Sean McVay Talks About Trading For Roger McCreary, Puka Nacua’s Game Status & His Morning Routine

Sean McVay Talks About Trading For Roger McCreary, Puka Nacua’s Game Status & His Morning Routine

Hey Sean, tell us about your new quarterback, Roger McCreary. Yeah, you know, um, we were looking to be able to just add some depth. Um, you know, he was a guy that respect from playing against him earlier this year. Um, has some inside outside flex. Actually, Aubby coached them in the Senior Bowl when he was coming out of Auburn. And so, we’re excited to get him in. I mean, you know, nowadays things get out so quickly. I mean, it happened and then as soon as you know it, you guys know about it, too. So, um, just talk to them. um he’ll get packed and we’ll get him out here and then we’ll see what uh what it looks like to be able to get him going for this week. But excited to be able to add him, respect his game from going against him. I’ve heard great things about the human being from people that have been around him. Aubrey enjoyed coaching him at the Senior Bowl and um he’ll be able to add some depth to our group and uh we’re excited about it. Is that an area where you did want to add some depth? I know we talked about it a couple times in the past and you’d said maybe yes, maybe no. Is that is that what Dar I think a lot of it has to do with too you know you get you lose a Kell um he’ll be back at some point um you know Darius Williams got banged up a little bit you know we’ll see what his status looks like for this week and so uh it was part of it was you know more a result of just some of the current circumstances of our back end and and our you know our corner position and you know particular. Thanks Sean. You got it Adam. Yeah, Sean, you kind of touched on it. It seems like it’s pretty early in the process, but he’s played a lot of slot in Tennessee this year. Do you expect him to stick with that role or do you like him for that versatility? I like him for his versatility. You know, Quinton Lake does a great job playing so many different things, but there’s not a whole lot of depth behind him. Um, you know, so Roger comes in. I I think what we want to be able to do, Adam, is we we had a light for the football player in terms of his body of work. even going back to when he was coming out of Auburn. He’s obviously, you know, played the slot exclusively for the Titans this year. He has played a little bit of outside corner, but it was more just the competitor, what he was about. Um, you know, and the Titans were great to be able to work with and and it just so happened that based on some of the things that are going on with us, felt like it was a smart move. And, um, you know, and then once we get him in here, we’ll get a feel for the best way to take advantage of his skill set and where that fits. Um, but he could go, you know, he could play inside or outside, but feel really good about obviously what Quinton Lake does and the the many hats that he wears for us, but being able to add some depth in that room was the, you know, the key to be able to get Roger in here. And, um, do you expect Puka to practice on Wednesday? And what feedback did you get from Reggie in terms of his, uh, rehab during the buy? Yeah, it was good. You know, he’s, uh, we expect him to be ready to go, expect him to be able to practice. Um, he’ll do some stuff. you know, we’ll get a little bonus Monday, but it’ll be more of kind of just focus on fundamentals kind of flushes for the guys. Hopefully, they were able to get away, relax a little bit, and now we’re, you know, chomping at the bit to be better than we were the first half of the season. So, do expect him to be back on Wednesday. Um, and expect him to play this week unless there’s setbacks. And same questions for Rob. Same same thing with Rob. Okay, great. Stu. Hey Sean, just having faced the Titans earlier this season, was there anything that stuck out to you about the way um you know, Roger played in in that game? And uh what if any bearing did that have on uh your opinion, your evaluation of him? Yeah, it was positive. You know, I think just the competitiveness, you know, I think what Dinard asked of of that slot position and that system in general activated as a blitzer inside on some of the run fits. Um, you know, the the lateral movement and the short space quickness to be able to, you know, guard guys on a two-way go. They’ll play some, you know, vision zone. Then they play some matchup stuff where he’s in man or he’s sticky based on um, you know, some of the principles that they play and all of that you could see he could do at a high level. But I I just respected and I liked the competitor. I I saw a competitive player on tape um you know played big at the point of attack you know could do could would get his face dirty if he was involved in the run fit you know they could blitz him internally externally um so we just saw good players so it did have a positive impact based on going against him even though it was in week two and then obviously some of the feedback that I got from Aubrey being around him and um you know I was glad that uh we were able to get it done and then just big picture you guys are home three of the first four weeks of the month of November mber just what kind of a benefit is that after how much travel you’ve already had through the first seven or eight weeks of the season. Yeah, it’s a it’s a benefit. You know, I don’t necessarily, you know, and I appreciate what you’re asking. I don’t really look at it that way. I look at it as let’s be in the moment one day at a time. I’m glad that we’re home three of the four games. It’ll be great to be back at SoFi this week. I couldn’t tell you who we play other than the Saints this week. Um and that’s kind of served us well. I think it’s really everybody talks about being present all the time. Um, but to be able to do it, it’s easy to say, it’s really hard to do. Uh, we’re going to focus one day at a time. I’m excited to build on some of the momentum that I thought these guys established. Um, and we’ve got to continuously go this way. Um, and with the approach that we expect to take and you know, every single weeks there’s challenges. Um, humility is only a