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Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – Post-Practice – October 16, 2013
(On the productive running game as of late)
“Well, we’re going to just hope to continue with it. We got things going the first week and then you don’t know how things are going to go Week 2 and it did, it happened again. So, our challenge this week, however, is a little different than the last two from the standpoint that this defense is very good against the run. This defense is very well-coached, very aggressive, not giving up any points. They have not been scored upon in the first quarter this year so we’ll know. We’ll find out after this week.”
(On Carolina QB Cam Newton)
“Tremendous athlete, great arm strength and accuracy and mobility. He extends plays when he needs to with his legs, and then they call plays to use his legs. He’s playing really well. Got a very talented group around him – both tight ends, obviously the running back is a good player, (FB Mike) Tolbert now has been a great addition to them for the power game. You have to defend everything. Our defense is going to be very busy this week.”
(On Carolina WR Steve Smith being the ‘old man’ of the receiving corps)
“He’s not playing like an old man right now. He wants the ball and he can get behind you and he’s still blocking like he always has. He’s fun to watch on tape. He’s really quite a competitor.”
(On the tight ends accounting for half the Rams’ touchdowns this year)
“It helps. What’s been helpful has been our run game, but we have different options when they’re on the field and it all starts with the run action and things. So, as we mentioned, we’d like to hand it off to a back, have him score a touchdown before too long. The tight ends have been very productive for us down there.”
(On what kind of teammate Carolina Head Coach Ron Rivera was and what kind of a coach he is)
“Ron’s been successful wherever he’s been. He moved around a little bit, did a great job with his defenses down in San Diego and a great teammate. He’s one of those guys that loves the game and is dedicated to it and communicates very well. He’s got a good football team down there.”
(On if defensive touchdowns are contagious)
“I hope that they continue. Two weeks in a row now, but the idea is to get the ball in the end zone. If you get your hands on it, put it in the end zone. They’re not turning the ball over very much. They’re getting turnovers. They’ve got 11 interceptions. I think they lead the league in interceptions, so if we protect it and get it back, we’ll have a chance.”
(On if Rivera’s defense is reminiscent of the late Jim Johnson’s schemes)
“Ron’s evolved over the years. He’s not doing as much pressure because Jim was a real big pressure guy, and they’ve got a four-man rush down there right now, they don’t need to pressure. Minnesota had a hard time protecting, as have other teams against this front.”
(On LB Alec Ogletree leading the team in tackles)
“He’s on the field as well. He’s on the field every snap and he’s not coming off. He’s running sideline to sideline and making a lot of plays for us.”
(On how quickly Ogletree has picked up the defense)
“Well, again he has still not seen everything, and he’s seeing things for the first time and will continue to do so. But, I think his interception on Sunday was evident of he’s preparing, studying. He anticipated that route and made that play.”
(On if he is looking forward to seeing Panthers S Quintin Mikell)
“Yeah, he was great. He was a great teammate. I was only with him for a year, but he played very well, very productive for us. He’s helping their defense as well, too.”
(On T Rodger Saffold)
“He practiced today – full practice today.”
Rams QB Sam Bradford – Post-Practice – October 16, 2013
(On the challenges the Carolina defense presents)
“You turn on the tape and they’re a really good defense. You look at them, especially that front seven – they’re very disruptive. They’re very active. Their defensive line does a great job eating up blockers so their linebackers can make plays. And they’ve really gotten after most of the people that they’ve played this year, so, just like last week, we’re going into this game with the mindset that this is going to be one of the toughest challenges we’ve seen as an offense this year.”
(On how much being to establish the run helps going up against a good defense)
“It’s huge. You’ve seen the past two weeks just having some balance between the run game and the pass game, I think it’s led us to be more efficient. We’ve kept defenses off balance with what we’re doing. I think it’s been really good for all aspects of our game. When you play a defense that’s as good as Carolina, you’ve got to be able to run the football and you’ve got to be able to keep them off balance. The biggest thing for us is last week playing Minnesota they did a pretty good job stuffing the run on first down, got them behind the chains. For us to be successful this week, if we do run the ball on first down, they’ve got to be positive runs and we’ve got to play from ahead of the sticks.”
(On being able to use play-action passes in the red zone)
“When you run the ball as well as we were running it against Houston last week, they’ve got to respect the run especially once you get there tight to the goal line. Our guys up front did a great job selling those actions and then the tight ends were wide open for pretty easy touchdowns.”
(On if last week was the most efficient their offense has been since he’s been here)
“Yeah, you look at it last week, I love the balance. I really think through the third quarter, if you look at it, it was probably a 50/50 mix of run/pass. And I think when we’re able to do that and we’re running the ball effectively, I think that’s when this offense is at its best. I love the balance and I love the fact that those guys up front are opening holes and our backs are running hard right now.”
