Los Angeles Rams HC Sean McVay
(On what he’s seen from the connection between QB Jared Goff and WR Brandin Cooks)
“They’ve got a good rapport. It’s day two, like you mentioned, so there’s a lot of work that we still have to get done, but I thought it was a step in the right direction today. Finished up with some competitive, unscripted stuff and I thought it was a good back-and-forth. Defensively, you could feel (DT) Ndamukong (Suh), his presence up front, having some good rushes. I thought our back end was doing a great job of contesting throws, making things difficult. It’s exciting just to see those guys compete against each other.”
(On OT Andrew Whitworth and the offense running sprints at the end of practice)
“He was probably digging. Was he out in front? I love it. That doesn’t surprise me. That’s kind of par for the course for him. That’s why he’s old faithful.”
(On what he’s seen from DT Ndamukong Suh since he’s been here)
“I think just getting to know him – really impressive, smart player, really smart person overall. He’s been fun to be around. I think, really, when you look at the offseason program, you’re starting to see a different mindset as we get into training camp practices. So, I think once we actually put the pads on, when you’re really playing real football, we’ll get a really good feel. But you certainly feel his presence. I think he’s getting more comfortable with some of the techniques and different things that (Defensive Line) coach (Bill) Johnson and (Defensive Coordinator) coach Wade (Phillips) are coaching. He certainly shows up, and you feel him.”
(On the Rams uniform changes and if uniforms mattered to him growing up)
“I certainly have an appreciation for it, but we’ve still got to go play football whether we’re wearing whatever color. It’s not something that I’ve really given too much thought to, but the throwbacks do look good. So, that’s good news.”
(On trying to implement more 12-personnel during practice)
“Yeah, I think it’s figuring out our identity. You always want to find ways to get different guys on the field. I think those tight ends have done a nice job continuing to develop. You guys see (TE) Gerald Everett. He’s making steps in the right direction. I think (TE) Tyler Higbee has been excellent in this offseason program. Getting (TE) Temarrick Hemingway back has been really good. He looks healthy from that ankle injury. So, I think part of our identity, you want to be able to change up some personnel groupings, but that will be week-to-week. Really, I think it’s still kind of to be determined. I think it’ll naturally figure itself out.”
(On whether he changed anything about the training camp setup in year two)
“You know, it’s got a little – it’s got a couple differences just in terms of making sure that we’re getting enough work for our offense and for our defense, especially with a lot of those guys that we really anticipate being big time guys for us. I think there’s a better feel for, ‘Alright, what does Wade (Phillips) need? What can we present from an offensive standpoint?’ That’s kind of how you look at your contribution to our defense, is making sure that we’re getting them a variety of different schemes and concepts so that they feel like they’ve seen a variety of things, just getting ready for the season when they go against a variety of different offenses. But for the most part, the structure, the times – everything is pretty similar. But again, you guys have heard us mention it a lot, but (Director of Sports Medicine and Performance) Reggie Scott and (Director of Strength Training and Performance) Ted Rath do such a good job of monitoring them. As coaches we still want to make sure that we’re getting a lot of reps, but you don’t want to wear them out to early. So, I’ve always got to be told, ‘Let’s be smart with these guys.’”
(On if DL John Franklin-Myers has opened some eyes)
“Yeah, he’s really a guy throughout the whole offseason that he’s shown the ability to move across the front. He’s got a natural rush ability, he can really work edges on people. He’s a bigger guy but he’s got some fluidity in his hips and he knows how to use his length. Think he’s getting more and more comfortable but you certainly feel John on defense and he’s got a good demeanor. He’s done a nice job getting better and like we said, I think especially with those guys upfront really it’ll be great to get the pads on here in a couple days when you can truly evaluate them.”
(On if there are any updates on DT Aaron Donald)
“No, kind of the same thing. If there is something new, you’ll probably know before me. So, no but it’s kind of right where it’s at. I know that (Vice President, Football & Business Administration) Tony (Pastoors) and (General Manager) Les (Snead) and (Executive Vice President of Football Operations/Chief Operating Officer) Kevin (Demoff) are tirelessly working with his representation to try to get something done and we’re hopeful that we’ll achieve that at some point. But like we’ve said, in the meantime really appreciative of the guys we have here. They’re working hard and it’s been a great first two days.”
(On if Donald does report, is he looking forward to overseeing a training camp practice with him)
“Yeah, that would be good. It would be nice to be able to see our guy here. But, I think there is a respect and an understanding for all the layers that are involved with this. This is a big-time player. This is somebody that is extremely important to us, important to this organization and hopefully it gets sorted out. But like we’ve said, we’ve got to do a good job. We respect Aaron. We love Aaron. But, we’ve got to continue to do a good job of moving forward and making sure that we’re doing everything in our power to get ready for that September 10th date.”
(On if he has a specific goal he wants to accomplish next week before the team heads to Baltimore for the joint practice)
“It’s a good question. I think really getting to play against another defense, another offensive system. Especially, we’ll have had eight practices and eight walk-thrus against each other before we travel to Baltimore. Got a lot of respect for (Head) Coach (John) Harbaugh and that organization. I think it will present a great opportunity for us to go against some different systems. See how they operate defensively, see how they operate offensively. It stresses us in a couple different ways. I think it’s about that perfect time where, you kind of get tired of going against each other and now you get the chance to practice against another quality opponent. We’re excited about that. I think really a lot of those practices provide an opportunity for some of your guys that maybe you don’t anticipate playing a whole lot of snaps in the preseason to get some really good work, but put them in a little bit safer environment. You can never prevent somethings, but you can at least keep them a little bit more restricted in terms of what they’re susceptible to with how we’ll practice.”
(On if he saw Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips’ Fortnite shirt)
“I did. Somebody showed me that and it just continues to epitomize, Wade’s the man. Wade is the man.”
(On if he knows what Fortnite is)
“Somebody told me it’s a video game. But embarrassingly, I probably couldn’t explain what it is.”
(On if they plan to practice in pads on July 29)
“That’s the plan. Plans are pads on Sunday. We anticipate a little bit of a de-load day tomorrow. Kind of our third day in a row, we’ll give some of the veteran guys a little less work. They’ll get a majority of their work in the walk-thru. Day four will really represent a chance for us to ramp it back up again.”