Raiders' Josh McDaniels Entire OTA Comments

HENDERSON, Nev.--Las Vegas Raiders Coach Josh McDaniels spoke today from the team's optional team activities (OTAs), and he took his time with the media to discuss a myriad of issues.

We have his entire press conference below for you to watch as a video and read the transcript:

Head Coach Josh McDaniels

Opening Statement: "Before we get started, this is obviously our first week of OTAs and we had a really productive phase one; phase two, same thing. Tremendous attendance from our guys, which is very similar to what I experienced last year here. I think the weather has a lot to do with that. So, just getting an opportunity to get out there now and work on some football stuff as opposed to strength and conditioning, and the communication phase of it. Guys are really starting to create the bonds and the trust at this time of the year that you're going to need eventually when we get into pads and start doing the banging around. Good group, great group, I’m excited to continue our process here in phase three and looking forward to today."

Q: Jimmy Garoppolo was coming off a foot injury. Has he been cleared to get on the field yet?

Coach McDaniels: "You won't see him today. There's a number of guys that you're not going to see. I mean, I'm not going to run down a list every time here. But he's going through his process just like we knew he would. Nothing has happened that would surprise us based on the information we had. Same thing with Tyree [Wilson]. Again, there's a number of guys you're not going to see out there today. So, rehabbing the things that they're rehabbing. And again, we know we don't play game for over 100 days, so they're doing everything they can do to get right, and when they're all ready to go, then eventually they'll be back on the field."

Q: Do you think you'll be waiting until training camp for Jimmy G to get on the field?

Coach McDaniels: "Could be. I mean, I'd say with all these guys it's about the same. Like I said, when they're ready. Some of them may be ready before the spring is over, some of them may not. And we're always going to err at this time of the year on being smart. We don't play a football game until, like I said, three and a half months. So, to try to rush them out there to get them out there in May, that's a poor decision. So, all these guys are doing a great job with what they can do in terms of the rehab. They're in all the meetings, all the football things that they can do that aren't jeopardizing anybody's ability to be ready to go here for the season. They're doing all those things and the guys that aren't out there, like I said, as soon as they're ready, they'll be there."

Q: When you look at Nate Hobbs and Tre'von Moehrig, they both had extremely productive rookie seasons. What do you need to get from them in these OTAs and in training camp, so they're back to that rookie year production?

Coach McDaniels: "Obviously, Nate [Hobbs] battled a bunch of injuries and all that, so that was part of it. But I think anytime a young player goes through a system philosophy change, certain types of things change for them. And so, as much as you want a rookie to kind of grow from (year) one to two, if there's a lot of things that change from their day-to-day from what they were doing as rookies, sometimes that bump happens from (year) two to three. That's just reality. So, both of those guys are doing a great job and now it's their second year and there's some ‘same-as’ for those guys in terms of communication, verbiage, responsibilities, etc. And so, I'm excited for both players. They have a great attitude. They know that they have an opportunity to really kind of take a step forward here and really impact the team."

Q: Jimmy Garoppolo initially got hurt last December and was pushing to potentially return with the 49ers during their run into the playoffs. Obviously, he didn’t en up coming back. Did he have any sort of offseason surgery or procedure to address this issue?

Coach McDaniels: “Again, I'd say the same thing, there's a number of guys and I'm really, honestly, not going to talk about the specifics of those things. Again, those are private to those guys, individually. But everything that's happened since we signed Jimmy, we knew ahead of time. It's the same thing with Tyree [Wilson]. I would say it's the same thing with a number of guys that we're aware of. So, we had an awareness of all of it. And again, our preference is to not push and rush anybody back at this point in time. Could we? I mean, you could make that decision. It's just I think the most important time of the year is going to happen when we get to training camp so that we're ready to go and we can do the work we need to do in August."

Q: Josh Jacobs obviously hasn't signed his franchise tender yet. Is there any hope that he can be out there in OTAs?

Coach McDaniels: "Obviously, that's up to JJ [Josh Jacobs]. There's nothing really to report on that front. I stand by what I've said all along, love the player and the person, and I'll be excited when I see him."

Q: I know it's a small sample size, but what have you seen from Tre Tucker that gets you excited?

Coach McDaniels: "Well, when we evaluated Tre [Tucker] coming out, first of all, Tre's a captain. He's an extremely bright guy, hard worker, impacted them in the kicking game and offensively. And again, is a guy that can run, really run. And so, you take a guy like that and there's a number of ways that he could factor. Played on the coverage teams at Cincinnati and there's a lot of things that he did that maybe didn't show up in the stat sheets. But productive on offense, productive in the return game, productive in the coverage units, adds an element of speed and toughness. Again, this is his third day out here in OTAs, s, still learning a lot like all the rookies are, but excited about what Tre can do."

