Sean McVay Talks About Puka Nacua’s Ankle, Kicking Team Operation Improvements & More

Sean McVay Talks About Puka Nacua’s Ankle, Kicking Team Operation Improvements & More

All righty. As far as um injuries are concerned from yesterday, um Puka has a little bit of an ankle sprain. We’ll be daytoday with him. Um initial, you know, initially felt pretty good today, you know, but we’ll we’ll just see how the week progresses. Blake Corm, same thing with his ankle. Positive information on him. Um but he would be out if we were to practice today, but you know, we’ll take those guys a day at a time. Rob’s making good progress with his ankle. Everybody else has your typical bumps and bruises, but Blake was able to come back. Puka was able to come back. We’ll see what it looks like as far as their game status is concerned as the week progresses. Uh so you’re describing Puka’s injury as a little bit of an ankle sprain. I mean, what man? You really are Semantical. He has an ankle sprain. He’ll be dayto-day and his status is uncertain for the game. Um same thing with Blake. I If you I mean, are you optimistic that he would be able to play again? Always optimistic, Gary. You know me, I’m a positive half glass full guy. So here here’s the reality. You know, it’s it’s basically a handful of hours off of the injury. He was able to come back into the game. Uh for him to be at his best, you know, we got to be able to take a little bit at a time. I was encouraged. Reggie was encouraged by the scan terms of what it revealed. Whether that means he’s able to play like the guy that we’re accustomed to seeing on Sunday will be a weekly process for us. Um, and so what we are grateful for is there’s nothing on the skin that looks like it’s going to be long term. The uncertainty of this week is is a real thing. Um, the buy has nothing to do with our approach on that. It’s going to be what’s best for Puka and for our football team. Um, and I know he’s going to do everything in his power to try to be ready to go for this week and we have to have a plan for him and and if he’s not able to go. Um, what is 22 Atwell’s status? I think he should be good. You know, he he got that little tweak. Um, he had a good workout on Saturday, but it was more along the lines of, you know, Aaron on the side of being safe rather than sorry. Everything is pointing in the direction of him being ready to go. We might have a little bit of a limitation on Wednesday, but he’s progressing. We’re expecting him to be ready to play on Sunday. And Jordan Whittington stepped in uh yesterday. Uh, how do you think he did? And would he be in line to, you know, play again if Fuka could not go? He did a nice job. He’s a stud. He’s a stud. You know, there’s a lot of things that we ask of him. Had to adjust some different things on the fly. I think he’s consistently delivered. Our snaps just based on them possessing the ball and some of the ways that the game unfolded were minimum and kind of the approach that we took after we were able to jump up 14 points. It’s a unique game. I thought he did a nice job, Gary. I love Jordan Whittington, what he’s about. I was really pleased with Kennado Mumpfield coming in and playing in some different spots. And so, um, he’s another guy that I think is is capable of handling more if that’s what’s required based on Puka’s availability. But I love Jordan Whittington. Did a good job. Thanks very much. You’re welcome, Stu. Sean, just to see Kairen respond the way he did this week after, you know, what was obviously a difficult moment the previous game. Um, I know you talk about response all the time, but when you get an example like that, what does that do for him and just the team? Yeah, it continu continues to confirm and reaffirm who he is, what he’s about. Um, and I think you said it, I’m glad that the way that you asked that where you said it was one play because there was a lot of really good things he did in that game. Um, you know, you look at the ball security in this league like I talked to you guys about, man, it’s the same focus and concentration that’s required of a boxer or a UFC fighter in terms of always being on guard. These defensive guys do such a phenomenal job. What an effort by Land Man and and uh you know and verse to be able to get their hands on the one that they forced out that we were able to get one of our three turnovers. But love the response, love the guy and uh love everything he’s about. Wasn’t surprised though based on the approach and the immediate response, you know, afterwards uh because that’s who Kron Williams is. And then in terms of the kicking game, what’s the balance between giving that operation enough chances to um you know fix things during a game versus um you know the one of those moments later on where you decide you know what fourth and six it’s better to just go for it in this situation. Yeah. You know I think you know you’re talking about on the fourth down and three in the tight red area. Yeah. From the And I know what you’re I know what you’re talking about. U the answer is I’m still working through that. I was really pleased with our protection. I thought the guys did an excellent job. I thought the intentionality showed up there. Um, we need to be more efficient with the overall operation. Um, and you know, first one obviously, you know, we can be better on and then, you know, we were we were fortunate to be able to make the second field goal attempt, but I’m not giving up on that group. Uh, but there’s an accountability and a responsibility everybody has to do their 111th. I was really pleased with the improvement of the protection, the timing, and then, uh, you know, Josh Cardi is a guy