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TRANSCRIPTS: Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher and Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer (11-13-14)
Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – Post Practice – November 13, 2014
(On if the team is anxious to be home coming off a three game road trip)
“It’s been an eventful three weeks. This young team’s learned how to travel, but you can’t beat playing at home.”
(On playing top five defense in the past six weeks, looking at strength of schedule and wondering if they could ever get an easier schedule)
“I think when the schedule came out, you looked at it and you looked at the games after the bye. People referred to it as the ‘gauntlet.’ You know every week’s a different challenge. This week’s obviously one of the biggest of the year from a matchup standpoint for us.”
(On if the team is coming back to health)
“We were pretty good today. Had a couple guys come back. Couple guys, hopefully, will be back on the field tomorrow.”
(On what about Broncos’ QB Peyton Manning makes him unique)
“I’ve said this before, it’s like playing a computer. That’s what he is. He runs that offense. He’s going to put them in the best possible position. He’s nearly impossible to fool and is hard to get down. If you rush more than four, the balls coming out and he’s not going to take the hit. That’s just how he is. He puts that offense in the best possible position every snap. If the run’s not there, then he’s going to pick it up and he’s going to change and he’s going to put the ball down the field. He’s prepared. He’s prepared week after week, year after year. Again, like I said, I think he’s playing his best football right now.”
(On how Manning is as a person and his personal interactions with him over the years)
“We played him a couple times a year for a long time. Coached him in the Pro Bowl one year. He has just a tremendous respect for everyone associated with this game. I saw him get mad once and it was a few years ago when, (Former Buccaneers Head Coach Greg) Coach Schiano, drove through the center when he was kneeling down on the ball. That was the only time I’d ever seen him get upset. He just has respect for everybody. When (QB) Sam (Bradford) went down, I got a text from him. Making sure that I told Sam he was thinking about him, wished him luck. That’s the kind of person he is.”
(On if Manning texted him this year when Sam went down)
“Yes.”
(On if he ever feels that Manning can always read the defense no matter how complicated the opposing teams’ defensive plays are)
“There were years when our whole defense wore wristbands and we changed every quarter because we couldn’t talk, because he recognizes your terminology and your calls and things like that.”
(On if the wristbands signified different plays)
“Numbers. The defenses were numbered. Just call out three and then change it the next quarter.”
(On if three meant something else the next quarter)
“Something else.”
(On if this method worked)
“No (laughs). It may have for a quarter. I don’t know.”
(On if it was like baseball where you give a bunch of signals and only one is the right call)
“His success started probably before he started playing, with some rule modifications and things like that, the coach to quarterback. He’s taken advantage of those things over the years.”
(On as a coach if he looks forward to a challenge)
“Yeah, it is. It’s a tremendous challenge. Been one of the biggest challenges I’ve been associated with a staff and that’s defending him and his offense.”
(On if he’s tried every different way to defend him over the years)
“Yes and we’ve had some success. And we’re expecting to again. That’s the way you go into it.”
Rams Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer – Post-Practice – November 13, 2014
(On QB Shaun Hill taking over the starting job)
“Well obviously, we went back and looked at and (QB) Austin (Davis) has played really well for the most part. I think the big thing for us was the turnovers. It’s hard to win in this league when you’re turning the football over. We brought Shaun here to be the back-up. Austin kind of kept the job because he was playing so well, but now that Austin’s struggling a little bit we just feel like Shaun’s a guy that’s played. Obviously, has the experience. He’s been in this situation before and will go out there do some things and give us just some energy and things like that.”
(On if he can breakdown why the Rams have struggled scoring in the second half)
“Again, I think last week we really struggled on third down. It’s hard to win games when you can’t convert third downs and have drives and have more plays. When you average 56-57 plays, something like that the last couple weeks, it’s just hard. You’ve got to have opportunities. We have explosive guys, but if they’re not on the field because we’re not converting, that makes it hard on us. Again, it comes down to execution at the end of the day. We missed some throws last week, had some opportunities for some things. Were real close on a couple plays, but bottom line is we’ve got to win and we’ve got to make plays to do that.”
