HEAD COACH JEROD MAYO

Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, November 17, 2024

JM: Obviously we'll always be disappointed walking out of here with a loss, but before I get into the football stuff, hopefully you've seen these pins the guys are wearing, and we all were out there representing a fallen hero, a fallen soldier, which I think is important. I think the TAPS program, they do a great job. We'll support these guys – as long as I'm here, we'll continue to support them. Today I was representing Army Sergeant First Class Daniel Ferguson, known as Danny to his friends and family, and really gave the ultimate sacrifice for our safety. Today would have been his birthday. Pretty tough situation. Especially coming from a military family, I can't imagine suffering a loss like that, but I think the TAPS program is a great program. Kind of what I told the guys in the locker room, felt like – I never really felt like they had control of the game. I felt like we had control of the game. You look at the first half, I think we only had one three-and-out. Offensively I thought they did a great job on first and second down, which was one of the targets we talked about. Defensively, not so much. Defensively they only had, what, eight third downs in the game, and you just can't win that way. When you look at the time of possession, you look at the movement we were able to get offensively in the run game and in the pass game, you look at the time of possession, that's part of the formula. We've just got to continue to build on it. I will say the guys came out with energy, and even when our backs were against the wall, they still continued to play hard, which I definitely appreciate. I know the rest of the coaches and hopefully the fans appreciate it, as well. They're playing hard. Do we need to get better? Absolutely, and that's my job as the head coach of this football team. It starts with me. I have to do better. We have to demand more from our assistant coaches. We're going to demand more from our players. We have enough talent in our locker room to be a very good football team, we've just got to be able to put it together. A couple situations that came up, I'm sure that's going to be part of the discussion. The fourth and 2, elected to kick a field goal. If it was fourth and 1, probably would have went for it, but it made it a one-score game. Then the Seattle situation showed up again, and I would say this: Every game is unique. It's one of one, and I just felt like when I made those choices, it was the best thing to do for our football team today. Like I said, proud of the way those guys competed. Just got to clean up a few things.

Q: With what you just said and with how hard they played, how much do you maybe look at this one as a team you were facing had key veterans at the positions, Stafford and Nacua and Kupp and knew how to make plays when they needed to make plays compared to you guys just battling and trying to learn?

JM: Yeah, it's part of it. Look, you win or you learn. That has to be our mindset. It would be a huge disservice if we don't learn anything from this game. But that's a good football team that we played today. But at the same time, I feel like we had our opportunities.

Q: I'm curious what you saw on that final play where Drake Maye was intercepted. What went wrong there?

JM: Just miscommunication. Which going back to the question earlier, you go back and look at the Rams versus the Seahawks and those guys making those plays down the stretch, and it was very impressive. Look, we'll grow into being able to finish out, finish and close out these games. We've just got to go back to work, get on the practice field. Tomorrow we'll clean up a lot of this stuff, and then Wednesday it's change the page on to the next game.

Q: Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp both went for over 100 yards. Christian Gonzalez was just talking about how the game plan was for him to play in the boundaries. Looked like the Rams were able to stay away from him. Do you regret the decision to not have him shadow one of those guys or to adjust quicker?

JM: Look, Kupp had the one reception which was a huge chunk of those yards. Look, going into the game, we have a plan, and we're always willing to change that look. Like I said earlier, I felt like we were going to be okay. I thought we could outlast them.

Q: You were talking about one of the game decisions. When you went up 7-0 second quarter early, I think it was like a 54-yard field goal for Joey Slye but ended up punting on that one, is that the one you were talking about, or is that a different one?

JM: No, that's a different one. I was talking about the fourth and goal on the 2, making that a one-score game. And then really, the extra point versus the two-point conversion is always a conversation. I will say, look, anytime you get a kick blocked, too, it's not a very good day.

Q: On that 54-yarder, what was it about that decision that you didn't want to go 54 yards and ended up punting?