that, uh, I’m, uh, I’m ready to stick with. Thank you. Yep. Sarah. Hey Sean. Um, you’ve talked in the past about the difference of return to play versus the performance. Um, with Puka, is that kind of the situation where you’d want him to play his game versus maybe not being a little limited in what he can do? That’s right. And I think that’s part of our responsibility, Sarah, is is determining what’s best for him number one, especially as it relates to the overall health of the player and then what’s best for our football team and his style of play, the way and the nature at which he plays. That is something that does weigh into this. Um, I thought he did a nice job, you know, with what the snaps were that he had when he came back in there. We were cognizant of maybe not doing some of the different things just because of where we were at that point in the game. um and what the circumstances and situation elicited to just ultimately try to be able to win the football game. Um and so the answer is yes to your question and that’ll be something that as we gather more information and as we see the week progress I’ll start to have some clarity on but ultimately for us we need to have a contingency plan with and without him. And then um you said it sounds like everyone’s dayto-day but just to clarify no one’s going to go back to LA everyone is going to stay here and go to London because of injuries. Yeah, no one’s going to stay here. We’ve got all of our practice squad, you know, because we’re basically picking up our facilities and moving them to uh Baltimore for the week until we leave on Friday to go to London. And so, the answer to your question is yes. Um and then Tyler Higgby came back at the end of last season. Um seemed like a real energy spark to you guys. I know you’ve spoken highly of what he means to this offense. How have you seen him come back to that injury the start of this season um and kind of finish that process and and now six weeks in what he’s done? Yeah, he’s he’s he’s a special and a rare human. He’s got this great aura about himself, great vibe. Um it’s why he’s so revered by his teammates and he’s got just an incredible awareness and he loves the game. You know, you talk about a guy that just enjoys competing, understands how to elevate and press the right buttons with his teammates. His celebrations are always great, too. So, I uh I love the the one that he had yesterday. I thought he made the most of his four opportunities that he had in the past game. Um I think that’s always good for us. I thought he competed well without the ball, even though our snaps were kind of minimal offensively. I thought he did a hell of a job. And you know, I think there’s a ton of credit that, you know, Scooter Huff deserves, but also Tyler Higgby for the improvement and the, you know, just the continued growth that you’ve seen from that group as a whole, whether that’s Davis Allen, whether that’s Kobe Parkinson, and you’re starting to see, you know, Terrence Ferguson continue to get some more ops. And, um, he’s a special special guy. I love him and and he’s picked up in terms of that positive impact where he left off and he feels like he’s um, you know, playing fresh and I thought he played his most complete game yesterday. Thank you. You’re welcome, Wyatt. Hey, Sean. Um, yesterday Jared said that uh in the run game they kind of realized that they weren’t really uh built to go outside as much and so they kind of changed the personnel and and you know got bigger on the inside. How is that something that Chris Schula notices or how did that kind of adjustment come to be? Yeah. Well, that was something that we had talked about going into the week based on some of the different things that they had shown that they were capable of executing at a high clip. Want to try to be able to eliminate some of the vertical seams and getting cut out of our gaps. Um, I think, you know, it’s a collective responsibility. I thought our coaches did a great job. You know, it’s Gif Smith, it’s, you know, it’s it’s really it’s Chris Schula, it’s Joe Kiglio, you know, it’s all of our coaches. I think what I was talking to them about is what an awesome job I thought we were ready for the contingency plans, made those adjustments, thought we carried the momentum from the goal line, stop into the second half, and being able to make some of those just little adjustments, I think was an edge for our group. I think the really good coaches do a great job of not waiting until this morning to say, “Oh, we should have done that. Can you adjust and adapt in real time to put the players in the most favorable spots?” And I give GIF and Chris and and really our defensive staff as a whole a ton of credit uh for being able to recognize that. That was something we talked about having a contingency plan in our back pocket. They executed it um in terms of being able to get it communicated to the players and then most importantly the players brought that stuff to life and that was a key factor in us being able to win that game yesterday. And uh you say obviously that you you want to stick with with Josh Cardi and you have confidence in him. uh have you felt like he’s changed anything in his uh like fundamentals and and how he kicks and um if not is that something that you think might benefit him? Yeah, I haven’t. You know, I mean we we the the timing and the trajectory is a huge part of uh of being able to be a good kicker in this league. We’ve emphasized those things, you know, in terms of his approach, but um haven’t noticed anything specific. There’s core things that that we emphasize, no different than any other position with him. Um, and I think he’ll be the first to