WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. – After a heartbreaking loss to the 49ers on Thursday Night Football, the Rams will fly to Baltimore to face an injury-riddled Ravens team. Reigning MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson may not be available for Sunday's game with a hamstring injury, and various defensive players' statuses are up in the air as well.
Prior to Week 6, 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 the team's preparation for their road game against Baltimore coming off a mini bye week. Here are the most significant quotes and talking points from those press conferences.
"What I've seen from these guys coming back on Monday, the mindset and mentality today, I love where we're at, and we've got a great opportunity to be able to go attack the Ravens this week." - McVay
McVay has been adamant about his confidence in the team's ability to respond after both their late-game losses this season. After the overtime defeat to San Francisco on Thursday, the team came back with a determination to not let their mistakes define them going into a two-game road trip ahead of the bye week.
Some lingering injuries will affect the team's preparation for Baltimore, however. McVay said that inside linebacker Omar Speights (high ankle sprain) will be doubtful for Sunday, while his running mate Nate Landman will be limited in practice on Wednesday. McVay said that rookie Shaun Dolac and veteran Troy Reeder will split reps in practice in place of Speights.
One of the most significant pitfalls of the Rams' season thus far has been in the kicking game. They've had multiple extra points and field goal attempts blocked through five games, including one last week against the 49ers after they took steps to tighten up the operation. It's more than just one issue, but rather a combination of miscues. "The first thing is, are we giving clarity as coaches, techniques, fundamentals, the timing, the trajectory of the kick, the protection, the snap?" McVay said. "There's a lot of layers to it."
"I use (the mini bye weeks) as best I can. I make sure that when I'm at the soccer games for my girls, I'm sitting down and not up too much, trying to save my legs. If we're painting pumpkins, trying to make sure my hands don't get too dirty (laugh). No, I mean, I rest as much as I can... But I do appreciate them, especially as I get older and longer in my career. It's important to try to use those times whenever you can to try to feel as good as you possibly can. I did that as best I could and feel refreshed and ready to come back out and try to get this thing rolling again." - Stafford
All jokes aside, the 37-year-old quarterback is always grateful for some extra rest and time with the family. Following last week's game, Stafford will have a total of 10 days to prepare for the Rams' road trip starting in Baltimore on Sunday, where they will stay for the next week before heading to London to face the Jaguars in Week 7. That extended period away from home won't change Stafford's game-week routine much, but he will have to do his daily activities in new places.
Stafford is off to a scalding-hot start to the season, leading the NFL in passing yards with 1,503, but he doesn't care for those accolades. He's never finished a season as the NFL's leading passer, but it's not something he's ever thought too much into. "I'm not thinking about that, surely at the moment, and maybe (will) some other time when I'm done playing this game, but no, I'm just trying to get us in the end zone and score as many points as I can," Stafford said.
"When you're younger, obviously it's a little different. I feel like mentally you don't have as good of a grasp on things and just the mental resiliency to be able to power through a loss like that, especially a game where we were anticipating coming out and playing a lot better than what we did. So, yeah, being a vet is just different mentally, now you can kind of shrug it off a little bit better. It definitely stings still, but it's a little easier to shake it off and move forward." - Adams
In his 12th NFL season, Adams has found it easier to take losses in-stride and learn from them rather than dwelling on the mistakes. One thing that hasn't gotten better with age, however, is his ability to recover from physical games. "It feels like it flies by, but when it's time to heal after some games, you get reminded that you've been around a while," Adams said.
The mini bye week did help, though, as he got to relax at home and decompress both mentally and physically. After a painful loss like the one they endured on Thursday, Adams usually doesn't like to watch football, but he watched as much as he could this past weekend to put himself "through that pain a little bit and then get over it." Adams said the team has responded well to the loss, though, coming out with "intensity" and "intentionality" in practice.
Even with the Ravens' injuries mounting, the Rams are not taking Baltimore lightly. "Football is not the best team that wins, you gotta play the best," Adams said, and they intend to do that on Sunday.
"You can almost talk to (Dolac) like a coach. He's a real young player that obviously hasn't played much yet, but the game makes sense to him." - Shula
With starting inside linebacker Omar Speights listed as "doubtful" for the Rams' matchup with the Ravens on Sunday, Dolac has a chance to earn his first regular season snaps on defense. Shula said he understand concepts immediately and spends extra time at the facility to do both mental and physical work. Both Dolac and Reeder will take snaps in practice this week in place of the injured Speights, but the undrafted rookie is certainly making his case to start on Sunday.
In terms of preparing for a Baltimore team that may or may not have Jackson at quarterback, Shula said they "have to be ready for everything." The different styles that Jackson and backup quarterback Cooper Rush employ forces L.A. to have different game plans in place, "And if that means us kind of staying late and doing some extra work then we're definitely gonna do that," Shula said.
"We trust (running back Kyren Williams after his late fumble against San Francisco). His teammates trust him, which is more important. What doesn't go unnoticed, I think for anyone, but for me in a fourth-down situation in that next drive, we got the ball and who made a big play for us and gave us a chance to get into overtime? He did, because he's just that kind of guy." - LaFleur
When Williams struggled with fumbles last season, LaFleur sat down to talk with him about it. After he coughed the ball up on the one-yard line against San Francisco last week with a chance to take the lead, LaFleur did the same, telling him that he loves and appreciates him.
Meanwhile, rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson caught his first NFL pass on Thursday night, and LaFleur said he's been "getting used to the speed of the game" in the NFL. "It's just not too big for him, right? I mean, that's first and foremost," LaFleur said. "Obviously, you guys see the ability in terms of just the flexibility and the gait that he has with his lower half."
LaFleur has never won in Baltimore, and he acknowledged that it's "a tough place to play" even if they aren't at full health. The defense has a lot of pride and are coached "extremely well." Safety Kyle Hamilton is one of the leaders of that unit, someone LaFleur has immense respect for. "He's in the back end, he's at nickel, he's all over the place... he's got a unique size to him, and length." His physical and instinctual play style from those different spots always cause problems and force the offense to keep tabs on him every play.
"I'll be f** furious about it (if Jackson doesn't play on Sunday). I want to play Lamar just because he's one of the best quarterbacks currently, and also, you can put in him in that conversation of not just running quarterbacks, but quarterbacks ever, he's up in that conversation." - Verse
Jackson, along with other greats like Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, are on Allen's bucket list of quarterbacks he'd like to sack. If he doesn't play on Sunday, Verse won't get that chance this season unless the two teams meet in the Super Bowl.
Jackson and Rush provide very different skill sets that Verse and the rest of the defense will have to account for on Sunday. Verse said that Rush gets rid of the ball quickly and gets off his first read in a hurry if it's not open. Jackson, meanwhile, has the ability to extend plays with his legs and gain big chunks on scrambles. They will have to be ready to defend both of those quarterbacks on Sunday.
"I feel like everything when I think about my game just comes back to that power and strength... and how that is involved in my game." - Nacua
Stafford said on Wednesday that Nacua's "superpower" is his versatility, which Nacua believes stems from his strength and physicality. Whether he's fighting through contact to make a catch or putting his nose in a blocking assignment, the toughness he brings is what makes his game special.
Nacua said the mini bye week helps him rejuvenate "mentally more than anything," even after taking a litany of hits from the 49ers in both the pass and run game, being featured heavily in both. As opposed to Stafford, who is helping his kids with math homework or going to soccer games, Nacua got to relax, play some NBA 2K and be the fun uncle who watches his nieces and nephews do backflips on his weekend off.
