News conference announcing the signing of DT La'Roi Glover
Monday, March 06, 2006
Rams Head Coach
Scott Linehan
(opening statement)
“This is an exciting sign for us, not just because of the
fact that we’re in an interesting time here in free agency
when it really hasn’t happened yet, but there are a few
marquee-type players available. So we have been in a holding
pattern, so to speak. This particular player became
available, fortunately for us, just prior to the weekend [in]
a big need area for us. We have spent a lot of time
evaluating this position. It does help that we all have some
background playing against this particular person. I’m glad
now that we only have to block him in practice and not games.
We’re very excited to announce the signing of La'Roi Glover
to our team. He’s going to fit a big part of what we’re
trying to get done here, add some veteran leadership, as well
as his obvious playing ability on the defensive front. It is
one of those things where if you can get somebody that can
help you play at a higher level and also bring key leadership
to your team and get things done the way we want to get them
done, it’s a big bonus. I’m happy to introduce our newest
Ram, La'Roi Glover.”
(on what Glover brings to the team)
“He’s a great player. He still has some really good years
left in him. I think that you got an idea that he is quietly
confident. He is not going to sit up here and say the he was
happy with the Ferguson kid coming in to replace him. He
basically just won the job outright, regardless of him not
being a classic 3-4 nose (tackle) and still being the best
defensive tackle that played in that system and was very
effective. He’ll do whatever you ask, and always has been a
team player that way and does it at a high level. More
importantly, on top of his ability, he brings great
leadership. I’m sure that he has been banged up during the
course his career, but he has been one of the most durable
players in a 10-year period that maybe this league has seen.
That’s the work ethic, the toughness, that coming to work
everyday and treating things the way a pro needs to treat
them. All of those things that he can teach some of our
young players, it’s going to be huge. Those are some of the
things that I see, as well as his ability to come help us
stuff that middle a little bit.”
(on where he plays best)
“He is going to be our three-technique. We are going to play
4-3 defense and get in and out of some 3-4 odd looks. His
background of being able to play both and his experience of
being in a system like that lends well to that. That
certainly will be where he starts for sure.”
(on how Glover’s signing affects DTs Ryan Pickett’s and
Damione Lewis’ future with the Rams)
“It doesn’t eliminate the possibility. We still need to
address our overall depth and ability inside and our
defensive front. So we’re still talking to those fellas
about the possibility of coming back.”
(on being optimistic on retaining WR Isaac Bruce)
“Very, actually. That is one of the reason that I wanted to
speak today to kind of address that. It’s tough in business.
Sometimes you have to do business a certain way based on
timelines. This CBA deal has kind of put things a little
bit out of whack as far as do we have a deal, do we not have
a deal, renegotiating with guys, especially guys who are at
the end of their careers and things like that. We’ve had
nothing but positive interaction. Even though, there was a
cut that was made, it doesn’t mean, in my mind, that we are
not going to get a deal done. I feel very positive about
resuming talks and getting that uniform back on our guy.
We’ll do everything that we can to make that happen.”
(on how disappointed he was on not getting Bruce signed)
“It’s a temporary setback. If you drive down the field and
you don’t score a touchdown and you have to kick a field
goal, you just deal with it at the time and you go and figure
out a way to get in there the next day or the next week.
Unfortunately, we just have a lot of things that are
unsettled right now as far as what the cap is going to be, if
it is going to stay the same, if it is going to increase.
Those are things that just haven’t been resolved yet. It’s
hard to do business with a real uncertain market. Those
things all factor in and we are just keeping our fingers
crossed that we can work everything out. I guarantee you
from our end that we are doing everything we can to make it
happen.”
(on why Bruce was released before the Wednesday deadline)
“There were certain figures that were coming as far as roster
dates and things like that as far as the contract was
concerned. There was not any headway being made as far as
pushing things back and all those things. The good way of
looking at it is that we are starting fresh. We are going to
renegotiate from a free agent standpoint and we obviously, in
my opinion, the most competitive team in the market our guy.
That is really why were in the situation we are in right
now.”
(on if you don’t get a deal done with Bruce)
“Obviously we have to have a contingency plan, but I’m going
from the standpoint that we are going to get it done. Well
address that if we have to. To me, that is down the road.
There is a list of players and people like that. We are
talking about a guy, to me, that you don’t replace. If that
happens, then obviously we will have to do something, but I
am very optimistic about still getting it done.”
(on if he has talked to Bruce since he was released)
“No, not since then. I talked to him prior to that. Really,
we have not had a lot of interaction with him. It’s been
really hard. This has been a really hard one, and I’m sure
it’s tough for him. Hopefully we can get this all resolved
and get it all back to where we were.”
(on why he is so optimistic)
“I think that we are in good position to start up the talks
again. We are going to make a commitment to try to get it
done. Where I’m sure that there are other people who are
saying that it will sure be nice to have him, his value to
this organization is much higher than just his ability as a
football player, believe me. We are going to make the effort
that needs to be made to try and get it done.”
(on if he is not currently talking to Bruce)
“Right now, there really is nothing to get done until
Wednesday or Thursday gets here, until we get something
resolved, that’s why we’re at where we are at. Everything
got pushed back, and pushed back, and pushed back. That
faithful day came without an agreement with the CBA.”
