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Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher – News Conference – August 30, 2013
(On what he liked out of Thursday night’s running game against Baltimore)
“Well, we saw 10 guys blocking pretty well, including the receivers. I thought the receivers did a better job blocking. We executed. They weren’t too awfully complicated, but we ran inside, we got the ball on the perimeter. I thought the backs ran with good vision. It was a productive day for us. We needed to get it back. We felt like this would be the week to work on it.”
(On how much QB Kellen Clemens helped his cause for the No. 2 quarterback spot last night against the Ravens after his performance against Green Bay)
“We take everything into consideration. His rough night in Green Bay – played a little bit later, didn’t have as great a supporting cast, and Green Bay was doing a lot of exotic pressures. He was under siege. Last night, he had protection, which he would if he’s going to be in the game with the starters. I thought he executed and did a nice job.”
(On what he liked about the defense’s performance last night, particularly the defensive line)
“Well, we played back-ups. They worked hard. I thought they handled the run concepts and the run schemes very well. I thought up front we controlled the line of scrimmage, but again, keep things in perspective. It was a fourth preseason game. But, I thought they played with effort. We got pressure on the quarterback. We didn’t do a lot of blitzing, but it was nice that some of the younger guys played well.”
(On WR Brian Quick’s performance against Baltimore and his play throughout the preseason)
“He’s improved, certainly improved throughout the offseason. The fumble was really tough on him because that’s a contested catch and trying to put the ball away and all that. But, he can show you what he’s capable of doing. He elevated, really did a nice job getting up in the air and securing the ball. He lost one last week, but he came back this week and hung onto the ball in tough situations.”
(On if he’s concerned about the fumbles overall)
“Yeah. (RB) Isaiah’s (Pead) got a couple on the ground. He’s going to have to get that corrected, but we found a common thread there. Hopefully we’ll get it behind him, [hilite]but I’m not going to be hesitant to play him because he’s put two balls on the ground in preseason.”[/hilite]
(On if he thinks the penalties will go down once they finalize the 53-man roster)
“Yes, I do. Most of the penalties, as I mentioned after the game, were fouls committed by players that are either not on the roster or that are probably going to be inactive. We had very few penalties in the game yesterday by players that are going to play for us. (WR Austin) ‘A.P.’s’ (Pettis) penalty was not A.P.’s fault, the offensive pass interference was not his fault.”
(On if the penalties throughout the preseason were largely committed by players that have been released)
“There’s a number of penalties that were committed by players that are either going to be on the practice squad or not here or be in backup roles. The special teams penalties, that’s a concern, but usually when you’re working your core guys and we’ll put the pressure on them that we put on there – there was a couple things that happened – but really, I’m not concerned. We’ll get it corrected.”
(On if anyone’s performance last night against Baltimore helped or hurt their cause in making the team)
“I thought we saw improvement out of the young linebackers, so I think that obviously has increased their chances, especially on special teams.”
(On QB Sam Bradford’s preseason and if he saw what he wanted out of him)
“Had we felt like he needed more work, we would have created a situation where we’d let him play last night, but I think he had a good preseason. He’s got a great understanding of what we’re doing. He’s doing some really good things on the practice field. He’s ready, he’s ready to go.”
(On if Bradford will be more involved this year in game planning)
“As you mature in the system, I think it’s easier from a quarterback’s standpoint to be able to say, ‘Hey, I like this,’ as opposed to, ‘Yeah, I’m not real sure about that.’ As he matures, as you go through the week, you experiment with some things. Is he comfortable with taking it into the game? If not, we’ll take it out. We want him to be comfortable with everything that we’re doing.”
(On if problem areas in the preseason generally carry over into the regular season)
“No, they don’t because you’re doing so much more on the practice field. We’re intentionally not doing things on the field from a scheme standpoint, so that will naturally create some problems with you on third down. But, we like to think we’re going to carry more things into the regular season, it’ll be game planning. We haven’t really game planned much and so, we’re just kind of keeping the things basic. I would expect to see, we’ll get three or four weeks into it and we’ll have to identify some areas that we’re going to have to emphasize.”
(On if he is happy to move on to the regular season)
“Yeah, the players are going to have some time off to take a deep breath and take care of their bodies, and coaches are going to start planning. We’re obviously in the process, had some difficult decisions to make. We’re going to continue with that and we’re going to work over the next two or three days to put the best opening day roster we possibly can together.”
