Sean McVay On Sunday's Win, Kyren's Return, Impressive Player Performances & More | Coach McVay Show

[Music] well good evening everyone and welcome back to the coach McVey show presented by Microsoft Surface I'm JB along with my friend Demar goar and the head coach of your Los Angeles Rams Shawn McVey coming home from the desert with a back-to-back Victory and another sweep over a division rival the Arizona Cardinals Sean how close was that to the uh the effort the complete football game that you've been hunting up this season it was close I thought there was a lot of really good things and and I think like any game JB I thought there was good opportunities to be able to respond from some moment I love the way that after that first drive and the two-point conversion our defense settled in I thought they really controlled the game um throughout after that I love the way that they just stayed steady stayed even killed kept a really explosive athlete bottled up for the most part you know they had Conor back in the lineup we didn't see him the first game I thought we really contained him really well um so I was really pleased with our defense I thought offensively the first drive was really efficient and I thought for the most part that was kind of the theme for the for the day um had the one little blip at the end of the first half but I thought you know Matthew Stafford's command was outstanding getting Kiren Williams back in the mix he obviously had a huge contribution to a really productive offensive day reyce Freeman was a great compliment to him I thought the receivers made their plays you get higs in the end zone a couple times in the offensive line they were key and critical um you know to be able to rush for over 220 yards to be able to keep Matthew as clean as they did in the past game um I thought those guys were excellent and then thought tramble did a nice job in some punt turns um and then there's some things that we can learn from um you know which tremendous confidence and faith in in Chase Blackburn and Jeremy Springer's leadership for our special teams to be able to improve on some of the things that didn't go down the way that we wanted but uh really happy and and pleased with the uh the effort and now let's uh see if we can carry it on and um go get another one against a tough opponent this week at Sofi absolutely yeah it's fun um when you when you when you out gain them out do out you just outat them and you you pretty much get everything you want offensively and defensively but the one thing that came back to to my mind was that could have been anybody I heard this from a different sport it was actually a boxer and he just whipped this outclass guy and his trainer said that could have been anybody when we're playing like we're playing that could have been any opponent does that sound about right for Sunday I thought that our guys played well against the opponent that we played and and I think the consistency is the truest measurement of performance now how can we use the momentum that these guys have earned and EST lished since the buy and continue to build on it and you don't just show up on Sunday at Sofi you know I I think there's an element of being able to win the weeks and being able to prepare the right way and have a great focus and concentration on what that point of emphasis within the game plan is and and doing it with a um an enjoyment but an urgency and an ability to continue to improve and all be accountable to one another and um that's what's been fun about this group cuz that's been consistent and then I think you've started to see that compound interest I think establish some grit where you learn how to work through some tough challenges that we experienced in the first part of the Season we had to you know in each of the last couple games even though we've count come out on top there's still been moments where you have to respond to to Temporary setbacks and I think that's going to serve us well and and let's see if we can carry that momentum the right way no doubt I like to think the Rams win yesterday even if you go three and out on that first possession but how huge was it to hit 2 two over the top to make sure that you get the first points of that game it was big you know 2 two coming up big um what a ball uh what a throw by Matthew and it was a great job you know he ends up winning on a inside release go ball I thought that was a great track CU that was a good that was good tight coverage and to be able to make a contested catch like that on a third down and eight for 42 yards there's no doubt that was the key play in the drive um I also thought it was really big and the other third down for for puka to be able to get this screen and end up cutting it to a fourth down and short where that enables us to be able to run it with Kiren and he surges ah head and then to be able to get higs in the end zone first first touchdown of hopefully many this season um you know was really good I thought there was a lot of guys I thought Matthew got a bunch of guys involved um and it was kind of reflective of the kind of day that it was where it was a good balance of run and pass and good overall execution from all hands on deck Higg threw me off with this touchdown celebration right injury I thought he got puka too so I'm not the only one yeah I kind of got me there he done it before he has oh yeah okay I guess I missed that I'm like what is that 2021 when we played the ners not in the NFC Championship but in week 18 it was he's a trip man he's fun fun to watch but tutu talk about his development uh because he's he's not the biggest guy but he's pretty big he is that's oh I'm thinking puka he is not a unit he's not the biggest dude in the world yes but his development the the way he's I guess learn to play receiver in the National Football League I mean it's really starting to