Los Angeles Rams HC Sean McVay
(On if he was confused about the new rules after the presentation)
“No. You know what? I thought (NFL referee) Craig (Wrolstad) and his crew did a great job of kind of explaining exactly what the rule changes were. These were things that, you know, had been kind of heavily discussed at the owners meetings and different things like that. The biggest take away as far as keeping that out of the game – and really this isn’t anything new in terms of some of the fundamentals, the techniques, the way that our guys are coaching how to tackle all geared towards making our game safer and doing it in a smart way, knowing that it is a physical game. As much as we can take the head out of it with the proper techniques and the fundamentals and the way that they’ll penalize if you’re not using it the right way, those were kind of the biggest takeaways. And then obviously the catch rule, but they always have a couple points of emphasis, but the biggest thing is just being smart with how we use the helmet and how we coach those techniques, which is exactly how we’ve been coaching them for the last handful of years.”
(On the new helmet rule and whether or not the players will be clean in the first preseason game or if it will take time to work out)
“I think they’ll be clean because those are the fundamentals, the techniques that we’ve been coaching. The biggest thing that is going to be the challenge is on some of those situations where you’re a defender, you try to keep your head out of that play and then that target changes on some of those bang-bang type plays. We’ve got to do a great job, but trying to be accurate with that helmet placement, being in those target areas that are legal, from the stand point of what we’re trying to get done. Those are things that our defensive coaches are really coaching and then with the offensive guys, especially keeping their head out of it when the ball is in their hands. Those are the things that we’ve got to be mindful of and do a great job emphasizing.”
(On if there’s frustration when you know a player wasn’t trying to hit with poor intent, but rather the timing was off)
“Yeah, and those are the tough types of plays. Those are the situations that you talk about and you’ll be interested to see how they play out because inevitably there are going to be a couple plays that a guy is trying to get his head out of it, that changes at the last second and his head might be the first thing that contacts the player’s body. But, we’ll try to avoid those at all costs and just like anything else, as you go through this experience you continue to learn and find out better ways to educate, really, your players and do a good job of giving them clarity so they can play with a quieted mind.”
(On an update on TE Gerald Everett)
“Yeah. We’re figuring it out right now. He had a little shoulder ding yesterday. We’re still waiting for the final results in terms of what’s going on with that. But, we’ll have some further – we’ll find out exactly a little bit about what’s going on a little bit later today from (Senior Director of Sports Medicine and Performance) Reggie (Scott) and his staff.”
(On whether the injury is potentially serious in nature)
“You know, it’s hard to say. Those shoulders are such tough situations to deal with in terms of, ‘Is it a labrum? How does that really effect it?’ You know, but it’s something with his posterior shoulder. We’ll find out more specifically about that.”
(On updates on OLB Matt Longacre and S Lamarcus Joyner)
“Yeah. Really, with (S) Lamarcus (Joyner), just a little soreness in his Achilles. Just being smart with him. And then (OLB) Matt (Longacre) had a little tweak in his bicep. You know, we’ll find out the severity of that as well with (TE) Gerald (Everett) and him later on today.”
(On potential adjustments players have to make with the slide rule now)
“No, I think really in terms of just declaring yourself down, you’re not going to see those quarterbacks when they’re protected be able to dive forward and get those additional five, six yards in terms of where that ball is spotted. Whether you’re diving forward or you’re sliding, you’re declaring yourself down and that ball is going to be spotted right there. So, I think those types of situations are what they’re trying to prevent when guys would slide head first. But there’s still protected players – specifically those quarterbacks – and you end up spotting them an extra five yards where they go down.”
(On if he talks to his players about making mistakes in practice and the potential social media backlash that comes with it)
“I think, really, the biggest thing is – whether you’re competing in a game or out here at practice – we talk about we never fear failure. You know, you always go for success and trust your techniques, trust your fundamentals. But, we’ve got a lot of guys that I think that’s a big thing that we really emphasize is not fearing failure and with the confident demeanor that we have. As long as you can trust exactly what you’re supposed to do – there’s going to be times you wish you had plays back. There’s times that I know I wish I had decisions back. But, as long as we’re doing everything in our power to give ourselves the best chance to have success, that’s an inevitable part, but that’s part of the mental toughness that we talk about with our team all the time. I agree with what (San Francisco 49ers Head Coach) Kyle (Shanahan) is saying on that.”
(On if he has addressed the joint practices with the players)
“Really anytime that you practice against somebody else, you talk about what the intent is, what we’re trying to get out of it and we can’t have fights. We can’t afford to get anybody injured for unnecessary scuffles, different things like that. (Baltimore Ravens Head) Coach (John) Harbaugh and I, we’ve connected a little bit. We’ll connect before we get together again tomorrow after they finish up their game tonight. Just make sure that we’re on the same page with some of the things that we’re asking our players of and exactly what we’re trying to get done and if we don’t follow those rules, then guys won’t be able to participate.”
(On what role Nutritionist Joey Blake plays and having guys ready for these practices day in and day out)
“Yeah, Joey Blake is our nutritionist and he’s done an excellent job of really making sure that we’re up to speed in terms of when guys lose fluids – getting them up to date on that. Getting them specific diets based on exactly what you’re trying to get done. Are you trying to maintain? Are you trying to gain weight? The proper nutrition, even things that are some natural sleep supplements that – he helps me out with those to help me go to bed and wind down at night. But, those are the biggest things that it’s kind of all encompassing in terms of, we understand the importance of your diet, especially when you’re losing as many fluids as you are when you’re partaking in physical activities. He’s really been excellent and really I would tell you that one of the things that being in this role has been able to provide me is, you continue to learn yourself on how to best go about it and how to utilize these guys, so that you can try to create an edge for your players most importantly.”