(On what he liked out of Thursday night’s running game against Baltimore)
“Well, we saw 10 guys blocking pretty well, including the receivers. I thought the receivers did a better job blocking. We executed. They weren’t too awfully complicated, but we ran inside, we got the ball on the perimeter. I thought the backs ran with good vision. It was a productive day for us. We needed to get it back. We felt like this would be the week to work on it.”
(On how much QB Kellen Clemens helped his cause for the No. 2 quarterback spot last night against the Ravens after his performance against Green Bay)
“We take everything into consideration. His rough night in Green Bay – played a little bit later, didn’t have as great a supporting cast, and Green Bay was doing a lot of exotic pressures. He was under siege. Last night, he had protection, which he would if he’s going to be in the game with the starters. I thought he executed and did a nice job.”
(On what he liked about the defense’s performance last night, particularly the defensive line)
“Well, we played back-ups. They worked hard. I thought they handled the run concepts and the run schemes very well. I thought up front we controlled the line of scrimmage, but again, keep things in perspective. It was a fourth preseason game. But, I thought they played with effort. We got pressure on the quarterback. We didn’t do a lot of blitzing, but it was nice that some of the younger guys played well.”
(On WR Brian Quick’s performance against Baltimore and his play throughout the preseason)
“He’s improved, certainly improved throughout the offseason. The fumble was really tough on him because that’s a contested catch and trying to put the ball away and all that. But, he can show you what he’s capable of doing. He elevated, really did a nice job getting up in the air and securing the ball. He lost one last week, but he came back this week and hung onto the ball in tough situations.”
(On if he’s concerned about the fumbles overall)
“Yeah. (RB) Isaiah’s (Pead) got a couple on the ground. He’s going to have to get that corrected, but we found a common thread there. Hopefully we’ll get it behind him, [hilite]but I’m not going to be hesitant to play him because he’s put two balls on the ground in preseason.”[/hilite]
(On if he thinks the penalties will go down once they finalize the 53-man roster)
“Yes, I do. Most of the penalties, as I mentioned after the game, were fouls committed by players that are either not on the roster or that are probably going to be inactive. We had very few penalties in the game yesterday by players that are going to play for us. (WR Austin) ‘A.P.’s’ (Pettis) penalty was not A.P.’s fault, the offensive pass interference was not his fault.”
(On if the penalties throughout the preseason were largely committed by players that have been released)
“There’s a number of penalties that were committed by players that are either going to be on the practice squad or not here or be in backup roles. The special teams penalties, that’s a concern, but usually when you’re working your core guys and we’ll put the pressure on them that we put on there – there was a couple things that happened – but really, I’m not concerned. We’ll get it corrected.”
(On if anyone’s performance last night against Baltimore helped or hurt their cause in making the team)
“I thought we saw improvement out of the young linebackers, so I think that obviously has increased their chances, especially on special teams.”
(On QB Sam Bradford’s preseason and if he saw what he wanted out of him)
“Had we felt like he needed more work, we would have created a situation where we’d let him play last night, but I think he had a good preseason. He’s got a great understanding of what we’re doing. He’s doing some really good things on the practice field. He’s ready, he’s ready to go.”
(On if Bradford will be more involved this year in game planning)
“As you mature in the system, I think it’s easier from a quarterback’s standpoint to be able to say, ‘Hey, I like this,’ as opposed to, ‘Yeah, I’m not real sure about that.’ As he matures, as you go through the week, you experiment with some things. Is he comfortable with taking it into the game? If not, we’ll take it out. We want him to be comfortable with everything that we’re doing.”
(On if problem areas in the preseason generally carry over into the regular season)
“No, they don’t because you’re doing so much more on the practice field. We’re intentionally not doing things on the field from a scheme standpoint, so that will naturally create some problems with you on third down. But, we like to think we’re going to carry more things into the regular season, it’ll be game planning. We haven’t really game planned much and so, we’re just kind of keeping the things basic. I would expect to see, we’ll get three or four weeks into it and we’ll have to identify some areas that we’re going to have to emphasize.”
(On if he is happy to move on to the regular season)
“Yeah, the players are going to have some time off to take a deep breath and take care of their bodies, and coaches are going to start planning. We’re obviously in the process, had some difficult decisions to make. We’re going to continue with that and we’re going to work over the next two or three days to put the best opening day roster we possibly can together.”