WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – After a 34-7 win over the Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football last week, the Rams advanced to 9-2 on the season and currently hold first place in the NFC. They will now head to Carolina in Week 13 riding a six-game winning streak.
Ahead of the contest, head coach Sean McVay, quarterback Matthew Stafford, wide receivers Davante Adams and Puka Nacua, outside linebacker Jared Verse, defensive coordinator Chris Shula and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur spoke with local media about their recent success and preparation for the Panthers. Here are the most significant quotes and talking points from those press conferences.
"I stay pretty disciplined relative to seeing those (external opinions about the team), but you can't help when you look at NFL Network, or you look at just some of the major websites, just being a fan of the game. You acknowledge it, and what you say is the guys have earned the right to get that (praise). That's not why we do it, and that's not anything that moves us forward, but it's a sign of respect for what they've done through 11 games. And we've got six more guaranteed, and the only thing I'm worried about is Wednesday." - McVay
The "maturity and humility" of the Rams' roster makes McVay feel like the overwhelmingly positive sentiment around this team in the media won't change their level of focus and drive moving forward. "They understand that the confidence that you're seeing them play with on Sundays, or whenever our games are, is earned throughout the work week," McVay said.
Heading into their Week 13 game against the Panthers, McVay praised quarterback Bryce Young as "a dynamic athlete" who can manipulate or escape the pocket to make plays off schedule and change his arm slot when he needs to. He said they will need to focus on containing Young in the pocket on Sunday.
The Rams signed tight end Nick Vannett from the Vikings' practice squad after their dip in 13 personnel (one running back, three tight ends) last game was a product of limited availability at the position, McVay said. Adding a fourth tight end, with Tyler Higbee currently on Injured Reserve, gives the Rams a chance to "activate all your different personnels, whether it be 11, 12, 13, who knows, maybe 14 at some point," McVay said with a sly smile (although he added, "I wouldn't say never").
"It's interesting (playing against former defensive teammates on the Panthers). That happens sometimes in the league, especially around here. I feel like all of our coaches and/or players, at the end of every season they're all over the league and getting head coaching jobs or whatever it is." - Stafford
Between linebacker Christian Rozeboom, defensive tackle Bobby Brown III, offensive lineman Austin Corbett, safety Nick Scott and defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, outside linebackers coach AC Carter, and defensive pass game coordinator Jonathan Cooley, the Panthers have more former Rams than any team in the league. Stafford said that defense is "disciplined" and "well-coached" by Evero, the former Rams safeties and secondary coach, and he will have to "be smart" against a secondary that is great at taking the ball away.
Stafford can't help but hear the MVP debates and conversations surrounding his name, but said he lets that "take care of itself" while he comes into work and prepares for his opponent each week. "It's not something that's difficult for me to compartmentalize, that's this whole position that's this whole job," Stafford said. "I'm here, I'm all in when I'm here, all in on a walkthrough or a practice and I go home and I've got a family... not a lot of time in the day to think about other things."
"I think (being a head coach) is the goal of any coach, you want to take yourself to the highest profession. But that doesn't mean you're going to walk away for any single opportunity. I love it here, my family loves it here, we've been here 9-10 years, coaching with my best friend, we obviously have a great group of players and a great staff. So for the right opportunity, we'll see. But like I said, not really thinking too much about that." - Shula
The Rams have the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL, causing Shula's name to be mentioned in the pool of potential head coach candidates for next season. Shula's grandfather is the winningest NFL head coach of all time (Don Shula) and his father (Dave Shula) was also a head coach of the Bengals for five years, so both his coaching and family trees have prepared him for that role. Shula said he prepared a bit during the summer, but after that, he focused on the season and hasn't thought much about it since.
In terms of the Rams' circumstances, Shula is excited to get cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon back from Injured Reserve this week, but said he wants to keep cornerbacks Cobie Durant and Emmanuel Forbes Jr. "in a good rhythm" because "they are playing great football," Shula said. Both corners have interceptions in two-straight games entering Week 13, and Witherspoon hasn't played since breaking his clavicle in Week 2. Assistant head coach/pass game coordinator Aubrey Pleasant will handle the cornerback rotation, the details of which remain to be seen with Witherspoon back in the fold.