JM: Yeah, there were a lot of different factors that we take into account. We talk about when, we talk about the pregame warmup. You can kind of see how the kicks are going on both sides during the pregame warmups, and just felt like that was the right decision to make.

Q: With the punt, with that punt, with the fourth and 2 which the fans clearly were not happy with, do you think you're coaching to win?

JM: I'm always coaching to win. Look, every decision that I make won't always be the popular one, and that's part of this job.

Q: What do you think is preventing Ja'Lynn Polk and Javon Baker from having larger roles within the offense?

JM: Look, I think it's important to remember those guys are rookies, and sometimes the expectation is that they're just going to come in here and be All-Pros. That's not it. Those guys, they work every day, and at some point they'll hit an inflection point where they can help our team win.

Q: Tackle eligible play to Vederian Lowe in the end zone. What ended up giving you confidence that Vederian was going to be able to make that play? Do you put him on the JUGS machine in practice?

JM: No JUGS machine for him. It was just something we worked on in practice, and anytime you see special plays like that, look, we've got to see it multiple times. It's not like he's run it one time in practice and you feel good about it. So he caught three balls in practice, so I felt pretty good about him.

Q: You had three pre-snap fouls offensively which cost you points. I was wondering what you thought about that and if there's a message to the team?

JM: Yeah, the message is we can't go backwards. I don't care how good the team is, you can't go backwards, and that definitely hurts us.

Q: From your perspective, obviously the team is competitive right now, but what are maybe one or two things that you feel are keeping you from winning these types of games, whether it's from a decision-making standpoint as a coach or overall as a group and how do you get to a place where it's better?

JM: Overall as a group it's just consistency. That's what it is, on a down-after-down basis.

Q: I wanted to ask about Christian Barmore's day. What did you think of it overall?

JM: Yeah, I'm not sure what the final snap count was, but it was good just to see him back out there. Obviously he's a disruptive presence, but today – with anyone, linebackers, defensive front – I don't think we had any negative tackle for loss or anything like that, but it was good to have him out there, and first and foremost player safety is important, and I know he was excited about it.

Q: Going back to the decision to keep Christian Gonzalez in the boundary, I know he had a lot of success in Chicago, you guys basically running the same idea. As the same processes here as they're scoring with Kupp and Nacua, what was the logic behind keeping him in the boundary versus mixing that up a little bit more?

JM: Yeah, we just thought that was the best thing to do. It's a mix of man and zone, so we thought that was the best thing to do.

QUARTERBACK DRAKE MAYE

Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, November 17, 2024

Q: Drake, 282 yards, a couple touchdowns, but I'm sure for you, the loss and the two turnovers are going to eat at you a little bit. Just lessons learned in this one when you look back on it?

DM: Yeah, just can't hurt our defense on the fumble, third down. Got to get the ball out. Can't take a sack there. Same thing I talked about in previous press conferences. Punt, ending the drive with a kick, Coach Mayo preaches ending every drive with a kick. I thought we did some good things, but at the end of the day just wasn't good enough.

Q: Jerod Mayo said that the interception at the end was a miscommunication. Can you take us through what happened on that play?

DM: Yeah, it was a two-high look and Pop [DeMario Douglas]'s up the middle, and they're pretty good up front rushing five. I tried to kind of put it on them and kind of hit them over the linebacker, and Pop was thinking probably deep, but at the end of the day, just got to be on the same page, and I think Pop did the right thing, I guess, got to just talk through more conversations. Just goes back to me during the week doing more, talking through different situations, hey, I may put this one on you versus let it rip. That's about it.

Q: It feels like each week you get a little bit better and there's a little more growth. Where do you see the areas of growth being this week, and also speak to the third and short situations and getting into third and short with gains on first and second down.