day away. So, I’m glad to be back home, but my f sole focus and concentration is on having a good day today. Uh, with our preparation geared towards being at our best when we play the Saints on Sunday. Appreciate it. Thank you. You got it, man. Sarah, um, hey Sean, you’ve talked a lot about um, kind of how you how your sleep habits and how you have um, kind of developed as you’ve gone through your years of coaching. Curious now, what does like your morning routine or how you prepare um, during the season? Like how has that changed since the beginning of the your career? Wow. We’re I don’t know if we have enough time here. Here’s what I would say. I’ve really really grown to appreciate how dumb I was early on thinking it was cool to work as many hours as you used to work. Um there is a there’s a good saying, you know, you want to work smart and hard, you know, not stupid. And so what what I what I would say is there’s a premium on sleep. You know, I’m trying to get eight hours of sleep two nights out on Friday and Saturday always. And I try to get seven hours of sleep every single night. Um and if I don’t, I am not as fun to be around. And I noticed that significantly. And that is not uh that’s not when you’re at your best. This is about people. This is about dealing with people, being patient, being urgent, but being clear thinking. And so um I’ve gone to bed earlier. What’s nice is I have a 2-year-old son now. So, uh he goes to bed at about 7. And dad isn’t as far behind as maybe you would think, but I get up early. I’ve always been a little bit of an early riser. Um, and what I like about that, Sarah, is there’s a lot of unforeseen things that take place throughout the course of the day that you naturally have to deal with as a head coach. Uh, whether that’s operationally, schedule-wise, schematically, you know, different phases, you know, being what you need to be and and having the fluidity and flexibility. So, you better save those first few hours of the day uh to be able to kind of get your priority things done where you kind of have some quiet time. And so my rhythm has been pretty consistent where I’m up early. Um, but being able to prioritize the sleep has been something I’ve leaned into and felt incredibly tangible benefits from it. Um, and then I noticed when I don’t, uh, how significantly different that is as well. Do you have any non-negotiables in your morning routine? Uh, you know, I would say if my doors close, leave me the hell alone. Thank you. You’re welcome. Why? Uh, hey Sean. Um, you said got uh a little banged up. Uh, so what happened there and and do you have a status for this week? I I I didn’t I couldn’t hear you. Who’d you ask about? Uh, Darius. Yeah. So So Darius uh so D will he he got banged up with his shoulder. Um you know it was kind of just a weird freak deal that uh you know got it towards the latter part of the game when they were throwing it a bunch. Um it’s something that you know it’s it’s really like a it’s almost like a strain in his shoulder and in his lat. Um, it’s kind of an abnormal deal that typically is it’s it’s a out of it’s a very abnormal type of injury, but it is something that you need to be cognizant of and certain movements and things that we’re asked to do, especially from the corner spot where it does kind of just trigger it and it just it’s a weird feeling. He’s done a great job. He was rehabbing all week. Um, we’re going to continue to try to keep the doors open for him going this week. But if he doesn’t, you know, then we need to have contingency plans accordingly. And I think that group as a whole has played well. been really pleased with, you know, Darius, both uh, you know, him, Jacobe, um, you know, and Emanuel Forbes. So, hopefully he’s able to go. If not, then he’ll be ready to roll the following week. And, uh, he’s, you know, like you said, kind of made some some big plays over the last few weeks, especially. What have you seen from him that’s really allowed him to kind of like elevate his ball production? I just think his approach, you know, I I think, you know, Aubrey does such a good job with the playoffs and coach Beak and I think just being able to play, you know, we’d say it all the time, repetition is the mother of learning. I’ve seen an intentional approach to practice. Um, I think he’s really doing a great job with his prep where he’s able to anticipate, not guess some of the things that he’s seen. I think he’s playing really clean technically. Um, and he played tough, you know, and I think he’s gotten, you know, he almost got a couple interceptions, but he’s gotten his hands on the ball. He’s made breakups. I think really when you look at Baltimore and Jacksonville, I thought he strung together two really good weeks where he was very active and around the football and making positive impact plays for the Rams defense. And that’s the D will that we know we’re accustomed to. and uh and that’s a guy that we expect to see the rest of the way. Thank you. You got it, man. Nate, hey Sean, I was just curious if you have any update on a Kell Witherspoon, just kind of how he’s rehabbing and I know at the time of the injury, I think you’d mentioned maybe a 12week injury was sort of the the window. Is that is that still kind of how it looks? Yeah, I think that’s probably fair. I think uh what Reggie Scott would say and what Aello would say would be a little bit different, but that’s a good thing. you know, Reggie’s got a job to, you know, um, underpromise and overd deliver and Aello is going to want to be back out there a lot sooner. So, uh, it is probably similar. He’s doing great. It was great to be able to have him and really the rest of our guys for the most part on that trip with us. You know, Kell’s out there doing some individual stuff with Aubrey in a controlled setting. He’s in the, you know, he’s in there with Reggie and his group. He stays involved in the meetings and so we’re going to get him back at some point. It’s probably still a little bit premature and a handful of weeks away for us to even start talking about that. But I know Aello’s excited for his return and we’ll be excited to be able to add him back into the mix. But I think that timetable that I gave you, Nate, is is