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WATCH: Raiders' Pierce Speaks During Falcons Week

The Las Vegas Raiders face the Atlanta Falcons on Monday and head coach Antonio Pierce spoke to reporters on Wednesday.
Las Vegas Raiders Antonio Pierce
Las Vegas Raiders Antonio Pierce | Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

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LAS VEGAS -- The Las Vegas Raiders (2-11) heading into a Monday Night Football showdown with the Atlanta Falcons (6-7). Both teams will be fresh off of a loss and if Desmond Ridder starts for the Raiders, it could be an opportunity for a revenge game.

Head coach Antonio Pierce met with reporters on Wednesday to discuss the matchup, and we have the full video right here:

Below is a partial transcript from Pierce's Dec. 9 media availability:

Q: Getting into yesterday's game - you guys had five [takeaways] for the whole season, you had three yesterday, four sacks. What can you say about the defense?

Coach Pierce: "Just constantly improving, something we talk about and work on each week, starts individual, then in team periods. But I think just a conscious effort of our players. Really, you always talk about go get turnovers, well go out there and just take them, take them away. And I thought we did a good job pressuring the quarterback. We got a forced fumble there. Then obviously with the interceptions, heads up play by 44 [K'Lavon Chaisson] and Jack [Jones] had one in the end zone to take points off the board."

Q: Do you have an update on Aidan O'Connell?

Coach Pierce: "No, not yet. We're still waiting on the results."

Q: Are you thinking Desmond Ridder is going to be the starter this week?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, if no Aidan [O'Connell], it'll be Desmond [Ridder] as of now."

Q: Having gone through this process of working in a new quarterback a couple times this season, have you learned anything about what works best throughout the week?

Coach Pierce: "Yep, less is more. Less is more. Know what you're dealing with at quarterback. Really play into the quarterback. It isn’t so much what we want to do scheme wise, coaches with ideas we have, what works for the quarterback? What are they familiar with? What are they comfortable with? What can we execute at a high level with? And if we do that, we'll put ourselves in better positions so we can speed up the game for the quarterback and not slow it down."

Q: Having Desmond Ridder in the building for a while now and he's gotten game action, how valuable is that?

Coach Pierce: "I think it's been good. I mean oddly enough, he's played in a lot of games, right? So it's the way the season's gone for us. But there's been some bright spots. There were some other spots we wish we had back. But what we do see is a guy that's very competitive, that takes his job serious, and he has an opportunity. If Aidan [O'Connell] is not able to go and he's [Desmond Ridder] the starter, it's another great opportunity for him to showcase himself.

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Hondo Carpenter
HONDO CARPENTER

Hondo S. Carpenter Sr. is an award-winning sports journalist with decades of experience. He serves as the Senior Writer for NFL and College sports, and is the beat writer covering the Las Vegas Raiders. Additionally, he is the editor and publisher for several sites On SI. Carpenter is a member of the Pro Football Writers Association (PFWA), the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).

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