show up big yeah he had three really big catches yesterday um and he's he plays bigger you know he's got a bigger catch radius he might be small in terms of you know the height and weight you know but he's got good strong aggressive hands I thought that was really on display on all three of his catches where you're talking about the first one 42 yards that there the DB's draped on his back he's catching that outside of his frame and then the strength to be able to finish that was a great throwing and catch end up hitting him on a high cross kind of in that you know that Fringe area Matthew puts it right on him but it's a Crossing route where he's got good tight coverage kind of running away you know and then ended up catching a speed out on our sideline but those were three catches that got him over 70 yards all of them were big plays all of them led to first downs in situations that we needed to have and ultimately those led to scoring drives for us but um he did a good job blocking too you know was a part of the Run blocking surface a handful of times and you know Eric yarber he the one thing I think is such a credit and tribute to Eric yber is the buying that he gets from that room since he's been here of we're going to compete with and without the ball we're going to see a consistent and steady growth and development from the guys that have been here and 2 two is a great um example of that wow should we dig into kirn's day a little bit this one crossed my radar this morning from NFL research yesterday he became the first in league history with these single game totals 140 or more rushing six or more catches 60 plus receiving yards and multiple receiving touchdowns so anytime an individual does something for the first time in NFL history I know that's a statistical sandwich there but that was that was super impressive that is super impressive it's a super impressive way of combining a stat too that no one's ever done as well but but it is uh nonetheless it's a hell of a day for kir It All Leads to this though I want to dispel a notion that I know kind of bounces around the Rams Community you love calling running plays right I mean you're addicted to efficient runs yeah yes I like call you know our job is to move the ball and try to score points and so and you know we've we've riding the ball pretty efficiently here over a handful of years but um you know when we are getting those efficient chunk plays and we're able to stay on schedule that's when you have the best opportunity to be able to have a lot of the foundational philosophies of our offense come to life and um it takes all 11 but but kirn's overall play energy productivity ability to be able to press it one Gap at a time you know set those blocks I think he has a great feel for that and I think in the last two performances that he's had that has been as evident on the film as you know anytime that you know we've run the football efficiently over the last handful of years um and it's it's a real credit to him but it's also a credit to the other 10 guys Matthew getting us in and out of the right looks and then the other nine guys as part of that blocking surface um but it was uh it was a big- time day and and then I thought Royce was an excellent compliment to him as well oh is that complimentary football or just running people over what do you think same thing both yeah I you know give credit to the o line you just did I mean just the way they block when everything when you have a a run play that pops to the safety that's a win now if you get beyond the safety that's an even bigger win no question and and I think what ends up happening too Demarco is you know this is the football's such a powerful momentum type of game and when you're able to get those surges and then they know all right hey what's the best way to get more runs off be efficient with the previous run you know and you can stay on schedule you can kind of play the game on your terms you can pick and choose your spots to be selective and smart about all right hey we setting some things up off of the run or um I thought our guys were able to present a bunch of different run Concepts not exclusively to one type of run but they're leaning on this type of thing then our guys were able to come back with something else and um that's a credit to their overall execution and then that's when really the game plan and some of the things that we wanted to be able to do can come to life and things can kind of complimentary play off of one another what I hear you saying there both of you is that when Royce Freeman runs over one of the best safeties in the game that's more than just 14 yards and a first down in terms of its over overall impact on the Rams it is and I I thought uh you know whether it was that one or even the one you know that he ended up finishing for the touchdown where he's kind of a free hitter coming from inside out on the backside Royce runs with a violent Authority he's finishing falling forward I thought Kiren did a lot of the same thing and Ron G standards you know because he does such a great job of say Oh I thought we left some meat on the bone you know which is which is a good thing I was trying not to mention the other guy's name because he's a husky though you had to put him out there I got that's all right he's a stud though a lot of respect for that guy and the way he competes and flies around Buddha Baker is uh he's uh one of the guys that I have a tremendous amount of uh appreciation for what he puts on tape and the way he goes about it he he he definitely stands out yeah uh defensively speaking um wow unreal I think you've given up what 30 points in the last two games I mean tremendous and keeping kylo Murray in the pocket keeping him under keeping that little guy from ruining the game I thought was we did you know and and for us to be able to have control the game where you got a lot of opportunities for some other guys to to gain and accumulate some experience was really powerful and that's why I think you got to take the stats sometimes with a grain of salt you know what was the control of the game looking like throughout and I thought we did that defensively especially after that first drive thought we keep kept him bottled up I thought we were really good on the third Downs thought we did a great job of being able to recognize and communicate as one on the back end I thought we had a lot of you know got a lot of hands on the ball in terms of breaking up passes um being in good positions I thought Jordan Fuller and John Johnson were really active on the back end aell had a handful of pass breakups um DK maybe could have gone the other way on his two-point conversion maybe you know he was a little tired there when he ended up picking off their two their two-point conversion um but but I thought it was a really good overall day and you know Aaron always makes his presence felt but I thought especially Kobe Turner thought you really felt him um and I thought he did a great job and played one of his more complete games as a as a ram in his young career what is this it's the cond conductor I like that he likes music he does I know keep getting sack every the whole world's going to know he's a pretty talented guy overall he's got a lot of things he is really good at football but he's got a lot of different things that he could be really good at whatever that guy does I'm betting on him no doubt and he's only going to get better like you said The more reps he takes but uh just defensively just going after it and making play after play after play and there's no letup it's just it's fun to listen to that side of the room make their adjustments at halftime especially listening to Rahim Morris I mean he is really a field General yes he does a great job and I think in a lot of instances some it's being able to communicate as one as a staff and I think as a whole they do a great job of being able to recognize and identify all right are we doing the things that we wanted to do coming into this game within each of the position groups if we need to alter or adjust great if not let's have the solves and the solutions within our techniques our fundamentals and then the intent of those calls and I thought that was really uh you know more pertinent than anything yesterday um especially just after that first drive and I think you don't want to take away any credit from them you know they did a nice job of being able to execute and ultimately punch it in and then finish with the two-point which we'll learn from in terms of our alignments uh on the field goal chasing that point that was weird when they got the the eighth point it was you know I it was because they got us in an illegal formation on the field goal on the extra point attempt so then you know you're seeing that around the league where if you can put the ball on the one yard line percentage wise and now these analytics say hey why don't you go for two right there but um I thought uh you know good learning opportunity for us on teams to make sure that we're not giving them a chance to put the ball on the one yard line after that extra point attempt we'll get that cleaned up but what I like the most was the response afterwards and and that was exactly in alignment with what we're hunting up heard you talking about the coverage there I didn't hear Michael hit's name which is surprising because he did like the double seat strap celebration he had the seat belt working on the they tried a rail route on man they you know they they tried him and he was in perfect coverage the versatility that hoy's played with he gets his another sack yesterday he was pissed off when I ended up bringing him out at the end of the game he wanted to be able to get another try to try to get a stat I said get get out don't I don't want you getting hurt right now but he uh he does a lot for us JB and and I think you know Joe kigo has done such a great job you're seeing so much improvement from Michael Hy and Byron Young on the edges and they've just continued to mature throughout the year thought it was good to get Kier Thomas and oan matthys some snaps yesterday um but Michael Hoy has really been playing at a high level I mean he's doing a great job in the Run game he does a great job being able to rush to passer and then if we are asking him to produce uh you know as a dropper and playing coverage then he'll strap you up and he'll show it with the uh with the swag that he has on his celebrations I can't believe he did that I really can't he strapped it up and pointed I love it that's my dude so you've talked about higgy celebrations I brought Mike's into the the freight what what I love about your group is they don't lead the league in touchdown celebrations but when they do it's more often than not a skill guy trying to give it to an offensive lineman which I think is a Real Testament to your group I think it is you know those Big Fellas they like they need a little love too don't they oh yeah absolutely give it to the button gut guys yeah let him spike it every now and then No Doubt last week we talked about like every defensive player with a jersey having a hand in that win over Seattle it felt like this was the offensive reflection of that game and I'm not just talking like when you get Wentz and some of the deep twos in there like I kind of at least 16 guys that felt like part of your true game plan yesterday yeah and and really I think eight different guys caught a ball um you had three different guys carry the football that was a big deal and and and it was and I thought it was defense again all Hands-On deck got a lot of guys involved in the game plan I think those defensive coaches have done such a great job of identifying and then