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(Opening Statement)
Jeff Fisher: “Great weekend. It’s hard to imagine, it’s not quite over yet with the college free agency event is a thing in itself right now, so we’re right in the middle of that. These guys are doing a great job. We’re filling out the roster, which is good.”
Les Snead: “I think we’re winning free agency.”
Fisher: “We’ll let somebody else make that decision.”
Snead: “Well, the guys we’re targeting we’re actually getting, so I guess it’s yet to be determined whether…In our own little room we’re winning.”
(On how they came to the decision to draft DE Michael Sam)
Fisher: “Surprised he was there in the seventh round. When you look at the ability and the grade and our ability…we were able to take advantage of the compensatory picks there. That’s a football player with ability that you just can’t pass up. We discussed it privately with (Rams Chief Operating Officer/Executive Vice President of Football Operations) Kevin (Demoff) and (Rams Owner) Mr. (Stan) Kroenke and felt like it was the right thing to do at the right time.”
(On if when they had discussions with Kroenke and Demoff about Sam)
Fisher: “I was on the phone with Stan two picks away.”
Snead: “We were in the seventh round, so we were looking at the board and we had him rated to go a little higher than the seventh round. As we said when we drafted the last defensive lineman, we like to feed our beast in the DL and obviously this guy’s production, play speaks for itself.”
(On if they take any extra pride being associated with a historic moment)
Fisher: “Well as I said earlier, this is the second historic moment in the history of this franchise. The Rams in 1946, I don’t know if you’re aware of it, but we were the first NFL team to sign an African-American player a year before Jackie Robinson signed the baseball contract, is what I was told. So from that standpoint, from a historic standpoint, I’m honored to be a part of that as Les and Kevin and Mr. Kroenke are. Again, Michael’s a good football player and you guys would know if you paid much attention to the response by some of his new teammates, but they’re pretty excited to have him in the building.”
(On if he is confident that the leaders of the team will embrace Sam)
Fisher: “Absolutely.”
(On if anything in particular needs to be said to the team with the drafting of Sam)
Fisher: “No. I think one of our players was asked if I had contacted them before the decision. We don’t do that. We don’t ask our players who we should take and who we shouldn’t take.”
(On Sam joining the Rams’ eclectic group of defensive linemen)
Fisher: “It’s going to be a mess in that room now (laughs). It’s going to be fun. (Defensive Line) Coach (Mike) Waufle met with Mike at the combine. He had a good grade on him. Coaches put grades on him. Scouting staff put the grades on him. He had a good grade on him, said he’s looking forward to coaching him.”
Snead: “Yeah, Michael does not know what he’s getting himself into.”
(On if the thought of drafting Sam had been on his mind as they were evaluating prospects the past several weeks)
Snead: “As you go through draft meetings, I mean when you talk about Michael Sam, you put him in our category of ‘DPR’, which is designated pass rusher. That’s what he fits in our scheme and obviously we like to rush the passer. So, we didn’t discuss him any different than any other player. We discussed everything we do with him from A to Z and put him on the board.”
(On what kind of pass rusher they would classify Sam to be)
Fisher: “In our world, they world they refer to him as maybe a ‘tweener,’ you know, maybe a rush end or a stand up. But we’re going to have the ability to package things up with him and take advantage of his athletic ability.”
(On if they had personal contact with Sam before they were on the clock)
Fisher: “No, I called him when we selected him.”
(On the unlikeness of an SEC Defensive Player of the Year getting drafted in the seventh round)
Fisher: “That’s correct, no. I would like to think that pretty much sums up our draft because we’re very excited about how things came off and everything. Looking forward to getting Mike in the building.”
(On if Sam has any special teams value and ability)
Fisher: “Yeah, he will. Everybody that we selected today, with the exception of the big guys, will make some kind of contribution to our special teams.”
