ams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – Post-Family Day – August 6, 2016
(Opening Remarks)
“Alright, well that was fun. That was great. This actually will conclude that first difficult phase of training camp. You couldn’t think of a better way than to do it here, in front of the fans and in this environment. It was just really, really, really fun. Players had a blast. We talked yesterday, they were looking forward to it. They came out and we got better today. I don’t know how we’re going to be next week, but we definitely got better today as a team. I saw good things from everybody. We stayed healthy and what we would consider to be somewhat of a physical practice, so we stayed healthy. We got in great work, so they got a day off tomorrow. We start up next week. It’s just going to fly by and before we know it, seven days from today we got the Cowboys here in town. It was a great experience here. The organization, the Coliseum and everybody looked at it kind of as that first step, that dry run type of thing, and things were perfect everything was perfect. We’re looking forward to next weekend. Really a good day. This concludes the first stage of training camp. Players need to rest up a bit, and we’re going to get going again on Monday.”
(On the crowd and enthusiasm today helping the team)
“It’s a different feel. Now, I’m not saying that we don’t have the support at U.C. Irvine because we do. There’s a lot of people out there everyday, but this is just different. Walking down the tunnel for some of these guys, for the first time was a cool experience for them. Thinking that ‘this is going to be home for a while,’ so let’s make the most of it, and let’s make it a hard place to play.”
(On Coach Fisher walking through the tunnel in his return)
“I told you guys, dad brought me out here and I sat way up there when I was about seven years old, and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. To be able to have the opportunity to play here in college and then come back on numerous occasions during my NFL career was really cool. But this is really, really fun, really fun for me. Great memories here, and we just want to carry on that winning tradition.”
(On how QB Jared Goff is coming along)
“I can’t believe I didn’t bring up Jared to start with. So, I don’t know if you saw the two-minute drill, but that stuff was real. He was locked in, focused, and he knew exactly where the play clock was, game clock, timeouts, everything. He had a good day today - you know, finish up the week on a really good note and now he can get his mind right for next weekend.”
(On if Goff will start taking reps with the 1s)
“He has been taking reps – you haven’t seen him because he’s been taking reps in the walk-thru with the ones, which is good. He’s getting used to (C) Tim Barnes up front, so there may be a period or two where he does that, but (Q
Case (Keenum) is starting next week and we’ll get Jared in as soon as we can and just let him play.”
(On how WR Duke Williams has come along in the last week)
“Duke’s coming along. He’s making more and more plays. He’ll catch three, drop one, so we’ll need to get him to catch four, no drops – that type of thing. But he’s getting a feel for what we’re doing, he’s been active, and as I mentioned, Duke lost a lot of weight during summer, and he knows that this is his only opportunity, so we’ll wait and see how he does, but you should expect to see him be productive in the second half of the preseason games.”
(On his remarks of everything being perfect in regards to the relocation and the Coliseum)
“Everything. Yeah, the league office was heavily represented today here from an operations standpoint. So, there’s a lot of things that are involved in this, when you talk coach-to-quarterback devices and coach-to-coach devices, the sideline, the officials’ communication, the communication to the spotters, and everything was working. It was great. I’m sure there’s going to be a kink or two, but that’s the case any time you start the season. Wherever you are – even if you’ve been in the same place for 10 years. But things went really well today.”
(On how preparation would change leading into the preseason game next weekend)
“We’re going to continue to install Monday, Tuesday – Wednesday is going to be a special teams practice and then they’ll do yoga or whatever they’re going to do, and then Thursday, we’ll still install. Half of Thursday will be dedicated to preparing for the Cowboys. Out of fairness to the players, there’s different systems – offense, defense and special teams, so you want to get them familiar with that so they can go out and compete – so that’s half of Thursday and then it’ll be the case Friday. We’ll have a walk-thru, a fast-Friday walk-thru and prepare to go play the Cowboys.”
RB Todd Gurley – Post Family Day – August 6, 2016
(On the crowd recognizing and acknowledging him)
“(Head) Coach (Jeff Fisher) said there were going to be a lot of people out here, so I expected it to have a little energy. I just wanted to come out here and have a great day.”
(On the team’s excitement for today)
“We were just excited being able to play at home for the first time and then have Family Day and fans come. Everybody was a little amped up.”
(On Coach Fisher’s remarks about the team’s growth today)
“We most definitely got better today. It was a great day of work, especially for the offense. We were able to get some of those red zone scores and some of those goal-line runs, which we really need to put points on the board. It felt like offense and defense - we all got better today.”
(On first coming out of the tunnel for practice)
“Getting ready for practice, it was cool to be able to play in the Coliseum for our first time and get a reaction. I was just ready to have a good practice.”
(On entering the Coliseum and hearing the crowd yelling)
“It was pretty cool. I tried to wave to everybody, but it was cool.”
