Sean McVay Reacts To Puka Nacua’s One-Handed Catch, Discusses Handling Defeat & Managing Timeouts

Sean McVay Reacts To Puka Nacua’s One-Handed Catch, Discusses Handling Defeat & Managing Timeouts

[Music] Welcome back to the Coach McVey Show everyone with Shawn McVey. I am JB Long and the Coach McVey show is always presented by Microsoft Surface Co-Pilot Plus PC. The winning streak is snapped at six, but the Rams are 9 and three, tied to top the NFC, five to play and everything to play for. Yep. Welcome back to Los Angeles. Hope you had a good uh holiday weekend. I’m sorry it didn’t go your way yesterday, but uh I think we all noticed a bit of a measured reaction from you and your locker room. What was behind that? That kind of the poise with which you handled that defeat? Well, I you know I think there’s just a lot of belief in this group and and I think it was pretty straightforward. You know, I don’t believe for a second that our preparation wasn’t right, that we took them lightly. There was just a couple things that, you know, when you look at what we’ve done at a really high clip, those things weren’t on display yesterday. And and like I said, you know, you give Carolina credit for making some of those plays, but we’ve been really good about taking the football away, taking care of it. You’re oh, you know, you’re you’re down three in the turnover battle. They made some critical fourth down conversions, two of which that ended up leading to, you know, touchdowns. Did a long explosive touchdown on a screen. And and then we give them, you know, points on on one of our turnovers where they go the other way. But I love the fight. I love the resilience of this group. And, you know, sometimes these setbacks can be great setups for comebacks. And um I know that we’ve got the right guys in that locker room, the right coaches to be able to handle a little bit of adversity the right way. And there’s never a good story without a little bit of adversity. I was just it wasn’t anything about measured. It was just what I authentically felt. I’m always going to be real to our group. And I think it’s really important for us to use this for what it is. It’s a learning opportunity. uh we’re going to be able to respond and that’s exactly what I’ve seen from the guys right after the game uh going into today as you look at it and you have the security and the humility to be able to acknowledge where can we all collectively improve but how can we stay tight and connected and and um and use this as a chance to be able to grow from and and that’s what we’re going to do. Hearing you say that I wonder when I read or hear a sentiment along the lines of the Rams needed to lose that game because however you want to finish that sentence does that mesh with what you just said and felt or Here’s what I would say. I you know I we didn’t go out there with the expectation other than to try to win the football game. But what happened was we came up short and so now hey you own it. You acknowledge it. You you acknowledge that it doesn’t feel great but then you’re not going to stay in those feelings. You’re going to move forward the right way. And so uh we don’t have control over that. That is over with. It’s done with. But what we do have control with is our response, our vibe, uh our ability to inspire the right kind of responses collectively as a group and be able to have the right sense of urgency but not lose sight of this enjoyment that we’ve had. We don’t need to make stuff up. We need to look at what it is that we didn’t do at the levels that we’re accustomed to and and be able to say these are usually good factors that give you good um you know predictive outcomes for getting the the results that we won and that we’ve seen the last six weeks before yesterday. And I think fans that love the Rams understand this process is already underway, but this is a different Monday than the victory Mondays we’ve become accustomed to over the last couple of months. Your schedule looks different today. You’ve already met, you’ve already lifted. That’s Arizona week underway already. That’s right. And and I think it’s important that um you know, you don’t change, but you make sure that hey, let’s address the things that are important to be able to address. Let’s put this game to bed. Let’s acknowledge where we’re headed, where we want to be able to go. I’ve gotten the right sense from our guys. And so the only thing is is there was a little bit more um intentionality about being able to look at the film and and guys are secure enough to be able to handle that and and there’s coach, you know, us as coaches, you know, we’re all in it together and and that was what the different approach was. But uh there’s a consistency in terms of whether we win or whether we lose. You correct the things that we want to be able to correct and you try to be able to stack good plays, good days, and that’s what we’re going to do. Some of those uncharacteristic things you talked about, you turned it over three times. uh can’t get off the grass defensively and still you put up 28 almost seven and a half yards per play. Is that kind of the mix of the uncharacteristic