DM: Yeah, I think this week just scrambling to be a passer. I think not taking off so early and just tucking the football, being a scrambler, throw the ball downfield, and we've got good players downfield, with just making decisions, and just the last interception. But I think week to week, I think we're getting better. Proud of those guys up front for battling, and we were able to run the football a pretty good time today. Just a couple of things, I think down there in the red zone we've got to capitalize on.

Q: Fourth and 2 down near the goal line. Did you have any input whether to go for it on fourth down and do you wish you had gone for it?

DM: I mean, I think it's easy to look back and wish we would have done this or that. But I think it allowed us to make it a one-score game. We're going to hang our hat on what the coaches want to do, and I think I wouldn't disagree with them. We've got a good defense, and we're proud of our defense, and we think our defense is a good unit. At the end of the day, they just made more plays than we did.

Q: Kendrick Bourne, no snaps last week, but this week he's got 72 yards and a touchdown. What did you see from him? What was different about his attitude this week?

DM: Yeah, I think his attitude is always the same. KB has got great energy, and that's the one thing about him. He's going to come in, day in, day out with a smile on his face, and I think it's a testament to him for not getting probably what he wanted last week and coming out here and making some big plays for us.

Q: Obviously you have a ton on your plate for yourself in a game like this, but do you watch Matthew Stafford do his thing? He obviously had a great game today. Did you get a chance to speak with him after the game?

DM: Yeah, no doubt. Grew up a big fan of Matthew Stafford and still a fan over there on the sideline. Used to watch him on Thanksgiving. In fact, the Lions always played on Thanksgiving. Thought he threw the football sadly pretty well today. It was cool to watch and glad to meet him after the game and told him I was a big fan.

Q: Thrown a lot of passes to guys over 300 pounds in your career in the end zone?

DM: Yeah, it's my first one. I'm proud of V-Lowe, and I think we had some trickery. I think that kind of gets lost in the NFL, some trickery, misdirection, things like that. I think it fooled these guys in the end zone.

Q: Does he have good hands for a big guy?

DM: Yeah, good hands. He caught them all week. I tried to give him a nice pass. I think hopefully my mom probably could have caught it.

Q: What do you do or what do you say to Ja'Lynn Polk as he kind of struggles to find some consistency right now?

DM: Yeah, I think just keep going. I think he's going to be a great player in this league. He's a rookie like myself. We're going to have some good games as Patriots together. Looking forward to keeping him going, and I think he's getting thrown in there at different times and thrown in there to block some, so I think he's going to pick up some little things, but he's a great player, and need to find a way to get him the football.

Q: On that false start penalty at the end of the game there, I think it was your second to last drive, it looked like you were sort of going down the line of scrimmage to try to communicate something. How difficult was it to get everything communicated the way you wanted? Was noise a factor down there? What happened on that play?

DM: Yeah, I think the play clock was running down. Just trying to do different things and get guys lined up. Yeah, just unfortunate that we had to take a time-out there or really a false start. Kicked us back and kicked the field goal, so it was just unfortunate.

Q: Over the course of your starting experience, do you feel like the playbook has expanded, that there's more variety? Have you gotten the sense that you guys can do more things now, even like today the pass distribution? Seemed like early on a lot of different people were involved throughout the game. Do you feel like it's expanded for you?

DM: I think it's a testament to this offense. I think in T.C. [McCartney] and the quarterback room of teaching us different looks, different guys, I think it's predicated – I think it's one of the strengths of having a lot of different guys that can make plays. They've got to guard everybody. That goes back to me trying to get people involved. I like getting a bunch of different people involved. I think just playing football, playing good football, and making the right read and being on time, it's a testament to this offense that AVP [Alex Van Pelt] runs of what it can do.

Q: It looked like you made a couple of anticipation throws down to Henry today. How far would you say your chemistry has come with him since training camp?

