Raiders' Interim Coach Pierce's Midweek Press Conference

HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders (4-5) are about to host the New York Jets (4-4) on Sunday Night Football, after a dominating victory over the New York Giants.

Interim Coach Antonio Pierce stepped to the microphone to address the media for his Wednesday press conference to discuss the state of the Silver and Black.

We have the entire press conference for you to watch above, and the transcript below to read as well.

Interim Coach Antonio Pierce

Q: One of the things that teams that are winning organizations have to learn is how to win and maintain that. I'm curious, as a head coach and a guy who has been a winner as a player, is that something that you can start to institute during the middle of a season. Is that something that comes during OTAs and minicamps? How do you teach teams how to win and maintain that?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, I mean, that's something that's been talked about as building from day one. And it's continued. We talked about that today, just having a winning stamina mentality. That's in meetings, walk-throughs, practice; the same focus that those guys had on Sunday, carry that over, full workweek. And that is what comes with the leaders. Again, I'm going to keep going back to the guys in the locker room kind of leading, not waiting until the horn blows, getting ahead, thinking ahead, being ahead. Obviously, we have great meetings and some great walk-throughs and we'll just keep pushing like that and it will go on the grass and keep pushing forward."

Q: I imagine you've looked at the Jets' record. It doesn't maybe line up what you see on a decent football team, especially defensively, so what is it that you see about the Jets that present some challenges?

Coach Pierce: "Play hard, physical up front, both sides of the football, they're built well with the offensive line, big, massive gentlemen. On the defensive line, obviously very skilled, talented -- length, mass. I mean, it looks good. And then in the back end, obviously [Ahmad] Sauce Gardner is a problem. But that secondary, they play well, they're in sync, it's a good football program, good football program. And obviously for us, we're going to have to be on our P's and Q's and dialed up and match that energy as well."

Q: You just said Sauce Gardner is a problem and what he presents. Are you looking forward to seeing that challenge against Davante Adams?

Coach Pierce: "I mean, we know where he's going to be, on the left side, our right. But he's a very talented individual, with a lot of confidence, swag, ball hawking, creates opportunities for his defense with his length, plays to the strength of the system as well, knows where his help is. He's a smart football player, a really good football player, very talented. It's going to be fun to watch whoever he's matched up on and just watch how our guys compete against him."

Q: Offensive Coordinator Bo Hardegree said yesterday that he integrated players with a game plan, went to them and got their feedback on certain things they liked. As you build a culture here, is that a main part of what you want in terms of their input and having them involved with building a culture?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, I think it's important you always go back to the players and ask them: 'What are you comfortable with?' Especially now, right? With a new play-caller, getting a feel for your players again. We talked about this last week, the synergy, energy and feel for one another. And as Bo [Hardegree] is growing, I'm growing with Bo and this offense, just understanding what works well for our guys, not only for the play-caller. How do we execute, what do we execute at a higher level? And those guys did have some input. I asked him to do that as well. But more importantly, it's going to come down to the play-caller and the quarterback, and what we're comfortable with, and then more importantly, what can we execute at a high level to give us opportunity to win."

Q: After the emotion of last week and on Sunday, how do you avoid a letdown this week?

Coach Pierce: "Well, we knew last week was going to be emotional, and we checked that this morning. We can't win in the National Football League each and every week on emotions, we'll get burnt out. Now, it goes back to what football is all about -- the execution, fundamentals, technique, doing your job, maintaining, like I answered earlier, that winning stamina, that purpose. And just again, as simple as it is, just do your job. We don't need the extra stuff, that will come with us playing well. Our guys are motivated. It's a new week for us, last week Is behind us and we're looking forward."

Q: How much of the culture do you think you can change with about half a season left?

Coach Pierce: "Step by step, brick by brick. Last week was the first step. We'll continue this week with what our mindset will be as far as our mantra, as far as what we want to lead into with the Jets, and we'll keep that in house. But yeah, I don't think that's a problem. I think you can flip the switch anytime to be honest if you choose to. We do have 53 men and coaches that do just that. They're choosing to make a difference."