but also encouraging it’s a unique deal. I mean, you go it’ll go down in the stats as nine drives. You really have eight drives. You know, one of which was a knee the six drive at the end of the first half. Um, you know, you go right down the field. Excellent return by Ronnie Rivers. You score in six plays. Um, then you get the ball back, you go right down the field, you get a tipped pick that ends up, you know, where don’t come away with any sort of points. Then we have four play drive, I think it was, where you end up getting a pick the other way. Then you go back down and you score a touchdown. And then you score another touchdown and there’s your five real drives in the first half. In the third quarter, you know, offensively, you know, we we had a tough time getting off the grass. They started with it. Had a three-play sequence where the rain was coming down. Had a first down play where we got, you know, good 5 yardd run. And then they did a good job of bringing a pressure that they ended up getting a sack, put us in a negative yardage where we’re third and 13 and the rain was coming down hard to convert. And then that those are your only drives. And then you see, you know, a drive where you score. It was a great job where we leaned on the run and went almost 90 yards to be able to go get the touchdown and then you go right down the field and we kind of have that little sequence at the end. But defensively we battled. They ended up making, you know, enough plays that we talked about. But I love this football team. I love what these guys are about. And I wouldn’t want to be in the foxhole with any other group. And my my feelings about this group is even stronger because I think sometimes, you know, success is never linear. And and if you have the right kinds of people and you can really look at what really occurred and you don’t let your feelings get in the way of what really went down and then how do we correct it and how do we move forward, uh we got the right kind of guys to do that and that’s our job and that’s what we’re tasked to do. That third quarter must have been excruciating on on your sideline for all those reasons that you described. Is there a blueprint there for opponents of the Rams? Which is not to say that it’s easily replicated, but that keep away works against this Matthew Stafford led offense. Yeah. What I think they did a good job of, they converted. You know, they got to third and manageables. They were able to get, you know, some third down runs where they stayed on the field. They weren’t shying away. I mean, every p every f earned first down. They were running the football, especially in the second half, I want to say, but you could feel that and and it wasn’t anything too crazy, but it was four and five and then they were able to convert, you know, on some of the conversion downs. They made the plays and and then, you know, some of those explosives that we talked about, you know, ended up being the difference. But our guys stayed in the fight. They continued the battle. I refused to believe that anything was going to happen other than us finding a way. Um and we came up a little bit short, but uh this isn’t something that we haven’t been able to handle. Uh we’ve had two gut-wrenching losses before this. It led to some really good stuff and um these are these are things that our guys are well equipped to be able to handle and and you better be able to handle it because like I said, success is never linear. This is a long journey and we got a lot of football left and we can’t allow the Panthers game, you know, to affect us where we lose twice because of it. Kella Witherspoon in his return played 15 snaps. We were all curious to see when and where he would play. What was your vantage point on how he contributed in his return from I thought he did a good job. Didn’t have a whole lot of action. The one screen that they ended up throwing um on the third down and eight where they ended up, you know, having a explosive touchdown. He’ll tell you he’ll be the first to tell you he can be better in terms of block destruction getting off. But with the other snaps, I thought he did his role. And Emanuel Forbes has rightly deserved commendation on this show and elsewhere. Seemed like a tough day at the office for him yesterday. Is that fair? Yeah, you know, there was a couple plays where you’re highlighted. You’re at the point of attack on those fourth down plays and um you know, did a good job. Coker had a nice release on the fourth down um where they ended up hitting the fade. He can be better in terms of his leverage and being able to win. Um and then on the other one that they ended up hitting, you know, T-Mac on, it was a pretty good throwing catch. A little bit longer developing based on the the defense that we were in and kind of the play that they activated. And um they made a good play right there. But he’s in good phase. Those are easy corrections. when you’re a corner, you better be well equipped to be able to move forward and handle it. And you’re put in some challenging situations. Those are hard downs for him. Um, but he’s played a lot of really good football and he’ll