POSTGAME NOTES: Rams vs. Packers (8-16-14)

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Blue and Gold

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POSTGAME QUOTES: Rams vs. Packers


Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher

(Opening Statement)
“Well I think I’m going to start off by addressing the quarterback position. For anybody that had questions about Sam’s (Bradford) condition, his physical condition, I think they were answered today. He could've played last week. We said we intentionally held him out. I was very pleased with his performance in the brief amount of time that he played. You can see he has a fastball and it was a great throw to (WR) Brian (Quick) and also to (TE) Lance (Kendricks), so I’m happy with his game. I know he’s excited things are clearly behind him now and we’ll move forward, so that was encouraging. I thought as the game unfolded we anticipated the no huddle out of (Packers QB) Aaron (Rodgers), so we kept things basic. We actually practiced it yesterday, but we kept things very, very basic on defense and I thought it was a really good exercise for our defense in both those drives. Then obviously, we started subbing, I think we had two drives for 20 plays, and that was enough for our starters. Penalties again, penalties were our topic of discussion this morning in the meeting and especially the ones that took place, the numbers of penalties that took place in yesterday's game, I think that’s an average of 10 per club in yesterday's game across the board. Then of course we had 10 today and our opponent has 12 and most of them appeared to be the points of emphasis, which are hands to face and defensive holding. So we just have to just keep coaching them and just trying to get them to understand that those things are going to get called. I don’t anticipate anything changing once the regular season starts. From an injury standpoint it appears that we've lost (RB) Isaiah (Pead) with an ACL. After talking to our doctors, it’s unlikely that he has not torn his ACL, which is very tough for him. He was fighting back. He had a fracture in his finger, had surgery, we pinned it. He was excited about getting an opportunity to return a kick with the ball in his left hand, and it's unfortunate that that happened. We’ll just hope for the best as far as that’s concerned. Beyond that, we really didn’t have any issue from an injury standpoint."

(On if RB Isiah Pead had surgery scheduled to repair his finger)
“No, he had already had surgery."

(On how Pead got injured on the play)
"Yeah he was cutting...(RB) Benny (Cunningham) makes a great block and it might have spooked him a little bit because when I got out on the field the doctors told him that he didn’t hit anybody. He wasn’t tackled and he thought he was tackled. So yeah, it’s just kind of one of those non-contact, freak things that happens out there sometimes.”

(On the running game)
“We were hoping for more. Again, they're very stout up front. We didn’t do a lot of game-planning, so I’m not too concerned about that, but we’ll get that thing going. But it was a little frustrating at times just because of the penetration. There was so much penetration. Again, I think the coaches will take that responsibility just because we just didn’t really do an awful lot of game-planning. We just called things and talked about the adjustments if this happens. So, I would expect everybody to, obviously, improve.

(On if the lack of blitzing on the starting quarterbacks was an indication of how vanilla it was for both teams)
"We had a couple pressures. We had a couple of single pressures with Aaron (Rodgers). Our philosophy was to just line up and play and not rely on the pressure. We pressured a little bit last week and not allowing the pressure, of course. We’re holding a lot of stuff for our regular season as well."

(On if he was worried about Bradford after LB Julius Peppers’ hit)
“No. He’s taken a lot of hits in his young career in the pocket and he pops up. He pops up and goes. His injury was completely different. He’s out of the pocket, it was on the boundary, it was something weird that happened. No, I wasn’t concerned with that.”

(On the fourth-and-three completion to TE Jared Cook)
“Yeah, we had confidence in him. He knew what to do. He knew what was going to unfold. He liked the look, he had options he read it out and made a good throw.”

(On WR Kenny Britt’s shoulder)
“He just had a stinger. His was fine.”

(On WR Brian Quick catching balls in traffic and if the works paying off)
“It is. Sam anticipated, he put it up in the air and gave Brian a chance to go up and make the play. He comes down and he picks up some additional yards, so it was a good throw. It was all anticipation. Sam trusted he was going to be in that spot where he needed to be, he cut the ball loose and he went up and got it.”

(On Quick’s progress thus far and his improvements)
“Yeah he’s had a good camp. He’s made a lot of those type of plays in camp. I believe that he’s crossed the line now and he’s able to take what he’s doing in practice and carry it over to a game.”


QB Sam Bradford

(On how his knee felt tonight)

“It felt great out there today, no surprises. It’s felt really good all camp. It was nice to get out there, live game, but the knee felt great out there.”

(On taking a blind-side hit)
“Yeah, I knew I was going to take a hit or two today, that’s just part of the game. But, it’s always nice to get that first one under your belt, knowing that everything’s going to be OK.”