(On if Sam would have fit in with his Titans teams of the past)
Fisher: “Absolutely, yeah. I mean, we’re in an age of diversity. The players understand that. They know that. I think the University of Missouri should be commended on how they handled that thing. It’s not a distraction. People will try to make it a distraction, but it’s not a distraction. I’m personally proud of him for coming out. I’m sure it was a very, very difficult thing for him to do, and I would also submit that it was probably a tremendous load off of his shoulders and he enjoyed a sense of relief because the truth was out there and he was accepted by his teammates and he was able to flourish and be part of an outstanding defense.”
(On Sam’s strengths as a player)
Fisher: “He’s very versatile. He’s got good get off. He’s got good hand use. He’s a relentless player. He’s a chase guy. How many tackles for loss? I think it was 19 tackles for loss, a big part of their success.”
Snead: “Eleven-and-a-half sacks, probably nine pressures. Screams off the edge.”
(On if Sam was emotional when they told him they were picking him)
Fisher: “I didn’t get a lot out of him during the conversation, but I’ve talked with him since and he’s really excited about getting to work.”
Snead: “I think when the phone rang, he knew what was coming.”
(On if the coaching staff knew they were going to pick Sam before they were on the clock)
Fisher: “They reacted no differently than any other selection. They clapped. They were excited. We did give them an idea, was it a pick or two, three before? Something like that?”
Snead: “Yeah...what we usually do this time, guys are usually lower, wherever they are on the board, and we kind of bring some guys high that are in the mix for the next pick. We often don’t just ask the room, ‘Are you fine with this pick there?’ We just put them there. So we put him up there with probably two or three other guys and I think we picked two of those three, him (Sam) being one.”
(On how the team is prepared to handle any negative response to selecting Sam)
Fisher: “If there’s an issue there, I will address it as it would relate to any other form of discrimination or anything that I would feel was offensive from a diversity standpoint. No different.”
Snead: “What’s interesting with that is I’ve probably gotten, obviously, more texts after a seventh round pick than I’ve probably ever gotten. Some of them from our players, a lot of them from people I know. There’s not one ounce, there’s not any even close to a negative. It’s about as positive, if you want to call it an ‘inbox’ full of texts, as you can have it. We went right into college free agency, so I think I’ll enjoy going back and reading those tonight.”
(On what Sam will have to do to make the roster at what’s considered a deep position on this team)
Fisher: “Well, it’s going to be very competitive for him, as it will be for some of the other guys, the later picks, because of the depth and the talent level at the position. He’s going to have to come in, and like the rest of his new teammates, these rookies, they’re not in shape. Not in the condition our veterans are in. He’s going to have to work to get in great shape and we’ll blend him in the offseason program and we’ll go.”
(On the pre-draft discussion that it would put a team in a tough spot if they had to release Sam, and if that was discussed leading up to the selection)
Fisher: “I would say no because we picked him within the process and we’re going to reduce this roster within the process. So, I don’t see that being an issue.”
(On the difficulty of making a team on this defensive line)
Fisher: “Very competitive.”
Snead: “Tough group to make, but I think he does...he brings an element that he’ll give some other guys a run for their money.”
(On if having so many picks made it easier to ‘take a shot’ on Sam)
Fisher: “When you have picks in the seventh like we did, and we were fortunate we were able to go up and get guys that we felt like had fallen. That’s really the only reason.”
(On how they feel about their draft class overall)
Snead: “I think I mentioned this morning on an interview, we made the decisions. Obviously if you make them, you think they’re good. But, now is when all of us and the coaching staff and support staff, we’ve got to get together and spend energy making those decisions a success. I always say this: the work starts now, because these kids, they have ability and we picked them and we’re glad they’re here. Now it’s up to the organization to make them successful. As we all know in this thing, the draft is really cool and you see them on TV and you see all the highlights, but there is a process of development. That starts probably when they get here on Monday, right?”
