OXNARD, Calif. – After the second joint practice between the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys in as many weeks, both coordinators spoke with local media to discuss their unit's performance. The full press conference can be viewed below.
Here are some of the most significant quotes from defensive coordinator Chis Shula and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur:
"It's great to see [Aaron Donald]. The cool thing was seeing him give some tips to [Braden] Fiske and I'm standing there listening." – Shula
Fiske, a rookie defensive tackle out of Florida State, was drafted in the second round of the 2024 draft, in part to fill some of the void that Donald left behind. Donald retired after last season, in which he earned his eighth First-Team All Pro selection in 10 years, at the age of 32.
Shula said he thinks about Donald returning "every day," and the door is always open for him to come back and coach. Even in retirement, he seems to be helping the Rams, as Fiske broke into the backfield multiple times on the same day he got some tips from Donald.
"When we drafted Jared [Verse], we'd heard the reports about him and it's exactly what we wanted. He's brought a great energy to that group. Byron's coming out of his shell from last year, having some success." – Shula
The edge rushers ferociously pursued the Cowboys' quarterbacks on Wednesday, putting pressure on Dak Prescott and company. Verse was vocal after his successful rushes, which were common, and second-year player Byron Young was equally productive.
In terms of the veterans, Shula said Michael Hoecht brings "great leadership" to a young unit in his fourth season. Meanwhile, Nick Hampton is "like the silent assassin of the group." All the outside linebackers made their presence felt against Dallas.
"[Matthew Stafford] operates at a world-class level. It's poetry when he's in the huddle and what he can do with the line and what he sees, how calm he is. We know that, and every rep is going to be valuable for him no matter how many plays he's had. Unfortunately, he had some tightness and it gives those other guys an opportunity." –LaFleur
The Rams were cautious with Stafford today, pulling him from practice with hamstring tightness as a precautionary measure, according to a team spokesperson. That gave Jimmy Garoppolo the opportunity to play with the first-string offense, while Stetson Bennett manned the second unit.
He said that Bennett was able to build off some of the things he did in Saturday's preseason opener, adding that he "did some good things," but needs to limit the turnovers. He said they corrected some of those missteps today.
"I like all of our guys with the ball in their hands. They all feel that no one's going to tackle them. What we keep preaching to them, which we don't have to because it's how they're made is [that] we haven't played tackle football yet, particularly with our starters. It's a whole different game when it comes to Sunday for our guys." – LaFleur
The Rams' running backs were determined on Wednesday, running hard through the whistle on every play. With contact limited, rushers like Kyren Williams and Blake Corum didn't want to cut any reps short, as they looked for more yards after first touch.
LaFleur said "the urgency and the energy has been up," and Williams and Corum were a big factor in that.