(on being a new coach and free agency being pushed back)
“It’s kind of like a rainout. Getting ready to play the
opening game and not getting to go play. Fortunately we were
able to get something done today with La’Roi. It’s
unfortunate that we are stuck here with a situation with
Isaac, but that is part of the game. You have to be ready
for things to go your way, and you have to be ready for a
temporary setback or two. You just have to think positive.
I do feel very confident that we will be able to resume some
negotiations and hopefully get that resolved.”
DT La'Roi Glover
(opening statement)
“First of all it’s an exciting opportunity for me and my
family. I remember when I was playing with New Orleans,
playing against the Rams, a high-power offense, [with] them
winning the championships and being highly successful.
Hopefully with not only the addition of myself, but the
addition of other players in the future, watching some of the
younger guys grow and mature into darn good football players,
we can get back to championship football here in St. Louis.
That’s probably the largest and biggest deciding factor for
me.”
(On how quickly he heard from Defensive Coordinator Jim
Haslett after being released by Dallas)
“Pretty quickly, I think it was the next day. We had a
relationship; I played for him in New Orleans. I know he’ll
be great as a defensive coordinator. His main focus is
having an attacking, disciplined defense. I think it is a
great fit.”
(on whether Coach Haslett was a major factor in his signing)
“Definitely, because I know what type of coach he is, and I
know his résumé and what he brings to the table. [Assistant
Head Coach/Linebackers Coach] Rick Venturi is another coach
that was in New Orleans who is now here. I think they can
put together schemes very well, they can motivate, they can
do all of the things that great coaches do.”
(on how it feels to be on the ground floor of the rebuilding
Rams defense)
“It feels great. There are obviously needs defensively for
this organization. Hopefully this is the time to do it
through the draft, through free agency, getting in quality
players who can come in and immediately help us out. Once
again, hopefully we have the right set of guys and we can get
back to the winning ways that we are accustomed to in St.
Louis.”
(on whether he was surprised when we was released by Dallas)
“I wasn’t surprised. I kind of knew what the options were
because they brought in Jason Ferguson and paid him a lot of
money to replace me, for the most part. I was still able to
start in a 3-4 defense. Even more surprising, I was able to
make the Pro Bowl as a nose guard in a 3-4 defense. But I
was not surprised. I knew it was going to come eventually,
and here we are.”
(on whether he feels like he has multiple years of football
ahead of him)
“Definitely, definitely. I’m the type of guy; I take it one
season at a time, first of all. I prepare the right way. I
love to train and lift the weights and do the running and all
that good stuff. I try to practice the same way as well,
full speed and try to be extremely intense and take pride in
what you do, and have passion about it, and be very
passionate about it. So I don’t think that is going to
change one bit.”
(on what position on the defensive line he feels he is best
suited for)
“I think, and I have said this to the press in Dallas, I’m
the kind of guy who, at least I think this [of] myself, a lot
of people don’t think this, I think I can play any defense.
Whether at a nose guard, [or] a three-technique, I played
some defensive end in the 3-4; I played some defensive end in
the 4-3. So I think a player has more value when he can do
more things.”
(on whether the Rams’ swiftness surprised him and whether
other teams expressed interest)
“There were other team interested, but I didn’t want to, you
know, talk about what if the CBA doesn’t get done, what if
the CBA does get done. I didn’t want to be in that
situation. I don’t particularly like doing all the traveling
and all of the free agent stuff, so I figured if it fits then
why not try it on.”
(on whether he enjoyed some of the big defensive games he has
played against the Rams)
“Those are always fun. Number one, you win them, and
secondly, you play well. Hopefully, with [DE]
Leonard Little
on one side and [S] Adam Archuleta hopefully gets resigned,
and guys like that defensively, the sky’s the limit. If we
can get enough quality players in, and keep some of the
quality players that are already about the roster, a lot of
good things can happen. The offense is already very potent,
and that is probably going to stay the same. Hopefully a lot
of better things can come out of this.”
(on whether he will recommend any other free agents to the
Rams)
“Well, you can always recommend them, but that doesn’t mean
they are going to listen. You can recommend guys, but I
think the staff, the scouting department here, and the
coaches have a pretty good handle on what direction they want
to go with the team and the organization.”
(on whether there was a time in New Orleans when he would
have laughed at the idea of working with Coach Haslett in St.
Louis for 2006)
“Extremely surprised. I think if you were to tell me 10
years ago that, not only would I play 10 years and play for
four different teams and go to a Pro Bowl and do all this
crazy stuff, I wouldn’t have believed you then, but it’s a
blessing, number one. You have to take advantage of your
opportunities, and you can’t take it for granted because you
never know.”
(on whether he played with RB Marshall Faulk in college)
“Two years at San Diego State.”
(on being surprised the RB Marshall Faulk is still playing)
“He’s being doing well for himself. He’s kind of like a
Superman kind of guy. He can do a lot of different things,
and I am not surprised at all that he is still part of the
organization.”
(on the timeline when the Rams contacted him)
“No real timeline. Like I said, I didn’t want to be
traveling from team to team, to team to team, wishing and
praying the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) got done
and all of this kind of stuff. I kind of wanted to get this
over with as quickly as possible.”
(on when he got to St. Louis)
“Last night.”
(on his views of the Rams)
“The offense is pretty darn potent, and I think defensively
is where some strides need to be made. Number one is with
the way they coach it. I think that we have the right coach
in place with
Jim Haslett. Now it’s a point to where you
bring in more quality football players. You start with the
guys up front. You hope that you can get some quality
linebackers and get some quality guys in the secondary so
that you have building blocks at each position on your
defense.”
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