respond. And um, if you don’t have a short memory as a DB, it’s going to be a short career and and he’s he’s built to be able to move forward the right way and we have a lot of belief and trust in him. We also always talk about rush and cover working in tandem and maybe yesterday it didn’t quite the way you had hoped. external services Sean have noticed a drop off in pass rush win rate weight say since like the buy maybe the last handful of games does that check out with what you’re seeing internally too and is anything there you know I think yesterday they did a good job you know they were you know you felt like you were minimizing the rush ops ball was coming out even on the fourth down you know we were in you know a simulated pressure and they kind of rolled out with to the side of the dropper so the things are extended on that they got the ball up and down on the one that you know and they’re throwing screens you know so there was a couple instances where you give them credit for some of the things that they had, but um I don’t get too caught up in those types of things. You got to earn the right to be able to rush the quarterback. There was a lot of pretty cool examples of that coming to life just seven days prior. And so um you know, we can’t allow one game to shape the narrative, but you also can’t ignore some of the things that we have to improve on collectively as a team. Yeah, collectively is the word because individually there were likes uh Braden Fisk who seems to have I don’t know if it’s a return to health or performance, but his last couple of games have looked like what we come to expect from Braden F. That’s right. I think he’s been active. I think he’s done a good job of being able to get some quick wins. He’ll be the first to tell you want to be able to bring him down on the one that he had earlier in the game. But I think he’s playing well and uh the competitive character at this group is the right group. Um I have zero doubt about that. And there’ll be some things that, you know, just technically, fundamentally, and and really structurally, overall for us as coaches that I think we can continue to help, you know, put our guys in the right spots, and that’s what we’re tasked to do. I haven’t talked to you since Quinton Lakes procedure. How did that go and what’s like an updated horizon for a realistic return to performance? It went well for him. You know, I thought he did a, you know, I thought, uh, you know, it was all things were really encouraging. He’s been around, he’s been in good spirits. Um, and you know, the hope is if you earn the right to play afterwards, then he’ll get a chance to be able to join us then. I don’t know if the regular season is is realistic for him. Uh, but if we are able to earn the right to play games after the 17 were guaranteed, I think there’s a chance he’ll be back for those. Great. All right, a couple of offensive plays I did think were absolutely worth highlighting. Uh, let’s start in the second quarter if we can. You had a second and 10 from your own 31 and it’s the longest catch of Xavier Smith’s career. What went into that collective effort? Well, this is a great job by him. you know, Matthew being able to read the top shelf of the coverage. I thought it was good protection. It was an excellent blitz pick up by by Kairen in this instance when they brought the inside backer and um and Matthew put it up and down and uh you know, they they didn’t, you know, really play the the top shelf of the coverage the way they wanted. Two, got a little bit greedy and and Matthew made him pay and it was an excellent throwing catch by them for 51. You also referenced the uh the long scoring drive you went on at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Um Blake Corm with a careerlong 34 yard run. And I think a lot of people noticed that Jordan Winningington compete on the edge, too. Yeah, it was awesome. I mean, you know, Blake did a great job. I think, you know, we were really able to get good removal in the run game all day. I thought our backs ran through arm tackles. Blake’s able to cut it back across the grain on the first play of that drive. And, you know, you could see Jay Whit was in motion pre- snap. He ends up capping off and then going and getting another block when the ball wound back and then, you know, his celebration where he’s pounding the ground and see how excited he was is one of my favorite things. But that’s why, you know, even though you have a setback yesterday, JB, guys like Jordan Whittington, Blake Quorum, all the people that you’re asking me about, you don’t bet against these people. And I wouldn’t want to be in the foxhole with any other group, any other coaching staff. And um and I’m excited about seeing what we’re about and and how we respond because, you know, when you’re on a six-game win streak, you know, they don’t need you as much. That’s not those are those are easy things, but you learn about people uh when you do have a little bit of a challenge to navigate. And uh that’s why I love this group. And there’s a lot of guys that have shown that they’re capable of being resilient, being mentally tough, being the things