THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Rams head coach Sean McVay, linebacker Bobby Wagner and quarterback Baker Mayfield each held press conferences with local media Wednesday, discussing coaching against former Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, Larrell Murchison's big game against the Broncos and more.
On Thursday, defensive coordinator Raheem Morrris and offensive coordinator Liam Coen discussed what they've seen from the Chargers offense and defense this season, complementary football in Week 16 and more.
Here are some of the highlights and key takeaways from those conversations, which you can watch in their entirety below.
"He's a great coach, learned a lot from him." – McVay
- Sunday's game marks the first regular season meeting between McVay and Staley since Staley became head coach of the Chargers.
- McVay said Staley was instrumental in bringing the system foundationally derived from mentor Vic Fangio, and that he also learned about Staley's drive, "relentless approach" to finding solutions, ability to put players in the right positions, and agility and flexibility with the ways of being able to present things to an offense.
"The dance is definitely what sticks out." – Wagner
- Quiet when he initially arrived in Los Angeles, Murchison's personality and performance were introduced to his teammates last Sunday with his two-sack performance – and ensuing celebrations – last Sunday against the Denver Broncos.
- Wagner said Murchison has put a lot of work into understanding the Rams' defensive scheme and its nuances, and that it was fun to watch him have the performance he did in Week 16.
"Looking forward to continuing to progress, and getting everybody better, too." – Mayfield
- Mayfield's goals for the final two games of the season aren't any different from what he set out to accomplish when he first arrived in L.A. – "continuing the improvement and being comfortable in the system."
- Through three games with the Rams, Mayfield has completed 58 of 84 pass attempts for 571 yards with four touchdowns against one interception.
"Knowing (Cobie Durant) was an outside guy, he really bought into that system, really got into that role and owned it." – Morris
- Durant has excelled playing at the nickel/star position in the Rams' defense, according to Morris.
- Morris said that when Durant came in, they didn't know he could play that position, since Durant was primarily an outside corner, but Durant impressed coaches with his ability do some of those things.
"We played complementary football!" – Coen
- The excitement in last Sunday's result – especially with the complementary performance across all three phases – could be seen from Coen when talking about the Rams' performance.
- Coen said that as a coaching staff, that put them in a position where they didn't have to press to call a play that would create a spark, and the coaches were the ones who fed off of the players' energy rather than vice-versa.
