Like all coaches, Sean McVay is somewhat guarded in interviews so as not to tip his hand and give away pertinent information. Whether it’s keeping details about the Rams’ scheme to himself or not divulging too much about Todd Gurley’s knee the last couple of years, McVay is proficient in coach speak.
But there have also been plenty of candid moments with the coach during his time with the Rams. This week, McVay hosted a conference call with more than 200 high school coaches in Southern California, talking to them about X’s and O’s, as well as coaching philosophies and how he worked during the coronavirus pandemic.
It was an enlightening hour of conversation between McVay, Rams announcer J.B. Long and the high school coaches. McVay answered questions about blocking schemes, the best drills for quarterbacks and linemen, and what running plays are best to use against an even front (4-3).
It’s worth listening to the entire conference call because it gives you an idea of how McVay thinks as a coach, and some of his strategies when it comes to game planning against a defense. This question about quarterbacks’ reads on the field and going through progressions was especially good, which elicited a great response from McVay.
“What we try to do is try to have, for the most part, most of our reads entail the pure progression where I’m starting here and I’m sweeping across the board. And I think that enables Jared (Goff) and our quarterback to play through the down quickly. But you’ve got to have a starting point.
“You definitely have some plays where you’re saying it’s a Cover 2 defense, so I’m going to work the two-man combination on my right, and I’ll work the two-man combination on my left if it’s a single-high structure. We do have some coverage reads, but for the most part, we try to establish these all-purpose, pure progression plays and then the quarterbacks are then taught to exhaust their progressions or get off one faster based on wherever that area is that we’re trying to get to. … I think that’s the easiest way.”
Hearing McVay talk about strategy and game planning in an extensive interview is a treat, which is why the hour-long call above is worth checking out.