(On what it does for the morale of the room when they see RB Zac Stacy run over defensive players on tape)
“It’s huge. We saw a clip today in a team meeting of him running over (Texans LB Brian) Cushing and him running over (Texans S) Ed Reed, and I think that just gets everyone fired up. Gives us kind of a spark to go out there this week and do it again this week because it’s fun. I think guys feed off that. The guys up front feed off that when they know that Zac’s running that hard. And then even the guys out wide, I think they buy into the run game. You can’t take that for granted. The guys out wide, the fact that we didn’t throw the ball a lot last week, they still played extremely well in making sure that they were covering up guys downfield.”
(On the development of the tight end corps and accounting for half the team’s touchdowns)
“They’re a very versatile group and they’re able to do so many different things, and when we get in that 13-personnel grouping, we can do so many different things. If we want to line up with two of them in line and one of them at fullback or if we want to spread them all out, our options are really endless. They all do everything so well that I think that’s one of the reasons that they’ve accounted for half the touchdowns down there is the fact that we’re able to move them around and do some different things that defenses haven’t really been able to prepare for.”
(On if using the two tight end sets is a byproduct of the evolution of the offense or being able to play with a lead)
“I think it’s probably a little bit of both. Obviously, last week after that drive in the third quarter, we primarily ran the football, but I think it is telling about kind of the evolution of this offense and the direction that we’ve decided to take after Week 4. I think it’s really paid off.”
(On if he gets caught up in comparing his abilities to the opposing quarterback)
“No, not really. Obviously, (Panthers QB) Cam’s (Newton) a great player, but I’m more concerned with our offense going against their defense than myself going against him.”
(On if he sees heavy blitz tendencies in the Carolina defense)
“To be honest, they don’t blitz a whole lot, but when they do they’ve been effective. For the most part, too, when they blitz, it’s a single linebacker or firing a safety. I think some of the secondary pressures are the things that we’re going to have to look out for. They’re not extremely complicated, but when they do come, we’ve got to make sure they’re accounted for.”
(On how Carolina S Quintin Mikell is playing)
“Pretty good, obviously, like you’d expect. He’s been here the past couple years and was a solid player, and he’s still playing at a pretty high level in Carolina.”
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(On the productive running game as of late)
“Well, we’re going to just hope to continue with it. We got things going the first week and then you don’t know how things are going to go Week 2 and it did, it happened again. So, our challenge this week, however, is a little different than the last two from the standpoint that this defense is very good against the run. This defense is very well-coached, very aggressive, not giving up any points. They have not been scored upon in the first quarter this year so we’ll know. We’ll find out after this week.”
(On Carolina QB Cam Newton)
“Tremendous athlete, great arm strength and accuracy and mobility. He extends plays when he needs to with his legs, and then they call plays to use his legs. He’s playing really well. Got a very talented group around him – both tight ends, obviously the running back is a good player, (FB Mike) Tolbert now has been a great addition to them for the power game. You have to defend everything. Our defense is going to be very busy this week.”
(On Carolina WR Steve Smith being the ‘old man’ of the receiving corps)
“He’s not playing like an old man right now. He wants the ball and he can get behind you and he’s still blocking like he always has. He’s fun to watch on tape. He’s really quite a competitor.”
(On the tight ends accounting for half the Rams’ touchdowns this year)
“It helps. What’s been helpful has been our run game, but we have different options when they’re on the field and it all starts with the run action and things. So, as we mentioned, we’d like to hand it off to a back, have him score a touchdown before too long. The tight ends have been very productive for us down there.”
(On what kind of teammate Carolina Head Coach Ron Rivera was and what kind of a coach he is)
“Ron’s been successful wherever he’s been. He moved around a little bit, did a great job with his defenses down in San Diego and a great teammate. He’s one of those guys that loves the game and is dedicated to it and communicates very well. He’s got a good football team down there.”
(On if defensive touchdowns are contagious)
“I hope that they continue. Two weeks in a row now, but the idea is to get the ball in the end zone. If you get your hands on it, put it in the end zone. They’re not turning the ball over very much. They’re getting turnovers. They’ve got 11 interceptions. I think they lead the league in interceptions, so if we protect it and get it back, we’ll have a chance.”
(On if Rivera’s defense is reminiscent of the late Jim Johnson’s schemes)
“Ron’s evolved over the years. He’s not doing as much pressure because Jim was a real big pressure guy, and they’ve got a four-man rush down there right now, they don’t need to pressure. Minnesota had a hard time protecting, as have other teams against this front.”