Q: How important is it to have someone like defensive end Maxx Crosby? You never have to worry about flipping a switch, he just has it on.

Coach Pierce: "You get nervous, you always wonder if he's going get burnt out, but he's not. I'm going to continue to keep trying to match his energy, but at a game, on that field, on that grass, you saw the effort. The way he plays is reckless. He gives up his body for his team. It's contagious, and what we do, and what have done, Patrick Graham and that defensive staff have done an outstanding job of telling everybody they need to match it. All 11 need to match Maxx Crosby. Our staff, our building needs to match his purpose, his why, his energy, his effort. And if we do that, we'll have winning performances."

Q: Even though there has been a lot of joking about you guys matching each other's energy, Crosby says it goes back even further than that, that you try to get under his skin before every game to fire him up, maybe even dating to last year. What brought that about?

Coach Pierce: "Just being around him. When I first got here, he jumped off to me, like this guy is in the building at 6 a.m. and doesn't leave until 6 p.m. Then you watch him practice, I remember Denzel Perryman was like: 'AP you haven't seen nothing like this.' I'm like: 'I've seen guys work hard and effort.' And no, he's right, I have not. I have not ever seen a player be consistent like Maxx Crosby. But just talking about simple things outside of football, and then that carry over onto the grass. Obviously, I've never coached Maxx before, I was with the linebackers, but I was always next to Maxx and I could feel his energy, it reminded me of when I played. That kind of purpose and that kind of mindset, and we would just talk about certain things, and it'd be things that I would hear him say I'm like: 'I did play with Bruce Smith and Michael Strahan,' guys like that. So, then we started calling out names, and then it got to some really good deep conversations. And that's just obviously grown with our relationship with one another."

Q: Linebacker Robert Spillane has played 597 snaps this year, indicating that he's on the field quite a bit as a linebacker. What is it about him that he's shown you guys that he should be out there every down?

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, lunch pail, hard hat, broke his hand early in the game against the Lions, never flinched, didn't miss a snap, taped it up kept going. The next day, he came in, had surgery, got casted up, went out there and played every snap. That's the mentality you want. You’ve got your superstars, you've got the guys who get all the credit, then you've got guys like this, the lunch pail guys who just come to work every day and do it with a smile. He's been like that since day one. I remember the first time we talked over the phone when we signed him, his energy, I could feel his fire in his belly. Being an undrafted guy, getting cut from one team, not getting the opportunity he thought he was going to get to certain places, and he brought that here. And the first thing he did when he got here was get with Maxx Crosby, and he tried to match that energy and it didn't quite work out. But what he's done for us is the mental part. He's been really good for Patrick Graham, our linebacker corps, and our defense because he does a lot of things pre- and post-snap that helps us."

Q: You and Bo Hardegree, both in different positions and different personalities, have the same mindset toward football of attacking. How much, I guess, peace of mind does that give you to know you're a defensive guy, but your offensive coordinator has your mindset?

Coach Pierce: “That was the conversation that goes back to walking around the building and getting to know one another, and really on a treadmill. We do that right before practice and we continue to do that before practice. Keep our routine, don't change. We are who we are. And you can tell in the tone and when you ask questions, you can even talk about other opponents and the mindset and hearing him speak and talk, I thought it was just a good match. And you can see how players react to him and respond to him and how well he's done with Aidan [O’Connell] and just that whole quarterback group, and really in general. But he has a certain calmness about him, a little southern drawl. He's totally different from AP, and I love it, because you need a little bit of yin and yang. But the mindset is to win, is to be aggressive, is to attack. I mean, you saw what we did a few days ago and that's not going to change. Bo has my full support, Champ Kelly's full support, and the team has really rallied behind his philosophy and what he wants to do going forward.”