tell you I got to hit it better. And uh, and that’s, you know, yeah, I think you can make a mountain out of a molehill, but you know, there’s an element of the timing, the trajectory, and the consistency of your stroke and being able to replicate that, that snap, hold, um, and the kick. And, um, you know, those are the three things that, you know, those three guys being able to be on the same page. I look at them as they’re got to be one unit that’s so tied together. I thought the other eight guys did a much better job with the things we emphasized. They had a winning performance. Um and that’s what we’re looking to see improvement from those guys uh to be able to execute that phase of our special teams which is um you know a work in progress. Thank you. You’re welcome. and then then we’ll wrap with Nate and uh Hey Sean, um just if Puka to either miss time or or be limited, what kind of luxury is it to have, you know, a receiver like Devonte Adams, the track record he had? And uh how I guess ready, capable do you think he is of taking on a role like he has before in his many times his career where you know he’s the guy the defenses are are concerned with and try to take away. Yeah. No, I think uh that’s a real luxury. And then we feel really good about, you know, the depth of of our group at the receiver position. Um being able to really have the the possibility of of getting a plan either or in in alignment so that you can put guys in a spot as opposed to having to kind of adjust and adapt. You know, I think the one thing too that ended up really, you know, kind of making that even bigger, you know, obviously Puka is such an instrumental part. So to answer your question, feel tremendous confidence in Devonte. That’s a real luxury. The other thing about yesterday is you missed Tutu. Um, you know, Tutu has really made himself a factor the last couple games and even if he hasn’t been getting the ball, he still influences and affects the game in a positive way. It was another game yesterday where um, you know, a team decided to travel with Devonte where Wiggins ended up traveling with him. Um, you know, so you can see the respect and the uh, appreciation they have for for his body of work and what he’s really done. But I’m uh, I’m looking forward to to being able to do a good job to put guys in the right spots, whether that’s with or without Cuka this week. And you know, Dvonte is is is been uh you know, he still is a focal point with Puka, you know, whether he’s playing or not. And that’s been consistent throughout the first six games. Appreciate it. You got it, man. Dennis, morning, coach. How are you? I’m good. How are you, Dennis? I’m doing great. Um coach, how impressed were you um are you about the way your defense were able to keep Baltimore out of the end zone? Yeah, it was awesome. you know, and I think um I think there was a lot of instances where you could really have said, you know, uh I thought I thought we picked up our energy and just our sense of urgency after really that first drive. Thought we had, you know, to be able to get three takeaways is unbelievable. And, you know, a bunch of those fourth down stops shooting works just like takeaways. So, our defense was instrumental in being able to really control and win that football game. and the way that they were playing and the way that we were able to start off that second half where you score offensively, you get a turnover and you score two plays later felt like as long as we took care of what we were supposed to, uh, that game was going to be in hand and that was what was reflected. As a followup, um, how would you describe the play of Nate Lamman? Has he become the glue for, uh, your defense? I I think the best part Nate’s been an instrumental part of of a lot of good things. I I think we’ve got a lot of guys that are glue. I think this is the greatest team sport there is. And I give uh you know our defense as a whole, you know, all three levels of the defense. I was so proud of the way our secondary played. I thought our corners really stood up, played excellent. Nate was awesome. Set a Rams single, you know, game record for tackles. Got another punch out on Flowers. He’s a freaking stud and we got a lot of other studs around him and and that’s why our defense has has been uh what it is and looking forward to continuing to grow with that group. But love everything he’s about and you know, I thought Shawn Dolac and Troy Reer did a nice job stepping in yesterday. um you know, Tank Makoa playing it, some of those dime linebacker spots, and I was really just pleased with our defense as a whole, especially after we kind of settled in after that first drive. We’ll be able to learn from some of the from some of the penalties, and that’s a collective thing that we can grow from and um it’s always awesome to be able to learn after you get the result that you’re hunting up. All right. Thank you, coach. You got it. All right. Thanks, coach. Thank you guys.

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay gives an update on wide receiver Puka Nacua’s ankle, improvements he saw in the kicking game operation against the Baltimore Ravens, and more.

0:00 Sean McVay gives injury updates
0:35 Puka Nacua’s ankle sprain
1:45 Tutu Atwell update
2:10 Jordan Whittington’s performance
3:00 Kyren Williams response since last week
3:55 Kicking game operation
4:55 Decision making behind Puka Nacua returning
5:55 No one traveling back to LA
6:18 Tyler Higbee return from injury
7:43 Defense adjustments
9:13 Confidence in Joshua Karty
10:31 Davante Adams & receiver position depth
12:09 Defense’s impressive performance

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