The celebration of L.A.'s comeback victory over the Colts on Sunday was short-lived, as the Rams immediately started preparing for the division-rival 49ers, who they will play on Thursday Night Football this week.
After walk-throughs on Tuesday, quarterback Matthew Stafford, wide receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, outside linebacker Jared Verse, offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur, defensive coordinator Chris Shula and special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn spoke with local media about preparing for San Francisco on a short week.
Here are the most significant quotes and talking points from those press conferences:
"We know they're gonna target (running back Christian McCaffrey). He's going to be the focal point of their offense and it's just a huge challenge." - Shula
The Rams are running the running back gauntlet, having faced Saquon Barkley and Jonathan Taylor over the last two weeks, just to see McCaffrey and Derrick Henry over the next two. McCaffrey "looks like himself" through four weeks this season after sitting out most of last year with a calf injury. Just like Taylor and Barkley, who were both held to under 80 rushing yards by L.A., McCaffrey can break a game open at any point, and Shula said they will defend him accordingly.
On a short week, the Rams have to do "the same amount of work in just a lot shorter amount of time," Shula said. The Rams have familiarity with the 49ers, as they are in the same division, but that doesn't change the amount of work they must do to prepare. "It's definitely a grind early in the week," Shula said.
Outside linebacker Jared Verse played "his most complete game this year" against the Colts on Sunday, which included a sack-fumble and a season-high six pressures, according to Next Gen Stats. He made an impact against the run and pass and provided some "game-changing plays." That's the kind of presence they hope Verse will bring on Thursday and throughout the rest of the season.
"They've played good defense, but what you see when (defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is) in the fold is just, there's nothing simple about their defense, but they make it look simple because their guys are just on it and they play so hard and a lot of times the way I look at it, when you see a defense playing hard for 60 minutes, every single guy, it's because they have clarity and they know what is being asked of them." - LaFleur
That 49ers defense is led on the field by All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner, who is "the best in the business for a reason," LaFleur said. He's elite in all phases and an inspiring leader in the locker room, something LaFleur knows first-hand from his time coaching in San Francisco. In terms of the short week preparation, LaFleur said that's the reality for both teams, so they are "used to it by now."
Regardless of the time they have to prep and rest their bodies, the Rams know they can count on Nacua, who leads the league in targets, receptions, receiving yards and a whole host of other metrics related to efficiency and impact. "He took a step, in my opinion, in every aspect of his game," LaFleur said. Nacua has been exceptional in everything from blocking to route running to catching the football, and he'll certainly be a big factor against a 3-1 49ers team on Thursday.
Similarly, Stafford is "always good," LaFleur said, "but there's just something about those special players when it comes down to the fourth quarter and you have to go get a score... you just know he's gonna deliver." He did so last week in the comeback victory over Indianapolis, leading his 50th career game-winning drive, the most among active players.
"(The kickoff success is) a lot to do with the ball getting on the ground... I think the kicking style is a lot to do with it, to be quite honest. I wish I could say it was something really huge schematically we were doing, reinventing the wheel, but hitting a great kick to get it on the ground and create hang time to allow our guys to get a head start, that's the biggest difference." - Blackburn
The new version hang time is the seconds that pass between the ball's first bounce in the landing zone (when the coverage team can start moving) and when the returner gains possession. Blackburn said their "dirty kickoff" strategy came to be when touchbacks moved from the 30 to the 35-yard line this offseason, making it a worthy endeavor to try and gain an edge with starting field position.
There was a lot of trial and error involved during the offseason, as the special teams unit experimented with different set-up spots, hash marks and leg swings. So far, the approach is working, as Karty has forced the lowest average starting field position (just inside the 22-yard line) of any kicker in the NFL.
After the Rams had two field goal attempts blocked against the Eagles in Week 3 (including what would have been the game-winner), Blackburn said the field goal protection was improved last week against Indianapolis. They emphasized lower pad level and staying connected up front before going up against "a good field goal block unit," Blackburn said, and it paid off.