Q: After the last game, Maxx Crosby said he thinks the defense is playing well but he thinks there's another level it can get to. What are some areas that you'd like to see more out of the defense?

Coach Pierce: “Run defense. It was great getting eight sacks. It's not cool giving up 100 yards rushing. That's not cool. The cool part about it is being heavy handed, dominant up front, making a team one dimensional. I don't care what team, what year of football we are in, you stop the run. You've got to be stout up front, you've got to be heavy handed, linebackers have got to be hammers. The cornerbacks have got to come out there and be secondary support players, and our back end haa got to come down and bring that thump. And until you really establish that, you can't be the defense we really want to be, and that's what Maxx is saying. So, for us, it's really about being heavy handed up front. PG [Patrick Graham] and Matt Edwards and Robbie Leonard do a great job of that every week of just harping that, but now we've got to do it each and every week. We've got to be consistent. We've got pass rushers and they showcased that the last couple of weeks.”

Q: What did you like about Amari Burney’s performance on Sunday?

Coach Pierce: “Really, it goes back to the Detroit Lions (game). We had a couple of linebackers nicked up, we throw him in. He was inactive for a couple of weeks, goes in there -- and here's a guy who has been a quarterback, wide receiver, safety: ‘OK, I want to be a linebacker now that I'm in the pros.’ Get used to using your hands, how to play downhill in the run game, confidence. And I think also sometimes it's OK to take a step back. He didn’t play for a couple of weeks, so what did he do? He worked his tail off on the scout team and we’re sitting there: ‘Hey, come on Burney, keep going.’ And then all of a sudden you get an opportunity on defense, and you just say: ‘Man, let it loose. All the stuff that we saw on the scout team, now it’s just a game, it’s just bright lights and more cameras.’ So, he's done an excellent job of more importantly taking the mental aspect of the game and studying why he has not been playing, and that's been showing up on film.”

Q: How much does it benefit him that he's teachable?

Coach Pierce: “I think the one thing we've done here from a personnel standpoint is bringing in smart, tough, dependable guys. He’s at practice, he's in meetings, he stays late. You always see him studying, he’s asking questions. He's not a big rah-rah guy, sometimes you kind of lose him a little bit because he's a rookie. And rookies get lost, but you got to grab them back in. But he's done an excellent job of just keeping his focus, especially when you’re not playing because you can kind of get lost in the shuffle, right? And he has not done that. And when I was in the linebacker room with him and the countless hours that we spent outside of meeting time of getting an extra film session is now paying off and the kid has confidence as he goes on the field.”

Q: Going back to stopping in the run. Is that going to be an extra emphasis this week with Breece Hall coming into town on Sunday night?

Coach Pierce: “I mean, the explosive runs that he has, 60, 70-yard runs. He can get to the outside, he's a very patient runner. Actually, I tried to recruit him out of college. He told me no right away, I was like: ‘OK, cool, no problem.’ But this is a different back, this is going to be challenging for us up front. We understand that. They don't hide it when they want to run. We know they want to run, we know they want to be tough and get after the running game, and it's a great challenge for us this week. Guys did it with a smile today in the meetings and then walk through, and we’ll see how practice looks.

Q: Another rookie that kind of stepped up is defensive tackle Nesta Jade Silvera. What went into the decision to activate him and what have you seen in his progression?

Coach Pierce: “Yeah, I think you see it across league in mid-season, those rookies need to start going right? Some of the vets have taken a lot of pounding. It’s now the time, look, you've been in the league eight, nine weeks, you've done a great job in practice, now let's see it on the field. He only played a few snaps, but he's another gentleman I recruited out of college when I was at the previous employer, and he did an excellent job of when he got into the game of just being physical. Like we didn't need to make plays, just do your job. Do your job and he did just that, and he's a guy who’s going to keep growing as he gets more and more reps.”

