Los Angeles Rams HC Sean McVay
(On what he liked most about the first day of practice)
“I think you just like being out here with the guys again and the way that they competed. I think it was a good practice. A lot of good things that we can certainly clean up, but I think it was a good step in the right direction. But until we go back and look at the tape it’s always hard to say exactly, but I know the guys were competing hard. There was a lot of good energy and enthusiasm out here and that’s what we like.”
(On the overall enthusiasm and if he had to slow the players down at all)
“Yeah, a little bit just because you want to be mindful of not overextending them too early. It’s day one of camp. We got a lot of good work in. We did have something where we trimmed it back just a little bit based on our feel for the way it went. But as far as the first day is concerned, we feel good, came out of it healthy and that’s always the goal.”
(On OG Jamon Brown’s status and finding a replacement as training camp goes on)
“Well, we’ll anticipate Jamon coming back in after those first couple weeks, but we do certainly have some plans and some contingency plans in place where we’ll start to get some other guys in there. Give them a chance to get a couple reps with the first-team group. But just being in day one, he’s a starting caliber player and that’s kind of how we wanted to operate today.”
(On what CBs Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters can bring to the defense)
“Well, I think, you’re talking about two elite corners. They have the ability to get the ball back for our offense. You just look at their production over the course of their careers. They’re special players. I really like their confidence and swagger. They bring, really, a lot of confidence, a lot of swagger – like we said – to our defense and it’s been great being around these guys so far.”
(On any potential updates in DT Aaron Donald’s situation)
“No. We’re kind of right where we were when we spoke the other day. That dialogue is ongoing. I know that we are proactively trying to find a solution to that. It’s very important to us. In the meantime, we’ve got a lot of great guys here that did a good job getting better today.”
(On expectations for the pass rush)
“I think any time that you get a player like (DT) Aaron (Donald) back on our defense, when that does happen hopefully, you feel really good about a special player. Then being able to have guys like (DT) Ndamukong (Suh) and a (DL) Michael Brockers and then some of these guys. You look at what (OLB) Samson Ebukam is doing as far as just getting better every single day. We feel good about the players and the personnel we have on defense. If Aaron is back, we’ll certainly feel good about that as well.”
(On the continuity along the offensive line this year compared to last year)
“Well it was remarkable and I think it’s a credit to our training staff, the players’ ability to be able to follow certain guidelines. There’s always going to be things that certainly you can’t avoid. We feel fortunate that we were able to keep that continuity last year, but I think (Run Game Coordinator) coach (Aaron) Kromer does a great job of cross-training a bunch of guys. You can see that we invested in some younger players in the draft – guys that we’re excited about, the development they’ve made in a short amount of time they’ve been with us. So, we’re always hopeful of that but we’ve got to be mindful of the fact that we were lucky in a lot of regards to be able to keep that continuity last year.”
(On the confidence level that they’ll be able to plug players in for a couple games)
“I think we feel comfortable in a lot of guys. It’s the first day of training camp. There’s a lot of work to be done until we even have to play against the Ravens, and let alone that September 10 date against the Raiders. We’re focused on getting better every single day but I think when you look at the progress that a lot of these linemen made as a whole, we feel good about the depth. I think there’s going to be some tough decisions that we’ll have to make when it comes down to cut time.”
(On his expectations for QB Jared Goff this season)
“Just like we talk about all the time. It’s about getting better one day at a time, doing a great job of having a mastery and an ownership of our offense, kind of understanding the intent of each play, and doing a good job with his decision-making. There’s always things, especially at the quarterback position, that you can continue to improve with the decision-making, the timing and the accuracy. We’ll say it over and over again, but there’s so many elements involved in that based on what plays we’re running. That’s really our quarterback group as a whole.”
(On whether he made it a point to go watch some of his new defensive players)
“I think when you really look at it, some of these guys – we have people in our building that we really trust their word in terms of the experiences they’ve had with these individual players. Then, any time we acquire a player, I think (General Manager) Les (Snead), and really our organization as a whole, do a great job of really vetting these players – understanding who are the sources that have been closest to these guys that we can really trust. Being around them for the first two months, they’ve been exactly what we expected – hard-working guys. They fit in really well with the culture. I think their teammates would all say the same thing. We’re excited about what they’re going to add to our team.”
(On if the first day of training camp felt any different for him personally in year two)
“I think there’s a comfort level in terms of just knowing the players a little bit better, kind of having an understanding of what the structure of a normal day is. But any time you get out on the football field there’s a lot of things, especially in day one, we can get better with. It always feels the same. You love it and you have so much fun with these guys and we love the way that our guys competed today. Can’t wait to go back and look at this tape and make a lot of corrections and be better tomorrow.”