Fisher: “Yeah, they’ll be arriving late Monday. Since we last talked, last time we were here, we discussed (S) Maurice Alexander. Since then, E.J. Gaines, the cornerback from Missouri was our next pick. We had made an attempt early, had considered him earlier. We felt like he fell to us. Then there was a run on the quarterbacks. We had Garrett Gilbert up there. We want to give Garrett an opportunity to come in and show us what he can do. Outstanding career there at SMU. Then the offensive line we addressed with Michael Van Dyk from Portland State, who has got left tackle/flex skills there. Then of course, the young safety Christian Bryant from Ohio State. He was injured early in the season. It was a devastating injury and loss to the Ohio State Buckeye defense. He’s almost back to 100 percent right now. He’s a good little football player. Then of course Michael, and very happy to be able turn in Demetrius Rhaney’s name there as an inside offensive lineman.”
(On how Gaines fits in and what they like about him)
Fisher: “He’s a good zone player, a good effort player, a solid tackler. He shows man-to-man skills and he’s a good athlete. We had some spots available at the position so we feel like he’s got a chance to come in and not only compete, but also do some things on special teams for us.”
Snead: “Coach mentioned the special teams. I think we put a certain dot on each card when we feel like...(Special Teams) Coach (John Fassel) ‘Fass’ has vetted them, evaluated them on teams. A lot of these DB’s had green dots on them, which is a nice bonus.”
(On if a green dot on a draft card means special teams value)
Snead: “For coverage. We’ve got other dots for returners and other dots for long snapping. It gets a little colorful.”
(On Gilbert)
Fisher: “He did a private workout for us. (Offensive Coordinator) Coach (Brian) Schottenheimer, (QB) Coach (Frank) Cignetti attended the workout for us. They were impressed with him. He threw the ball well. He’s poised in the pocket. He’s big, tall, strong. He’s got some mobility and has got good arm strength. We felt like he’s got a chance to come in and compete.”
(On if the team didn’t make as many trades as they have in the past because of the way they feel about their roster now)
Snead: “I think we’ve said all along we like the roster. Obviously, it’s young and obviously we’ve still got to develop. We’ve still got to continue to evolve. So that’s not necessarily the reason why you just held pat. There was a few times we tried to make a move and couldn’t and then there was times that we said...it was a fun seventh round, as fun as I’ve had in a while because you had four picks. At one time we just said, ‘You know what? Let’s sit back and wait.’ That’s when we got E.J., which was nice. Instead of using picks to go get him, we said, ‘Let’s hold pat.’ We did a little research and felt he might fall, and then you’re able to utilize more picks in the seventh.”
(On if there was any concern when they didn’t have a fifth-round pick and the quarterbacks were being selected)
Fisher: “No, because we keep looking at each other and saying, ‘We have (Lamarcus) Joyner.’ So just the constant reminder that we’ve got Joyner, so we’re okay right now.”
(On what they like about Alexander)
Snead: “Big guy, athletic. I think he’s a St. Louis native. You might know his story. Defensive end in high school, somebody even said defensive tackle, linebacker. Then he moved to safety. Really this is his first year playing safety. I mentioned all that because hey, the guy can blitz. A lot of tackles for losses, a lot of sacks for a DB or a safety. He causes fumbles. He’s a big man that’s athletic, fast, and aggressive. A nice piece of clay for Coach Fish to continue molding into a safety because this was only year one for him at safety.”
(On why they think Gaines and Sam lasted on the board as long as they did)
Fisher: “We’re just fortunate they did, both of them did. We can’t give you a reason why it happened, but we had them both up significantly higher than where we took them.”
Snead: “That’s what’s nice, when you have him in a relatively decent spot on the board and he’s still up there when you go to pick.”
(On if they felt there was another team that might take Sam)
Fisher: “Not necessarily. We hadn’t really gauged it, particularly because of our depth at the defensive end position. So, we didn’t really monitor who was going to take...what the needs were there as compared to the other positions.”