(On how it felt to play again)
“It was just great to be back on the field with the guys. We try to simulate game speed in practice to the best we can, but it’s really hard to simulate that. So to get out there and get some live snaps today, it was just great to feel the speed of the game again.”

(On the missed throw to WR Kenny Britt)
“Just missed outside a little bit. It was an opportunity for a big play, just got to keep it inbounds. Liked the decision, just have to give him a better ball.”

(On if the missed throw was due to knocking off some rust)
“Absolutely. Obviously that’s a tough one, but to come back and respond the way the offense did the next drive and go down and put points on the board, I think that says a lot about our group.”

(On his touchdown pass to TE Lance Kendricks)
“To be honest, we’ve called that play quite a bit in training camp and I’m not sure the ball has ever gone there. But, it was just a look where their safety was playing outside and Lance did a great job of getting around the ‘backer and inside the safety and he made a great catch because that’s not an easy catch.”

(On if he said ‘I’m back’ after throwing the touchdown pass to Kendricks)

“No, I don’t think those were the words. In the quarterback room we’ve kind of got something we say and I looked over at ‘Schotty’ (Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer) and gave him one of those. So, it was just kind of a signal to him.”

(On if it was good to see WR Brian Quick make that big catch in the second quarter)

“Absolutely, that was an extremely tough catch and to see him climb the ladder and go get that ball and then come down and get some yards after that catch. I told you guys the other day, we’ve seen a lot of that from him during OTAs and during training camp. I expect to see a lot more out of him this year doing that.”

(On the how significant Quick’s aforementioned catch was considering he later drew a pass interference call)

“Absolutely, I think they saw him make that play and then I don’t know what was going on over there, but obviously that corner knew he was 1-on-1 with ‘Quickie.’ Quickie made a nice release, ended up getting a pass interference penalty and kept our drive alive.”


Rams DE Chris Long

(On the game)

“We did some good things. There’s going to be things we’re going to correct over the next couple of days. We have a really good opportunity to get out there and defend against the no huddle against a premiere quarterback. Played a lot of basic stuff like you would in preseason, the ‘DBs’ did a really good job keeping things in front of them, making tackles. We have a lot to build on. Obviously the result is not as important in preseason, but we want to win these games.”

(On what he wants to see between game two and three)

“Just continue to move in the right direction, you know, tackle well, be in the right gaps, continue to master the schemes. Practice week becomes just as important because we’re going to get to run through all our stuff all week.”

(On how much he has learned from the two preseason games)

“The guys in those locker rooms and in the film room and on the team learn a lot, but often times the people outside the building don’t learn as much because it’s hard to decipher what’s real and what’s not. That’s the way preseason is, it’s not always indicative of how things are going to go on the field. For us it’s just about continuing to work on the little things and the result will become more important in a couple of weeks.”


Rams RB Zac Stacy

(On what the team will do tomorrow)

“We will start looking at some film. I am sure there were we some good things that we did. I am sure there were some bad. Right now we just have to focus on some improvements.”

(On how it felt having QB Sam Bradford back)
“It felt good. It felt good to have him back slinging the ball around. Hopefully, we all will stay consistent.”

(On how Bradford has done coming back from his injury)

“To me, he’s done a heck of a job progressing to this point.Like I said, just going back to staying healthy and staying consistent.”

(On how the team can improve from this point)
“You know really just correct all the mistakes that you can, and improve as an individual, improve as a unit. You know, just go from there”.


Rams DB Lamarcus Joyner

(On the experience playing against QB Aaron Rodgers)

“It was a great experience, you had coaches talking about him all week. Then you grow up watching guys like Aaron Rodgers but to go out there and compete it was a pretty good experience going against one of the best NFL quartbacks.”

(On the Packers up tempo and the no-huddle offense)
“It was very tiring, but we already knew what kind of team they are and the capability they have with a guy like Aaron Rodgers running their offense. He’s pretty much the Commode and chief of that offense and they go at his pace. So we were expecting it. They came out and they executed and we made plays. It was fun. It was great for me being a rookie out there and getting that exposure.”

(On the touchdown pass that was committed to him)
“I’ve just got to work on the scrambling technique. Quarterback gets out the pocket, you have to plaster your guy, and I had a mental error. That something we can correct Monday. No hard feelings.”


Packers Head Coach Mike McCarthy

(On the first team offense)

“I thought the first team offense got off to a good start. I thought the efficiency of operation is what we’re looking for. We had a mixed officiating crew today, so I thought they did a good job with the tempo. Obviously very productive, where we were looking to…the goal was to score in two drives, and we were able to get that done. There will be plenty of film to learn from. Obviously, we had that one touchdown come back because of penalty, but I was very pleased with the first offense.”