(On the goals for the early part of camp before the pads come on)
“I think, really, any time you get into training camp, the biggest thing that we’re looking to do is establish our culture, establish what we kind of identity as our football philosophy and, most importantly, coming together as a team. Those things will always remain the same and if we’re able do those things one day at a time we feel like good things will happen for us.”
QB Jared Goff
(On how he felt the first day of training camp went)
“Good, you get a lot of stuff we will look at on film. A little bit of rust all around but good. It’s fun to be back out with the guys, back out here in Irvine, we love it.”
(On what he thought of RB Todd Gurley II’s performance at practice)
“Good. He looked good on, he looked good. A little more pep in his step, I don’t know why something must have happened recently (laughs). He looks great and I’m excited about him.”
(On if Gurley has been pretty happy the last couple of days since signing his contract)
“Yeah, he’s had a smile on his face the last couple of days. I’m very happy for him, he deserves all of it. I was just talking about him a minute ago. He’s one of the best teammates I think I’ve had and he deserves every cent of it.”
(On what it’s like for him knowing that he’ll get to have a teammate relationship with Gurley for several years)
“It’s great, him and all the guys we have under contract for awhile, it’s great. Like I said I’m really happy for Todd and he deserves it.”
(On why Gurley is one of the best teammates he has ever had)
“He’s just unselfish. For as good as a player as he is he’s just unselfish. Could whine and complain about getting the ball because he deserves it, he should get the ball because how good he is. Blocks his ass off, doesn’t complain, really good in protection. There’s so much stuff he does that doesn’t go on a stat sheet that people don’t see. Makes him a good guy to have back there with me.”
(On if Gurley’s contract raises team moral)
“I don’t know, I think you all kind of saw it coming, didn’t you? He played pretty well last year, so I think he deserves all of that. I don’t know, I think we have pretty good moral as it is, but getting that done for him is really good to see.”
(On if it feels like picking up right where they left off getting back onto the field for training camp or does it feel different this year)
“It feels more so picking up from where we left off during OTAs. Which is good, because we felt like we had a really good spring and being able to build off that as time goes on through training camp. We got a lot of good things in place right now and a lot of things to work on.”
(On CB Aqib Talib saying Goff’s ability to throw the deep passes with that amount of accuracy is rare and if he feels like he has improved on that since last season)
“I think it has always been. I think what happens is you just get reps with guys. You’re able to understand their timing, they’re able to understand your timing and the more you can work with that, especially on those deep balls, where it is so much feel. There’s not an exactness too it, it’s a lot of feel, I think taking reps with guys is important.”
(On what continuity along the offensive line does for the offense and what happens if it can’t be repeated this year)
“Yeah, it’s definitely a good thing when that happens. It means you’re staying healthy. It means you’re doing a good job in the treatment room and all that and the guys are staying healthy. So, definitely wished for that and we were lucky enough to have that last year. I feel really comfortable with who we have at six and seven and the guys that can step in there. A guy like (C) Austin Blythe has kind of played a lot of center for us last year, actually, when (C) John Sullivan went down a little bit. If he needs to step in there a little bit at guard or center – whatever it needs to be – if somebody were to go down, we’re totally okay with it.”
(On if he can quantify what losing 10-15 percent of the offensive line production could mean to the rest of the offense)
“It’s tough. We don’t want to lose any of them. I think any time you lose any of the five that are starting it can be tough. I don’t even want to talk about it because you don’t want to even jinx it. But there are times where guys can step in there, whether it’s for one play or a series or it just happens with the way that football is, but we feel good with where we’re at.”
(On if it’s beneficial to practice against a cornerback tandem like Macrus Peters and Aqib Talib)
“Yeah, it’s really, really fun and challenging every day to go against those guys. (CB) Aqib (Talib) does stuff that’s unusual that you don’t see every day, that’s the reason he’s an All-Pro, ten-year guy. The same thing with (CB) Marcus (Peters) being the young guy that he is and the success he’s had. They do stuff that’s not usually conventional, I’d say, but is the reason they are good. Getting to see that first-hand is definitely useful.”
(On how that cornerback duo changes how a quarterback approaches things)
“Yeah, I think those guys are so good, they’re such ballhawks, that you are thinking about it. I try not to in practice because I’m trying to get better myself, but I think in a game you know where those guys are at all times, you have to. It’s definitely got a chance to cause some issues for some teams.”