Jeff Fisher: “Great weekend. It’s hard to imagine, it’s not quite over yet with the college free agency event is a thing in itself right now, so we’re right in the middle of that. These guys are doing a great job. We’re filling out the roster, which is good.”
Les Snead: “I think we’re winning free agency.”
Fisher: “We’ll let somebody else make that decision.”
Snead: “Well, the guys we’re targeting we’re actually getting, so I guess it’s yet to be determined whether…In our own little room we’re winning.”
(On how they came to the decision to draft DE Michael Sam)
Fisher: “Surprised he was there in the seventh round. When you look at the ability and the grade and our ability…we were able to take advantage of the compensatory picks there. That’s a football player with ability that you just can’t pass up. We discussed it privately with (Rams Chief Operating Officer/Executive Vice President of Football Operations) Kevin (Demoff) and (Rams Owner) Mr. (Stan) Kroenke and felt like it was the right thing to do at the right time.”
(On if when they had discussions with Kroenke and Demoff about Sam)
Fisher: “I was on the phone with Stan two picks away.”
Snead: “We were in the seventh round, so we were looking at the board and we had him rated to go a little higher than the seventh round. As we said when we drafted the last defensive lineman, we like to feed our beast in the DL and obviously this guy’s production, play speaks for itself.”
(On if they take any extra pride being associated with a historic moment)
Fisher: “Well as I said earlier, this is the second historic moment in the history of this franchise. The Rams in 1946, I don’t know if you’re aware of it, but we were the first NFL team to sign an African-American player a year before Jackie Robinson signed the baseball contract, is what I was told. So from that standpoint, from a historic standpoint, I’m honored to be a part of that as Les and Kevin and Mr. Kroenke are. Again, Michael’s a good football player and you guys would know if you paid much attention to the response by some of his new teammates, but they’re pretty excited to have him in the building.”
(On if he is confident that the leaders of the team will embrace Sam)
Fisher: “Absolutely.”
(On if anything in particular needs to be said to the team with the drafting of Sam)
Fisher: “No. I think one of our players was asked if I had contacted them before the decision. We don’t do that. We don’t ask our players who we should take and who we shouldn’t take.”
(On Sam joining the Rams’ eclectic group of defensive linemen)
Fisher: “It’s going to be a mess in that room now (laughs). It’s going to be fun. (Defensive Line) Coach (Mike) Waufle met with Mike at the combine. He had a good grade on him. Coaches put grades on him. Scouting staff put the grades on him. He had a good grade on him, said he’s looking forward to coaching him.”
Snead: “Yeah, Michael does not know what he’s getting himself into.”
(On if the thought of drafting Sam had been on his mind as they were evaluating prospects the past several weeks)
Snead: “As you go through draft meetings, I mean when you talk about Michael Sam, you put him in our category of ‘DPR’, which is designated pass rusher. That’s what he fits in our scheme and obviously we like to rush the passer. So, we didn’t discuss him any different than any other player. We discussed everything we do with him from A to Z and put him on the board.”
(On what kind of pass rusher they would classify Sam to be)
Fisher: “In our world, they world they refer to him as maybe a ‘tweener,’ you know, maybe a rush end or a stand up. But we’re going to have the ability to package things up with him and take advantage of his athletic ability.”
(On if they had personal contact with Sam before they were on the clock)
Fisher: “No, I called him when we selected him.”
(On the unlikeness of an SEC Defensive Player of the Year getting drafted in the seventh round)
Fisher: “That’s correct, no. I would like to think that pretty much sums up our draft because we’re very excited about how things came off and everything. Looking forward to getting Mike in the building.”
(On if Sam has any special teams value and ability)
Fisher: “Yeah, he will. Everybody that we selected today, with the exception of the big guys, will make some kind of contribution to our special teams.”
