that’s the beauty of this offense and the guys that we have in the system now, is the fact that if people want to focus on one guy, one receiver, it’s going to make it tough to cover everyone else. They can only double so many players out there before everyone else is single (covered). I think that when they do that, we’ve gotten a lot of favorable match-ups, and it gives other guys the opportunity to step up and make plays and guys did last week.”
(On if he would like to get Cook going again)
“Absolutely. Just because people want to double him or focus on him, we’ve still got to find a way to get him the ball and allow him to create plays once the ball gets to him because he’s too good of a player not to get his touches during a game.”
(On what makes the no-huddle offense successful)
“I’m not really sure, to be honest. It might just be early in the year. I think offenses are probably doing some things right now that maybe the defenses haven’t seen or didn’t see in the preseason, so they haven’t had a lot of time to prepare for it. But, to be honest, I don’t really know.”
(On if he is glad to see WR Austin Pettis get back on track)
“I think ‘A.P.’ is as solid a wide receiver as we have on this team. He’s probably the most versatile wide receiver in the fact that he can play every spot on the field. We can put him anywhere and I’ve got the confidence in him. He’s extremely smart. He knows every position. He’s got a great feel for getting open. Last week, I thought he did a great job with his releases at the line of scrimmage taking advantage of the one-on-one match-ups that he was getting. So, it is really nice to see ‘A.P.’ have a game like he did last week, and hopefully we can continue to get him the ball.”
(On how different the Dallas defense is compared to the when they played last season)
“We played them in the preseason last year and it is a little bit different compared to what they’ve done in the past. For the most part, it’s pretty simple. They’re not extremely complex in what they do, but they’re really good at what they do. We’re going to have to be prepared for where they try to disguise things because they are simple, they’ve got to make it look different than what it really is. So, it’s going to be a challenge for us this week to play with our eyes and make sure we’re seeing everything.”
(On if Dallas’ defensive linemen and linebackers are still as good as they’ve been in recent years)
“Yeah, they’re good. I think that’s one of the reasons they do play some of that ‘Tampa’ is the fact that they trust those guys up front to stop the run with a light box. It’s going to be a challenge for us to get our run game going and hopefully force them to come down and bring an extra hat in the box to get our numbers out wide for the passing game.”
(On if the offense needs to establish the run)
“Obviously, I think some of the situations we’ve been in, especially last week kind of dictated…we went away from it just because we were down and we needed to throw the ball. I think our run game, it’s been solid. Obviously with anything, you want to see it improve and hopefully this week we can come out and establish it.”
(On T Joe Barksdale)
“Joe did great. Joe’s been in that situation before. It’s not the first that time he’s had to come into a game off the bench. He was thrown into a similar situation last year. He prepares every week like he’s going to step on the field, so I thought he did a really good job coming in. It’s not easy to step into a game cold like that.”
(On if they’re just scratching the surface of how good the offense can be)
“I hope so. Obviously, the first two weeks we’ve done some good things, but we’ve shot ourselves in the foot multiple times especially early in the game last week. It’ll be interesting to see how good this offense can be if we play four quarters the way we know we’re capable of playing.”
(On what he attributes to the team getting off to a slow start in the first half and turning it around in the second half)
“I don’t know to be honest, and it’s something that we need to figure out because you’re not going to win in this league if you continue to put yourself in holes the way we’ve done the first two weeks. Obviously, we came back the first week and were able to get a win. Last week, we put ourselves in a hole and weren’t able to climb out of it. It’d be nice for us to come out and establish a lead and let our guys on defense really pin their ears back and go to work.”
(On how practice went)
“Practice went well.”
(On RB Daryl Richardson’s status)
“He didn’t practice today, but we should have him back on the field tomorrow. There were a number of players that didn’t practice I think probably could have. Then, there were several that they may not have been able to, and we’ll just see how they are tomorrow.”