DM: Yeah, I think he's a baller. I remember times in training camp, times I wasn't there with him. I remember I had a rack of four and 7-on-7 and I think I threw it to him maybe all four times or three of the four times. I'm trying to find 85. I think he's one of the best tight ends in this league. I think him and Hoop, those are two great players for us. I think week in and week out, blocked their butts off in the run game and make plays for us. I'm proud of 85 and 81. I think we're going to have some guys also in that room that are going to step up.

ADDITIONAL PLAYERS

Hunter Henry, TE

(On what this game came down to and lessons learned from it)

"Yeah, there's some positives, obviously, when you just look at it right away. I think some of the negatives, obviously penalties, were big for us. Obviously, turnovers are always big. We've got to be better in the red zone, finishing those drives. I mean, I think that was the story of the game. They were able to finish a little bit more in the red zone than us today."

(On what he's seeing from Drake Maye week-to-week)

"Yeah, I mean, obviously, he has a lot of talent, and we see that day in, day out. But I think just the growth in the offense, growth in seeing things, growth in just even simple things of how he views the run game. There's so many little things in an offense that go a long way, and I think each week he's continuing to grow, and it's fun to kind of continue that growth with him."

(On how his expectations for the team have evolved)

"I mean, I always feel like I'm going to win, to be honest. I don't step on that football field expecting to lose. I don't think anybody in that locker room expects that. So, when we step on that football field, we expect to win. I mean, that's what we get paid to do, and that's what we want to go out there and do. We didn't get it done today, but every time I step on the field, we expect to win."

(On not being able to string wins together)

"I mean, all I can speak on is just today's game. I mean, we just turned the ball over, penalties. Obviously, we controlled the ball in a lot of aspects; just, we've got to be finishing in the red zone, like I said, and score more points, obviously. We've got to find a way to come out with a win and kind of dominate the game offensively, like with scoring points. We were able to move the ball, but we've got to finish in the end zone."

Vederian Lowe, T

(On if he's ever scored a touchdown and the backstory of the play)

"So, first of all, I've never caught a touchdown, ever, in any level of football that I've ever played at, but it's always been a dream of mine. Since I was a little kid, I always thought I could play tight end growing up, and I always thought I had fairly great hands. So, I always thought – stuff with the O-line, saying I've got the best hands on the O-line, all that other stuff. So, I've been waiting for a moment like this. I'm just glad when the play got called, everybody executed, and we were able to score a touchdown."

(On what went through his mind during the play and what the celebration was like)

"Yeah, when it comes to special plays, you never know when the OC [offensive coordinator] is going to call them. You never know if he's going to call them. Whenever our big guys came in, I was like, 'Oh, [expletive]. This is – I think this is the time, and I'm ready.' I was ready for it. I've been – like I said, I've been waiting my whole life to catch a touchdown and let alone it being in the NFL. So, I was just ready for it. I knew exactly what I had to do. I knew I had to shed my guy, and we were so close to the goal line. I'm like, 'Oh, you just made it way easier.' Now, I don't have to run anywhere. So, yeah, once the play got called, I knew exactly what I had to do. I just had to catch it, and I knew I was going to do that."

(On practicing the touchdown play this week and how it feels to have confidence from the coaches to catch the ball)

"I said, 'About damn time.' I have been – like I said, I've been waiting all my life to catch a pass, let alone a touchdown in the NFL. So, I was like, 'About time.' Once they showed me the play earlier this week and running it in practice, you've got to give the coaches the confidence to call the play. So, we ran it in practice, I did the same thing every single time, caught it every single time. So, I was just really glad that this in this moment, I was able to execute and make a lifelong dream of mine come true."

Christian Gonzalez, CB

(On the difficulty of handling the Rams offense)

"They came in with a plan and we didn't start well. Defensively, we got into a rhythm at the end, but we didn't finish well enough, we just didn't get into the rhythm fast enough. Props to [Matthew] Stafford, Puka [Nacua] and [Cooper] Kupp, they came in and did what they had to do."

