Jeff Fisher – Post-Practice – December 7, 2016
(On QB Jared Goff’s absence)
“Jared came in the building early this morning and he wasn’t feeling well. So, we treated him, he participated in the meetings, through install and everything, and just was not feeling well. We felt it was best to send him home. He’ll be back in the morning, I’m sure.”
(On how much missing today’s practice sets Goff back)
“It doesn’t set him back at all. Not at all, I’m not concerned about it. (QB) Case (Keenum) did a great job getting the offense ready today.”
(On if it was a cold or flu for Goff)
“It’s a virus that’s been going around. I was joking around, I wouldn’t want to catch his balls – if he touched it, I don’t want to catch it.”
(On if missing Wednesday’s two-hour practice will set him back)
“No, he understands what we’re doing. He was in the install, he sat way in the back in the room, but he was there. He participated and observed the walk-thru prior to practice and it was just best to send him back so we could get him back tomorrow. Tomorrow’s their day off and I would expect him to be here all day watching practice and install and everything.”
(On if Atlanta’s rush defense provides an opportunity for RB Todd Gurley to break out)
“We’re hoping that we can get the run game going, but every week is a challenge. Every week we face loaded fronts and things like that. We like our plan and we’re going to have to get it going, just to keep (Falcons QB) Matt (Ryan) off the field because they’re so explosive offensively.
(On returning to the Coliseum)
“Looking forward to playing at home, yeah. It seems like we’ve been on the road for a while, so it’s nice to know that three of the last four are here.”
(On Goff’s short memory)
“It’s a special trait and that’s what we saw in prior to the draft, is that he just moves on. It’s hard to teach and hard to coach, regardless of the circumstances relating to the play, he’s going to move on to the next one. But, along the same lines, he also learns. He learns from the mistakes and I think that’s equally as important.”
(On if he has heated exchanges with offensive coordinator Rob Boras during the games like he mentioned he has with defensive coordinator Gregg Williams)
“No, it’s different. Offensive play callers and defensive play callers are completely different. I talk to Rob a lot between series as far as game management is concerned, I make some suggestions here and there. But no, nothing like that. As an offensive play caller, you have to be really focused, so it’s not fair.”
(On if he saw DT Aaron Donald beat Seahawks WR Doug Baldwin to win the Xbox NFL Player Charity Challenge)
“I did not, no. What was that about (laughs)? Matt Ryan and (Falcons WR) Julio Jones, are you kidding me (laughs)? I didn’t have time for that. I’d love for him to do that (beat Ryan and Jones) this weekend.”
(On the differences between Atlanta’s offense compared to New England and New Orleans)
“The offensive system is a little bit different, their run scheme’s just a little bit different. They’re high-tempo, up-tempo – I mean they’re going. Matt, he’s so accurate – I don’t mean to compare him to (Saints QB) Drew (Brees) or anybody else, but right now, he’s extremely accurate, the ball is going down the field, the guys are making great catches. They have an offense that, when teams, understandably so, try to take Julio away, they’ve got other weapons, and he knows it and he’s going other places and they’re making the plays. A really good run game, a different type of run game that we’re going to face this week, and that’s a big concern.”
(On if he sees some similarities between Jared Goff and Matt Ryan)
“Yeah, the arm strength, the accuracy, the vision. You’ve seen mobility out of Jared over the last couple of weeks and Matt’s in great shape right now, he’s extending plays, especially when he sees man-to-man, he just takes off, gets the first down and keeps drives alive – so you can see that. Matt’s played a lot of years, won a lot of games. Twenty-seven touchdown passes and I think seven interceptions this year is quite impressive.”
Rob Boras – Post Practice – December 7, 2016
(On the state of the offense)
“We’re very inconsistent. Obviously, we understand the struggles. What’s happening right now is we’re not getting a whole lot of plays. When we had start the game with two three-and-outs, you’re putting your defense in a bad position. We obviously need to be better on first and second down, which will help us on third down. In this pass game, I think we had 11 or 12 third downs, and we averaged over 11 yards to go on third down and that’s really hard. We need to do better on first and second down, and then in the third down situations, we had a couple of drops. I think we had three drops on third down, which were probable or potential conversions. Play calls – everything has got to improve. It’s easy to point a finger, and none of us are about that. We all need to coach better. We all need to play better, and prepare better. That’s what our focus has been right now. The big word we’ve talked about is how are we going to respond. Again, I know I keep repeating myself, this is a resilient group. The guys have stayed together. I think our defense has done an unbelievable job supporting the offensive guys, and trying to keep them going in the right direction. As frustrating as it is, these guys keep coming back to work. I rambled there, I don’t know if I answered your question. We’re all searching for answers, and that’s what this league is about. This is a man’s league, and we’re going to man-up and keep preparing, and getting ready to beat a really good team with Atlanta.”