Q: Jakobi Meyers really credited you for pushing him early in his career. What was his development like from your vantage point and how nice is it to be reunited?

Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, he's an undrafted guy. I believe right now half of our roster is undrafted. So, the 91 that we actually have on the roster, I think 45 of them are undrafted. So, there's a lot that goes into that. First of all, it doesn't matter how you get somewhere, it just matters what you do once you're there. And I think Jakobi had a great attitude from the moment that I was able to work with him. Learned, was like a sponge in the classroom. Took as many reps as he could in the offseason and training camp, tried to learn from the players that were ahead of him. Really dove in and tried to improve every day. And a lot of those guys that make it as undrafted players, and we had some last year that made our football team and impacted us significantly through the course of the season, they all have the same mindset. They compete, they don't care about draft status, draft position, etc. They come in and they earn their role on the football team, and that's what Jakobi did when he was a rookie and he's just continued to do that, and he continues to do it today. Excited to have him join our group. He's gained some knowledge and depth of experience now over the first four years of his career that you can just see how much he's grown."

Q: Davante Adams made some comments on the story about not necessarily seeing eye to eye with the organization on certain things. Did you get a chance to talk to Davante about that in terms of any kind of clarity. Is it more so a sign that he's just got a voice in what you guys are doing in terms of the dialogue?

Coach McDaniels: "Tae [Davante Adams] and I have a great relationship. I know he does with Dave [Ziegler] as well. And he's here every day. I didn't read the whole thing, so I don't really know exactly every nook and cranny of that. But I don't think there's much drama here in terms of my relationship, his relationship with us, the way he works, the way he goes about his business. Obviously, he had a great year last year, and just looking forward to year two."

Q: To get to this level a player has to be driven, you just don't get to the NFL by chance. How hard is it for you, a former player, to maybe pull back on the reins of some guys and say, ‘It's only OTAs, let yourself heal,’ because they want to be out there?

Coach McDaniels: "Yeah, I was a former Division III player, too. Not an NFL player. So, yes, no doubt. That's the only reason I was out there. Look, everybody wants to do that, and we've had to tell players, I'd say year to year, ‘Hey, look, we don't wait till September.’ And guys want to get out there and they're eager, which just means you have a great group of guys that are eager to work with their teammates and eager to get out there and help us try to become whatever it is we're going to become in their unit. So, if they're doing that, that's a good thing. It's a lot harder to try to get them to run than it is when they want to run, and you got to try to pull the reins back a little bit. So, I would never be upset about a player that wants to do that before they're quite ready to go. But we're going to try to make smart decisions just so we have the right guys out there when it's time in August."

Q: What was your reaction to the fair catch kickoff rule implemented by the NFL?

Coach McDaniels: “Yeah, look, the rules are the rules. And again, we have one vote out of 32, and sometimes we may see it differently a little bit too. That's just part of each organization in football, and so for me personally, whatever the rules are, we're going to adopt the best philosophy that we can to try to play within the rules. And if there's an advantage we can find to play within them, then we're going to try to do it. So, obviously that's the rule we're going to adopt this year and we're hard at work trying to figure it out. I don't know all the ins and outs right now yet in terms of seeing the different questions we had when it was proposed. Like, if we're kicking off from the 50-yard line, is the rule still in play? Or is there no fair catch then? When there's a defensive penalty on a scoring play or something like that, and you choose to enforce the penalty on the kickoff, is the fair catch still applicable or not? There's little things like that, that I'm not exactly sure how it's going to be finely written. But, like I said, there's pros and cons to all of them. There really is. I can see it both ways. Number one, I'd say, I’m for whatever makes the game safer. So, if that's if that's a play where more injuries are occurring, more head injuries are occurring, more head Impact is occurring, I have no right to stand up here and say, ‘we need to be doing more of it,’ if that's what we're trying to avoid, because obviously player safety and health comes first.”

Q: The Thursday night flex rule change with the 28-day notice, how do you feel like that can impact the team and preparation?