(On LB Alec Ogletree leading the team in tackles)
“He’s on the field as well. He’s on the field every snap and he’s not coming off. He’s running sideline to sideline and making a lot of plays for us.”
(On how quickly Ogletree has picked up the defense)
“Well, again he has still not seen everything, and he’s seeing things for the first time and will continue to do so. But, I think his interception on Sunday was evident of he’s preparing, studying. He anticipated that route and made that play.”
(On if he is looking forward to seeing Panthers S Quintin Mikell)
“Yeah, he was great. He was a great teammate. I was only with him for a year, but he played very well, very productive for us. He’s helping their defense as well, too.”
(On T Rodger Saffold)
“He practiced today – full practice today.”
Rams QB Sam Bradford – Post-Practice – October 16, 2013
(On the challenges the Carolina defense presents)
“You turn on the tape and they’re a really good defense. You look at them, especially that front seven – they’re very disruptive. They’re very active. Their defensive line does a great job eating up blockers so their linebackers can make plays. And they’ve really gotten after most of the people that they’ve played this year, so, just like last week, we’re going into this game with the mindset that this is going to be one of the toughest challenges we’ve seen as an offense this year.”
(On how much being to establish the run helps going up against a good defense)
“It’s huge. You’ve seen the past two weeks just having some balance between the run game and the pass game, I think it’s led us to be more efficient. We’ve kept defenses off balance with what we’re doing. I think it’s been really good for all aspects of our game. When you play a defense that’s as good as Carolina, you’ve got to be able to run the football and you’ve got to be able to keep them off balance. The biggest thing for us is last week playing Minnesota they did a pretty good job stuffing the run on first down, got them behind the chains. For us to be successful this week, if we do run the ball on first down, they’ve got to be positive runs and we’ve got to play from ahead of the sticks.”
(On being able to use play-action passes in the red zone)
“When you run the ball as well as we were running it against Houston last week, they’ve got to respect the run especially once you get there tight to the goal line. Our guys up front did a great job selling those actions and then the tight ends were wide open for pretty easy touchdowns.”
(On if last week was the most efficient their offense has been since he’s been here)
“Yeah, you look at it last week, I love the balance. I really think through the third quarter, if you look at it, it was probably a 50/50 mix of run/pass. And I think when we’re able to do that and we’re running the ball effectively, I think that’s when this offense is at its best. I love the balance and I love the fact that those guys up front are opening holes and our backs are running hard right now.”
(On what it does for the morale of the room when they see RB Zac Stacy run over defensive players on tape)
“It’s huge. We saw a clip today in a team meeting of him running over (Texans LB Brian) Cushing and him running over (Texans S) Ed Reed, and I think that just gets everyone fired up. Gives us kind of a spark to go out there this week and do it again this week because it’s fun. I think guys feed off that. The guys up front feed off that when they know that Zac’s running that hard. And then even the guys out wide, I think they buy into the run game. You can’t take that for granted. The guys out wide, the fact that we didn’t throw the ball a lot last week, they still played extremely well in making sure that they were covering up guys downfield.”
(On the development of the tight end corps and accounting for half the team’s touchdowns)
“They’re a very versatile group and they’re able to do so many different things, and when we get in that 13-personnel grouping, we can do so many different things. If we want to line up with two of them in line and one of them at fullback or if we want to spread them all out, our options are really endless. They all do everything so well that I think that’s one of the reasons that they’ve accounted for half the touchdowns down there is the fact that we’re able to move them around and do some different things that defenses haven’t really been able to prepare for.”
(On if using the two tight end sets is a byproduct of the evolution of the offense or being able to play with a lead)
“I think it’s probably a little bit of both. Obviously, last week after that drive in the third quarter, we primarily ran the football, but I think it is telling about kind of the evolution of this offense and the direction that we’ve decided to take after Week 4. I think it’s really paid off.”
(On if he gets caught up in comparing his abilities to the opposing quarterback)
“No, not really. Obviously, (Panthers QB) Cam’s (Newton) a great player, but I’m more concerned with our offense going against their defense than myself going against him.”
(On if he sees heavy blitz tendencies in the Carolina defense)
“To be honest, they don’t blitz a whole lot, but when they do they’ve been effective. For the most part, too, when they blitz, it’s a single linebacker or firing a safety. I think some of the secondary pressures are the things that we’re going to have to look out for. They’re not extremely complicated, but when they do come, we’ve got to make sure they’re accounted for.”
(On how Carolina S Quintin Mikell is playing)
“Pretty good, obviously, like you’d expect. He’s been here the past couple years and was a solid player, and he’s still playing at a pretty high level in Carolina.”
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