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<a class="postlink" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/media-center/videos/Head-Coach-Jeff-Fisher-Press-Conference/bdeedb2c-82d4-4f9c-ac65-5ea956c61e3b" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.stlouisrams.com/media-center ... a956c61e3b</a>
Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – News Conference – August 25, 2013
(On his general takeaways from Saturday’s game against the Denver Broncos)
“It was kind of like what I said at the game. The first half we made some plays and the second half we didn’t. I was pleased to a certain extent from a defensive standpoint. Often times when you play (Broncos QB) Peyton Manning, we look at it as field goals are wins for the defense, and so we were able to do that. We, obviously, got the turnover and got a couple third down stops, which is hard to do. He came at us, a lot of quick count stuff. Did a good job with the cadence, we need that work. Overall, I thought we tackled better. He challenged our secondary. We responded. I thought our safety play, in particular, was pretty solid. In the hurry-up offense, when you have two young safeties that just line up left and right and go. One first down it may be the strong safety, second down he may be the free safety. That says a lot for both (S) Rodney’s (McLeod) development and for (S) T.J. (McDonald). I thought that was good. As we talked, (LB) Alec’s (Ogletree) plays were the kind of plays we expect him to make. That’s why we drafted him. We just need to keep him on track so he can continue to do that. I thought it was great work for our front, especially from a conditioning standpoint, preparing us for the opener at the elevation and having to play over fifty snaps if you take out the penalty snaps. I think there were some positives there. Offensively, we still need to work on our third down stuff. It’s not where it needs to be, but we’ve said we’re kind of holding some things and hope that that’ll help increase our third-down efficiency once the regular season starts. We didn’t run it as much. Our approach was to tie (QB) Sam (Bradford) to (RT) Rodger (Saffold), and our anticipation was that Rodger would only be able to play a couple series. He surprised us and himself and played the whole first half, so that allowed Sam to stay in. We tipped towards the pass, as opposed to the run in the game. That’s why we really didn’t get the run game going. In special teams, I thought (P) John (Hekker) was excellent. He put the ball where he needed to put it. Obviously, (K) Greg (Zuerlein) hit the long field goal and all the touchbacks. Then finally, we got to see our young returner (WR Tavon Austin) in action, which was good.”
(On the defensive line playing in the Denver altitude at the hurry-up pace)
“Well, we were rotating them. That’s the benefit of having depth on the defensive line, is that you can get them in and get them out so you keep a fresh player lining up on an opposing offensive lineman all the time.”
(On S Rodney McLeod)
“Well that’s what I said, I think Rodney’s really played well. He tackled well. He’s in the right place. He’s a good player, so we’ll be fine there.”
(On if the safety position is open to be won)
“Typically, guys don’t lose their jobs because of injury, but we’ll just re-evaluate it when ‘Stew’ (Darian Stewart) comes back.”
(On if they plan on making cuts prior to the August 27 deadline)
“We’ve already started the process. We’ll have a list for you whenever we’re required to have a list for you, or you guys can hang out in the parking lot and look around and see who’s here. It’s not easy. You’ve got guys that have been in here since the rookie minicamp, through the OTAs in the summer, and the whole bit busting their rear ends and they’re all better football players now than they were when they got there, but they understand the reality of it. It’s not an easy process.”
(On if there is more clarity on who will win the starting job at left guard)
“We’re getting there. We may be ready to make an announcement this week at some point.”
(On LG Chris Williams playing a lot against the Broncos)
“Yeah, he did. He’s been moving around, too, which is good. The flexibility at the left guard spot and then a little bit of right tackle here and there for us. It’s been good. (G) Shelley’s (Smith) moving around a little bit and playing left guard, right guard. We’ve got depth there. We’ll some hard decisions.”
(On how T Rodger Saffold played)
“Rodger was fine. Like I said, I think he surprised himself. He was playing with a brace. He’s probably a little bit more restricted in the run game than he is in the pass game. He was spot on from an assignment standpoint, spot on. It’s good to get the reps, considering he only played one or two plays since this preseason started.”
(On if it complicated things not having T Joe Barksdale)
“No, Joe’s fine. Like I said, he should be back on the practice field tomorrow.”
(On if the game is starting to slow down for LB Alec Ogletree)
“It is. He’s doing better. As a young player in the defense against offenses in the National Football League, it takes a while to be in a position where you can say you’ve seen everything once. So, he’s seeing things for the first time.”
(On if anyone has seized the No. 2 quarterback spot yet)
“No, not necessarily. They can both play. (QB) Kellen (Clemens) smiled on the sideline after we put – we wanted to get Tim Jenkins a series. And by the way, Tim Jenkins had a higher passer rating than Peyton Manning did yesterday. We wanted to get Timmy some snaps, so we did. We felt because (QB) Austin (Davis) was (No.) 2 this week and Kellen was (No.) 3, then Kellen put us in a position to win and then it started raining. It’s hard handling the football during the rain, but it was a good throw. It got us in the end zone.”