(On if Sam would have fit in with his Titans teams of the past)
Fisher: “Absolutely, yeah. I mean, we’re in an age of diversity. The players understand that. They know that. I think the University of Missouri should be commended on how they handled that thing. It’s not a distraction. People will try to make it a distraction, but it’s not a distraction. I’m personally proud of him for coming out. I’m sure it was a very, very difficult thing for him to do, and I would also submit that it was probably a tremendous load off of his shoulders and he enjoyed a sense of relief because the truth was out there and he was accepted by his teammates and he was able to flourish and be part of an outstanding defense.”
(On Sam’s strengths as a player)
Fisher: “He’s very versatile. He’s got good get off. He’s got good hand use. He’s a relentless player. He’s a chase guy. How many tackles for loss? I think it was 19 tackles for loss, a big part of their success.”
Snead: “Eleven-and-a-half sacks, probably nine pressures. Screams off the edge.”
(On if Sam was emotional when they told him they were picking him)
Fisher: “I didn’t get a lot out of him during the conversation, but I’ve talked with him since and he’s really excited about getting to work.”
Snead: “I think when the phone rang, he knew what was coming.”
(On if the coaching staff knew they were going to pick Sam before they were on the clock)
Fisher: “They reacted no differently than any other selection. They clapped. They were excited. We did give them an idea, was it a pick or two, three before? Something like that?”
Snead: “Yeah...what we usually do this time, guys are usually lower, wherever they are on the board, and we kind of bring some guys high that are in the mix for the next pick. We often don’t just ask the room, ‘Are you fine with this pick there?’ We just put them there. So we put him up there with probably two or three other guys and I think we picked two of those three, him (Sam) being one.”
(On how the team is prepared to handle any negative response to selecting Sam)
Fisher: “If there’s an issue there, I will address it as it would relate to any other form of discrimination or anything that I would feel was offensive from a diversity standpoint. No different.”
Snead: “What’s interesting with that is I’ve probably gotten, obviously, more texts after a seventh round pick than I’ve probably ever gotten. Some of them from our players, a lot of them from people I know. There’s not one ounce, there’s not any even close to a negative. It’s about as positive, if you want to call it an ‘inbox’ full of texts, as you can have it. We went right into college free agency, so I think I’ll enjoy going back and reading those tonight.”
(On what Sam will have to do to make the roster at what’s considered a deep position on this team)
Fisher: “Well, it’s going to be very competitive for him, as it will be for some of the other guys, the later picks, because of the depth and the talent level at the position. He’s going to have to come in, and like the rest of his new teammates, these rookies, they’re not in shape. Not in the condition our veterans are in. He’s going to have to work to get in great shape and we’ll blend him in the offseason program and we’ll go.”
(On the pre-draft discussion that it would put a team in a tough spot if they had to release Sam, and if that was discussed leading up to the selection)
Fisher: “I would say no because we picked him within the process and we’re going to reduce this roster within the process. So, I don’t see that being an issue.”
(On the difficulty of making a team on this defensive line)
Fisher: “Very competitive.”
Snead: “Tough group to make, but I think he does...he brings an element that he’ll give some other guys a run for their money.”
(On if having so many picks made it easier to ‘take a shot’ on Sam)
Fisher: “When you have picks in the seventh like we did, and we were fortunate we were able to go up and get guys that we felt like had fallen. That’s really the only reason.”
(On how they feel about their draft class overall)
Snead: “I think I mentioned this morning on an interview, we made the decisions. Obviously if you make them, you think they’re good. But, now is when all of us and the coaching staff and support staff, we’ve got to get together and spend energy making those decisions a success. I always say this: the work starts now, because these kids, they have ability and we picked them and we’re glad they’re here. Now it’s up to the organization to make them successful. As we all know in this thing, the draft is really cool and you see them on TV and you see all the highlights, but there is a process of development. That starts probably when they get here on Monday, right?”
