THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Rams head coach Sean McVay and cornerback Jalen Ramsey each held press conferences with local media Friday, discussing their final thoughts on the Cardinals and the team's overall preparation heading into Sunday's game.
Here are some of the highlights and key takeaways from those conversations, which you can watch in their entirety below:
"These are two premiere players at their positions." – McVay
- Sunday's game will showcase one of the NFL's most talented cornerbacks and one the NFL's most talented wide receivers in Ramsey and Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
- McVay said Ramsey will "perhaps" travel with Hopkins during the game. However, "I think that versatility that Jalen displays is something that we'll look into, but we'll see how the game unfolds."
"They're kind of different in how they extend plays, but they're both very athletic." – McVay
- After facing Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray this weekend, they'll face another quarterback with a similar skillset four days later in Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
- However, McVay said their focus right now is on preparing for Murray.
"Covering those guys for six seconds is already tough enough, so if he extends the play a couple more seconds, then you can just imagine how much tougher that makes it on the defensive guys." – Ramsey
- For Ramsey and other defensive backs, defending Murray presents a challenge not only because of his ability to extend plays, but because of the the playmaking targets he has in the passing game as well.
- At the same time, "We have all the confidence in the world in our d-line and our guys who rush, so we'll be ready, we'll see how this Sunday goes," Ramsey said.
"(Hopkins is) one of the best in the game." – Ramsey
- Ramsey and Hopkins will meet for the ninth time in their careers on Sunday.
- Part of the reason Rams has that level of respect for Hopkins is because of his mindset as "the ultimate competitor" and the two of them being wired in that same way.