(On the importance of maintaining drives to help the defense when playing Denver’s potent offense)
“It’s obviously critical. Every time that (Broncos QB) Peyton’s (Manning) on the bench that certainly is important, their offense is on the bench. Certainly have played him a lot of times. The times we’ve played well against him, going back to the days with the (New York) Jets…division playoff games, stuff like that, you win the time of possession battle. You stay on the field. I think the more opportunities we can do that by being successful running the football, throwing completions will help us do that.”
(On the challenge the Broncos’ run defense presents)
“Obviously excellent, excellent front seven. They get the added benefit that they’re up big in most games and teams have to throw it. They’re built the right way. They’re real big inside. Linebackers are downhill, fast fill players. Probably one of the best tackling defenses we’ll go against all year. They don’t miss many tackles.”
(On what things they can do to improve third-down efficiency)
“Well we look at everything. We look at what formations are we using? What passes are we doing? Are there play calls? Can we mix in some runs? Things like that. It’s a number of things. Again, there’s things that we want to adjust a little bit from things that we’re calling and the groups we’re using. Some of it comes down to execution. We’ve given up quite a few sacks on third down. Combination of a lot of things. Quarterback holding the ball a little bit, guys getting edged in pass protection and sometimes receivers not getting open. We’ve kind of looked at everything. We’ve made some adjustments, but nothing that would be glaring to anybody.”
(On if it’s tough to do what they want to do offensively due to the lack of plays run per game)
“Absolutely and again, when we’ve been at our best early in the games we’ve put together some really nice drives. Again, part of that is getting into third down and manageable, converting third downs, sometimes avoiding third downs with explosive plays. It’s a rhythm thing. Again, I think the big thing for us this week because time of possession is going to be running the football, throwing completions. I think we’ve got a chance to hit some explosive plays, but they won’t come easy against this group.”
(On the problems Broncos’ DE DeMarcus Ware and LB Von Miller present)
“Since we don’t play Kansas City (Chiefs) again this year, I’ll say Denver’s clearly better. Obviously again, just big time players. They create a lot of problems. They play really hard. It’s a little bit of a benefit obviously, playing them at home, not having to go into the noise, but the same time…the guy that’s really jumped out just because they move in around quite a little bit is Von. He’s just really explosive, great spin moves, but we certainly respect them both and they’re really, really good players. Nothing surprising there. You’ve got to do things to keep them off balanced and we’ll certainly try to do that, but it will be a long day if we can’t control those guys.”
(On what he sees from Miller on film)
“They move him around. He plays ‘backer for them in base. They move him around a little bit. They’ll walk him around some on third down just try to get match-ups and stuff. In most of the passing situations he’ll be on our right going against (RT) Joe (Barksdale). DeMarcus will be on the left. Again, two elite pass rushers, not only are they great rushers, they have great technique, but they play extremely hard. They don’t give up and a lot of the sacks they get are second effort plays.”
(On if Hill has any rust)
“He looked really good out here. He’s been preparing. He’s a pro. He’s been in this role before. We were teasing a little bit that he looked a little out of shape. Maybe had too many snacks over the last couple weeks, but he’s looked really pretty good, done a nice job. Ball’s coming out of his hand well. Making good, clean decisions. I don’t see the rust.”
(On what challenges the Broncos’ secondary present)
“Obviously again, I think you start…safeties really good players, very good tacklers. They support the run really, really well. This whole defense is built on stopping the run, make you one-dimensional. Let DeMarcus and Von come off the edge. The corner’s a good player. I’ve gone against (Broncos CB Aquib) Talib quite a bit. They don’t get probably enough credit but they do a good job of covering receivers. Again, you don’t have a lot of time to throw sometimes, which certainly helps, but we have a lot of respect for these guys and their ability to play man-to-man coverage, which they play quite a bit of. They get in your face, get aggressive with you and try to disrupt your timing and rhythm in the passing game.”
Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – Post Practice – November 13, 2014
(On if the team is anxious to be home coming off a three game road trip)
“It’s been an eventful three weeks. This young team’s learned how to travel, but you can’t beat playing at home.”
(On playing top five defense in the past six weeks, looking at strength of schedule and wondering if they could ever get an easier schedule)
“I think when the schedule came out, you looked at it and you looked at the games after the bye. People referred to it as the ‘gauntlet.’ You know every week’s a different challenge. This week’s obviously one of the biggest of the year from a matchup standpoint for us.”
(On if the team is coming back to health)
“We were pretty good today. Had a couple guys come back. Couple guys, hopefully, will be back on the field tomorrow.”
(On what about Broncos’ QB Peyton Manning makes him unique)
“I’ve said this before, it’s like playing a computer. That’s what he is. He runs that offense. He’s going to put them in the best possible position. He’s nearly impossible to fool and is hard to get down. If you rush more than four, the balls coming out and he’s not going to take the hit. That’s just how he is. He puts that offense in the best possible position every snap. If the run’s not there, then he’s going to pick it up and he’s going to change and he’s going to put the ball down the field. He’s prepared. He’s prepared week after week, year after year. Again, like I said, I think he’s playing his best football right now.”
(On how Manning is as a person and his personal interactions with him over the years)
“We played him a couple times a year for a long time. Coached him in the Pro Bowl one year. He has just a tremendous respect for everyone associated with this game. I saw him get mad once and it was a few years ago when, (Former Buccaneers Head Coach Greg) Coach Schiano, drove through the center when he was kneeling down on the ball. That was the only time I’d ever seen him get upset. He just has respect for everybody. When (QB) Sam (Bradford) went down, I got a text from him. Making sure that I told Sam he was thinking about him, wished him luck. That’s the kind of person he is.”
(On if Manning texted him this year when Sam went down)
“Yes.”
(On if he ever feels that Manning can always read the defense no matter how complicated the opposing teams’ defensive plays are)
“There were years when our whole defense wore wristbands and we changed every quarter because we couldn’t talk, because he recognizes your terminology and your calls and things like that.”
(On if the wristbands signified different plays)
“Numbers. The defenses were numbered. Just call out three and then change it the next quarter.”
(On if three meant something else the next quarter)
“Something else.”
(On if this method worked)
“No (laughs). It may have for a quarter. I don’t know.”
(On if it was like baseball where you give a bunch of signals and only one is the right call)
“His success started probably before he started playing, with some rule modifications and things like that, the coach to quarterback. He’s taken advantage of those things over the years.”
(On as a coach if he looks forward to a challenge)
“Yeah, it is. It’s a tremendous challenge. Been one of the biggest challenges I’ve been associated with a staff and that’s defending him and his offense.”
(On if he’s tried every different way to defend him over the years)
“Yes and we’ve had some success. And we’re expecting to again. That’s the way you go into it.”
Rams Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer – Post-Practice – November 13, 2014
(On QB Shaun Hill taking over the starting job)
“Well obviously, we went back and looked at and (QB) Austin (Davis) has played really well for the most part. I think the big thing for us was the turnovers. It’s hard to win in this league when you’re turning the football over. We brought Shaun here to be the back-up. Austin kind of kept the job because he was playing so well, but now that Austin’s struggling a little bit we just feel like Shaun’s a guy that’s played. Obviously, has the experience. He’s been in this situation before and will go out there do some things and give us just some energy and things like that.”
(On if he can breakdown why the Rams have struggled scoring in the second half)
“Again, I think last week we really struggled on third down. It’s hard to win games when you can’t convert third downs and have drives and have more plays. When you average 56-57 plays, something like that the last couple weeks, it’s just hard. You’ve got to have opportunities. We have explosive guys, but if they’re not on the field because we’re not converting, that makes it hard on us. Again, it comes down to execution at the end of the day. We missed some throws last week, had some opportunities for some things. Were real close on a couple plays, but bottom line is we’ve got to win and we’ve got to make plays to do that.”