"Anytime you get a guy back of (wide receiver Tutu Atwell's) caliber, you'll take it. So he's done a great job with the rehab process. When he's doing a lot of the rehab, we as coaches don't get to see a lot of it, so just getting on the grass, routes on air, stuff like that, will be big." - LaFleur
Atwell, who has been out since the Rams' Week 8 bye with a hamstring injury, was at practice during the media's open viewing period, leaping to catch balls on the sideline and running crisp routes. The speedster is set to make his return against the Panthers on Sunday, barring any unforeseen setbacks.
Vannett's addition made LaFleur feel old, as he evaluated (and liked) the 10th-year pro coming out of Ohio State when he was an offensive assistant with the Atlanta Falcons in 2016. "Any time you can bring in a guy that's played a lot of good football in this league, you take it," LaFleur said.
"Basically, we got a certain route, and this is how I draw the route, but a lot of times when I can draw a route for you, you run it in a way that's unique to you and your abilities, and that's ultimately what makes the player-coach thing work really well... A lot of things that I do is unconventional, so I feel like the technique that I use is something that maybe he wouldn't see." - Adams
Adams runs routes in a way that's personalized to his skill set. Even in practice and walk-throughs, which Adams said he takes seriously. Even during Wednesday's practice, he ran a route that McVay drew up for him in an unconventional way, and Adams could tell by his body language that it wasn't what the head coach had in mind, but let him do things his way, which has served him well throughout his career.
Adams also detailed his extensive process when it comes to tailoring his releases to specific opponents, which includes tedious film study and quick reactions on the field. He'll also test corners early by releasing on run plays to see how they react. "It's just a big, cerebral game out there, and a lot of people don't hone in on it like how I do, and I find that that gives me a big edge," Adams said.
"I feel like this was one of the first weeks all year, maybe one or two game (weeks) besides this that I actually didn't hold back at all in practice. Whether we had pads on or not had pads on, I was still doing everything at 100%, not too much worried about anything else besides just getting better. So to see it actually translate to the field just makes me realize, like, that should be the standard." - Verse
That intensity definitely showed up on Sunday Night Football, as Verse bullied First Team All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs throughout the game, ending with two sacks and six pressures, according to Next Gen Stats. Verse said he talked with McVay and outside linebackers coach Joe Coniglio and they told him that when his pre-play demeanor is sharp and he's fully set, the results follow, and he took that to heart.
Verse's impressions of Young were similar to McVay's, saying he's "athletic" and "fast" but can still hurt teams from the pocket, evidenced by his 448-yard game against the Falcons two weeks ago. "We just have to keep him in contain," Verse said. "We have to get to him, and when we get to him we have to make him feel us even when he gets the ball off."
In terms of shutting out the outside noise, even the positive stuff, Verse said he mostly uses TikTok when it comes to social media, and his feed doesn't give him standings or rankings there.
"(Being) born in 2001, I was like the social-media age kid, it's hard to really shut (the outside perspectives) out, I guess, in the sense of you see the media, but I guess the message that you internalize, you see stuff on Instagram or on Twitter, and it feels good, but I guess the message will come back in when we're having our team meetings and in our unit meetings, the message is we have to earn the right again." - Nacua
When a reporter told Nacua to try TikTok instead of Twitter or Instagram like Verse, he said that his TikTok is mostly edits and clips from the animated show Invincible. Still, he finds a way to not let the positive stuff go to his head and not let the negative noise bring him down.
Nacua and the Rams will go up against a fellow Polynesian wide receiver in Tetairoa McMillan on Sunday, someone that Nacua doesn't know personally, but is always rooting for because of their shared culture. "To see him go in the first round, it kind of set the new standard for our culture, and it's something that's exciting," Nacua said, adding that he hopes McMillan "won't be too mad" to exchange jerseys after the game.
On a more personal note, Nacua opened up about what he's thankful for ahead of Thanksgiving on Thursday, and family was at the root of it. "I've had the opportunity to welcome a new family member to my family this year in my son," Nacua said. "So the opportunity to spend time with him and to give him all of the blessings that I received in my life and to be able to share those with him is something that I'm extremely grateful for." He added that being a father has given him a "new super power" to heal up after taking big hits on game days. He's may not be Invincible, but the dad version of Nacua sure is close.
