Niner Week (WEEK 6 GAME THREAD)
PostPosted:3 years 6 months ago
by actionjack
Huge game against the niners this week, if we beat them, it puts a serious dent in any playoff aspirations for SF. This is a game the players MUST not take for granted, this team destroyed the G-man and the niners are going to be pissed after getting pounded by the phins. This game is the niners season, we must expect their best shot.
on another note I have been listening to some niner radio. It is awesome to hear they are already giving up on Jimmy G and are questioning whether his 27 mill cap hit is worth next year. BTW the niners are serious cap woes, they have to pay Dee Ford 24+ next year.
Niner Week
PostPosted:3 years 6 months ago
by Elvis
Rams Head Coach Sean McVay – Media Availability – October 12, 2020
(Opening Remarks)
“First of all, I want to congratulate the Lakers, 17th championship, unbelievable. You look at the good things going on in this city with some of these other sports teams, we’ve seen the Dodgers making another run under Coach (Dave) Robert's leadership, we're cheering them on. But to see what these guys have done, I've really enjoyed following them throughout the season, but especially in the playoffs. The type of competitor, the leadership that (Lakers SF) LeBron (James) and ends up personifying. Being able to bring “AD” (Lakers PF Anthony Davis) in and then seeing some of the things, just the way they played it as a team on both ends of the court and then (Lakers Head) Coach (Frank) Vogel and (Lakers Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager) Rob Pelinka, really congratulations. Very happy for them.”
(On how competitive the San Francisco 49ers are despite their slow start)
“This is the reigning NFC champs, reigning division champs. I don't care what happened yesterday, this is a team that’ll be ready to go. I know these coaches, I know the character of their players too well. There's no doubt that we have to be at our best, and this is going to be a big time game, a great opportunity for us against a team that, I don't care what yesterday says, they'll have those guys ready to go and this is a great football team, no matter what some of the stats or the scores from yesterday looked like. So, we have to have a huge sense of urgency being ready this week.”
(On any injury updates from last week’s game)
“So, (S) Jordan Fuller and (OLB) ‘Obo’ (Ogbonnia Okoronkwo) are guys that really got banged up. Jordan on that last play, where he makes a great tackle in the flat. We're continuing to evaluate his shoulder, just seeing how he's feeling. So, we'll have further clarity for you guys over the next couple of days. The same thing with Obo – he strained his elbow, but we're continuing to run some tests and Wednesday we'll provide some more clarity on those two guys. Everybody else making good progress, your typical bumps and bruises. (ILB) Micah (Kiser) will still be on a limited fashion on Wednesday, but I think that was really good for him, especially the conditions, when you're talking about the groin. Like I told you guys, the groin was the main reason for holding him out. He still does have that pec, but we'll be hopeful that he'll be able to play this week. (ILB) Troy Reeder had some soreness just in his hip. (OL) Bobby Evans, we're still monitoring with his shoulder, I do expect him to be able to participate in practice and don't expect him to not be able to go this week unless he has any sort of setbacks. And then (CB) Jalen (Ramsey) had a little bit of a shoulder, but he's going to be good to go. So, the main guys will be Jordan Fuller and Obo, I know will be out for Wednesday. What that means for their status moving forward and for the game, I'll have some updates for you guys then.”
(On what it meant to have RB Cam Akers and OLB Terrell Lewis back in the lineup and what he saw from Lewis)
“I saw some good stuff. He had I want to say around 14 snaps, all of them kind of in our nickel pass-rush situations. We know he's capable of being able to play in our base. Yesterday's game, we weren't in a lot of those base packages just based on some of their personnel groupings and just the way that the game kind of unfolded, but I thought (OLB) Terrell (Lewis) did a good job. I've really been impressed watching him just work with (Outside Linebackers) Coach (Chris) Shula. Even just talking to some of our veteran players to be able to pick up on the little nuances of the game. Ge's got ability, he's got the makeup and I think yesterday was a start, a positive start in the right direction. Looking forward to seeing him just increase his load and continue to make impact as we move forward.”
(On if S Jordan Fuller injured the same shoulder that he previously injured)
"It's his right side. He had a little stinger. It's more of his neck, kind of, just having a stinger, but it is on the right side. It's the same side."
(On OLB Samson Ebukam starting but only played five snaps)
"Yeah, it was more a result of just the personnel groupings. He's playing a lot in our base personnel groupings. I thought (Outside Linebackers Coach) Chris (Shula) did a great job getting a rotation of – you’ve got (OLB Ogbonnia Okoronkwo) Obo, (OLB) Jachai Polite, you've got (OLB) Terrell Lewis. (OLB) Leonard Floyd played almost every single snap. I want to say he played 53 of the 54 defensive snaps, but I thought it was a good rotation of some of those guys. And then just some of the personnel groupings that we were activating on defense, led to Samson having a limited workload. Wasn't anything he didn't do, but to his credit, just his spirit on the sideline, his communication and just his engagement is why you love guys like him. Sometimes just those packages that you're a part of, you're not playing as much based on how we want to match up to the offensive personnel, the way that the game unfolded and that was what happened in that situation yesterday."