probably a pretty safe one to stay with until I, you know, get a little bit more clarity uh in the next couple weeks for you. And uh like that under promise overd deliver, huh, Artist? I saw you smiling there. Sorry, Nate. Go ahead. No, it’s all good. Uh and just with when you talk about uh Roger McCur’s versatility, you know, if you’re able to get a Kell back and and put him on the outside, is that do you feel like that just kind of adds to the value of a guy like Mccuri where you know you could move him around if you get some guys back? Yeah, I think that’s what it’s about, you know, being able to I think first of all, let’s get him in the building. Let’s see um you know what what he’s about, where he best fits. What we did like about him was the inside, the outside flex, the competitiveness. thinks I think he’ll be able to add some stuff to our overall teams uh relative to maybe some perimeter play stuff along those lines, but want to get him into the building. Um Aello’s obviously played outside corner, done a great job for us. We’re very familiar with him. I’m excited about adding Roger to the mix, but until we get around him and get a feel for best ways to be able to, you know, implement him, um it’s hard for me to say on on anything too specific. We’ll wrap up with you, Eric. Hey coach, thanks for taking our our questions. Of course, you you mentioned building momentum based on how you guys have been playing up to this point. You get the by-week and you’ve been pretty good on the second half of those by weeks in terms of how you’ve played the last couple seasons. Uh what are some reasons for that and what’s the importance and ability to self scout during this bye-week to kind of, you know, reset going second half season? Yeah, so I think the first thing is is we’ve got the right kind of guys. You know, I think our coaches have done a good job of being consistent, but also flexible and fluid if necessary. And then our players, they’re coachable. You know, it the way they approach practice. Um, you can’t help but improve if you’re intentional with your approaches like that. Um, and so I think the goal is is you want to be able to continuously improve throughout. Sometimes the results reflect that, sometimes they don’t. But are we committed to a process and are we evaluating our process on a weekly and a daily um you know approach to to make sure that it’s geared towards putting our players in the most successful outcomes and cultivating an atmosphere and environment that inspires guys to want to do better to continuously grow to be secure enough to be accountable and that’s coaches and players alike. So I think those are some positive things as far as the cell scouts concerned. You better do that week in and week out. We do that every single week. Um, you have to be in tune. You better know yourself before you know your opponent. Um, that’s been a consistent approach that we’ve really leaned into the last handful of years. You don’t wait till the buy. You might have a little bit more time, but um, you know, we expect to be in tune with the things that that we need to be aware of. Uh, what are the opponents looking at? And we better know ourselves better than our opponents. And that’s something that’s ongoing on a weekly basis. That’s before you even start your opponent prep um, as part of our, you know, you know, daily rhythm, if you will. Uh but the but the buy does offer an opportunity to kind of take a step back and look at it through a clear lens, but that’s ongoing and continue. It’s not exclusive to the buy. And then one more quick one for you, coach. You mentioned Puka’s coming back. He’s been dinged up a little bit, you know, over the last couple years. How do you balance letting Puka be Puka the way he plays versus wanting to keep him on the field and not have to deal with these setbacks through the year? Yeah, it’s a good question. I think you look at the things that are reflected and why are we missing time if we are and if they’re preventable, you know, then let’s continuously look at that and and communicate that and and be able to pick and choose our spots. You know, when you’re going up to try to break up a pass on a 50/50 ball and your ankle comes down weird, sometimes there’s some freak things. Um, but I do think, you know, to your question, I think the important thing, Eric, is being mindful of the to the totality of um, the workload that we’re asking of him and being cognizant of that through 17 games and then hopefully you earn the right to be able to play after that. And what I think is good that, you know, sometimes you’re forced by nature of situations that arise to learn, all right, how do we take advantage of the totality and are there some chances to be able to maybe take some snaps or things off of him that allows other guys to still be able to be contributors? and we’re always trying to find that sweet spot and it’s a positive thing because he is such a productive player in so many phases, but um we do talk about those things in in regards to the things that we can control to maybe you know limit the exposure to some of those possible injuries. But then there are occupational hazards that exist in this game as you well know that sometimes you’re saying hey you know could we have done anything to prevent it? I’m glad he went up and played DB in that situation. I’m bummed that he came down on his ankle weird. Um, so it’s kind of a give and take if that answers your question. Yeah. Thanks, coach. You got it, man. Thanks, coach. All right.

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay talks about trading with the Tennessee Titans for cornerback Roger McCreary to add depth to the defensive backs room, wide receiver Puka Nacua’s bye week rehab, and his in-season morning routine.

0:00 Signing Roger McCreary
0:46 Adding depth in the CB room
1:18 McCreary’s versatility
2:25 Puka Nacua & Rob Havenstein updates
3:05 McCreary standout qualities
4:13 Home games in November
5:19 Morning routine
7:30 Darious Williams update
8:38 Darious Williams’ ball production
9:33 Ahkello Witherspoon update
10:47 McCreary’s competitiveness
11:40 Building momentum
13:39 Puka Nacua’s ankle

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