utilizing the skill sets of the guys that we have up on the active game day roster and then yesterday that was definitely on display it was good to be able to get some of the other tight ends Hunter long and Davis the mix it's good to have all the receivers contribute it was good to be able to see Andy and then Z Evans be able to finish it up and um that was a real positive and I think that's a theme that we want to consistently have uh you know as we continue and move forward and uh into next week you know what I thought was fun scoring five touchdowns always fun uh but watching Ethan Evans just absolutely pound the football on kickoffs you should get points if he puts it through the uprights off a kickoff hey it's fun knowing that that's a kickoff after a scoring position absolutely that kid's got a leg though either way my goodness yeah hey he was uh special teams player of the week last week now I don't ever want a punter to be special okay that is not the goal right but if we do have to then I guess so be he's got the body type he's strong as hell give him a few more years my goodness he's a unit but close close to Wi classific yeah there you go close what about with the place kicking position what's your alert level there and how do you strike the right balance between letting Lucas grow into that role versus knowing that you might be going someplace here in December and those points are extremely valuable here's what I think I think you got to be able to learn from it and uh I like his resolve there is a a lot of things to really like about him and what we've seen in a short amount of time and the confidence the Swagger just the overall ability where the ball jumps off his leg and um you know that's not the The sturdiest Sur where you don't necessarily always trust your plant leg in some of those situations and scenarios but I think it's a great learning op hey man trust your Technique trust your fundamentals let's be as consistent as we can with our approach and and our stroke as it relates to you know when we're getting into those extra point or field goal attempts and um I'm confident that he can rebound the right way I think it would be way too early to press the panic button but we do want to see you know uh an improvement but also an ability to be able to move on because you know you're watching and you're seeing some of the greatest of all time to be able to do it they're missing some kicks and um you know one of the things that I think is consistent about all these great kickers whether it's the Matt gays of the world the Greg zerin the Justin Tuckers they're going to have some things that they want back but they move on quickly you know and then they get back to the the things that have enabled them to be consistent over time and there there's a lot of things you got to be able to work through but uh that's that's what I'm optimistic that that we'll work through that the right way with Lucas I love his I'm rooting for him I love his personality if I could pick a kicker like I want him to be like that guy he's cool you know what I mean I do know what you mean there there's a there's a legitimate like swag that he has and I I felt that same thing from zurline I felt that same thing from Matt gay and you're talking about two guys that have done it at a really high level that we were fortunate enough to have here I I think you know the the more that you do this the more you realize and you don't ever want to take for granted some of the consistency and the production at a position like that that we've been so fortunate to have as it relates to Greg and both Madden I think Lucas has a chance to be in alignment with that conversation um but let's respond the right way as we move forward in the next week got a couple about the quarterback position and you often mention Matthew's ability to get the Rams in and out of things can you give us some more context on that and specific to yesterday's game or not like how often is he come into the line with an option to go A or B run or pass that decision you know it's game plan dependent it's situation depend dependent but pretty frequently I thought the overall oper just getting us in and out of the Huddle um in the early parts of the game managing being you know without your verbal Cadence changes in Tempo whether that's as we break the Huddle um whether that's going Tempo at the line of scrimmage and getting route Concepts um protections and things like that straightened up and so in some form or fashion that's every single snap JB now whether he's actually auding but I thought his overall command his overall ability to be able to get us in and out of the right stuff get through progressions manage the Run game game especially when you're talking about a defense that presents a variety of different issues where if you if you are just running a certain play man you can be in some really bad situations where you're in essence wasting plays we didn't ever really want to do that um and we were fortunate to have the luxury of not doing that because we have um such an impressive quarterback that can handle a bunch of information above the neck and then be able to translate it to his overall physical execution yeah I mean you couldn't have picked a better you know time to perform the way you did running the football Bas on what happened the week before with him so anytime you can get a game where he finishes the game on his feet and feeling pretty good about you can even pull him out of the game he did good and I thought I thought he made some throws yesterday DeMarco that were indicative of all right that thumb is feeling better you know I he would never complain about it but that's a real thing you know I mean and just some of the last second Corrections the ability to grip the ball and feel like you have control all the way until that last second you