(On if it was tough to focus at practice today with the number of people at practice today and in the Coliseum environment)
“No, it’s just like a game, you know. You practice every day, so you know when to lock in. So, when people are calling your name, you hear all the stuff, but you know you have to get better. So we’ve just to go out there, do our jobs, do our assignments, lock in. Once gameday comes it’s going to be a lot more people, so you’re definitely going to have to pay attention then.”
(On if there were any new players or rookies that stood out to him)
“I love the receivers. Everybody from Nelson (Spruce), Duke (Williams), Mike (Thomas), Pharoh (Cooper). A lot of those guys, even Aaron Green, the running back. Everybody has been doing a great job. ‘Little Baby Gronk’ (Tyler Higbee) I call him, the tight end. Everybody’s been doing a great job, so we definitely see everybody getting better and better especially from OTAs to now.
(On how QB Jared Goff is coming along)
“He’s been doing great. Interceptions haven’t really been a big thing. He’s maybe had one or two so far this camp. That’s just what happens. He’s been doing a great job with his reads, and he’s been getting better every day. Everybody’s been actually doing a great job, so I am just happy. We’re progressing slowly as a team.”
(On how he believes he’s been progressing and what he’s been trying to work on this week of camp)
“Just letting the whole game slow down to me, just being able to line up right. Just not have any MA’s (missed assignments). Some stuff happens, but you learn from it and you come back out the next day and you get better. (Running Backs) Coach (Skip Peete) always says, ‘You either get better or you get worse every day.’ My focus is to come out here and give the offense a little energy and try to get better every day.”
QB Jared Goff – Post-Family Day – August 6, 2016
(On if he thinks this is his best day of practice)
“I don’t know. I think everyday I’ve been trying to improve and slowly but surely, I feel like I’m getting better everyday. I would expect the next practice to be even better. I hope to get better just everyday - that’s really what I’m trying to do.”
(On the team’s confidence in him)
“Sure, yeah. I’m starting to settle in a little bit. I feel more comfortable everyday with memory. The more comfortable I feel, the more in control I feel. The more confident I am going to be and the better I’m going to play. Everyday it gets a little bit better.”
(On his comfort level with the two-minute drill during practice)
“Yeah, a lot of plays we have ran a lot. I felt really comfortable with it. We didn’t run anything out of the ordinary, so it was good.”
(On how it felt to play in front of the fans in LA)
“It was great. I don’t know how many people were out here…probably a couple tens of thousands. It was awesome to see all the fans out here and how excited everyone is for us to be back in LA. It was just really cool, really exciting.”
(On the fans)
“I appreciate the fans here and everything they do. They’re a lot of fun. Right now, they are very happy to see us and hopefully we can keep it that way.”
(On how it felt coming through the tunnel of the LA Memorial Coliseum)
“Yeah, it’s nice. Getting a cheer coming out the tunnel as everyone went through - it was nice. I love the field here. It looks like they did something really nice with it. I haven’t seen it this nice in a long time, so I am excited to play on it.”
(On first team reps verse second team defense)
“Have I felt different? Not really. It’s the same stuff. Against our first defense, it speeds up a little bit, sure - with how talented they are. I felt the same and have the same mentality in every rep I get.”
(On WR Duke Williams dropping a pass in practice and going right back to him)
“I told him, right after he dropped it. I said I’m going to come right back here. Sure enough, I did. He ran a good route on the last play and was open and made a good play. It was good.”
(On his excitement for the first game)
“Yeah, it’ll be nice. Seems like a long time coming. But it’ll be nice. I think it’s one week from today. I’m sure it’ll be great. I’ m sure we will have a packed house and have a lot of fun playing the Cowboys and hopefully execute and play well.”
(On how he feels that he has changed)
“I think I’m going to go back to what I’ve been saying - just the comfortability. I don’t know if that’s a word. Is that a word? Comfortability? With everything, I have become more comfortable everyday. And felt better about everything everyday and continue to gain confidence. That’s really what it is. Just each day, try and take a little bit of a step. And I felt like I’ve done that.”
(On if there is a way he can measure how he has progressed and his comfort level)
“The results. That’s about it. I think if the results, if they get better, you are probably more comfortable and you are probably more confident, and it willresult in playing better.”
(On if playing today at the Coliseum is more of an opportunity to showcase his abilities as opposed to practicing in Irvine)
“No, we treat it the same as any other practice. We came out wanting to execute. We did have the added factor of some fans, but it was all good and it was all fun. We really just tried to treat it like another practice.”
(On if it felt different playing at the Coliseum)
“I am pretty comfortable with the Coliseum. I’ve played here once. Was here for the rookie premiere, so I am fairly comfortable with it. But, yeah, being on the field practicing is really cool. Expect it to be pretty packed when we have our first home opener here.”
(On if there has been a time when he has had an “ah ha” moment while going over a difficult play)
“Sure. I think early in camp, there’s some plays that kind of click, and you feel good about it. You know you make the right decision, you make it on time, you make a check at the line and it all worked, and you’re kind of like, ‘Oh, that’s how you do that.’ It’s just different stuff like that. I don’t know if there’s one in particular, but every day you just feel like that, where you’re more comfortable.”