that we talk about. And and here we are now in the midst of it. And let’s be about it more than any words we can say. Seen is better than said. As always, our film review is brought to you by Microsoft Surface Copilot Plus PC where every day is game day. Wish it could have happened in a win, but man, that puka catch was special. That was one for the highlight. That’s one of the greatest catches I’ve ever seen. I mean, it was unbelievable. And um you know what a critical play. I mean, that’s he’s a freaking stud that what he does, you know, with and without the football and um I I just can’t say enough about the competitive character of this group. But, you know, just willing yourself and unreal. Not that he ever had bad hands, but from where he was as a rookie or even a sophomore to now, I don’t think he gets enough credit for the improvement he’s made with catch security. Yeah, I I think, you know, he’s he’s got elite hands. He’s always had that, but you know, sometimes the focus, the concentration, but the consistency of making it and then those types of plays, those are where you just say, “Man, unbelievable job.” Tip of the cap to you, my friend. Have you ever had a game where you’ve uh been penaltyree until like the critical moment? Like if I said to you, you went on the road in the rain in Carolina and only took one five yard penalty. That’s usually a winning formula. Yeah, it is. and you know, but like what you talked about, you know, some of the turnovers, the critical, you know, conversion downs that we weren’t able to get some of the stops that we’ve been accustomed to getting stops that ended up being the difference. I think it’s a tremendous tribute to our competitive character of our group to even be in that position to where you’re really fully expecting to win that football game if we score on that sequence. They forced the turnover, so they made those types of plays. But there’s a lot of stuff that you can build on. you know, I’m I I refuse to just let whatever that outcome is dictate it’s it’s an all or nothing. It’s not a zero- sum game. You want to win the football game. Don’t I don’t want people to get, you know, uh I don’t want that to get twisted or misunderstood. Uh but there’s a lot of things that go into it and there’s a lot of things that we can build on and there’s certainly things that we can improve upon and that’s what we’ll do. Matthew did take that delay, said it was on him. Um and he talked about the difference between third and five and third and 10 being a big deal. Um, it absolutely makes a difference, but I think it also presents an interesting question, which is one that we’ve wrangled with a little bit throughout your your career because you approach it somewhat differently than most, which is, is the timeout worth more than the yardage loss potentially? Yeah. Um, what’s your updated feeling on that in that particular situation? Yes. You know, and it was one of those deals that, um, I’m I’m always in tune. Matthew and I are so connected and and based on, you know, the regularity of kind of our formation, um felt like we typically had, you know, we had enough time to be able to get up and operate. So sometimes my I’m fixated, you know, I’m always aware of what the play clock is, but you’re also fixated on the defense. And in that particular situation, they were getting ready to bring a zero pressure. Um liked what we had on right there and then, you know, before you know it, you’re like, “Oh man, how did that even happen?” Because I’m in tune with it if you get things in late or there’s a motion. But, um, that wasn’t something that we were thinking. It did feel like it was a pretty quick whistle cuz typically what you say is, “All right, hey, you look at that play clock, it goes to zero, then your eyes flat back flash back to the formation, and then that’s when you end up throwing it.” Um, but hey, I’m not that’s not my job to worry about those things. But if I was in tune with that, I would have used the timeout in that situation. Just didn’t think that was something that u needed to be aware of it. And it’s a great learning opt for all of us. That’s interesting to hear you say because having it did allow you to get one more defensive stop. It didn’t happen, but having that timeout plus a two-minute warning is kind of the argument for, hey, let’s save those for moments that can maybe give us one more possession. Whereas, I think your argument and and you articulate it better than I can is ah, if I can get it right in that moment and that can translate to points, I want to spend that time out on offense. Oh, 100%. You know, because it’s it’s a you know, it’s a onep possession game at that point and a touchdown takes the lead. a field goal ties it when it’s a 3128 game and the difference between third and five and third and 10 in that particular instance where you are on the field with points at stake it’s worth it to me there and I always operate under the mindset we’re going to convert I’m using that timeout if I have to we’re converting on that and maybe we would have even been in four downs you know we we we would have potentially kicked a field goal obviously in