(On how he feels about having all three running backs up and healthy)
"I feel good. I think it really was the first time. I think I continue to go back to what a good job and a good feel (Running Backs Coach) Thomas Brown has. We wanted to just be able to see how (RB) Cam (Akers) was feeling. (RB) Darrell (Henderson Jr.) and (RB) Malcolm (Brown) got very similar snap counts and then Cam came in and did a lot of good work with the limited touches that he did have, but thought it was good to get him back. That's a weird deal when you're coming back and you've got a rib and just seeing the comfort level of how close you're carrying the ball, the ball security. He made a couple of good runs and I think it was really good for Cam. Like I mentioned yesterday, we'll continue to really start to dive into our game plan as far as what we want to do versus the 49ers this week. All three of those guys will be up. Exactly how that workload is distributed is kind of something that we get a feel for as the week unfolds and then really in a lot of instances, as the game is unfolding. But it is a good thing – champagne problems, like we like to say."
(On rotating the interior defensive linemen to keep players fresh and to be opportunistic against offensive linemen that may not be able to key in on certain techniques)
"I think it's just like you said. Guys get a feel for the flow of the game and when you're throwing a bunch of different guys that are lining over guards, over tackles, they don't ever really get a feel for the different types of rushers that you're going against. It's very similar to where you can kind of be able to play three different backs that all give you a little bit different element, and it's a change of pace in a different way that you have to defend them. So, I think when you really look at it with (DL Michael) Brock (Brockers), (DL) Sebastian (Joseph-Day), (DL Morgan) Foxy (Fox) and (DL Greg) Gaines, they all got good snaps. (DL) Aaron (Donald) ended up hogging a lot of the snaps yesterday and getting all his production. I think Aaron was the most, by far in a way, had the most amount of snaps with 42 snaps, but then those other guys, they had a good distribution. Like I said, I think when you're able to be as efficient - I think they were 2-for-13 on third downs - when you look at that, that enables you to be able to really get a good mix of guys. We were never really out on the field for long at all, other than their one scoring drive, where they scored a touchdown. So, we were able to keep guys fresh. Having 54 snaps on defense overall yesterday and the rotation that we were able to have, our defensive guys feel fresh and that's a big deal. I want to continue to monitor it. I think you can expect to see veteran days for Aaron, for Brockers, but we'll make sure that we're taking care of our guys and I keep going back to our coaches. Whether it's Coach (Defensive Coordinator Brandon) Staley, (Defensive Line) Coach (Eric) Henderson, Shula, they've done such a good job with those guys and we're getting better and I think that's a reflection of the players and then also their collaboration with our coaches."
(On whether an opposing offense’s effort to double team DL Aaron Donald provides opportunity for other defenders)
"Yeah, I think so. There's a lot of things and this is where I think (Defensive Coordinator) Brandon (Staley) does such a great job. A little bit different than when you're throwing the football, you can kind of tilt coverages one way or the other, and you can force where you better go or else you're in bad situations. But you can do the same thing with some of your front-structure alignment, some of your pressure looks. Especially in the run game where a lot of instances teams don't want to waste plays. So, you can try to just
move and manipulate different alignments based on your personnel groupings and how you can get a good indicator of where probably something is likely to go. But, like anything else, when you've got guys like (DL) Aaron Donald, like (CB) Jalen Ramsey, you're not going to want to really have a lot of action going at them. So, that does give opportunities. I think that's what the best players do, they make others around them better and that's a way of being able to do that. I really can't say enough about our defensive staff's utilization of those two special players and how you're creatively finding ways of, you can avoid this. You look at the flexibility of Jalen, he's not just playing outside corner now. He's playing at that star position, where you are a lot more involved in the mix. You can't avoid it – his physicality, his complete game that he has. You're a little bit more involved in the run game. You've seen us be able to activate him as a blitzer. So, those kinds of things are very important. That’s why one of the things that I think good coaches do is you put your best players in positions to have success. I think that's what we're seeing from our guys and in those two in particular.”
(On how Donald has adjusted to being double-teamed)
“That's something that Aaron has dealt with his whole career. I've seen some of the most creative protection adjustments, utilization of backs, which way you slide the line. I think this guy has dealt with it more than anybody that I've ever seen in my coaching career. That's something that was going on long before I got here, but he's dealt with that. One of the things that you can do is, based on some of your alignments, your front structures that you present, understanding offenses rules, you can dictate some things that you better have him one-on-one, unless it's going to be an unsound way that you're distributing your protections dependent upon – are you protecting with five? Are you using the back? Are you in a max pro? So, those are things that all go hand-in-hand. This guy's a freak. He does as good a job of anybody of creating opportunities for others. But he still is winning on those doubles. I thought yesterday was reflective of great job of our defensive coaching staff, getting them a lot of opportunities where he was isolated upfront. When you do that, good things are going happen for the Rams.”