(On QB Aaron Rodgers’ play today)

“I thought Aaron was excellent. I mean just his decision making, obviously ball accuracy, completion percentage. He did a heck of a job.”

(On the no huddle offense)

“It’s something we’ve invested a lot of time in and it was good to get go out and compete and do it this week. Obviously, with the game last week and the weather, the game took a different path and was a different method, so it was great to get a number of no huddle series today.”

(On if the performance for the first team offense today what he has been seeing in camp)
“Oh definitely. I think the No.1 offense is really coming out of the offseason. We felt really good about the ability to get everything in really throughout our whole football team. Our mental errors are down this year, so this group has put in the extra time. You’re seeing the relationships developing. I say it every day, our veteran players do an outstanding job mentoring our young players. You’re seeing that come together, so regardless of who you put in there, everybody keeps playing. That’s what every team wants. Offensively I think we’re off to a good start.”

(On what he thought of LB Julius Peppers’ performance today)
“To give you an evaluation definitely I thought defense played good, particularly the first group. I thought that just the little that I saw, that Julius was impactful. That was a good play on the sack, so I’m sure it will be good video.”

(On the pacing of the first two drives)

“I’ll have to look at the numbers. It felt like we were in a pretty good tempo.”

(On QB Scott Tolzien)
“I thought Scott had some tough situations. I thought his decision making was good and the management of what he was trying to do out there. We had some pressures there that really hurt us in some of our drives. We’ll look at video. I thought Scott proved today.”

(On WRs Jeff Janis and Davante Adams)

“It was great to get Jeff out there finally, it was great experience for him. He continues to do something every day and that’s something that you look for. I thought a big play production as a football team was very high and obviously Davante did an excellent job on the touchdown throw. He and (QB) Matt (Flynn) were definitely in sync there, so we liked the timing of that. They’re getting better, the young players are getting better.”

(On game production)

“I think we’re making progress. We wanted to improve today. We keep it simple and clear, we wanted to improve our play style and I think we hit that target as a football team. Quality of play, when we study the video in great depth hopefully it’s as high as we think it is. I think it will because the big play production there. You have to make big plays in the National Football League to win. And we won the game, so winning’s great.”

(On how important it was to get RB Eddie Lacy play time)

“It’s important for everybody to get play time. Eddie’s had a heck of a camp. You’re at practice every day, Eddie is an improved football player from last year. I liked what he did today.”

(On getting the bottom of the roster playing time and LB Jayrone Elliott’s production)
“I mean what can you say, when a young man gets a chance like that. We we’re going to make sure he got more reps this week, and (LB Adrian) Hubbard also. And just the production, once again, that would fall in the big play category. And on top of it, to see the sideline get behind the young guys, that’s what good teams do. We’re growing, we improved today.”

(On if he has heard anything about TE Brandon Bostick’s injury)

“I have not. I don’t know the details”


Packers QB Aaron Rodgers

(On he felt about the first team offense’s rhythm and pace today)

“It was good. I think we got the tempo up, went down the field, scored and came back down, had a good drive, put some more points on the board. The tempo was good, the efficiency was pretty good, and we stayed healthy for the most part.”

(On how it was working with C JC Tretter)
“It was pretty seamless. He’s doing a great job. He’s very intelligent, knows the checks. He’s made a lot of good plays. He’s not somebody you worry about, which is a good thing for him being in his first year.”

(On how beneficial it was getting the running game going with RB Eddie Lacy)
“You need two backs. You need at least two backs, and we think we’ve got more than that. Having Eddie and James (Starks) in there the way they’re running is really going to help us out. It’s going to take some of the pressure off the passing game and give us some more one-on-ones outside for (WR) Jordy (Nelson) and (WR) Jarrett (Boykin). They can really help us. We’ve just got to keep those guys healthy and keep them running well.”

(On if this game says something about the value of practice)

“I think practice is always important, but these opportunities are important to get the tempo. You’re playing against another team. They played very vanilla on defense, they didn’t bring any pressure really than maybe one snap when we were out there. They didn’t have (DT Michael) Brockers playing, they didn’t have (LB James) Laurinaitis playing, so it felt good for us to run some plays against another team but it’s preseason.”

(On if all three quarterbacks posting good numbers today says something about the depth and performance at the position)

“It’s a good group. It’s a deep group. Those guys are talented players, and they’ll both get an opportunity to compete for the backup spot. They’re both doing a good job.”

