HEAD COACH DAVID CULLEY
Opening Statement
"Injury wise just again as I said last night, there is really nothing that has changed. Nobody really got hurt. Pharaoh (Brown), we will just kind of see where he is at this week. Whether he plays this week, we are not really sure yet. We'll just take it day to day with him. Same thing with Tyrod (Taylor). We'll see where he's at on Wednesday. He practiced last week. He'll practice this week, and then maybe by the end of the week, we'll have a little idea of what we think."
Do you expect QB Tyrod Taylor to take first team reps in practice this week?
"He took some first team reps last week. He took those same reps last week. He will do the same thing this week."
Do you expect the team to be active by the trade deadline?
"That's up to Nick (Caserio)."
You are involved right?
"I am involved, but right now my most important thing is figuring out how to get that next win."
What is your involvement?
"Whenever Nick (Caserio) talks to people or whenever things happen, we have a conversation about it. I haven't had any conversations with him right now."
How important is it for people like WR Brandin Cooks to stay positive and focus right now?
"It's very important. Again, when you lose a guy like Mark Ingram, that's been one of those guys in this locker room that there is so much respect for, Brandin is one left. There's more in there. But when you lose a guy like that and you're going through what we are going through, those guys are invaluable. For him (Brandin Cooks) to feel the way he felt, again, when he said what he said about when Mark (Ingram) was traded it was an emotional thing. Not really knowing the situation. Once he found out the situation, he understood completely, and I think our entire football team felt that way. Moving forward right now, you mentioned the trade deadline, I don't even think about the trade deadline. Only time I think about it is when it's mentioned to me."
When you notice that the Rams having success in the run game, how do you adapt defensively?
"What happened was this, we weren't staying in our gaps. When we stay in our gaps and we're playing gap control, those things don't happen. There were times when they got some big plays on the run, early in the game. We weren't in our gaps. We didn't get off blocks. Unfortunately, this past game was probably the toughest game our defensive front had this year. We didn't play as well as we had played in the past as a group, and it showed in the run game. Why? I don't know, but we did not play as well as we have been playing until this point."
How do you think OL Justin McCray played?
"I don't want to just single out him, but I just think that overall, offensively, our upfront people, we didn't play very well the whole ball game. We didn't play very well at all. We got to play better. We got to coach it better. We got to play better. It was one of those games where when we can't run the ball the way we need to run the ball, it all starts up front."
When you discipline a guy like DB Desmond King, do you talk to him about it and tell him what he needs to do to be able to come back? Will DB Desmond King play this week?
"We do talk about it. All that stuff is always internal between me and the person that is that a way. We'll make a decision on that as we move forward."
What at this point in the season, what has to happen to fix penalties and not being in the right place? Is it execution?
"You just said another word there that's been our issue, other than penalties. It's the execution part of it. I'm talking about from offense, defensive and special teams. Just like yesterday for example, there is no reason for us to not make that field goal. Ka'imi (Fairbairn), he's got to make that field goal. In those type situations, obviously I know what the score was, but going into half we felt like there was momentum. Our offense did a great job in putting us in position to do that. To go in at halftime, I didn't feel it in the dressing room at half time about talking about execution and momentum, but I knew it was there. I knew it was there. When you come back out the second half and you go three and out and all of a sudden you don't get that momentum that you feel like you do, you execute. That was simply a case of us not executing what we needed to do."
Do you think the trade deadline is a distraction to your players?
"I hope it's not. I haven't felt it being a distraction. Part of that may be because my focus is always only on who we're playing next and those players. In our meetings, everything we do, that's all we talk about. In our dressing room, when I'm in there, that's all I feel, is the fact that the most important thing is the opponent that's coming up. Is it there? I'm sure it's there."
How do you balance helping QB Davis Mills prevent turnovers with being aggressive on offense?
"This is what's happened with him, is that he is so conscious now of, making sure he's protecting the football. I thought yesterday, other than the one bad throw that he made, he's done that, and he's doing that. Basically, the way we do things and the way we're calling the game, we're doing things the same. He's doing what he needs to do. Yesterday, we did not play very good football at all in any phase. When that happens, then it doesn't matter what we do."
Does the quarterback need to do more if your team goes 12-plus quarters without scoring a touchdown?
"Well, it isn't just about the quarterback. Our entire offensive football team needs to do better, our defense needs to do better, our special teams needs to do better and we need to coach better. It's not just him. He touches the ball, but he's not the guy that's responsible for everything that's happened. He's responsible for getting it going, and everybody needs to do their job to get that going, and we haven't done that. We haven't done a good job of coaching that and getting that done, and we're going to continue to do that."
Does the message change to the team as the losses keep piling up?
"The message does not change. The process does not change. Is it frustrating? As I said last night, yes, it's frustrating, but the message does not change. We look at the video, we correct it, we come out the next day, we come and practice, and then we correct those things and we move forward. We forget about what happened in the past. It's all about moving forward."
Where is OL Laremy Tunsil in his recovery and when will he be back?
"I'm not really sure, but I think he's getting close to being able to get back."
What did you see on K Ka'imi Fairbairn's missed field goal, and is there a concern?
"There's not a concern, but his job is to kick those and make those, and he's making them in practice. He hasn't had a whole bunch of situations to be able to kick PATs and field goals, which I wish we had more. But when he does get the opportunity, he's got to make those, and he didn't do that yesterday."
If QB Deshaun Watson is traded by tomorrow, would you feel disappointed that he never gave this team an opportunity?
"No comment on that."
Have you been on a team with a similar record to draw from the experience?
"I have, I have. I've been on a couple of teams like this. I was on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers my first year in this league that we ended up 7-8, when we hadn't won very many ball games, but we stayed the course. In Philly, when we first got there, we went through this. Basically, the very first year when we were there, it was kind of similar to what we're going through right here. End up at the end of the year finding some wins, and when you're establishing a culture, winning is important. Winning is important in the culture. Basically, we're taking it one game at a time right now. When we get that first win and that next win, then we just keep moving from there."
Are the players on the roster right now good enough to win?
"The players on the roster are good enough to do competitively what we need to do. We have not done a good enough job of, first of all, putting them in position consistently to do that, and coaching it to do that. But, yes, they are here on this football team."