(On how the defense complements DL Aaron Donald)
“They've done really well. You get used to rushing with Aaron, to be able to still keep our rush integrity, because he does such a great job of getting up the field. Sometimes you want to make sure that you're able to play off of one another without giving some of these elite quarterbacks that have athleticism an open cavity, whether they can step up in the B-gap and be able to run. So, thought our rush-lane integrity was better with the exception of a couple snaps yesterday. But any time that you come out with 8.0 sacks, that was a as dominant of defensive performances, I've been a part of. Looking to build on that on what we know is a very, very capable and talented offensive operation in the 49ers with their players and coaches this coming week.”
(On whether WR Nsimba Webster and WR Cooper Kupp will be sharing punt return duties)
“I think we’ll look into it. (WR) Cooper (Kupp) is such an important part of us offensively. I think it was good for (WR) Nsimba (Webster) to get back there in those elements. We have the confidence in his ability to field it, he's got great run instincts in natural runnability to be able to have those skills translate to being a good punt returner. I think those will be things that we'll evaluate by the situation. You can expect to see Nsimba some more potential opps and I thought he did a nice job with the chances he had yesterday.”
(On any concerns about K Samuel Sloman and if QB Jared Goff’s spike was discussed in the team meeting)
“I usually wait until we can actually do meetings in person to get some of that good stuff. You don't quite get the reaction that you like on a zoom call unless you have guys unmuted, so it's still in the back pocket. I'll let you know how that goes when we end up doing that. With (K) Sam (Sloman), you look around the league and there's such a small inventory, we expect them to be more consistent. But you're looking at it and you're seeing a lot of these great kickers are missing extra points and missing some field goals. I look at the one in Buffalo. I know I've brought this up a couple of times, but I put that more on me than anything else. But I do expect him to be automatic in those things. You don't want to overreact to one miss, but we do want him to be more consistent. I think this was something that we knew based on getting a rookie kicker, there would be some things that might be a little bit different than what we're accustomed to, where you're spoiled from (Dallas K) Greg Zuerlein and the production that he had, but we're going to continue working with them and keep correcting and seeing how the rest of the way goes.”
(On how valuable OL Andrew Whitworth’s leadership is and how he impacts his teammates on both offense and defense)
“I think it's everything. When you have the right kind of leaders, that disseminates throughout your whole locker room. You look at (OL Andrew) Whitworth, the kind of experience that he has, I mean shoot. I know for me as a coach, I've learned so much from these veteran players that have taken all these snaps, have all this inventory of knowledge, especially when you're as conscientious as Andrew Whitworth is. Being able to articulate some of the things that he's looking at from a rusher with all the different, great rushers that he's had great matchups with throughout his career in Cincinnati and here. I think, is invaluable and it speaks to who he is. That's what I think is so special about this team, are the leaders that we have, really, in all three phases. And when you can kind of step back and its player run, those to me are the most special things. I love that and I think that kind of stuff is everything.”
(On what he’s learned about managing a full group of running backs knowing that it could be a different guy every week)
“I mean, (Running Backs Coach) Thomas (Brown) does such a great job. Really, this week if we're able to stay healthy, will represent the first opportunity that all three guys are truly healthy. Because even our first game of the year, when you look at Dallas, (RB) Darrell (Henderson) wasn't truly healthy with his hamstring. Then (RB) Cam’s (Akers) out for the majority of the Philly game, he misses the Buffalo game, so you just had those two guys. The Giants game Cam was still out and so then yesterday Cam was still on a limited fashion where we didn't get him in until the fourth series of the game. So, this week will truly be reflective of having all three of those guys up and at your disposal. But it starts with the clear, open, and honest communication. Thomas does such a great job of making sure that he sets the tempo and the tone for that room. But his leadership, I think, has been instrumental, also (RB) Malcolm Brown’s. You know, we'll see, but I think those guys all know they're going to get involved in some way, but a lot of the ways that the game unfolds dictates and determines what does that look like and how they do with their opportunities. This week I'll probably be better equipped to answer your question, where hopefully, we come out of the game with all three of those guys still healthy.”
(On if he has had to be adaptable with personnel management of the running backs because of injuries)
“I think so. I mean, I think that's an incredibly important thing that we have to do as coaches. We talk about the agility all the time, being able to rapidly and positively respond to change. I mean, what a year and how important that is with regards to the COVID(-19) and all of these adjustments, and that's no different than the way that we're kind of trying to manage that running back room. But like I've said, this is a good thing for us, to have three guys that are capable. We can utilize them very similarly but that doesn't mean that we always do that. I'd like to think there's not going to be a lot of different tendencies, we're running our offense, but you do get a feel for the type of game it is and maybe one guy gets into a rhythm or gets the hot hand. And we've seen all three of those guys at different points of a very small sample size in five games, show why we feel so strongly about them and to have three of them is a real positive.”