McDaniels Post-Practice on the State of the Silver and Black

HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders under the leadership of Coach Josh McDaniels have begun their first mandatory mini-camp of the 2022 off-season.

Shortly after today's practice came to an end, McDaniels spoke about the state of the Silver and Black. You can watch the entire video below, or read the transcript.

Head Coach Josh McDaniels

Q: Can you talk about the progress that your team has made from the beginning of the OTA program to the first day of minicamp?

Coach McDaniels: “Yeah. We try not to measure things in the off-season because it's really just every day is an opportunity to build on something. There is definitely things that we know, the terminology. We know the verbiage. We know what our assignments are supposed to be. But I think right now what we're really working towards is consistency and performance. It's not the physical part of it yet, but trying to go out there and if that's your assignment, can you do it right once? And then twice and then 15 times, and then for an entire practice? That's really where we're at. So, had some good plays and some not so good plays, and that's normal for this time of the year. Still in a big learning phase for us. Every opportunity we have to go out there on the field, we have a chance to get better and working hard. I think they understand the way we want to work. They understand what we're trying to get done and every day just get a little better.”

Q: Are you closing into that point where it’s time to hit the pause button and be ready to be where you need to be during training camp?

Coach McDaniels: “Definitely not yet. We're not going to pause anything yet. You only have so many limited opportunities in the off-season. This is our sixth practice, if you will, and we have a few more this week and some next week. We're going to use the ones we have and try to do the best with those opportunities. And then, regardless of if we're where we want to be or not, we'll hit the pause button eventually here and take a deep breath and then we're going to have a lot of work ahead of us in training camp.”

Q: When you're simulating so much new information, is it difficult waiting for the players to get to the place where they're playing and not thinking?

Coach McDaniels: “No, because I think you go into it knowing that that's going to be a process. I think if coaches are impatient in that regard, it's not a good thing at this point in time of the year. We don't play a game for a number of months. So, we have a long time to continue to invest in the players and in their skills, in their fundamentals, and the techniques that we're trying to teach. They know they have time to continue to work on those things. So, patience is really important at this time of the year. Like I said, we're not lining up and playing a game for a while. So, we just got to continue to put one foot in front of the other and have a good day tomorrow. We're going to learn a lot from the tape that we had today. A lot of time in this afternoon and then tomorrow morning to be able to watch and digest the tape. So, there's going to be mistakes in every practice right now and we understand that, and I think that's our job is to try to make them better.

Q: Darren Waller has said he wants to be here, and he wants to be a leader to his teammates. Can you talk about his progress and if you see those things from him?

Coach McDaniels: “Yeah, definitely. Darren, he's done everything we've asked him to do and more. He's obviously a good player. We love having him here. It's really a pleasure to coach the guy. He comes with a great attitude and mindset every day. Works really hard. Here early, stays late, does extra, takes care of his body. Does a lot of the things that you would want any player to do, and obviously he's been productive with his opportunity. So, love having him here and looking forward to coaching him.”

Q: We’ve seen Divine Deablo running around with a red jersey throughout OTAs. Is there something that is limiting him right now?

Coach McDaniels: “Yep. We’re just trying to be smart. There are some guys that are obviously dealing with little things here and there and we just try to make sure we're smart with those guys, especially if there's something they can get some value in being out there, but we also don't want anybody to accidentally do something that they shouldn't do. I think we're doing a really good job of staying off the ground and there's no piles, no collisions. We're doing all of that stuff right. It's just if they're in a red jersey, whether it's a quarterback or someone else, it just alerts the rest of the players that he can work, he can get a lot of reps here. He can get value in what he's doing, but it's not a physical part of the thing for him. It will be the same thing when we have pads on. If we have pads on, they got those kind of jerseys on, it will be the same thing. Everybody treats them with respect and make sure that the health of the players comes first.”

Q: When you first started to look at this team, was there a priority within each unit on the offense?

Coach McDaniels: “The overall priority is to try to understand the foundation of our system and the techniques that we would ask each of them to use. At that point in time without having had a practice, it's hard to sit there and say, this is what we need to do with the slot receivers, and this is what we need to do with the halfbacks, and this is what we need to do with the tight ends and the guards and so on and so forth. We'll know a lot more after the spring is over and we'll have a chance to digest that information and then we'll reprioritize certain things when we head to training camp. But there's also the physical aspect of it that none of us have seen either. We’ve seen tape, we've watched tape, we're aware of certain things. But players change and they develop, and they improve. So, there's a lot that we don't know yet. We're learning as much as we can now and when we get to training camp, there will be a physical part of it that we're going to learn. We're trying to put them in some situations where we can test their competitive stamina and their mental toughness and their ability to stay with it and think on their feet. The periods were changing pretty quickly today, trying to get them to grasp certain things. So, there's definitely a reprioritization here after we're done with the spring in terms of going into training camp. But right now, everybody's getting reps with everybody and we're trying to evaluate the players the best we can.”