Fisher: “Yeah, they’ll be arriving late Monday. Since we last talked, last time we were here, we discussed (S) Maurice Alexander. Since then, E.J. Gaines, the cornerback from Missouri was our next pick. We had made an attempt early, had considered him earlier. We felt like he fell to us. Then there was a run on the quarterbacks. We had Garrett Gilbert up there. We want to give Garrett an opportunity to come in and show us what he can do. Outstanding career there at SMU. Then the offensive line we addressed with Michael Van Dyk from Portland State, who has got left tackle/flex skills there. Then of course, the young safety Christian Bryant from Ohio State. He was injured early in the season. It was a devastating injury and loss to the Ohio State Buckeye defense. He’s almost back to 100 percent right now. He’s a good little football player. Then of course Michael, and very happy to be able turn in Demetrius Rhaney’s name there as an inside offensive lineman.”
(On how Gaines fits in and what they like about him)
Fisher: “He’s a good zone player, a good effort player, a solid tackler. He shows man-to-man skills and he’s a good athlete. We had some spots available at the position so we feel like he’s got a chance to come in and not only compete, but also do some things on special teams for us.”
Snead: “Coach mentioned the special teams. I think we put a certain dot on each card when we feel like...(Special Teams) Coach (John Fassel) ‘Fass’ has vetted them, evaluated them on teams. A lot of these DB’s had green dots on them, which is a nice bonus.”
(On if a green dot on a draft card means special teams value)
Snead: “For coverage. We’ve got other dots for returners and other dots for long snapping. It gets a little colorful.”
(On Gilbert)
Fisher: “He did a private workout for us. (Offensive Coordinator) Coach (Brian) Schottenheimer, (QB) Coach (Frank) Cignetti attended the workout for us. They were impressed with him. He threw the ball well. He’s poised in the pocket. He’s big, tall, strong. He’s got some mobility and has got good arm strength. We felt like he’s got a chance to come in and compete.”
(On if the team didn’t make as many trades as they have in the past because of the way they feel about their roster now)
Snead: “I think we’ve said all along we like the roster. Obviously, it’s young and obviously we’ve still got to develop. We’ve still got to continue to evolve. So that’s not necessarily the reason why you just held pat. There was a few times we tried to make a move and couldn’t and then there was times that we said...it was a fun seventh round, as fun as I’ve had in a while because you had four picks. At one time we just said, ‘You know what? Let’s sit back and wait.’ That’s when we got E.J., which was nice. Instead of using picks to go get him, we said, ‘Let’s hold pat.’ We did a little research and felt he might fall, and then you’re able to utilize more picks in the seventh.”
(On if there was any concern when they didn’t have a fifth-round pick and the quarterbacks were being selected)
Fisher: “No, because we keep looking at each other and saying, ‘We have (Lamarcus) Joyner.’ So just the constant reminder that we’ve got Joyner, so we’re okay right now.”
(On what they like about Alexander)
Snead: “Big guy, athletic. I think he’s a St. Louis native. You might know his story. Defensive end in high school, somebody even said defensive tackle, linebacker. Then he moved to safety. Really this is his first year playing safety. I mentioned all that because hey, the guy can blitz. A lot of tackles for losses, a lot of sacks for a DB or a safety. He causes fumbles. He’s a big man that’s athletic, fast, and aggressive. A nice piece of clay for Coach Fish to continue molding into a safety because this was only year one for him at safety.”
(On why they think Gaines and Sam lasted on the board as long as they did)
Fisher: “We’re just fortunate they did, both of them did. We can’t give you a reason why it happened, but we had them both up significantly higher than where we took them.”
Snead: “That’s what’s nice, when you have him in a relatively decent spot on the board and he’s still up there when you go to pick.”
(On if they felt there was another team that might take Sam)
Fisher: “Not necessarily. We hadn’t really gauged it, particularly because of our depth at the defensive end position. So, we didn’t really monitor who was going to take...what the needs were there as compared to the other positions.”