that situation we don’t turn it over and and it’s a you know a third and 13 or fourth and 14 you know we’ll kick the field goal based on where we were But um I would have used it in that instance and you know every every opportunity in every game whether you end up winning or losing those are learning ops and those are things that you say let’s make sure that how we would handle it all right if it comes up again you know what’s going to be the best thing for the collective and and that’s the approach and maybe people would disagree with me but that was what we felt like would have been the right approach in that particular instance. It does remind me of a debate that was raging around the Thanksgiving Black Friday dinner table, which you may have seen, whether or not to go for two down nine like the Eagles had in that Black Friday game. Where do you come out on that? I’m definitely not going for two there. You’re not going for two before you need to. No, I you know, I but but there’s analytics would tell you you want to know what you need to be able to get. I just am such a big believer that in momentum you’re going to have to get it at one point, but I’d rather keep it at a onepossession game, you know, than make it a two- possession game. Uh I the Eagles are one of the teams that handle those situations excellent, you know, and so I think there would be people that could make a very sound argument, but when you don’t convert, what that does in terms of the momentum and the vibe, I think that’s something that’s hard to be able to measure even though you know what are the specifics, but uh I think the amount of time left in the game, the amount of possessions you’re guaranteed, what’s the flow of the game, those are all factors in it, but you certainly know you’re going to have to get a two-point at one at at the at at some point. But I would have in that instance, you know, our approach would be to kick that field goal, but I’m very well aware that there are analytics and models that tell you that you’d rather know beforehand and and I totally respect and understand that as well. Uh, finally, a couple personnel things. Um, in the in the current schematic where you’re activating more tight ends, which has been immensely successful. Ronnie is signed for special teams and my goodness, that kick return was a big lift and you have needs across your secondary. I think people are wondering, okay, where does 22 fit into this as he gets back to health? What’s the uh the thought for the weekend? working through that. You know, those are the things that as we dive into Arizona, you know, obviously we’re better when we can figure out a way to be able to get him involved. Um, but there are layers to it. Um, some of which, you know, he has no control over relative to just the teams and, um, the overall factors in terms of what personnels and things of that nature. So, these are positive problems for us to be able to figure out, but we love to too. And, um, and those are things that, you know, those are those are the the hard challenges that you have to be able to work through as as a coaching staff. And the way the schedule shakes out is interesting. You have a division rival that you haven’t seen all the way to December and now you play him twice in the final five games with everything in front of you. Sean, what’s that like? Uh what it’s like is it’s our next game and uh a lot of respect for this opponent. Um, obviously it was a humbling experience when we went there last year in week two, but there’s a lot of things that have gone on since then. But, you know, what I’m most interested in is our group having the resolve, the response that’s in alignment with, you know, allowing us to go play our best football and doing those things that are necessary that when that game is kicked off, uh, our week of preparation gave us the best chance to be able to bring it to life for our players and be able to handle the es and flows and and that’s what we’re going to do. Can’t wait to see the Rams get back to their winning ways and all the things that have um have led to those positive outcomes. Thanks for your time as always on this Monday show. Good to be with you. And the coach McVey show is presented by Microsoft Surface Copilot Plus PC.

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay sits down with J.B. Long to discuss wide receiver Puka Nacua’s one-handed catch against the Carolina Panthers, the team’s ability to handle defeat with poise and accountability, and his philosophy on managing timeouts in critical moments.

0:00 Intro
0:24 Handling defeat
1:59 Moving forward the right way
3:48 Uncharacteristic mistakes
5:34 3rd quarter breakdown
6:45 Ahkello Witherspoon’s return
7:08 Emmanuel Forbes Jr.’s plays vs. Panthers
8:00 Pass rush drop off
8:56 Individual player accolades
9:32 Quentin Lake update
10:00 Xavier Smith 51-yard catch
10:38 Blake Corum 34-yard run
11:48 Puka Nacua’s one-handed catch
12:38 Penalty free games
13:33 Timeout worth more than yardage
14:57 Spending timeouts
16:15 Going for 2 down 9
17:24 Activating players
18:10 Facing the Cardinals

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