(On what WR Tavon Austin’s punt return did for the sideline)
“You’d probably have to look at the coaches’ tape, but the whole sideline was running down the sideline as well. It was a good return. I think I learned a lesson – I needed to follow that play. There was some talk that he may not have been down by contact there at the 3-yard line. So, I need to do a better job of making sure that he was down and didn’t get in, but ruled down by contact, it’s an advertent whistle, so we wouldn’t be able to review it.”
(On TE Cory Harkey)
“We’re doing tests right now.”
(On the challenges of a short week before preseason Game 4)
“It’s a challenge. Obviously, our opponent’s looking at it a little differently than we are because they play a week from Thursday. I think it’s reasonable to assume that they’re probably going to rest some key players because they play seven days from then. Our challenge is that tomorrow when the players come back it’s actually a Thursday in a normal preparation week. Monday is Thursday on a Thursday game, so we have just really, basically two days to get ready for a preseason game.”
(On if this will help younger players prepare for short weeks in the regular season)
“No, I don’t think so. It’s completely different. Your preseason approach to your regular season approach is different.”
(On if the starters will play about the same amount of reps against Baltimore as they did against Denver)
“We’re evaluating it right now. We’re going to play the guys that need to play. We’re going to let them play, and then if we feel guys have had adequate snaps throughout the preseason, we may back down a little bit.”
(On his focus for this week)
“We have to work. We’re going to have to work, and we’re going to have to probably put shoulder pads on and go out there and work on some things. The focus is going to be on the practice session rather than preparing for the game.”
(On Zuerlein’s 58-yard field goal)
“It was below the top (of the uprights), but based on the way it was going, he had another 10, 12 yards I think.”
(On P Johnny Hekker playing well)
“Yes, he did. He was bombing it, and he was putting it right on the boundary. That’s been our approach. We have to be able to do that as we get into our division and the league for that matter because of dynamic returners. Let’s face it – your opportunities on the kickoff returns, they’re just not there. The opportunities come on the punt returns. So, from our standpoint, it becomes an advantage if we can pin a returner on the boundary.”
(On younger players catching his eye in the second half)
“The young guys worked. The defense, linebackers were tackling. (LB) Ray Ray (Armstrong) made a nice play on the sack. The interception return to the 7 (-yard line) was a good play. What followed that was not good, but you learn from that. Some of the guys up front, they were working hard. (DE) Gerald (Rivers) was active on the line of scrimmage as a pass rusher. (S) Cody (Davis) has been very consistent with his safety play and also on special teams.”
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<a class="postlink" href="http://www.stlouisrams.com/media-center/videos/Head-Coach-Jeff-Fisher-Press-Conference/bdeedb2c-82d4-4f9c-ac65-5ea956c61e3b" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.stlouisrams.com/media-center ... a956c61e3b</a>
Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – News Conference – August 25, 2013
(On his general takeaways from Saturday’s game against the Denver Broncos)
“It was kind of like what I said at the game. The first half we made some plays and the second half we didn’t. I was pleased to a certain extent from a defensive standpoint. Often times when you play (Broncos QB) Peyton Manning, we look at it as field goals are wins for the defense, and so we were able to do that. We, obviously, got the turnover and got a couple third down stops, which is hard to do. He came at us, a lot of quick count stuff. Did a good job with the cadence, we need that work. Overall, I thought we tackled better. He challenged our secondary. We responded. I thought our safety play, in particular, was pretty solid. In the hurry-up offense, when you have two young safeties that just line up left and right and go. One first down it may be the strong safety, second down he may be the free safety. That says a lot for both (S) Rodney’s (McLeod) development and for (S) T.J. (McDonald). I thought that was good. As we talked, (LB) Alec’s (Ogletree) plays were the kind of plays we expect him to make. That’s why we drafted him. We just need to keep him on track so he can continue to do that. I thought it was great work for our front, especially from a conditioning standpoint, preparing us for the opener at the elevation and having to play over fifty snaps if you take out the penalty snaps. I think there were some positives there. Offensively, we still need to work on our third down stuff. It’s not where it needs to be, but we’ve said we’re kind of holding some things and hope that that’ll help increase our third-down efficiency once the regular season starts. We didn’t run it as much. Our approach was to tie (QB) Sam (Bradford) to (RT) Rodger (Saffold), and our anticipation was that Rodger would only be able to play a couple series. He surprised us and himself and played the whole first half, so that allowed Sam to stay in. We tipped towards the pass, as opposed to the run in the game. That’s why we really didn’t get the run game going. In special teams, I thought (P) John (Hekker) was excellent. He put the ball where he needed to put it. Obviously, (K) Greg (Zuerlein) hit the long field goal and all the touchbacks. Then finally, we got to see our young returner (WR Tavon Austin) in action, which was good.”
(On the defensive line playing in the Denver altitude at the hurry-up pace)
“Well, we were rotating them. That’s the benefit of having depth on the defensive line, is that you can get them in and get them out so you keep a fresh player lining up on an opposing offensive lineman all the time.”