(On the difficulty of facing Matthew Stafford)

"Yes, I mean he's a veteran, he has been doing it for a long time at a real high level. He's seen every type of defense, he's seen whatever you throw at him, so I mean he's a great quarterback, a smart quarterback and knows where he has to go with the ball. It's a challenge, but we invite a challenge. Defensively, we just have to come out and execute better."

(On seeing Drake Maye's development)

"I'm behind Drake, everybody is behind Drake. Mistakes are going to be made but he still made a lot of plays today. The offense came out and they really did what they had to do. They were making plays and scoring points, so it's good rallying behind Drake. He's a leader, and it will be fun to continue to play with him."

Kendrick Bourne, WR

(On his journey from being benched last week to scoring a touchdown today)

"Proud of the team and the way we fought. Like you were saying, we want the end result. That's all it's about. Personally, just working. Just working. Coming to work, doing what I have to do to get better and help my team win. I had a good week. I think we all had a good week. That gives us a chance to win. We all had the same approach, so I'm just one of the guys in the bunch playing my part. Just trying to be better so I can contribute to the team."

(On if his attitude changed today after not getting any snaps last week)

"No. Just working. If my coaches see something, I might not see it. They evaluate, they watch us every day. Honestly speaking, I could have played better. My coaches' job is to make me get better, so whatever they have to do to make me get better, that's how I have to approach it. That's what happened. I came back to work, focused through the week, and had a good game. At the end of the day, we didn't win, so it's not good enough."

(On what he says to Ja'Lynn Polk as a veteran WR)

"Yeah, it's tough. Adversity, it hits, just like what she asked. I was down last week, but just kept going. That's what you encourage him, just keep going. You never know what play is going to change your career. You never know what the future holds. Don't hold onto bad things for too long. It's not easy to do, but that's the words of encouragement."

(On how the first drive set the tone for the day)

"Yeah, I appreciate the coaches for keeping on believing in me. It was a tough situation, but that says a lot about how they're approaching it. They're doing their job. Shoutout to the coaches. That's what they have to do. They have to make tough decisions. It's not easy running a team. I'm just a player on the team. I couldn't imagine what they talk about, and what they go through up there. I'm just thankful that they still believe in me."

Christian Barmore, DT

(On his journey returning to the football field)

"Blood clots aren't a joke. I had real bad shortness of breath, and it messed with me a lot. Mentally, I had my teammates, my medical team, my guy Wally [Physician Assistant/Performance Assistant Matt Fuller] that was with me every day grinding. There were days that I just wanted to stop, but he kept me going. He kept me

strong. My teammates really support the hell out of me, and I love them all, coaches and all. I told myself I was not going to lose that battle. I told myself I was going to keep fighting, keep going."

(On how he feels after his first game back)

"I felt good. Felt good. Still trying to get in game shape, but I felt real good. I really just have to keep grinding, man. Just keep doing extra work. Stuff is out of my lungs now, thank God. I just have to keep grinding, but I feel really good. I feel really good."

(On how valuable it was having David Andrews around him)

"Man, that man D.A. [David Andrews] is a legend. He kept my head up. Every time I needed to talk to him, every time I had my head down, he came up to me. He talked to me, especially hearing his story. That motivated me really well to keep going even stronger, to keep going and keep fighting. Ignore the noise, keep working on myself, and make myself a better man."

(On how he felt learning the news he was cleared to play)

"Man, it was a blessing from God. First, they said I was going to miss the year, and that hurt. When they said that news, I was really excited, I was anxious. I couldn't go to sleep because I was so excited. It was all God, man."

Jonathan Jones, CB

(On if the Rams offense was what they expected)
"Yeah, I think just our checkmarks that we wanted to hit, we didn't do it. I told the team at the end, I always start with myself, you have got to go with no big plays coming out of the half. Giving up the big plays, the one-on-ones. I was one-for-three on one-on-one action as a cornerback, and that's what it comes down to. We just didn't do a good job with our checkmarks, getting them off on first down like I said at the beginning of the week and forcing them into third downs where they are not a good team. Just did not hit our boxes."