(On the level of disappointment from the expectations of WR Tavon Austin and RB Todd Gurley)
“You’re kind of telling me what I was assuming what was going to happen. Obviously, we expect a lot from all of our players. Those guys are integral parts just as (WR) Kenny Britt is, and we hope (TE) Lance Kendricks to be, and (RB) Benny Cunningham, and all of the offensive skill players. It’s systematically right now. Again, across the board, we all need to do better. It’s not pointing a finger any one person, which we’re going to refuse to do. It’s just, again, continuing to come out here. We got to focus on the details and the technique, and hope that those carry over to Sunday which will allow us to execute and convert some first downs, and first downs lead to touchdowns. Right now, we got to get some first downs.”
(On if he will be more aggressive in the play calling knowing how explosive the Falcons offense is)
“We’ve played – this will be the third really good offense in a row now, going from New Orleans, to New England, and now to Atlanta. We’ve really got to focus on what we need to do. We tried to take some shots in the last couple of games. We understand we have to score some points, and that all sometimes leads to long incompletions, and second-and-longs, and third-and-longs. We need to stay ahead of the chains. We need to be more efficient on first and second down. That doesn’t mean just playing small ball. Again – explosiveness, whether that comes through the run or the pass. When you’re creating gains of 12 yards or more, it’s going to help you move down the field. Our inability right now on first and second down to gain four yards or more is hurting us. We can only deal with what we’re doing. Our defense has done a really good job, and allowed us to continue playing games, where it’s a one or two score game, and that’s all we can focus on. We understand the explosiveness of those three offenses that we’ve gone against, or about to go against the third. All we can control is what we’re trying to control offensively.”
(On if he ever considered a change in philosophy or game planning)
“Yes, and that’s something that we’re always evaluating every Sunday night on the plane ride back, and Monday morning and before you’re starting the next week. We’re always trying to evaluate. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. We’re always – it might not look like it – but whether it’s something changing our install or focusing more on third downs and getting third downs to them earlier. Those are things that we’re doing through the course of the week, just so that we all recognize that we’re trying to do something different, and just not rolling it out again. They’re little things that the players would know that we’re trying to do things different. Not carrying over to Sunday, but we are trying to change things.”
(On how to take advantage of Atlanta’s defensive line)
“I think they have two really good pass rushers with (DE) Dwight Freeney and (DE Vic) Beasley. Those guys could rush the passer. He’s got 10.5 sacks already in 12 games. They’re explosive pass rushers. We’ve got our work cut out in protecting the quarterback, whether it’s third down, let alone first and second down. So, I think this team can rush the passer.”
(On what he’s seeing from QB Jared Goff after three games as the starting quarterback)
“Again, he’s handled all the different situations very well and he’s had a lot of different situations come up. Obviously, we got behind this past game; we struggled. We had to throw the ball a lot more than we’d want, which puts the burden on him, our receivers, and then ultimately the offensive line to protect. When they know you’re going to pass they keep coming after us – it can expose not only him, but all of us. But he’s handled all the pressures, he’s handling things well. He probably admit he got a little rattled later in the game. But again, it’s proven that it’s not too big for him at all. Again, his ability to extend plays – I’ve commented on the last couple weeks and you saw it again Sunday – for him to extend plays, when the pocket collapses on him and that’s something that again, across the league when you see the quarterbacks – elite quarterbacks in the league – when they extend plays and make plays off schedule, whether it’s (Packers QB) Aaron Rogers or other quarterbacks across the league. Jared (Goff) has shown that ability and that’s going to be huge for us moving forward.”
(On whether opposing defenses are now able to tailor their gameplan more specifically to Goff, now that there are three games of film on him)
“Perhaps. I think they’re learning. Like our defenses do, I know that they’re going to watch the TV copy, so they can hear his cadence and try to gain an advantage. Now, there is obviously more of that and they’re kind of learning who he is and what his perceived strengths or weaknesses are now. I would think just with the sample size now being three games that it would be something that they think they have a better feel for.”
(On Goff’s touchdown pass to WR Kenny Britt last Sunday and whether he plans to air it out a little bit more against the Falcons)
“Yeah. We had other shots called in that game – again, whether it was protection or whatever happened we weren’t able to complete it. Yeah, I mean obviously we’re always looking for shots. We had a shot the third play of the game down the right sideline to Kenny (Britt) that we didn’t convert on either. It’s always something that we’re looking for. Obviously we don’t want to be fourth-and-11 when we have to make a play like that. We’d hope it would happen earlier in the game. But, yes, it’s something that your always looking for to, as I talked about earlier, trying to create explosives and find a way to put our players in the best position.”