Q: What’s the most underrated part of Derek Carr’s game?

Coach McDaniels: “I don't know how everybody else rates him. He's been a good player for a long time. I've said that since I got here, and that's the truth. He’s smart and he works really hard at it. He understands the game of football. He's got good arm strength and accuracy. He's a good leader. He’s tough, doesn’t miss a lot of games, been durable. So, there's a lot that Derek Carr does every day to give you a lot of confidence in what he can do with your team. I don't know how everybody else rates him. I just know that I feel pretty good about the things that I'm seeing. He's having a good spring. He's working really hard. He's acclimating to some of the new guys. He treats everybody the same, which I love. That’s a good sign of a leader. He's not just going to talk to the guys that are in the first huddle, he talks to everybody at every position, offense, defense, kickers, punters. So, I've been very impressed with him.”

Q: Anything that surprised you at all about Derek?

Coach McDaniels: “Like I said, I've been a big fan for a while. I wouldn't say there's been anything that has stood out that I've been surprised about.”

Q: What are some of the challenges of dealing with such a young defensive backs room so far?

Coach McDaniels: “Players that are young usually have their best football in front of them. There's no doubt about that. They develop, they have an opportunity to grow, they're all eager, they're all competing to try to earn opportunities. And I think that's a really good thing. We have some different skill sets. We have some guys with maybe a little bit more speed or more size, so it gives us some flexibility. But I think that all of them are really eager to try to learn and they’re learning how to communicate and talk with each other, which is important. We did some third down stuff today, which is always a difficult down for defensive backs to deal with. We had some packages where there were six or seven of them on the field at the same time. Overall communication, understanding how to play the techniques that we're trying to teach and coach. But love the group, love the way they work and eager to watch them continue to develop and grow and then go into training camp and let them just battle it out and compete. However it turns out, they'll be the ones who determine that.”

Q: You had a huge percentage of participation in OTAs. Does that help when you get to a mini-camp because they've been there for so long?

Coach McDaniels: “Definitely. I can't say enough about our players and what they've done. Like I said last week, they're really responsible for the culture. We try to set a standard of what we're looking for, but they're the ones that go out there and do it, and they're here every day. They're here real early. They're working their butt off and doing everything they can to help themselves improve and help the team improve along the way. So, it's basically been almost everybody except for a couple of guys here and there that we're dealing with some family situations. We got a lot of babies this spring, but no, it's been great. It's been a pleasure to coach them all and work with the guys that have been here, which has been the majority of them. And obviously, for the mini camp, it's all of them.

Q: Lester Cotton has got some time at right guard. Is he working his way into the picture?

Coach McDaniels: “Yeah. I mean we have different drills and periods where they're all going to work with different people, but Les [Lester] shows up every day. He works really hard. He’s having a great off-season. And there's a lot of guys in that room that are doing the same thing, but eager to see what Lester and that whole group is going to do when we get to training camp. This time of the year for the linemen on both sides of the ball, you can only see about half of what you need to see. They all speak, they all talk, they're communicating well, they're anticipating things, they're learning different positions. The more you can do to help the team at multiple spots, the better off it's going to be. So, Lester has done a good job. And I think that whole entire room and Carmen [Bricillo] and Cam [Clemmons] have done a great job of working with them and bringing them along. He's invested a lot in this off-season.”

Q: What is the status of Josh Jacobs right now? Is he here and just not practicing?

Coach McDaniels: “Yeah, he's here. He's just working. He was working inside today.”

Q: Josh, obviously, OTAs are voluntary, minicamp is mandatory. What was the attendance like for you with this and how happy are you with the attendance today?

Coach McDaniels: “Everybody's here. I mean they're all here and it's a mandatory session. So, that's what we would anticipate. But no, everybody's here and excited. At least it sounded like it this morning when we were in the squad meeting and eager to work and get an opportunity. The day's a little different, we get a little time in the afternoon now. We didn't get any time the afternoon in the OTAs to watch any tape and all that. So, get a chance here in a little bit to go in and watch some of what we just did on the field and try to make some progress. Everybody's here and they've been accountable all spring. I couldn't say enough good things about our group.”

Q: It seemed like bringing in Jakob Johnson was a priority. What does he bring to the mix?

Coach McDaniels: “He’s a grinder, man. He's a self-made football player. He comes to work every day, takes great care of his body. He's a tough guy. He's really a tough player, good teammate, unselfish, willing to do anything you ask him to do. He'll block, he’ll line up outside of the backfield. He'll play in a punt team. He does a lot of stuff for your football team, and he adds a lot of value and toughness to it. Jakob knows what his role is. He embraces it every day and he's an unselfish teammate. I just really enjoy being around him. A lot of what Jakob does rubs off on a lot of people, and I think there's a lot of value in that.”

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