(On the unconventional things that Aqib Talb and Marcus Peters do on the field)
“I think just the way they understand route concepts and the way they understand the cornerback position. They don’t just go by the book on every single play. There’s a little bit of feel here and there. That’s what makes that position and those players really good. That’s pretty standard for most good corners. They have that ability to beat you outside the box and beat you that way and those two definitely have that.”
CB Aqib Talib
(On how the first practice went)
“I think it went good. It went well. Energy was good. That’s most important on the first day. You want guys to come out with a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm and it was definitely there.”
(On his and CB Marcus Peters relationship)
“I don’t know. I guess we’re both new here. So, we’re feeling our way through it together. I mean that’s my roommate. We share a golf cart. You’re going to see us on the golf cart a lot. We share it.”
(On if it helps that Peters is the guy he’s playing corner opposite of him)
“Yeah, definitely. I know the defense and he’s learning the defense. So, at night he’ll ask me any questions when he’s watching the tape and all of that. So, we’re good.”
(On who’s driving the golf cart)
“We’re switching it up. Whoever feels like driving.”
(On what the biggest difference is compared to playing for the Denver Broncos)
“It’s a whole new scene. It’s a whole new team. It’s a whole new energy over here. So, it’s L.A.”
(On being with his old Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips again)
“It’s good. It’s a good feeling when you don’t really have to think. You can just come out and play fast, come out and play football. I already know the defense. So, I can just come out and play fast. I don’t really have to do too much thinking. Being on a new team, usually you have to think a lot, learn a new playbook and things like that. I don’t got to do that. So, it’s comfortable.”
(On going against WR Robert Woods during one-on-ones)
“It was good. It was good. First real one-on-ones I did since probably OTAs. So, it was a good little, put your feet in the water, good start. “
(On how it feels being considered one of the best in the league with Peters and how high the ceiling is for him)
“We got to prove it. It’s just on paper right now. So, we’ll get to midseason and then you guys can be the judge on our performance and you all can tell us if we’re the best or not. So, guess we’ll see.”
(On what he has seen from Peters that convinces him Peters is so good)
“His love for the game. I don’t think people talk about that enough. That guys loves football. He reminds me of myself. I love football and that’s what people don’t talk about enough. His work ethic and how much he loves the game. If you love it that much, you’ll get the job done. That’s why he plays the way he plays because he loves it.”
(On how he has seen that love in the short amount of time they’ve been together)
“Just us talking about it all the time. He’s so smart. He knows the game and the history of the game and last year’s stats and stuff like that. Just conversating with him, you can tell that he loves the game and how he talks about it.”
(On if he sees other similarities between Peters and himself)
“Ballhawks. We both touch that football a lot, high interception rate, pass breakup rate. So, you get that football. That’s the name of the game, football.”
(On what he has seen from QB Jared Goff)
“Confident guy. You can see his confidence is rising through the roof with (Head) Coach Sean (McVay) and super accurate deep balls. He throws deep balls and they land in the perfect spot. That’s huge in the NFL. A lot of guys can’t throw deep balls. So, you find a guy who’s super accurate on them deep balls, you stretch that defense and then Todd Gurley’s got 200.”
(On if other guys are coming to him since he knows the system)
“Yeah, some of the young guys will sit in the meet room and ask me something like, ‘Why do you break on that like that?’ Ask me what I saw on that. So, that’s what I’m here for. I love the game. I love to distribute knowledge of the game. I’ve got a youth football team at home just to teach those young guys and try to get those guys a D1 scholarship. So, if they ask me something, I’m here to tell them.”
(On what DT Ndamukong Suh brings to the pass-rush defense)
“He brings tenacity up front. It was already there. It’s already there with (DL Michael) ‘Brock’ (Brockers) and with (DT) Aaron (Donald). You add (DT Ndamukong) Suh in there, it’s going to get ugly for some O-Lines up there, definitely. So, just that tenacity before we even take a snap, how they’re looking at us, they see those three guys right there and that’s intimidating.”
(On what quarterbacks should know when they see the defense)
“I don’t know. Just watch the tape and you should know enough.”
(On what age level he coaches back at home)
“We go five to 12 years old. Yellow Jackets United. Flags, 7-U, 8-U, 9-U, 10-U, 11-U, 12-U.”
(On if he’s going to be a coach when his NFL career is over)
“No. I’m (Cowboys Owner) Jerry Jones at the house. I just run the system. I got coaches who coach. I just run the show. I’m doing my Jerry Jones thing at the house with them Yellow Jackets.”