Coach McDaniels: “Yeah, with advance notice, I think it's okay. Again, we're going to play whenever they tell them tell us. They changed one of our games last year, as you guys all know, to a Saturday. So, whatever the flex ruling is, and if we end up being flexed, then so be it and we'll get ready to play the game. I think that 28 days is plenty of notice for you to kind of adjust what you're doing as long as you know ahead of time that you're going to play on a short week. I think everybody's okay with that. And I'd say this, there's pros and cons to both. Playing on a short week is sometimes tough when you got some guys banged up, etc. And then we all know that there's kind of a mini advantage to be gained afterward to have a little bit of extra rest time and recovery after the game before you play again. So, pros and cons of both. Fortunately for us our Thursday, at least the one that's scheduled, is late in the season anyway. So, that's how we're going to go into the year planning, and if it changes, then we'll try to adjust.”

Q: At this point in time early in the year, can it be healthier to kind of get that out and create that dialogue between you and your star player, and allow you to hear his opinion?

Coach McDaniels: “Davante and I have talked. Again, it's not really my concern that anybody necessarily adopts every vision that Dave [Ziegler] or I have for the decisions that we have to make. Sometimes those are difficult. The thing I'd say about a player like Davante, and we have many other players in the same category, is they have an opinion and a voice because they've earned it. And I respect the hell out of anything that they would say or suggest, or anything like that, during the course of the process of trying to improve our team, which I know where Davante comes from. He's a competitor, he wants to win, and that's really his sole focus. And that's what he does here every day. He's here pushing himself, pushing his teammates. He's been a tremendous leader again this spring for our football team. Like I said, those things happen, I'd say all the time, where somebody may have a question or a comment, or a discussion is had, and those are the right things to do. And those players have earned it. So, I have nothing but respect for anybody like that, that has a comment or an opinion like that.”

Q: Coach, obviously, you've seen the rookies on the field in a small sample size during rookie minicamp, but outside of what you're seeing on the field, what have you seen in terms of the mental aspect of the game and stuff that you see in the classroom?

Coach McDaniels: "We tried to do this - we sit up here and talk about trying to build a tough, smart football team that's mature and explosive, and if you're going to try to build a football team like that, then you better identify those qualities in people and see if you can acquire them. So, I think Dave [Ziegler] and Champ [Kelly] and Brandon [Yeargan], the entire scouting department, our coaching staff, did a great job of trying to really vet and research all these kids that we had an opportunity to select. I think the early return on that is really positive in terms of the way they're approaching their day-to-day. They have a great attitude, they're working together on trying to gain on the stuff that they don't know that the veterans already do, and they're taking full advantage of their opportunities. So, I'm really excited about the intangibles and the leadership, the intelligence, the maturity, along with the skill that we were able to bring in and excited to see where it goes."

Q: When you talked about the kickoff role, you talked about player safety and there are more injuries on kickoffs. Have you seen data from the league? We've heard the league say that repeatedly, but I don't know that anybody's actually seen data on that.

Coach McDaniels: "Well yeah, there is. And what I'd say is, I've seen the plays. Not every kickoff in the entire league all year, but I've seen enough of them as we go through one season to the next to see that obviously you have a high rate of speed when you're running down there, and there's definitely some collisions that take place that I know we've tried to get out of the game. So again, sometimes there's going to be some unintended consequences. So, what does this mean for the kickoff and the strategy that people will employ? Will more people try to put the ball on the ground, force returns that way? I don't know. We're going to find out. Like I said, I think there's a lot to dig into here and see how each team wants to use it. Bottom line for us is that if we kick the ball, we've got to be ready to cover it, because there's no guarantee that they're going to put their hand in the air. So, if they don't signal for a fair catch, then we're playing football as football has been played. So, each team will have an individual decision and a choice to make on that. And like I said, until we see the whole entirety of the rule and what those ramifications are going to mean to us, it's hard to necessarily sit here and say exactly how we're going to use it yet.”

Q: You're going to have a familiar face sitting up in the owner’s box it looks like pretty soon with Tom Brady buying in or at least planning to purchase part of it with Mark Davis. How strange, how cool, how interesting is that for you to look up there and see Tom Brady as an owner?

Coach McDaniels: "I mean look, I think everybody knows how I feel about Tom [Brady] the person. So, if that comes to fruition, obviously I'll be incredibly excited about just him being somebody that's in Raider Nation and has a vested interest in us doing as well as we can do and trying to bring a championship football team here to Vegas. So again, I don't know exactly where all that stands. I think that's a question that's way above my paygrade in terms of that stuff, but obviously had a great history with the player and an even better one with the person. So, it'll obviously be a tremendous honor to partner up with him again."

Q: You admitted it was a fumble. Do you think he's got to admit it too to be able to buy in?

Coach McDaniels: "100 percent. No question."

The Raiders' offseason workout schedule is as follows:

OTA Offseason workouts: May 22-23, May 25, May 31-June 2, June 12-15

Mandatory Minicamp: June 6-8

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