(On the importance of maintaining drives to help the defense when playing Denver’s potent offense)
“It’s obviously critical. Every time that (Broncos QB) Peyton’s (Manning) on the bench that certainly is important, their offense is on the bench. Certainly have played him a lot of times. The times we’ve played well against him, going back to the days with the (New York) Jets…division playoff games, stuff like that, you win the time of possession battle. You stay on the field. I think the more opportunities we can do that by being successful running the football, throwing completions will help us do that.”
(On the challenge the Broncos’ run defense presents)
“Obviously excellent, excellent front seven. They get the added benefit that they’re up big in most games and teams have to throw it. They’re built the right way. They’re real big inside. Linebackers are downhill, fast fill players. Probably one of the best tackling defenses we’ll go against all year. They don’t miss many tackles.”
(On what things they can do to improve third-down efficiency)
“Well we look at everything. We look at what formations are we using? What passes are we doing? Are there play calls? Can we mix in some runs? Things like that. It’s a number of things. Again, there’s things that we want to adjust a little bit from things that we’re calling and the groups we’re using. Some of it comes down to execution. We’ve given up quite a few sacks on third down. Combination of a lot of things. Quarterback holding the ball a little bit, guys getting edged in pass protection and sometimes receivers not getting open. We’ve kind of looked at everything. We’ve made some adjustments, but nothing that would be glaring to anybody.”
(On if it’s tough to do what they want to do offensively due to the lack of plays run per game)
“Absolutely and again, when we’ve been at our best early in the games we’ve put together some really nice drives. Again, part of that is getting into third down and manageable, converting third downs, sometimes avoiding third downs with explosive plays. It’s a rhythm thing. Again, I think the big thing for us this week because time of possession is going to be running the football, throwing completions. I think we’ve got a chance to hit some explosive plays, but they won’t come easy against this group.”
(On the problems Broncos’ DE DeMarcus Ware and LB Von Miller present)
“Since we don’t play Kansas City (Chiefs) again this year, I’ll say Denver’s clearly better. Obviously again, just big time players. They create a lot of problems. They play really hard. It’s a little bit of a benefit obviously, playing them at home, not having to go into the noise, but the same time…the guy that’s really jumped out just because they move in around quite a little bit is Von. He’s just really explosive, great spin moves, but we certainly respect them both and they’re really, really good players. Nothing surprising there. You’ve got to do things to keep them off balanced and we’ll certainly try to do that, but it will be a long day if we can’t control those guys.”
(On what he sees from Miller on film)
“They move him around. He plays ‘backer for them in base. They move him around a little bit. They’ll walk him around some on third down just try to get match-ups and stuff. In most of the passing situations he’ll be on our right going against (RT) Joe (Barksdale). DeMarcus will be on the left. Again, two elite pass rushers, not only are they great rushers, they have great technique, but they play extremely hard. They don’t give up and a lot of the sacks they get are second effort plays.”
(On if Hill has any rust)
“He looked really good out here. He’s been preparing. He’s a pro. He’s been in this role before. We were teasing a little bit that he looked a little out of shape. Maybe had too many snacks over the last couple weeks, but he’s looked really pretty good, done a nice job. Ball’s coming out of his hand well. Making good, clean decisions. I don’t see the rust.”
(On what challenges the Broncos’ secondary present)
“Obviously again, I think you start…safeties really good players, very good tacklers. They support the run really, really well. This whole defense is built on stopping the run, make you one-dimensional. Let DeMarcus and Von come off the edge. The corner’s a good player. I’ve gone against (Broncos CB Aquib) Talib quite a bit. They don’t get probably enough credit but they do a good job of covering receivers. Again, you don’t have a lot of time to throw sometimes, which certainly helps, but we have a lot of respect for these guys and their ability to play man-to-man coverage, which they play quite a bit of. They get in your face, get aggressive with you and try to disrupt your timing and rhythm in the passing game.”
