Q. Will you watch the games this weekend? What's your approach to that?
COOPER KUPP: Yeah, I'm sure we will. My boys are really into it right now. We're all watching football whenever it's on, so I'm sure they'll prod us to get the games on at some point.
I think first thing comes family. If the games end up being on, as they probably will, we'll watch.
Q. What do you like watching with your kids? I'm sure you watch the game a little bit differently when you're with your boys.
COOPER KUPP: Yeah, I don't know. It's fun seeing the things that the boys notice. They make me rewind all the time. We're always rewinding.
I was actually just asked about this. The color commentators, analysts, it's such a hard job, so difficult. I've got to mute that thing sometimes. Boys, sit down, let me explain to you what's really happening here. Cris Collinsworth, I love you. Let me explain what happened here.
I'm sure the boys love my dissertations, but it's fun.
Q. In general, what are some of the misconceptions that you feel like you hear on the broadcast?
COOPER KUPP: It's an impossible job. You're not going to be able to see everything happening in realtime. They're not in the meeting rooms. They try their best to be able to understand what's going on, what teams are doing, how they're scheming, but you've got to talk for three and a half hours straight over every single play. You're going to get some stuff wrong. It's just the nature of what they do.
Having been in some of the offenses, been in an understanding of the scheme is or seeing what's trying to get done, I'm cheating. I have an inside track. I was there when the play was installed, you know?
So it's just some stuff that comes up that's, like, where the onus gets put sometimes. That's not exactly -- that's not right.
Q. Would that ever interest you post-career, or would you agree to stick to commentating at home?
COOPER KUPP: As of now I'm going to stick to commentating at home. I haven't thought too much about it.
Q. Has Ty Okada stopped bragging about the championship yet?
COOPER KUPP: It's really funny, because he's super loud. You hear him talking about it all the time. I hear him down the hallway: Hey, man, thank you. No, I appreciate it. That was really cool. Had such a great game.
He just yells it through. It echos through the entire thing. He's real proud of it.
But kudos to him. It was a good game. It was a great game and some good football players out there on the field. Kudos to FCS.
Q. You have at least four FCS guys. How much pride do you take?
COOPER KUPP: Yeah, it's a cool thing. Like I said, there's really good football players at that level. It's cool. I haven't been around. It's been years.
I think there was one year in L.A. that we had three or four guys from Eastern Washington specifically on the team, but first year that we've had guys from all over, guys that -- there's three Big Sky guys on the team, I think.
So it's cool. On Saturday we have something to talk about when everyone else is talking about all the other matchups, so it's fun.
Q. The receiver room, does it mean anything to have the leader in the league in receiving yards in Jaxon?
COOPER KUPP: Yeah, obviously that's a huge accomplishment. It's, yeah, not easy. It's something you have to do to be able to compete and produce week after week.
We take a lot of pride in just -- our overall success as an offense, some of the stuff that Zach and K9 have done, what you have seen from our tight ends, and what Sam has done. We want to see guys produce and be a part of winning games, and certainly have some pride in having the league leader in our room.
Q. You guys have been running more often out of three receivers and more effectively out of them. Why do you think that is?
COOPER KUPP: I don't know. I think as the season has gone on, there's been times where we haven't been on our stuff across the board in terms of targets, in terms of handling the blocks how we're supposed to.
As time has gone on, we've accumulated reps and been able to play more efficient in that regard. The running backs trust that we're going to get those blocks done.
I think it's not just the 11 personnel stuff, but 12 and 13, too. Finding ways to hit blocks better and be able to stay efficient, keep the ball moving forward. We've done a better job of that overall over the last few weeks.
It's great to see that stuff coming alive and being able to mesh a little bit better with each other and communicate with one another and take plays that on paper look okay and turn them into great plays. To be able to do the extra thing, a mastery of what we're trying to get done, where the ball is going to go, and what techniques can we use to make sure -- this should be on paper a five-yard run, how can we make it a 20, 30-yard run. I think we have some of that stuff starting to come to life.
Q. Is there a different feeling when you see a guy run by you that you have blocked for versus when you make a big catch?
COOPER KUPP: It is different. It's exciting. Some of the times I've gotten the most excited in my career is being able to make the big blocks that springs a run or gets you the first down. That stuff is fun.
It's fun to be able to have that synergy with one another, playing off of each other, understanding I couldn't get my job done, but the next guy next to me covered for me, so I can cover for him and playing off each other in that way to make it come alive. That's a really fun thing.
That's the best part of football is being able to have 11 guys all do something together and make these plays that we call. All these drawings and everything, make it come to life. I love it.
Q. What message have you shared with the team this week, given your post-season success and some of the guys going through this for the first time?
COOPER KUPP: Honestly, I really haven't had to say much. It's been a real cool just understanding globally in this building that there's -- we're still on a mission. We have a mission in front of us, and we're attacking it.
Even though we don't know who that is, who is going to be put down in front of us yet, we know we're going to handle this week with an intention, with an understanding that we're still under construction. We're still working towards something.
