Post Game Press Conference – Rams Players
Puka Nacua, WR
(On his touchdown catch)
“I was trying to be part of the run game, then trying to outrace that corner. It wasn’t great leverage, but Matthew [Stafford] put the ball up out there and just left the rest to me. I was like, ‘I got to get that ball.’ We were talking about the opportunities that we were going to have. Especially us wide receivers, when we were going to get in the red zone. That was my first touchdown of the season, so super excited for that, but also every time you get in the red zone and come away with six it feels a lot better. I came away with some nicks and bruises, it made me try to catch my breath but it felt good.”
(On Matthew Stafford clicking today)
“I feel like it’s every day. So I just try to make sure what it looked like when he was eating breakfast this morning. When he gets out there, and you see that ball coming out of his hand, you just trust it’s going to be in the right spot. Something I try to mention all the time. I try to be better in my route position because you know he’s going to put it in the one spot it can be. So when you run a good route you work the technique at the top of the route and create separation. A great ball makes it look like seven yards of separation for a good route.”
(On moving forward after this win)
“A nice flight home and to rest and to digest the game and get ready to go back at it again. I feel like we got a lot of receivers involved and I feel like that is something we pride ourselves on. I’m always excited for all our guys to go out there and make plays. Colby Parkinson had his first touchdown today, and I think we’ve been able to show the versatility that we can provide in whatever personal group we but out there. We just have to continue to go out there and put out best foot forward.”
(On Christian Gonzalez)
“A lot of the receivers were excited for that match up. I had a chance to play him in college, but I was hurt, so we didn’t get to play. You’re always excited to go up against some of the best. Obviously we just had Jalen Ramsey last week, but then we feel like we got a lot of receivers in our group so we put a big challenge to the defense.”
Cooper Kupp, WR
(On the play of Hunter Long)
“He has been awesome. He has had some stuff, he has been hurt, and has some stuff going on and coming in here and being in and out and finding ways to get on the field. When he has been on the field, he has been really good for us, kudos for him, obviously everyone wants to be able to play. Even when he is not there, he’s preparing for when these opportunities come up. He has been awesome”
(On his touchdown catch at the beginning of the third quarter)
“They have been showing a lot of stuff, like getting back into these clouds and that nickel defensive was off, whatever you want to call it. There were guys moving all over the place. They had [Jonathan] Jones off and outside about 8 yards and Dugger inside. I thought they were going to give us a Tampa two safety look and be able to drop off with how far off they were, and on the snap Dugger disappeared. What I thought was going to be a Tampa 2 was actually a soft zero and it goes back to a very old rule we had about running seam routes about speeding everything up and ripping in there. Matthew [Stafford] was just ready to go, it is not something we have talked about in a while but being on the same page as him is huge.”
(On his long touchdown changing momentum)
“It is, obviously you drive down at the end of the first half, and we had some opportunities that I had hoped we had a chance to make a play in the red zone for us, but the defense made it tough on us. Obviously, not coming away with points, but being able to come out in the second half, and be able to get something going, it goes a long way. It was huge to get that going, and obviously from there next being to run the ball and get yardage and chunk the way down the field. It was good but we have stuff to clean up.”
(On being 5-5 and any potential playoff run)
“It is the same thing I have said over and over again, we have to trust in this process. Trust in that we are doing the right thing and we are not trying to reinvent the wheel, or anything like that. For each of these guys, what can we do just a little bit better, and that process allows you to prepare yourself, to do the best you can out there. A lot of the guys that are in here, we are at our best when we are having fun. Remember that there is always preparation and all that work that goes into it and remember on Sundays you just have to let go. Go play and enjoy this game. It’s meant to be enjoyed.”
Kameron Kinchens, S
(On what he was thinking on the final drive)
“Go out there and make a play and most importantly, go out there and do your job.”
(On the interception)
“Drake [Maye] made a move towards 85 [Hunter Henry], and when you see 85 go away, and you see 3 [DeMario Douglas] running up the middle of the field, there isn’t anything more to do then just be attached to him. He threw the ball high and I made my play.”
(On what it means to have a win like this)
“Competitive endurance, you know that is what Coach McVay always talks about. We got punched in the mouth first, but you know we came back swinging, and ended up winning the fight.”
(On what he saw on the interception)
“It was a simple play, they came out 4 by 1 and 85 and 3 are their main guys, so it doesn’t get any easier than that. His reads were kind of right there once you saw 85 go right there and 3 went up the middle. I was really going to make the tackle, but when I kind of saw the ball going high and 3 not adjusting to the ball, it was my opportunity to make a play.”
(On the excitement of a walk-off interception and the slide)
“Oh yeah, I was trying to make it walk-off pick-six, but Boom [Christian Rozeboom] stopped me and I got down. Yeah, I would have probably just kept running. Oh no, no, I could have slid better, I intentionally, I wasn’t trying to slide, I did that on purpose.”
Braden Fiske, LB
(On his sacks)
“It’s a testament to the whole defense. We were flying around and making plays. I couldn’t have done it without Kobie (Turner) on the first one and the second one was guys just straight rushing and getting up field to the pocket and I did the clean-up.”
(On the play of the defense)
“It feels good. We are playing good, we just need to clean up some of the little dumb things. It takes 11 of us to make it happen.”
(On Drake Maye)
“Solid quarterback. He seems like he is getting better and better. You see the throws. The talent is obviously there. He has a bright future.”
(On the win)
“We’re excited, we’re a young team. Keep taking the next step and get another win. Keep grinding. This puts us in position to win another one and that’s all we can ask for. Get ready for the next game, one at a time, we are back to .500. There was a lot of self-inflicted wounds, the penalties. There were some points they probably shouldn’t have had but those penalties put them in position to score. We’ve got to limit those things. It all comes down to discipline.”
(On the turnovers)
“That’s where our defense has grown the most, creating turnovers. That is where we have taken the biggest jump. Forcing turnovers, that gets their offense off schedule and giving our offense an opportunity.”
Kobie Turner, DE
(On the win)
“This gives us some good momentum going into next week. We were able to pick up some stops when we needed to. We also had a lot of penalties, first and foremost myself, that prolonged drives that didn’t need to be prolonged. We have a lot to learn from. We are going to be ready to go back and attack next week. It gives you shades of what we can be as a defense and what we can be as a team. We have to put it all together and not shoot ourselves in the foot.”
(On the penalties)
“It comes down to not shooting ourselves in the foot. Whether it comes down to me not jumping offside on third and ten, giving them third and five or us getting a penalty after you already have a third down stop. I think it comes back to everything that we did to ourselves. It’s a blessing and a curse. The curse part is we didn’t need to make this game as close as it was. The blessing part is we got a win. That is the only thing that really matters is whether you get a win or a loss in the record book and the last time I checked a win is a win.”
(On forcing turnovers)
“We’ve been playing some really good ball. We are an electric front and once we get them in those third and long situations, we pin our ears back and go get after the passer, that is when we can excel. To be able to stop them on early downs and force them into that long situation and then the two minute at the end of the game. What better way as a defense can you ask for to end a game. The guys stepped up big time.”
Warren McClendon Jr., OL
(On how the offense held up today)
“It felt good, we saw some of those looks earlier in the week. Beaux Limmer did a good job of calling it out and stuff, so he was able get us in the right direction.”
(On Kevin Dotson)
“He played great, he helped me out a lot.”
(On having Beaux Limmer back)
“Beaux just stepped up like he never skipped a beat. He just came in and just got back to work, so I’m proud of him.”
(On how well the offensive line played)
“It made a big difference of being able to run the ball. Being able to run the ball then you can throw the ball. So I think we did a good job with that today.”