(On all the penalties called and if he sees them carrying into the regular season)
“It’s way over the top. It’s too much. The game’s too choppy if they’re going to call it like that. I don’t know how many penalties – I would guess in excess of 30. That’s what it seemed like. I know there’s some issues in some of the other games with a lot of penalties called, but we had two touchdowns taken off the board. It’s tough, I don’t know how they can continue to ref it that way. I know they have a tough job, and they’re trying to make the right calls all the time. We know what they’re emphasizing. We had some of this crew actually at our camp and talking about defensive holding, illegal contact, hands to the face and offensive pass interference. You saw it there, you saw a lot of defensive holding calls. We saw an offensive pass interference call, maybe two. You saw illegal contact, hands to the face a bunch of times. It makes you – after a play, especially a big play – you’re always looking back seeing if there’s a penalty out there. We don’t want to get down that road too far, but hopefully it’s preseason and they’re working their kinks out as well.”

(On the pace of their offensive drives)
“I liked the tempo. We talk about that a lot in practice. It’s tough to simulate unless you’re in a game situation. You can do it for a time in practice, but usually you don’t see a 12-play drive calling that many plays. I think we got a couple of them, so that was good for us. Some of our guys were a little winded, myself included at times on those two drives, but that’s what you want. You want to get your wind up in the preseason, and I’m sure the Rams’ players didn’t mind it either because they were getting a good workout out there too.”

(On if their team thought they could bring some relief to the city of St. Louis with the recent activity in Ferguson, Mo.)
“I think a lot of us are aware of what’s going on with that. Sports, at times, have been able to heal a country in terms of bringing people back together, but I don’t think anybody looked at that and attached it to what happened in this area.”

(On if WR Jeff Janis has caught his eye at all with some of the plays he’s made)
“He’s made a few plays. He’s athletic, he’s fast. He ran his route, caught a ball and outran everybody today. When you’re playing against the first string, you need to run crisp routes and make the plays that are there, so plays like today help him out confidence-wise, for sure. He did it in practice last week, and coming back from his ailment, he’s been doing a nice job for us.”

(On if today qualifies as a perfect preseason game)
“Yeah, we scored and we stayed healthy, so that’s kind of a perfect preseason game.”

(On if the offense is fluid and at ease)
“You’re at 10, nine of the exact same offense and it changes from time to time, but you get to a comfort level over the years and it’s just about playing the right way. It’s about how you’re seeing your reads and your reaction time. I felt good out there, the line did a great job protecting, had a lot of time. Moving out of the pocket, made some plays. The touchdown was a play where they dropped eight guys into coverage, the line kept working, guys kept working and that’s what you want to see.”


RB Eddie Lacy
(On how good the tempo of the offense was against the Rams)

“It moved fast and it was the same as it was in practice except for a little faster because it was more game speed. I think we were all on the same page and we were all ready. It couldn’t have looked any better than it did out there.”

(On feeling comfortable going into the season after one drive today)

“Definitely. I was able to get back into the groove I guess you could say. I think with the carries that I had and the two catches, I think I did a pretty good job even though I didn’t play last week. It’s a timing thing, but I think everything turned out good.”


QB Matt Flynn

(On what it is like playing with the young guys)

“I love it, it’s fun. It’s always fun to go in there with the guys that aren’t used to an NFL game, or aren’t used to being out there and are just excited to be playing. It’s fun, you have to make sure as a veteran, being in the preseason before, being in these situations before and you kind of realize that you have to look them in the eyes and tell them what they’ve got and not speak too fast. You’ve got to not be too big about things and make sure they know what they are going because if they know where they are going, they are going to hit it full speed because they are excited.”

(On how he felt about his game today)

“I felt good about it. I felt like I made good, quick decisions. I felt like I was in control of everything. There were a couple plays out there that could have been big, but we moved the ball and put up some points.”

(On how he felt about the touchdown to WR Jeff Janis)

“It was great, great play by him. He made a guy miss and scored. I didn’t really get to see it live, I think I got hit or something happened. I don’t know I didn’t see it live, I was kind of watching the jumbotron, but it was a great play and I think it showed his speed.”

WR Jordy Nelson

(On how his hamstring is doing)

“Everything’s good.”

(On how the starters played today)
“Absolutely. We put in some work for about three weeks now in training camp. A lot of guys are from the same group that was here last year. For the 1s there aren’t really too many new guys. We know what each other are thinking. We know the game plan. We are able to get a touchdown on the board and go two-for-two on that but it was good stuff, and we’ll take another one next week.”
 
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