TRANSCRIPTS: Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher and Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer (10-23-14)

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TRANSCRIPTS: Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher and Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer (10-23-14)



Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – Post-Practice – October 23, 2014
(On if any players’ injury statuses changed from yesterday to today)

“Yeah we got better. We got some people back on the field. (OL) Rodger (Saffold) got back. (SS) T.J. (McDonald) got back. (CB Trumaine Johnson) ‘Tru’s’ getting better. It’s good to get those guys back on the field today.”

(On if McDonald went through the concussion protocol)
“Yes he did. Everybody does, yes.”

(On if he passed)
“Obviously, yes. He’s cleared, he passed.”

(On how McDonald suffered his concussion)
“Don’t know. He doesn’t know. So, he just didn’t feel right Sunday night so we went through the whole process.”

(On the emergence of Chiefs RB Knile Davis)
“Knile’s a different style runner. Strong, powerful, still has the outside speed and ability. Very physical. It’s a really good combination. He’s been productive. He also is outstanding out of the backfield. There’s really nobody on that offense, I think, that can’t get into a route and catch the football. He understands protection. So, he’s off to a good start. He’s going to be a good back.”

(On the challenge that Chiefs LB Justin Houston presents)
“It’s the same as (Chiefs LB) Tamba (Hali) on the other side. They’re just relentless. They’ve got great edge speed. They can go speed to power. They’ve got an inside move. Then you’ve got guys that compliment them that can collapse the pocket. That creates the problems. You’ve got the outside speed, the inside push and the pocket collapses pretty quickly. We’re going to have to be outstanding this week on the edges.”

(On the development of RB Benny Cunningham in his second NFL season)
“Well, he’s doing a lot more things with ease. Whether it’s kickoff return, or whether it’s punt protection, catching the ball out of the backfield, running the football. He’s the first one up to volunteer to do anything. It’s been great. He’s significantly in a different place then he was last year at this time. The injury’s behind him. He’s off to a great start. That was a very, very productive game against a good team last week.”

(On if he has ever had a kickoff returner built like Cunningham before)
“No. He also has good speed as he showed the other day. Kickoff return is a little different now because of the kicks, and the number of touchbacks and bringing the ball out. He’s one of those guys that can break tackles. The complexion of the kickoff cover team has changed, playing with a lot more smaller guys. So, he’s got the ability to break tackles. That’s what he showed the other day.”

(On if the coaching staff wanted him to get bigger)
“I think he had a different offseason program…a different spring than he had the year before. He was more into rehab. This spring he was more into conditioning and lifting. He may have been a little bit heavier but it didn’t affect any of his speed or quickness.”


Rams Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer – Post-Practice – October 23, 2014(On if he grew up a Chiefs fan)
“I grew up a lot of fans actually… Cleveland Browns, Kansas City, Detroit Lions, New York Giants. When you have a dad that moves around a lot, you certainly love a lot of teams. But, yeah we had some great years there.”

(On if he went to a lot of Kansas City games when he was a kid)
“Yeah. I was on the sidelines for a lot of them. Holding the cord and doing things like that. Great environment, great fans. It’ll be fun to go back.”

(On if he now doesn’t like them at all)
“Not this weekend I don’t, for sure.”

(On Kansas City’s defense)
“Very talented group. (Chiefs Defensive Coordinator) Bob Sutton, their coordinator and I were together in New York for six years. He’s a terrific football coach. Fundamental teacher, great schemes, obviously very, very talented. You watch two guys off the edge, (LB Tamba) Hali and (LB Justin) Houston, they set the tone in that environment for sure. Their ability to get off on the ball and pressure quarterbacks helps. They’ll challenge the receivers on the outside. They’re beat up in some spots, but the guys that have stepped up are playing really, really well. It’ll be quite a challenge to go in there and perform well. ”

(On if their blitzing technique is not as complicated as other teams)
“They have some good wrinkles. Third down they get a little bit exotic, things like that. Coach ‘Sut’ (Sutton) when I was around him, he believes in playing sound fundamental defense. They’re going to play hard. Again, it all gets started with their pass rush up front. Then they’ll challenge you on the outside and make you make throws. They certainly have enough blitzes that you got to prepare for and the ones that they have are good.”

(On how do Hali and Houston compare and contrast)
“I think, obviously, they’re both great pass rushers. You watch them…the only real difference you see in them, they both play extremely hard. If you watch them on third down, Houston will put his hand down, get in a three-point stance, where Tamba (Hali) likes to play out of a two-point stance. They’re kind of mirror images of each other. It’s quite a challenge again having one on both sides, especially in that noise.”

(On the tight coverage against San Diego by the Chiefs’ secondary)
“Absolutely. San Diego certainly can throw the football. Like I said they get up in your face. They’re going to challenge you. (CB Sean) Smith’s been doing it for a long time, the left corner. Again, nickel’s a new guy. (CB Phillip) Gaines has played really well, they matched him up in the slot on some different people. Again, it’s a really good group and we know it’ll be tough. It’ll be important for us to try to stay ahead of the sticks and not put yourself in long yard situations. Because that just lends to more pass rush. ”

(On if crowd noise leads to more concern or preparation)
“No, I don’t think so. You play on the road in this league, you’re going to have loud stadiums. This place certainly is one of the best, if you will, in terms of crowd noise and fans being into it. Maybe they’ll all be watching, talking (Kansas City’s baseball team) Royals instead of being there, but I doubt that. But, no there’s nothing we do. You’ll have to communicate, a lot if will be nonverbal. Trust what you see type of deal. Other places we’ve played have been loud. Philadelphia got loud there at some point. It’ll be fun to see how our guys do. ”

(On if RB Tre Mason had the hot hand out of all the running backs last week)
“I think he did. We’ve all known about his talent. We still need them all. They’re all good players. They’ll all have roles for us. I think that’s kind of good for us. For a defense not to know who they’ve got to prepare for. To know that at any moment it might be a different guy out there. He certainly played well last week. Popped a couple big runs and again, some of it is that they haven’t seen him. Now teams get a better idea of what he’s about. I think there’s some things he needs to do, taking care of the football. Obviously, that last play was a little bit scary but, wow, what a talented young man.”

(On the versatility and athleticism that OLs Rodger Saffold and Greg Robinson bring to the game)
“I think obviously we’re really athletic at guard and the things you can do. We’re a big power team, we’re going to pull the guards. When you watch those blocks a lot of times it’s not real clean. They’re either ripping through color or coming off another block and trying to climb. It gives you flexibility. Sometimes you get to where you’re going to have a call a play one way and we don’t have to do that. Maybe even inyears past, last year we wanted to do a lot of stuff going one way because we wanted to pull Rodger. You don’t have to do that this time with Greg and Rodger both in there.”

(On if he feels that Robinson feels the most at home pulling defenders)
“Obviously, he’s good at it. He’s athletic, he’s strong, he’s powerful. I’m not sure if he knows quite yet what he loves. But, he’s certainly playing well. Again, this will be another challenge and again in the noise. They’ll put (LB Justin) Houston on him some, in some of the third down situations. Big strong man, Greg, and when he gets his hands on you it’s hard to get off.”

(On how RB Zac Stacy handled only getting one play and if that was planned or was it due to the flow of the game)
“It wasn’t what we planned at all. It just kind of goes back to the thought of, we got going a little bit and Tre was playing really, really well. We were running the ball well. Zac’s a pro. Zac’s a really good running back, he’s going to help us this game, a lot of games. He handled it like a pro and the main thing is we want to win. Whatever it takes to win we’ll do. Again, never worry about that with any of the guys certainly not Zac.”