THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, offensive coordinator Liam Coen and defensive lineman Aaron Donald each held press conferences with local media Thursday, discussing Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey and Carolina's offense, getting the Rams offense back on track, Donald lining up at the edge of the defensive line and more.
Here are some of the highlights and key takeaways from those conversations, which you can watch in their entirety below.
"(McCaffrey is) a dynamic football player." – Morris
- McCaffrey is capable of making plays as both a runner and receiver, and Morris hasn't seen much change in that regard from when he coached against him while with the Falcons.
- McCaffrey is Carolina's leading rusher with 72 carries for 324 yards and has the most receptions on the team with 26.
"Sometimes communication issues can occur when playing in a loud environment at home. Sometimes that's a little bit frustrating, but that's not an excuse." – Coen
- When it came to the breakdowns in pass protection last week against the Cowboys, Coen pointed to having to use the silent count at home.
- However, what gave Coen optimism about things trending in a positive direction was Thursday morning's protection meeting being ran by the players. "When the players lead it, and the players take a hold of it, typically, you get a different result," Coen said.
"Wherever I can go to get opportunities to get the one on ones and opportunities to help my team and make plays, I'm all for it." – Donald
- The Rams have been able to create advantageous matchups for Donald lining up him in the "wide 9" technique, with Donald getting two sacks last week against the Cowboys through that method.
- As for whether we'll see more of that this week, Morris declined to say – for obvious competitive reasons.