"Everything you'd want in a linebacker (Warner's) got it, and got great command over what they're doing as well. He's always kind of the heartbeat of that defense and makes it go, so it's always a big challenge going against Fred." - Stafford
Stafford has been looking off defenders regularly "for a while," but it's always hard to do against a guy like Warner who's so in-tune with his responsibilities and opposing offenses. Like everything in his game, Stafford's look-offs are something he develops continuously, and he takes inspiration from others like former Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
After yet another stellar fourth-quarter performance last week, Stafford said he's "always liked those moments" that require him to be at his best. He'd rather have the ball, and the game, in his hands than be watching from the bench with someone else in control. "If I fail, I fail," Stafford said. "But I'd rather it be me."
The Rams-49ers rivalry has been heightened over the past 8-10 years because of how good both teams have been, Stafford said, and he feels like the NFC West is one of the best, if not the best, division in football. All that just makes Thursday night's game that much more significant, with the division lead on the line.
"You run your routes with just that extra bit of confidence of that there is no fear (when you have mutual trust with your quarterback). That's a motto that I say before the games, but especially as a wide receiver, (running) that in-cut, trusting that, feeling that spacial awareness but also feeling that 'Man, this ball, even if there is a defender, it's gonna be there to protect me.'" - Nacua
With as much trust as Nacua has in Stafford, if Warner's the defender meeting him at the catch point, ball placement might not be able to save him from taking a big hit. Warner played with Nacua's older brother at BYU, and then Nacua himself played there, so there's history between the two. On the field, Nacua said "you can feel" the linebacker's presence, along with his wingspan and his dreads moving with his momentum. Nacua added that there's no real comparison for what he brings to a defense.
The Rams' rivalry with the 49ers takes Nacua back home when he would watch Warner in his early days with the 49ers, thinking to himself "Hey, I know that guy." In games he's played against San Francisco, Nacua remembers being at the bottom of a pile of bodies while Warner called out "Yeah Puk" to him. Head coach Sean McVay always uses the phrase "competitive stamina" ahead physical division games like this one is sure to be, and Nacua takes that to heart.
"Historically, I've had solid games against them. But even in those games, you come out beat up pretty good because those guys fly to the ball. You got Fred (Warner) and the way that he leads that defense and everybody else just kind of falls in place." - Adams
There's a physical and high-effort culture established on the 49ers' defense that Adams thinks started with now-Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans when he was the defensive coordinator there. Teams always come out of game against the 49ers beat up because of that, same as they did against the Ryans-led Texans in Week 1. Thankfully, the hamstring injury that held Adams out of some practices last week "feels good," even if it's not 100%, he said.
Through four weeks in horns, Adams is happy with how he's been able to contribute. "You never really know exactly how it's gonna pan out when you have the type of weapons that we have, as many people as we can get the ball to... but we just making the most of what we get here," Adams said.
"Trent (Williams is) one of the best (offensive) linemen ever. He's a first-ballot Hall of Famer for a reason. I think he's been in the league longer than I've played football, so he kind of understands it. But I think the biggest challenge he adds is that with age, you become more savvy." - Verse
It's safe to say that Williams has the experiential edge on Verse, but the second-year star knows what to expect from the veteran tackle. "He's figured out, 'Okay, I'm not even going to take this block on head-on,' he's gonna manipulate it and he's gonna mess with you a little bit that it makes you not be able to make the play," Verse said. "But he's also still that dominant version of Trent." Verse doesn't change his aggressive (and talkative) approach based on his opponent, but he's also "not dumb," he said with a laugh. "I'd rather let a sleeping giant sleep, like I'm not gonna wake up nobody that's minding their business."
McCaffrey may be a different style of runner than the Rams' last two opponents at running back, but Verse acknowledged that he's still one of the best in the league, and he brings more of a receiving threat. "He's a dangerous back," Verse said.
The Rams have been finding different ways to utilize Verse, last week putting him in the middle of the line on one third-down rush, allowing him to time up the snap with a running start. He bulldozed the center and leapt over him towards the quarterback, and it's safe to say he enjoys some of those different looks. "I tried to talk (the coaches) into doing that for like three weeks," Verse said. "They wouldn't do it, and then I threw it out last week and they randomly added it in.'" He didn't think they were actually going to call the play in-game, so when they did, Verse knew he had to make an impact so they would keep the play call in the rotation moving forward.