(On if they keep in mind that they have a short week after Sunday’s game)
“Yeah, anticipation of both games. Yes. We talked about it with the team late Monday about what our plans were and how we have to not look past the Cowboys, but understand what the challenges are with the short week next week.”
(On his comfort level with T Joe Barksdale)
“Joe’s done fine. He’s gone out there and done fine. He had a very, very productive day last year against the Packers, mainly Clay (Matthews). When he’s gone in he’s done a good job. It’s just a matter of getting the practice reps. You get the practice reps during the week and you prepare and you end up playing better.”
(On when they claimed Barksdale from the Raiders)
“We had coaches involved, our scouts involved, and it was important to us. We felt like from a timing standpoint when he became availability based on the fact he played every position on the offensive line for them at some point, in addition to how Coach (John) Fassel was at Oakland on special teams we had kind of inside information, felt like he’d help us.”
(On if he has a time table for when RT Rodger Saffold will be back)
“No, I don’t.”
(On Saffold having tough luck with injuries)
“Yeah. He’s lucky in this case. He was rolled up, so we’re just going to see how he is. He’s day-to-day.”
(On if he wants to get WR Stedman Bailey more involved on offense)
“From an offensive standpoint, yes of course. He’ll get his opportunity, but he’s really done a nice job on special teams for us right now. He’s playing on two or three of the teams and he’s making plays for us. So, it’s good to see.”
(On how to tighten up the pass defense)
“I think everybody in the league is trying to get a better pass defense. That’s just part of this game, balls going down the field you’ve got to make the play. We’re working technique. We’re working fundamentals. We’re working communication. We’re working scheme. We’re doing everything.”
(On if he anticipated the impact that LB Alec Ogletree is making so far)
“We anticipated that he would improve each week, and he’s done that. I still think he’s got a long way to go, but he’s been productive for us. You see improvement every week since really the first preseason game.”
(On how he prepares the players to play on the road in the Cowboys’ stadium)
“We don’t make a big deal of it, same approach that we took last week with the noise in Atlanta. We didn’t dwell on it. It wasn’t a big deal. The biggest thing for them is taking the field walking through the ‘happy hour’ bar where everybody stands and yells at you. But, you get past that. It’s not a big deal.”
(On their success of the no-huddle)
“I’m very pleased with the production we got out of it. You’re down by 11 against Arizona, we’ve got to catch up. We hurry up. We score points. Same thing last week, we got down by 21 and we had to score points to catch up. You don’t necessarily like to get down, but fortunately we were in a position to make games out of both of them because we uptempoed the offense.”
(On why the game has shifted so dramatically in favor of passing)
“Well, I think you’re putting all the emphasis on the quarterback, number one. Secondly, there’s not enough time. I think our offseason programs are limited. Training camp is limited. So, early in the season offense is going to have their advantage. It’s hard to find safeties. It’s hard to find linebackers. Teams are loading up the skill players on offense, and as a result, scoring is up.”
(On if the running game is less important in the game than it used to be)
“I haven’t looked at the numbers, but there may be fewer carries across the first two weeks than there have been. Everything tends to level out over a course of time. You look around the league and look at team that had leads that tried to protect leads and play keep-away and keep the ball away from an opponent in the 4-minute offense – it didn’t happen. Defense got the stops. Teams are throwing the football, stopping the clock. I think at some point, obviously, you’ve got to have a run game to finish games off.”
(On short passes serving as a replacement to running the ball)
“Yeah, in a normal situation, but in the game situation if the ball hits the ground the clock stops.”
(On how RB Isaiah Pead did in the two-minute offense)
“He did fine. He understands that part of the game. He creates some matchups. He made some catches. He shows he’s got run after catch ability.”
Rams QB Sam Bradford – Post-Practice – September 18, 2013
(On running the no-huddle offense)
“I like it. I think we had success last week with it. Obviously, we were down. They were playing a pretty soft zone (coverage), so it was easy to get a lot of completions. I think it put them on their heels a little bit. Any time you go fast, it just forces them to think quicker than they’re normally having to.”
