(On how his bye weekend went)
"It was good, thank you. I got to watch some ball. We got some help in the division. So, we’ll get a little bit more help on Thursday."
(On what he thinks about the standings tightening up in the NFC West)
"We’ve played five games. They’ve played six. So, there’s a lot of games left. A lot of games left."
We take calls all of the time. People call. People have injuries. People have interest. That happens all of the time. I have no interest in trading Jared [Cook]. He’s a big part of our offense. I don’t know where that originated from or came from. I clearly wasn’t aware of it. Jared’s fine.
- St. Louis Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher
(On if he thinks anything can happen with the standings)
"Well it’s one week at a time. That’s how we do things. So, our focus in clearly on the Browns right now, who are playing very well. The last three games have been decided or four games have been decided by a touchdown or less. So, they’re playing well."
(On if he feels like this team has the make up to climb into the NFC playoff picture)
"Again, it’s early. I mean, that’s everybody’s goal, but we just have to have a good week and get ready, do the best we can and see if we find a way to win this game."
(On if his approach to practice changed today since he didn’t have a game on Sunday)
"Did not change. What was unique for what we were doing is that our new schedule kind of fits very well with the bye week schedule. We’re just doing the same things. Now coaches have had a lot of extra time, a lot more time from a game planning standpoint. But no, we’re not changing anything this week."
(On if the extra time helps preparing for Cleveland because they are an unfamiliar opponent)
"For the staff, yes. I mean, the players understand the difference between the unfamiliar opponent versus the familiar opponent and the extra time that’s involved. So, they’re going to have to put the extra time in."
(On how the players practiced today coming off the bye week)
"They were fine. No, there were no issues. We had…everybody was on time. They got an early workout in inside the building and we had a meeting, got started and discussed some things that happened around the league – things to learn from in certain games and things. Then we got into the game plan."
(On if he saw Lee Corso’s segment on College Gameday this weekend and if he has any interest in the USC coaching position or if he’s been contacted about it)
"Well, your first question, I didn’t see it because I was in a place where there was no TV, which was a good thing. Yeah, I’ve heard things. But no, I appreciate what anybody else is saying out there. But I made a commitment to (Rams Owner/Chairman) Stan (Kroenke) here, and I’m going to finish, keep that commitment."
(On what he saw from RB Todd Gurley in the Pittsburgh game that made him think Gurley was close to full production)
"Yeah, it was just a block, either a block by a receiver or just a modification in the blocking scheme or a motion that would take an extra defender out of the way. Again, he was. He was really close. He had a good week last week and he was good today. So, we have to just continue to get better with the run game because that will obviously and clearly help us in our passing game."
(On if one of the things that he wanted his team to learn from this past weekend was a play during the Colts versus Patriots game)
"Yeah, I saw the play. That’s for them to describe and define and answer. Over the years, we’ve done a lot of different things. It comes down…whenever you’re going to do something usually like that, it comes down to communication. You have to make sure everybody’s on the same page. This is just what I’ve heard, it may not be fact, but I’ve heard there was a new player at center and all these things. So, they’ve got to deal with it. But we’re one of those teams that does things like that. But, we also work them and sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t."
(On what point he feels comfortable running a trick play in a game)
"You trust the players that they’re comfortable at executing it. (P) Johnny (Hekker) underthrew the ball to ‘Sted’ (WR Stedman Bailey) three weeks ago and just didn’t do it. That doesn’t mean to say I’m not going to do it again. I’ve got confidence in him to do it. When you go into those unusual things like that, I haven’t really looked at the play, but I’ve also been told it was an illegal formation. So, something went wrong some place. They’ll get past it as everybody else gets past those kinds of things."
(On the reports that the Rams were getting calls about TE Jared Cook)
"We take calls all of the time. People call. People have injuries. People have interest. That happens all of the time. I have no interest in trading Jared. He’s a big part of our offense. I don’t know where that originated from or came from. I clearly wasn’t aware of it. Jared’s fine. He’s a big part of this. Those kind of things happen. People call. He’s not the only person that people called us about last week. There’s injuries. We’re not to the trading deadline. People have interest in players. This day in age they’ve got more information. If they sense that some players that you have may fit their system, they’re going to call. You either say yes or no."
(On if he would like to see more production out of Cook)
"I’d like to see more production out of everybody on offense. I’d like to see more production out of the offense in general. As we’ve talked about in terms of first downs and third down efficiency and scoring touchdowns. Those are the kind of things that were the points of emphasis here this off week. The hard part about what we’re going into this week is we’re going into a really good defensive scheme that challenges you. Their rank statistically at 30th in the league is very, very misleading. This is a good defensive football team."
(On why their defensive rank is misleading)
"You put the tape on them and watch four games they don’t look like the 30th ranked team in the NFL on defense. They tackle well, they make plays, they stop the run, they challenge you. Week to week, we face different types of challenges and this one becomes a bigger challenge for us."
(On if RB Todd Gurley can carry it 30 times per week)
"Ideally, we’d like to have the one-two punch and over time, get (RB) Tre (Mason) a lot more touches."
(On if Gurley has surprised him with anything)
"No, it’s kind of where our expectations were. The good thing about Todd is Todd&rsqursquo;s not 100 percent. Just wait until he’s 100 percent."
(On what percent he thinks Gurley is)
"I’m not going to go there, but he’s not 100 percent."
(On if Gurley is still wearing his knee brace in games)
"He wore the knee brace in the last game, yes he did."
(On if the knee brace is a comfort thing)
"He tore his ACL less than a year ago or right about a year ago. It would make sense to protect him, to protect his knee. That’s why he’s wearing it. The ACL, I mean you look around the league and look over different players, it takes more than just a year to come back. Todd’s a year out, that’s why I say he’s not 100 percent. He’s going to continue to get better."