LOS ANGELES RAMS VS. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
RAMS HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER
*Opening Comments: *"For the last four weeks, or so, our defense has been hanging in there, giving up 17, 10,13 (points). We thought today was going to be the day for our offense to break out. That's how the game started. This one came down to our lack of ability on defense to get the ball back and stop them. You're talking about 550 (555) yards of total offense (by the Saints). It's difficult to overcome, especially in addition to the points (given up). That's the big difference here today. I'm disappointed. There were some flashes. There were some good things. Our special teams unit, again, was outstanding. I thought that Jared (Goff) did a really nice job in the first half, especially in the two minute drive. I thought that he got better, which is encouraging. I am really disappointed (we didn't play as a complete unit). When you are relying on your defense week after week after week; and you wait for the offense to step up, sometimes these things happen. It just wasn't a good day for us defensively."
On injuries:
"Injury-wise, probably the biggest concern is Rodger (Saffold). We will see how he is. He did not return to the game. We've got normal bumps and bruises (elsewhere). I did make a decision during the week to give Greg Robinson a break, a week off, because he needed it. There was just a lot going on and too many mental errors and penalties. We made the decision to go with Rodger (Saffold) at the left tackle. We will just adjust this week depending on how Rodger's hand is. I expect Greg will return back to the lineup. It is kind of one of those things that I've dealt with before with young players. He just needed a moment. He needed a break. We will get him back and get him going."
On the mental status of this team after six losses over their last seven games:
"Every game is different. Every win is different. Every loss is different. We contribute to the lack of offensive production to the losses. Today, we couldn't get it going defensively. We will get back there. They are practicing hard. You guys are out there, you see it. They are having fun. They're working hard. We've had a lot of unfortunate things happen. Credit the Saints. They had an extra three or four days to prepare for us, having played last Thursday night. They did a really good job. Sean (Payton) is an outstanding play-caller and offensive mind. This was the number one offense in the league today and Drew (Brees) showed that."
On the Saints running gadget plays such as the Willie Snead IV-Tim Hightower touchdown with a big lead in the fourth quarter:
"I do not take that personal. That is what they chose to call. They did it. I fully expected Sean (Payton) to get 56 (points) on us today on the last drive. We have to do a better job defensively. We've got to do a better job coaching. We've got to do a better job with the plan. When you are in this business long enough there is challenges every single week. We've got challenges ahead of us. We've got Tom Brady and Matt Ryan ahead of us. We've got to put this one behind them and answer."
On Gregg Williams this week returning to New Orleans:
"It's a normal week for Gregg in terms of preparation is concerned. There were no distractions. He coached the way that he normally coaches, on the field and in meeting rooms. He motivated the guys. We just had a bad day."
LOS ANGELES RAMS VS. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2016
RAMS PLAYERS
#16 QB Jared Goff
"It's never easy to lose; it is real tough. We want to win, but there are things we have to fix. We've got to do a lot of things better. We learned that today. We kind of got our butts kicked in every facet of the game – all around, and we know that. We need to come back this week, and get back to work and get better and continue to support each other as a group."
"I thought we played real well in the first half. We played real well; we were moving the ball and executing. But in the second half we just couldn't get it going again. We couldn't get that momentum back we had in the first half going. And their (Saints) offense was playing lights out. And their defense was playing well too."
"I don't think there are any moral victories. For me, I felt a lot more comfortable in my second game. From my experience, I just felt better out there and was just able to see it a lot better. The game slowed down for me a lot more today. But at the same time, I just wanna win. I don't want to be out here saying I'm happy with what we did, or what I did, or anything in between; cause I'm really not if we don't win. And that's the bottom line."
#88 TE Lance Kendricks
"He's (Goff) is improving a lot, and that's all anyone can ask of a young quarterback. I thought the offense handled the crowd noise really well and we moved the ball great; especially in the first half. We understood coming in that we were going to play against a good defense."
*On his second quarter touchdown: *"I was just trying to make a play and luckily I was able to catch the ball down along the sideline and finish off that drive. I felt we were able to compete with them scoring wise - at least in the first half. We were just out there trying to get the ball into the end zone. It was great to see that; especially with how we've preformed these last few weeks."
"They have good players too and they showed that on their defense, especially in the second half. Jared was under a lot of pressure as the game went on. They have a lot of players who can make plays. Cameron Jordan is a great player and he disrupted what we were trying to do. We expected them to make plays. And for us, we have to find a way to be more consistent. If they make a play, we have to respond. We did that in the first half but as the game went on we didn't and that was the difference."
#68 G Jamon Brown
"We just did not do enough. I can sit here and try to talk about the positive things we did out there which is good, but we've got to pay more attention to the things we did bad so that we can get them fixed so this team can move forward. You cannot sit here and question where this team's heart is at. I feel that everyone played with a purpose. But things just didn't go our way. And in order to get things working our way we've got to work harder. We can't let a loss like this affect us because we have a lot of tough games ahead on the schedule."
#25 S T.J. McDonald
"It's really tough. They (Saints) did some good stuff. You've got to tip your hat off to them, but a lot of stuff are things we have to correct. We can't keep beating ourselves like that on defense. This loss is going to sit heavy on us. We are definitely going to look at the film so we can learn from this and get better for next week."
"It was just one of those days. I mean, everyone on the defense took turns on things we normally do real well. But its real obvious we just didn't get it done today."
"The one (trick) play they had's (flea-flicker) something we prepared for. We knew what to expect. But we just cannot give something like that up. Everybody was running to the ball, and the running back for them slipped out, and we just were not able to find him. It is their offense, I mean they are trying to score points. We don't see it as them doing that (trying to run up the score). We always accept the challenge whenever we are on the field that we are going to stop them. But we just didn't get it done."
#90 DT Michael Brockers
"It was just one of those days. There was a lot of miscommunications on the back end – it was all the way around. It was just a bad day at the office. I mean, they (Saints) made a lot of big plays, and Drew (Brees) just did want he did. We've just got to do a better job of preventing them from doing that."
His and his team's reaction to Gregg Williams coming back to New Orleans for the first time:
"The whole week was very mellow. He didn't get too high on it and he didn't get very low. He was just even keel. He looked at it as the next game. He didn't put any impression on himself getting ready for this week. I mean during the week he is fiery; he's always in your ear. But during the actual game he lets the players play. He's out there making the adjustments as the game is going on and that's pretty much it."