(On if the no-huddle offense was what made him successful in college and the No. 1 overall pick)
“I wouldn’t go that far. We ran a no-huddle offense in college, but it wasn’t at that tempo most of the time. We obviously had fast multi plays, but for the most part it was just a slowed down no-huddle offense in college.”
(On TE Jared Cook being double teamed against Atlanta and if it was good to see other receivers stepping up to fill the void)
“Absolutely. I think that’s the beauty of this offense and the guys that we have in the system now, is the fact that if people want to focus on one guy, one receiver, it’s going to make it tough to cover everyone else. They can only double so many players out there before everyone else is single (covered). I think that when they do that, we’ve gotten a lot of favorable match-ups, and it gives other guys the opportunity to step up and make plays and guys did last week.”
(On if he would like to get Cook going again)
“Absolutely. Just because people want to double him or focus on him, we’ve still got to find a way to get him the ball and allow him to create plays once the ball gets to him because he’s too good of a player not to get his touches during a game.”
(On what makes the no-huddle offense successful)
“I’m not really sure, to be honest. It might just be early in the year. I think offenses are probably doing some things right now that maybe the defenses haven’t seen or didn’t see in the preseason, so they haven’t had a lot of time to prepare for it. But, to be honest, I don’t really know.”
(On if he is glad to see WR Austin Pettis get back on track)
“I think ‘A.P.’ is as solid a wide receiver as we have on this team. He’s probably the most versatile wide receiver in the fact that he can play every spot on the field. We can put him anywhere and I’ve got the confidence in him. He’s extremely smart. He knows every position. He’s got a great feel for getting open. Last week, I thought he did a great job with his releases at the line of scrimmage taking advantage of the one-on-one match-ups that he was getting. So, it is really nice to see ‘A.P.’ have a game like he did last week, and hopefully we can continue to get him the ball.”
(On how different the Dallas defense is compared to the when they played last season)
“We played them in the preseason last year and it is a little bit different compared to what they’ve done in the past. For the most part, it’s pretty simple. They’re not extremely complex in what they do, but they’re really good at what they do. We’re going to have to be prepared for where they try to disguise things because they are simple, they’ve got to make it look different than what it really is. So, it’s going to be a challenge for us this week to play with our eyes and make sure we’re seeing everything.”
(On if Dallas’ defensive linemen and linebackers are still as good as they’ve been in recent years)
“Yeah, they’re good. I think that’s one of the reasons they do play some of that ‘Tampa’ is the fact that they trust those guys up front to stop the run with a light box. It’s going to be a challenge for us to get our run game going and hopefully force them to come down and bring an extra hat in the box to get our numbers out wide for the passing game.”
(On if the offense needs to establish the run)
“Obviously, I think some of the situations we’ve been in, especially last week kind of dictated…we went away from it just because we were down and we needed to throw the ball. I think our run game, it’s been solid. Obviously with anything, you want to see it improve and hopefully this week we can come out and establish it.”
(On T Joe Barksdale)
“Joe did great. Joe’s been in that situation before. It’s not the first that time he’s had to come into a game off the bench. He was thrown into a similar situation last year. He prepares every week like he’s going to step on the field, so I thought he did a really good job coming in. It’s not easy to step into a game cold like that.”
(On if they’re just scratching the surface of how good the offense can be)
“I hope so. Obviously, the first two weeks we’ve done some good things, but we’ve shot ourselves in the foot multiple times especially early in the game last week. It’ll be interesting to see how good this offense can be if we play four quarters the way we know we’re capable of playing.”
(On what he attributes to the team getting off to a slow start in the first half and turning it around in the second half)
“I don’t know to be honest, and it’s something that we need to figure out because you’re not going to win in this league if you continue to put yourself in holes the way we’ve done the first two weeks. Obviously, we came back the first week and were able to get a win. Last week, we put ourselves in a hole and weren’t able to climb out of it. It’d be nice for us to come out and establish a lead and let our guys on defense really pin their ears back and go to work.”