(On what makes Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp so good)

"I just think the timing that they have with their quarterback and the trust. I think he puts the ball where only they can go get it and they know where it's going to be. They have good chemistry and good timing. Just a good set up of how to run their plays off of play action. They do a good job of whether we were matching up in big personnel, trying to take their shots, and just a good scheme they have."

(On the lack of takeaways recently)

"I think with today with a team like that, we just have to force them into obvious passing situations. Like I said, they did not have enough third downs to where they had to drop back, pass, we could get some pass rush. They were just in control of the game. We have to force teams to get in more passing situations. Whether it was last week, when they were in passing situations we got a lot of sacks. So you have to capitalize, put pressure on them, and then on the backend make some plays."

(On the long touchdown he allowed)

"Yeah, zero-coverage, one-on-one, no man's land. That is just on me, got to find a way to make that play."

DeMario Douglas, WR

(On today's offensive performance)

"I think we did pretty good, we just need to focus on execution."

(On areas that are holding him back)

"I have to go to film and look into those areas to see what is going on to correct those things."

(On the growth in the offensive performance)

"It's getting there. I love to see that whoever is catching the ball is doing their job. We are doing pretty good and have to focus on stringing everything together."

(On Kendrick Bourne returning to play and getting his first touchdown of the season)

"Yes, just to see him come back here after what he went through and ball after adversity. The way he set out and came back, he balled. Shoutout to him."

(On what Drake Maye has brought to the passing offense)

"I feel like when Drake Maye is back there, the opposing team has to fear a lot of things. You know, his arm, his legs and his vision. He's a rookie that is really developing."

Rhamondre Stevenson, RB

(On the game)

"It was a battle out there, I think we played hard. We didn't do enough to win, but I thought we went out there and played hard."

(On plays in the first quarter)

"We went out there and played fast. That was a great thing, that's what we need to do, what we wanted to do. We have to sustain that for the rest of the game."

(On the Rams momentum after Cooper Kupp's first touchdown)

"I think they got some momentum from that, but I felt like we were still in control of the game, honestly. Coming in at halftime, so just stringing them along, being consistent for four quarters."

(On his mindset moving into the end of the season)

"Same thing. I feel like we come in here every week, work hard, so nothing's going to change. We just need to string some wins together."

(On Drake Maye)

"He's a competitor like all of us and wants to win. He's competing out there."

Davon Godchaux, DT

(On Matthew Stafford)

"He's for sure in my top 5, top 10 in the league right now. I think he's a Hall of Famer, lot of respect for him. He doesn't get a lot of credit, but he's a gamer. I wish we would've won that game because it was just so close. We've got to learn how to string wins together as a team. We'll get there."

(On being so close to winning two straight games)

"It's tough, but Drake [Maye] had some good throws. The throw to Lowe in the end zone, that was pretty cool. I know we worked on it in practice, but I didn't know we were actually calling it, but that was a great time to call it. We've got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. We've got to keep control of the game, I thought we had control to begin the game. We'll get back to it, we have a great football team. We've just got to play like it. You see bits and pieces of it, but we don't play like it for a full 60 minutes. We see things like this happening with the Rams winning the game, but credit to them. They played a great game and were able to win the game."

(On Vederian Lowe's touchdown)

"You know, we see a big guy and you think he's going to drop it, but it was good for him to compose and catch the ball, so shoutout to him. I know we worked that in practice, and he was able to catch it and score the touchdown. But we've just got to close games, that's what it boils down to. Everybody could've easily had a different feeling in this locker room, had great joy. But we're sitting here at 3-8 and we've got to go on the road and win a tough division game in Miami, who I think they won today. They're playing great football, they're stringing wins together. We have the ability to do the same, we've just got to do it. Don't talk about it, just go out and do it."