know where um you know you're just changing that arm angle or that the way that you want to be able to kind of just correct it at the last second ever so slightly and there was some really high caliber throws that um that were special and it would and it was kind of on some plays that people probably wouldn't even notice that were indicative of oh man he's feeling better he's feeling a lot better than he did last week and I always love seeing him you know you talk about that celebration swag after his second touchdown to higgy you know whatever he's doing down there swaggy as hell and he he looks like having fun and that translates to everybody else it seems like one of the greatest offensive areas of improvement this season has been the screen game there was a disconnect there between him and Kiren and really the entire 11 person operation early in the year but man did it ever come to life yesterday what goes into making that screen game come to life all 11 I mean and and I think it's especially important in terms of the quarterback and the running back but then also the offensive lineman understanding and owning the intent there was a couple different variations of screens whether you're talking perimeter screens play action screens dropback screens um all of which you know in some form or fashion were helpful for us to have success offensively but I think especially the screens that were going to the halfback um one of them in particular was off of play action then a couple of them were off of our dropback actions that guys had a great understanding up front they knew the phasing that we wanted they knew where those landmarks and um and the in the intent you know I think that's the biggest thing that you notice as it relates to the offensive lineman the quarterback and the running back is really owning and understanding the intent of the play um what are the things that we need to do to be able to solve the potential problems that could arise within the framework of the play um and then you know how can we ultimately execute it um on time and in the you know the location and landmarks that you're ideally hunting up on the field uh while getting guys blocked I think every screen to draw that ever got around me that pre- snap I'm thinking I'm going to kick your butt because I just got my butt kicked and then you bluffed me and boom you're out best way to regulate the rush see right there I'm not sure there's a a greater sign of the health of where the Rams are especially offensively but really as a team than the fact that cup and puka can combine for eight and 45 yesterday and you still win going away yeah and I know that Cooper contributed in other ways I think he got a block on that 56 yard pop run from Kiren some other things but how good does that make you feel as the play callor but also the head coach that you don't have to lean as heavily on those two and still get 30 plus I think it was great and I think the best thing is is you know the best offenses they've got the ability to to be able to be efficient in either or the run or the pass and that's what's been consistent since we've been here um and been a fortunate part to be you know to have some successful offenses here and I thought that was definitely what you saw yesterday that's what we've got to continue to do and then there will be some opportunities and moments where we might need you um to be able to make those kind of plays in some of those passing situations or whether it be off of some of the things that marry with our runs um and I and I feel very confident that they can do that fun one this week man great challenge this why you get in the N good defense yeah yeah yeah it's going to be fun for you be outstanding isn't this the challenge you always look for this H climb this is why you get into the league is every single week there there's some sort of new challenge that you love um and that's why you know every single week there's always something that occurs that everybody's sitting there saying oh I can't believe that but um we're excited to attack this challenge the right way you got a really good Cleveland Browns team coming in here um they'll be I guess out here for the week since they played in Denver before and flew out here and so we're looking forward to it and I can't wait to get to work on these guys yeah they're practicing at UCLA this week with or without miles Garrett and Denzel Ward if if Styles make fights this is a much different one than last week and a very intriguing one in that regard yeah it is and and really I'm I'm excited to dive into this film and really see um you know what they look like I know that I've always had respect from afar uh for what they're doing they're obviously playing really well defensively they're very disciplined I'm well coached on special teams and then Kevin stefansky Bill Callahan um those guys they've done a really good job they're always going to have a bunch of run variety that they can present they'll mix up their personnels even though they want to mainly you know live in kind of the 11 personnel and I think they've done a really good job whether it's with Walker with DTR of being able to alter and adjust the way that they can still be really productive um offensively uh in the absence of obviously their guy and Des Shawn and and missing a player like Nick chub but I think that's a real credit to their players they have and also their coaching and um why they're at 7 and four right now yeah I like that DTR kid yeah pretty good me too took a pop yeah Sean thanks for your time congratulations on a second consecutive win go for three this Sunday at Sofi Stadium looking forward to being home with you hope you can join us for Browns and Rams for the head coach Sean McVey for DeMarco far I'm JB long we appreciate you joining us for the coach mcy show presented by Microsoft Surface