Q: Last week certainly wasn't normal around here. Do you feel it is now? And do you want routine and normalcy, or do you want kind of what last week was emotion-wise?

Coach Pierce: "No, I don't want last week. I like organized chaos -- keyword organized chaos, not when you're getting thrown everywhere. But at the end of the day you don't blink, you just come in and you just work, man. At the end of day we've got a job to do. We know what we signed up for, it's not easy. But it was good to get in there and just get a normal. Hey, here's our team meeting, go to special teams, go to defense, go to walk-through, go out there on the grass. We ain't got to answer the tough questions, we've got to answer just things that are coming up for the following week."

Q: How about the game being on Sunday night, the fact that all eyes will be on you guys. You kind of feel like they were anyway, but I mean Sunday Night Football where the Raiders should be, get you guys out there to a national audience.

Coach Pierce: "Yeah, I mean that was our mindset last week, it's us against the world, and that hasn't changed. It won't change as long as I'm the front of this team at this podium. We will carry that chip, but again at the end day, it's always fun to play underneath the bright lights. That's when the stars step up right, and that's when certain guys make a name for themselves. For us it's a great opportunity on the national stage with everybody watching Sunday night against a very physical football team to again showcase that we can keep pounding and compounding brick by brick, win by win, play by play performances by our team.

Q: When people talk about the Las Vegas Raiders led by Antonio Pierce, what do you want that message to be?

Coach Pierce: "First and foremost, just a mentally tough team, a team that you see out there and say: 'Damn, that's how football is supposed to be played.' Running the ball, stopping the run, having fun, doing it as a team, and more importantly, the love and passion for the game. I hope that -- if you never get to come to one of our games in the stadium that when you watch on television you're like: 'Damn, them dudes love ball. They love ball. They love playing for one another.' And if I can get that, I've accomplished one of my goals."

Q: I want to ask just how excited you get for the opportunity to go up against a coach who's very defensive minded like yourself?

Coach Pierce: "It's always good, a defensive coach. You can know what kind of game is going to be. It ain't going to be a shootout, I can tell you that. But no, obviously I have a lot of respect for Robert [Saleh] and his staff and what they've done. I've got a lot of friends on that staff, respect what they've done, what they've been able to accomplish. They've gone through a lot of off the field and turmoil on the field as far as injuries and things that they have overcome, but there is much respect. He's done it for a long time in this league. I've watched him going back to when he was with the Niners and how he's moved up in his ranks. Respect, but the best part about it is me and Robert don't play against one another. He's got to get Davante [Adams], I've got to worry about [Quinnen] Williams and all those guys that they've got on their side of the ball. So, it's going to be fun to watch."

Q: Coach, you've talked about being born Raider. I'm just curious, do coaches get in a box and they're just so busy. Have you been able to take a moment and appreciate this?

Coach Pierce: "No, you've got to. I tell our players that's why we give them time off. Sit back and really enjoy the fruits of our labor. Too often we just pound, pound, pound, pound, pound, pound and next thing you know you've pounded yourself right into that grave and you don't really reap the benefits for your labor. So, for me yeah, right after that game I went home and just kind of like just breathed -- no TV, no music, just kind of like tried to reflect on what just transpired over the last several days, but then you realize you're in the National Football League and it's back to work and you want to do it again, and that's the best feeling about it. That locker room feeling is what all our guys were talking about today. I want more. They want more. I want more. I want to stay there longer with them to celebrate. I want to do that kind of stuff. So, no, listen when I'm done playing the game, when I finally decide AP is tapped out, I'm retired and go wherever I need to go, that wherever I've been I made people proud of me, the gentlemen around me better from people from the bottom up to the top, just like people have done for me and I'll be OK with that."

The Silver and Black will remain at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to take on the New York Jets on Sunday, Nov. 12, at 8:20 p.m. EST/5:20 p.m. PST.

Please tell us your thoughts when you like our Facebook Page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.

Add us as a preferred source on Google