McDaniels: High Attendance at OTAs Show Spirit and Attitude

The Las Vegas Raiders are a very prideful organization.

It’s been this way since Al Davis’ ownership and has continued under his son Mark Davis.

While Las Vegas is a much hotter atmosphere than say Napa Valley, where the organization used to hold off-season activities, Raiders Coach Josh McDaniels says the weather is still not a disadvantage to his team.

“I think the weather is not a negative,” McDaniels said after OTAs. “I’ve been other places where it's raining and windy and cold and all that at this time of the year. So, I think a lot of guys enjoy being here.

“I think we have a great place to work out and train in the off-season, whether that's with us or on their own here. But I think that there probably is certainly a level of urgency and excitement to gain knowledge in the system and learn the material that is going to be presented to them.”

One of the things McDaniels and his staff established quickly was the importance of having a unified language to talk about and coach football.

“We talked about that at the very beginning: every coaching staff in the NFL, every coaching staff in college and high school, you have to have some language,” McDaniels said. “That's the only way that we can communicate with each other. And so, our staff happens to know the language that we know. It doesn't mean it's right for everybody. It doesn't mean it’s the best. It’s just what we know.”

While not everyone has shown up to OTAs, McDaniels sees enough attendance, spirit and attitude that he’s excited for how successful the Raiders can be this season.

“They understand that we're trying to teach them that language so that they can use it and be productive,” McDaniels said. “I'm excited. We haven't had perfect attendance. It’s a voluntary part of the off-season. We understand that. But excited probably doesn't do it justice in terms of us being eager to coach the guys who are here every day, looking forward to pouring into them every single day that we have the opportunity to work with them. You could see their spirit and attitude today. I mean, they're out there working.

“It’s 94, 95 degrees, whatever it is, they didn't flinch. And so, I really like the spirit that we come to work with every day. We got great leadership from our leaders across the board on this football team and they're really doing a great job of setting the bar high and then pushing their teammates to try to reach it.”

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