WOODLAND HILLS, Ca. The Los Angeles Rams went through a light practice on Wednesday as they gear up for their joint practice against the New Orleans Saints in Carson, Ca.
After practice, Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur fielded questions from the media.
On Tuesday, Rams assistant head coach Aubrey Pleasant took to the podium to answer questions as he will be acting head coach this week for the Rams' preseason matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium.
Q: What are you enjoying most about his expanded role this year?
“Being able to coach all 22," stated Pleasant. "[Head] Coach [Sean] McVay gives me the opportunity to really impact both the offense and the defensive side of the field. I've always done that since I've been here, but I think now being Assistant Head Coach, you're able to actually get in deep and develop the relationships with a lot of the younger players as well as the veterans. Sometimes you see me in practice roaming around and I thank Coach [McVay] all the time for the opportunity to be able to do that. And he says it's been earned, which I'm very, very thankful for. Anytime you can see the game from offense and defense and then my role is to try to be more involved with special teams as well because I know when sitting in that role, everyone's looking at you in the best manner possible.”
Q: Do you notice a difference when Matthew Stafford is not present during practices?
“No question," stated Pleasant. It's impossible for me to say that when elite players aren't on the football field, you don't notice that they're missing. But I think what [General Manager] Les [Snead] and our staff are doing a really good job of with this team is building foundational pieces, having a good baseline so we have those people that can help us implement until those players come back. That's one thing I'm really proud of looking at the roster that we have. It’s different than when I first came back three years ago. We're not bad from top-down. We do focus on some spots where we have some really good depth and that’s where we're leaning. We’re leaning on our process right now and that's going to help us.”
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