The attitude and the effort for the last couple of days, the focus that was in this room out in the walk-throughs and out there on the practice field speaks for the guys that we have here. Everyone is excited about this opportunity. We're going to take these next few days and recover and come back ready to go.
Q. The third and 17 the other night, I thought I saw you tap Bobo on the back when you were breaking huddle. Did you say anything to him?
COOPER KUPP: Yeah, Bobo did a great job there, just understanding little nuances of those details. It's what we do, communicating in and out of the huddle, it goes from him to me. A lot of times it's from our O-line to what we're doing at receiver and receiver communicating to the O-line in situations. I think just the more we can communicate, the more that there is -- over-communicating even an understanding of what we're doing, we can just make things come to life that much better.
I mean, him, he had a great block on that one. K9 hit that thing. It was just a great play, so yeah.
Q. Is that easier to do when they're in man on third and long?
COOPER KUPP: I mean, it depends. I mean, we've got -- it can be. It can be, but all this stuff, like, you draw it on paper, you draw this play on paper, but you can't draw every single look you're possibly going to get.
A lot of it comes down to us to understand what the rules are, and then within your rules, you just get done what you're supposed to get done and trust that the guy behind you that's getting into that area after you've been there is going to clean up whatever mess you've left for them.
A lot of that just comes down to playing fast, playing decisive, playing physical. The O-line did a great job of cleaning stuff up. Where Bobo makes a block, Jax does a great job playing off of him.
It's what's beautiful about this game. That was a huge one. That was a huge play for us.
Q. What's it been like getting to know Jake as a teammate this year?
COOPER KUPP: Yeah, he's incredible. He's been an incredible asset for us. His understanding, he knows every position. Very early on there was just an innate understanding of football.
With all the stuff that we installed in OTAs or how much volume there was, it's really hard. If you don't understand what's trying to get done, if you don't understand the premise of what these plays are trying to get done and how we're trying to execute things, it makes it really hard to grasp it all.
Early on, it's like, man, he just knew it. He knew the space that we're trying to take us and these route concepts, what does this route have to be just based on how we're going to distribute the field? He's been great.
His ability to fight some of the ups and downs of this year. There's times where he wanted to be out there on the field, and for whatever reason, nothing that he did wrong, but because of other guys being down or needs in special teams, needs in other rooms, his selflessness to know that when he was not activated, there was no change in terms of his intention, his work ethic, his effort out there with the guys.
Then when the opportunities do come he's just over and over again answered the bell. I love Jake. The guy in here love him, and he's been a big deal, big part of our thing this year.
Q. Did you guys have a bye at any point in your Rams experience?
COOPER KUPP: Like playoff?
Q. Yeah, playoffs.
COOPER KUPP: 2018 we did. We went to Super Bowl that year. I had the ACL injury that year, but I do remember a little bit about that. It was seven years ago.
Q. What do you think is important to take out of this week in particular?
COOPER KUPP: I think it's the growth. You continue to grow. This isn't a week off. It's an opportunity to hone in to some stuff, to dive in deeper, to self-scout yourself and look at some things that you can do better as units, but also individually. How can we be better? How can you set yourself going into next week to be a better football player and set yourself up to be able to attack that next week?
Q. Five teams have requested to speak with Clint for their head coach openings. What makes you think he would be a good head coach?
COOPER KUPP: Man, do I could get up here and vouch for him to leave? Is that what you want me to do (laughing)?
Guys love him. You want to play for guys like Clint. Humility is one thing I think is one of his special traits. He leans on guys.
Obviously he's a very smart ball coach, understands a lot about this game. His humility to be able to talk to guys and maybe see, hey, there's something that I'm asking someone to do. Maybe they can't do it for some reason. Maybe there's a better way to do it. His openness to be able to talk to players and coaches that he has around him and to delegate and be able to grab everyone's best traits and bring them all to the forefront, I think he does a great job of that.
Yeah, I think he will be great. Hopefully he's here, but you want everyone to be able to ascend and go do whatever they want to do. He'll be great wherever he is.
Q. We've been here since training camp and how steady, even-keeled Sam is. How big a trait is that going into a playoff run where you have a quarterback that's pretty cool?
COOPER KUPP: It's a big deal. Emotions can get high in the playoffs. It's the same game. It's the same thing. There's going to be (inaudible) field an hour before that game starts. It's going to be electric. It's going to be buzzing. That's playoff football, but it's the same game.
If you can allow yourself to not get caught up in all the emotion and things going on, the intensity of the game, it's the same exact game we've played. It's the same thing we've played all year. Having someone that's going to be consistent, goes a long way in terms of calming guys that might be feeling that getting into the huddle. You get in there and it's being like, hey, Sam delivered that play and challenging you for in a next step, and it's go time.
It just brings it back to that place that you are here with your guys. There are 11 guys that are going to go out there and compete for a W just like we have every week that we've stepped on that field.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports