WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – The Rams signed long snapper Jake McQuaide and kicker Harrison Mevis to the practice squad this week ahead of their game against the 49ers in an effort to improve on special teams. Getting those new additions acclimated in practice will be part of their week of preparation leading up to Week 10.
Ahead of the divisional road game, Rams head coach Sean McVay, quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Davante Adams spoke with local media about the upcoming matchup in San Francisco and their special teams signings. Here are the most significant quotes and talking points from those press conferences.
"I think it's important to be able to have good competition at some spots that we feel like we can have improved play to be able to evaluate all 11. And so you bring Jake McQuaide in, you bring another kicker in... (Mevis) and Josh (Karty) will compete to see who's going to kick for us this week. And if all things go well with Jake, we expect him to be our long snapper." - McVay
McVay said they "will implement more" special teams reps into their normal practice routine on Wednesday and Thursday as part of that kicking competition between Mevis and Karty. McQuaide was with the Rams for the first 10 years of his career, so McVay said that his "familiarity" and their workout with him on Tuesday makes him confident that he will be the team's new long snapper on Sunday, as long as things continue to trend in the right direction in practice.
The conversations that McVay had about those moves with Karty and long snapper Alex Ward required honesty and empathy, but he said both handled it well. "It's all geared towards trying to be able to just get some solutions and some kick consistency really with our field goal operation."
In terms of the team's 49ers prep outside of special teams, McVay said they have grown in a lot of areas, one of which is the connection between Stafford and Adams. "They're getting on the same page. I think that's been a real positive for some of the uptick in the production in the red area, and I think that's where you've seen the points go."
"I'm not sure that I've faced (San Francisco) when (inside linebacker Fred Warner) hasn't played, yet. So, I mean, I know what it's like facing him, I can tell you that, and he's as good a linebacker as there is in the league. His ability to cover up some of the stuff that they ask him to do in some of their middle-field open coverages is second to none in the NFL." - Stafford
Warner suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 6, one game after L.A. lost to San Francisco in overtime earlier this season. So, Week 10 will be the first time in Stafford's Rams tenure that he'll take on the 49ers without Warner in the lineup. He didn't quite know how to describe what it would be like to do that, so instead talked about the many irreplaceable things that Warner brings in the middle of the field, including his movement, understanding of offenses, communication and physicality.
Stafford said Adams is "doing a great job getting open" in the red zone, and he's given the veteran receiver opportunities to make plays. He's done just that, with five touchdowns in the past two games. "I think our coaching staff does a great job of finding ways to let his skill set come to light down there," Stafford said.
In terms of his own development as a passer, Stafford said he's learned how and when to layer passes as he's grown in the NFL, and that's a huge part of his game now. "I think if you look back at how I played the game when I first got in the league, probably a whole lot more fastballs than there were change-ups and that kind of stuff," he said.
"(Growing up near San Francisco I felt) similar to how I feel about (the 49ers) now. I never really liked them." - Adams
Despite growing up in Palo Alto, around 30 miles from San Francisco, he wasn't a fan of the 49ers. In Green Bay, they had a bit of a rivalry, especially in the playoffs, and now he's with the Rams, their division rivals. So, Adams is on the same page with his teammates when it comes to their animosity for the NFC West rivals up north.
Adams' red zone success has come from a combination of marrying plays together and finding one-on-ones to "play the numbers game" close to the goal line, he said, and it's worked. His rapport with Stafford has now graduated to no-look pass territory, as they connected on a 29-yarder last week, and Adams said, "That means he trusts you."
When asked if Stafford still seems like he's 37 years old, Adams jokingly said "38... but you don't see any of that until he takes off trying to run." It's safe to say their bond is growing both on and off the field.
