Rams Head Coach Sean McVay – Media Availability – November 2, 2018

The L.A. Rams are first in the NFC West (Robert Torrence/L.A. Sentinel)

(Opening remarks)

“Everybody except for (CB) Sam Shields was a full participant today. Sam got sick within the last day or so, not feeling good. We’re hopeful that he’ll start feeling better and be ready to go, but if not, then we’ve got some contingency plans. Not really sure in terms of how he’s recovering, if it’s a viral thing or – when you’re feeling sick like that it’s tough. Expecting WR Cooper (Kupp) to go. It’s also a pretty unique situation where he’ll be an honorary captain this week where the (New Orleans) Saints are recognizing (former Saints guard) Jake Kupp, his grandfather, who had a great – played with the Saints. He’ll be at the coin toss and to be able to have Cooper out there, pretty cool for the Kupp family. Definitely something that Cooper’s deserving of and it’s great to be able to have him back with us as well.”

(On if Shields is traveling to New Orleans with the team)

“He might have to meet us there just because – dependent upon how some of the things he does with (Senior Director of Sports Medicine and Performance) Reggie (Scott) and those guys, how he feels. If he feels good enough to travel, but we also don’t want to potentially expose some of our other players to getting sick. So, if that’s the case, then he’ll stay back, get as healthy as he can, then we’ll find a way to get him there and meet us a little bit later.”

(On if his injury status has anything to do with the aftermath of a concussion)

“No. This is nothing like that. No, it’s just flu season and that’s what we think it is. Nothing to do with that.”

(On what having Kupp back in the lineup provides him and QB Jared Goff on offense)

“It’s great. You’re talking about a great football player that, extremely trustworthy in crunch time situations or really throughout the course of the game. His knowledge, his understanding of what we’re trying to get done, his ability to compete with and without the ball. He’s a special player. So, getting somebody like him back that’s had as much production as he has really since he got here last year is going to be big for our offense. I think like we’ve mentioned also, having him out the last couple weeks has forced us to develop some depth and guys have gotten some opportunities that they wouldn’t have otherwise. I think you’ve seen the growth of (WR) Josh Reynolds, like he’s done really since his rookie year when he got opportunities to fill in for whoever it was that might’ve been down. He’s delivered in a big way and then (WR) KhaDarel Hodge has also gotten some valuable reps in addition to (WR) Nick Williams. So, it’s been good for us, but it’s great to get Cooper back.”

(On if OLB Dante Fowler will play on Sunday)

“Yeah, he’s going to play. How much of that is a lot of times predicated on some of the different things that the offense presents and then how we react defensively. We’ve still got a good amount of time to be able to spend with him to get him up to speed. Both some of our base and sub packages and those will be things that he’s done a good job with (Defensive Line Coach) Billy Johnson and with (Defensive Quality Control) Thad (Bogardus). We’re excited to be able to have (OLB) Dante (Fowler). You feel Dante on the field and I think he’s enjoying it. Guys are happy to have him. We’ll see how he does on Sunday.”

(On if Fowler is a guy that will transition to a 3-4 and have to use his hands on the ground or if he can stand up)

“Yeah, I think he can come out of a three-point or a two-point. A lot of that is comfort-driven. Then obviously, in the base situations, if he is playing that outside ‘backer, we’re going to be in two points. Some of those four down rush type situations – him putting his hand in the ground is what he’s been accustomed to. We always want to make sure that we’re putting guys in positions that they feel comfortable and as he gets more and more comfortable. He’s a pretty rare athlete, so I think he’ll be a quick study in terms of some of the things that we’ll ask him to do. What that is, it’ll kind of be by design week-in and week-out. We’re looking forward to him just progressing as he gets more experience with us.”

(On if there were neighborhood noise complaints this week)

“I haven’t heard. Usually, they do a good job of keeping me out of it unless I need to know. So, the music was loud, we got some good work. We’ll see how it is. I know it’s going to be a rocking atmosphere at the (Mercedes-Benz) Superdome and we’re certainly looking forward to it. Got some good noise going this week.”

(On the Rams being the best rushing offense and the Saints being the best rushing defense and what they need to do to make sure that matchup goes in the Rams favor)

“Well, I think they do an excellent job. They’re really stout up front. They do a great job playing blocks – getting into some single-high structures, where they’ve got their safeties as part of the fits. But, what we do is, we’re worried about being efficient on offense, whether that’s running or throwing it. I think the key for us is that early down efficiency. That’s where they’ve done an excellent job of forcing negative plays on those early downs, where you almost force people to have to throw it on second and third down, often times when you’re playing with the lead. They’re an excellent defense. I think they’ve played their best lately as well. They’re opportunistic. They’re getting the ball back. Bunch of big time plays they had that led to that win against Minnesota (Vikings) last Sunday night. Really, it’s about us just doing an excellent job with the execution, whether that’s running it or throwing it. It’s going to be a great challenge in the noise. They’ve got great players all over their defense.”

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