Rams Head Coach Scott Linehan

Rams Head Coach S= cott Linehan

May 11, 2008

(On finishing mini-c= amp)

“Obviously, we= wrapped up the three-day mini-camp. We accomplished exactly what we wanted to accomplish having everybody here. We had a few that were not able to participate but it was great to have everybody here. Hopefully it will set = the tone for what we want to accomplish next year.”

(On what stood out in training camp)

“Right now, I = think more the thing that stood out to me was the way our core leaders embraced additional roles of the leadership which we need, coaches and players alike= . I just think that the young players are very, very willing and understand the= ir position. Right now I just really like the attitude and mood of our football team.”

(On what he liked ab= out TE Anthony Becht when he became a free agent)

“Anthony has p= layed and has gotten a lot of great experience. He has done it in a couple of different ways. When he first got into the league, he was one of the better known red-zone threats in the league when he was with the Jets. My experien= ce has been him doing a lot of the in-line blocking for Tampa Bay. I think I told you before, how he played against us a year ago made an impression on me. I remember out of that game that he controlled the line of scrimmage and controlled the edge. I felt that was something we wanted to a= dd to our tight end core. It gives us another veteran and a guy who knows the game. He gives us that versatility, being not just a blocking tight end. The guy has good hands and he knows the offense. His all-around ability is the thing that is really impressive.”

(On how the new coac= hes have been influential)

“I was really = pleased with the way that everybody took to some new ways of doing things. It is the whole demeanor of our new coaches and how they have really added to what we= are trying to change around here, which is a really refreshing but demanding atmosphere. These guys all have great credibility in the eyes of the player= s, which is where you want to start. The reason is that they are great teachers and they are very demanding coaches, but they have done it. That makes it really work. The response of how the players practiced responded to what we have wanted to get done is a great start with the new coaches and players.”

(On the tempo of pra= ctice)

“We have always practiced with a very good tempo. Our guys have always worked. Our biggest thing is that we want to finish off plays. You can play well for stretches = but if you don’t really finish the deal or finish the drive or play well = in the fourth quarter, which last year was a big area that we did not do well = in. I think the idea that it is a four quarter game, so from the start of pract= ice to the end of practice, we have to get better. That was one of the biggest parts of the weekend and will continue to be throughout the off-season and = into training camp and throughout the year.”

(On the battle for t= he starting strong side linebacker spot between Quinton Culberson and Chris Dr= aft)

“That is going= to be a good battle. Chris has the experience and the versatility to play all three positions and now he is in the position where he can get back into a starti= ng role, which I know he likes. The thing about Quinton is that he gets around= the ball a whole lot. He had one start for us last year in the last game of the year and I think he led the defense in tackles that day. That is hard= to do in the NFL. It’s going to be a good battle and it will be one to k= eep an eye on. Either way I feel great about the fact that we have two guys who= we feel really comfortable with.”

(On what kind of wor= k they will do next week without the rookies)

“We’re a= re going to work a lot of things we wouldn’t generally work with the younger players as far as continuing to add and install some of the situational offense. Not that they do not work it, but we want to kind of accelerate th= ings a bit for them. We will work our red-zone and some two-minute (drill) and s= ome things like that. They might not be ready for right away next week. We cann= ot get as many snaps in just because of numbers as we won’t have a third group, but we will still get a majority of the work in with the first and second units.”

(On WR Reche Caldwell)

“You can see t= hat he has background with the system that we are running now, playing for (Offens= ive Coordinator) Al (Saunders) last year. He has done a nice job. I think the n= ice thing about him is that the versatility to be able to play ‘X’ = and ‘Z’ (receiver) is probably the thing that is going to really he= lp him the most. There are going to be times when we spell a receiver or we pu= t a guy in for a play here and there or you go in with three wide (receivers) a= nd sometimes you are going to move the other receivers around and you have to = know basically two or three positions. His background in the offense is really g= oing to help him.”

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