(On S Rodney McLeod)
“Well that’s what I said, I think Rodney’s really played well. He tackled well. He’s in the right place. He’s a good player, so we’ll be fine there.”
(On if the safety position is open to be won)
“Typically, guys don’t lose their jobs because of injury, but we’ll just re-evaluate it when ‘Stew’ (Darian Stewart) comes back.”
(On if they plan on making cuts prior to the August 27 deadline)
“We’ve already started the process. We’ll have a list for you whenever we’re required to have a list for you, or you guys can hang out in the parking lot and look around and see who’s here. It’s not easy. You’ve got guys that have been in here since the rookie minicamp, through the OTAs in the summer, and the whole bit busting their rear ends and they’re all better football players now than they were when they got there, but they understand the reality of it. It’s not an easy process.”
(On if there is more clarity on who will win the starting job at left guard)
“We’re getting there. We may be ready to make an announcement this week at some point.”
(On LG Chris Williams playing a lot against the Broncos)
“Yeah, he did. He’s been moving around, too, which is good. The flexibility at the left guard spot and then a little bit of right tackle here and there for us. It’s been good. (G) Shelley’s (Smith) moving around a little bit and playing left guard, right guard. We’ve got depth there. We’ll some hard decisions.”
(On how T Rodger Saffold played)
“Rodger was fine. Like I said, I think he surprised himself. He was playing with a brace. He’s probably a little bit more restricted in the run game than he is in the pass game. He was spot on from an assignment standpoint, spot on. It’s good to get the reps, considering he only played one or two plays since this preseason started.”
(On if it complicated things not having T Joe Barksdale)
“No, Joe’s fine. Like I said, he should be back on the practice field tomorrow.”
(On if the game is starting to slow down for LB Alec Ogletree)
“It is. He’s doing better. As a young player in the defense against offenses in the National Football League, it takes a while to be in a position where you can say you’ve seen everything once. So, he’s seeing things for the first time.”
(On if anyone has seized the No. 2 quarterback spot yet)
“No, not necessarily. They can both play. (QB) Kellen (Clemens) smiled on the sideline after we put – we wanted to get Tim Jenkins a series. And by the way, Tim Jenkins had a higher passer rating than Peyton Manning did yesterday. We wanted to get Timmy some snaps, so we did. We felt because (QB) Austin (Davis) was (No.) 2 this week and Kellen was (No.) 3, then Kellen put us in a position to win and then it started raining. It’s hard handling the football during the rain, but it was a good throw. It got us in the end zone.”
(On what WR Tavon Austin’s punt return did for the sideline)
“You’d probably have to look at the coaches’ tape, but the whole sideline was running down the sideline as well. It was a good return. I think I learned a lesson – I needed to follow that play. There was some talk that he may not have been down by contact there at the 3-yard line. So, I need to do a better job of making sure that he was down and didn’t get in, but ruled down by contact, it’s an advertent whistle, so we wouldn’t be able to review it.”
(On TE Cory Harkey)
“We’re doing tests right now.”
(On the challenges of a short week before preseason Game 4)
“It’s a challenge. Obviously, our opponent’s looking at it a little differently than we are because they play a week from Thursday. I think it’s reasonable to assume that they’re probably going to rest some key players because they play seven days from then. Our challenge is that tomorrow when the players come back it’s actually a Thursday in a normal preparation week. Monday is Thursday on a Thursday game, so we have just really, basically two days to get ready for a preseason game.”
(On if this will help younger players prepare for short weeks in the regular season)
“No, I don’t think so. It’s completely different. Your preseason approach to your regular season approach is different.”
(On if the starters will play about the same amount of reps against Baltimore as they did against Denver)
“We’re evaluating it right now. We’re going to play the guys that need to play. We’re going to let them play, and then if we feel guys have had adequate snaps throughout the preseason, we may back down a little bit.”
(On his focus for this week)
“We have to work. We’re going to have to work, and we’re going to have to probably put shoulder pads on and go out there and work on some things. The focus is going to be on the practice session rather than preparing for the game.”
(On Zuerlein’s 58-yard field goal)
“It was below the top (of the uprights), but based on the way it was going, he had another 10, 12 yards I think.”
(On P Johnny Hekker playing well)
“Yes, he did. He was bombing it, and he was putting it right on the boundary. That’s been our approach. We have to be able to do that as we get into our division and the league for that matter because of dynamic returners. Let’s face it – your opportunities on the kickoff returns, they’re just not there. The opportunities come on the punt returns. So, from our standpoint, it becomes an advantage if we can pin a returner on the boundary.”
(On younger players catching his eye in the second half)
“The young guys worked. The defense, linebackers were tackling. (LB) Ray Ray (Armstrong) made a nice play on the sack. The interception return to the 7 (-yard line) was a good play. What followed that was not good, but you learn from that. Some of the guys up front, they were working hard. (DE) Gerald (Rivers) was active on the line of scrimmage as a pass rusher. (S) Cody (Davis) has been very consistent with his safety play and also on special teams.”
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